I admit that I expected it to be pretty good… but it turned out really good! I was amazed.

The following is my review:

WANTED:HERO Prelude to a Hero by Jaime Buckley

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Jaime Buckley’s Prelude to a Hero novel, from Wanted:Hero, is excellent!

At the start of the book I was guessing a bit as to what would happen. I had read the comic book’s previously but also knew that, in order to make a successful novel of it, it would require some straying from the comic books themselves. I was a bit skeptical… But I have become a believer.

This book had me laughing several times throughout it, and cringing in dread and sorrow at certain points.

The book is an easy read, a fun read, an entertaining read, and I’d suggest it to anyone who has time to read anything… or who doesn’t have time but needs to relax for a moment, or delve into a completely new, and exciting, world… Really I would recommend it to basically anyone.

My one regret? … I want more of the story!

I will be waiting…


View all my reviews

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<h3>Prologue</h3>
<strong>The Rising of the Vampire</strong>

Dark shadows danced on the earthen floor and slanted across the lonely walls. The wooden planks that the walls were made of had lost their color from time and lack of upkeep. They were old, cracked, and moonlight shown through the open holes and splits in rays. Outside the moon was shining brightly, illuminating the outer forested area so that objects were easily discernible in the pale blue light. Standing within the door of the abandoned building and looking inside was quite different. Outside, there was a sense of security from being able to see clearly; within the building, The moonlight split through the windows and gaps as an intruder casting a harsh light which seemed as if it were preparing to battle with the dark secretive shadows. Within the building, the shadow ruled, and the light came in as an intruder. Shadows of dancing tree branches, now nearly barren of leaves, teased the intruding light, turning up and down the floor, walls, and what few furniture items yet remained within. Water had long since damaged the furniture beyond repair, yet one might still sit in the chair, or store something in the large chest had they felt the desire or need to do so. The shadows seemed particularly playful within the building. Outside they were still present, but they seemed natural. Amidst the dusty interiors and stark contrast between light and dark, the frolicking shadows were ominous as if they were planning something terrible and finding absolute pleasure in doing so.

“Yume! Go in!” Taiku urged, pushing her forward. She stumbled in through the entrance, barely keeping her balance and finding herself standing in the blackness of a heavy shadow. For a moment she wanted to hurry toward the window to the blue light of the moon, but the darkness of branches and leaves scurried forebodingly there and she found she felt better waiting where she was.

“Careful!” She hissed back to Taiku as he stepped in behind her. “This wood is full of splinters! I don’t want to stumble and get some in me, or ruin my skirt!”

“You worry too much, Yume,” he laughed, running his fingers through his hair and tossing his eyes upward as if he were the perfect image of confidence, yet she could sense that he too was afraid of this place. “We will just walk around for a moment, and then we’ll leave.” He smiled, though it was scarcely visible with the moon behind him silhouetting him and his features. Yume thought him quite attractive for a twelve year old boy, though he still ran from girls who talked about attraction or love. He enjoying spending time with Yume, or she assumed as much anyhow, just as he enjoyed being with other children, male or female, but at this time in his life, love was the furthest thing from his mind. Yume wished she could say the same for herself. At only ten years of age, she was hardly old enough to be often thinking of cute boys and noticing how they behaved when they were around her or other girls.

“Okay.” She nodded and hummed in agreement. She was there because she had been foolish enough to take Taiku’s dare. Because they had been told not to go out after dark, Taiku decided that he had to do it, and he had dared her to come along, unless she was too afraid. Being just the girl she was, Yume could not admit that she was anything less than brave and had succumbed to his request. Now she thought he had only convinced her to come along because he would have been too afraid to have gone on his own.

Part of what convinced her was not so much proving her bravery as it was not wanting to displease Taiku. For the most part, he was a kind boy, despite all his teasing, and she considered him a very near friend—perhaps even her closes friend. She also found him quite attractive and fully expected him to grow in beauty as he aged. He had a smooth face with narrow, but bright eyes. If it were not for the smile in his eyes and often on his face, his narrow eyes and brows may have made him seem angry even when he was not. When he did become angry, he was noticeably so, and Yume found he became suddenly frightening in those moments, though he was rarely angry. He had long blond hair that his mother was constantly saying needed trimmed, yet rarely took the time to do so herself or to pay to have it done. His hair now was the longest she had seen it in quite some time, almost growing down to his shoulders.

Yume herself had been said to have been a very pretty girl when she was younger and others had expected her to grow into a beautiful woman, but she was stuck now at her tenth year with sudden freckles and her adult-sized teeth which were coming in and did not match her childlike face. She had dark hair and eyes and a fair complexion much like her mother.
She had first arrived in Excadia with her mother and father two days ago. Taiku had also arrived at that time. Both families had come to see near relative of theirs who was very ill. Yume’s  great great aunt had been alive over a hundred years, but was now nearing the end of her life. This same old woman was Taiku’s great great grandmother. Yume knew that she and Taiku were related and while her great aunt remained alive their relation did not seem so far apart, however, when her great aunt was gone, she expected that the link between them would seem much more distant and there would be nothing to keep her from marrying Taiku someday, should circumstances work out in that way. First she would have to manage to survive Taiku’s crazy dares he was so often full of and, learn to simply say no to him a little more often. He would also have to learn to accept an answer in the negative. The town was not too far from this broken down building, but to a couple of children, the distance had seemed very far indeed, especially at this time of night. Back in the town Taiku’s parents and Yume’s own parents were likely sound asleep in their separate quarters.

Yume’s mind slipped back to the evening after they had first arrived in Excadia.

<em>“Can I help you carry your bags, miss?” a hotel security guard asked as Yume’s mother gathered her things and prepared to move them up to the room. Yume’s father had gone out to get some dinner.</em>

<em>“Thank you,” she answered, leaving the bag for him to collect.</em>

<em>“Are you new to these parts?” the security guard asked, picking up her bags and following her and Yume, who was also following her.</em>

<em>“Yes,” She answered. “We probably won’t be staying long.</em>

<em>“I see,” he answered. “We have had a little trouble lately with some skirmishes after dark. It likely isn’t anything you should be concerned about, but it would be best if you stayed indoors after dark. As a matter of fact, you will need to stay inside at night as there is a temporary curfew in force across all of southern Excadia.”</em>

<em>“I see,” Yume’s mother responded. “I wasn’t aware of that. Thank you for notifying me.”</em>

<em>“That is my job,” he answered. “Safety.”</em>

<em>“I wish I had known that earlier,” she said. “We should have gone for dinner before shopping and coming here. No matter. What sort of skirmishes are you referring to?” she asked.</em>

<em>“Nothing serious,” the guard answered after a long pause. He glanced down at Yume as if hinting that, even if he were to explain the current problems at hand, he did not think it best to do so in front of a young child. Yume did not need to be an adult to understand that look. She wasn’t concerned with knowing what the adults were talking about anyway. She cared only to get to her room and to eat, then to talk with Taiku about each others trip to Excadia.</em>

It was after she had told Taiku what she had heard that he wanted to sneak out at night. She convinced him that night that she was much too tired. The following day they had come to the rundown place where they now were and studied it from a distance, but as they were short on time in returning for lunch, they didn’t take the time to enter the buildings. Not surprisingly, it was Taiku who came up with the idea to return here after dark.

“Is it true these buildings were once homes for the insane?” Yume asked, slowly taking a step forward, entering much more deeply into the building than she ever wanted to come—not having wanted to go inside at all in the first place.

“How should I know. There must have been a reason why they put a fence around this place. The sign said something about it being off limits, but in the weeds below was an older sign which was so worn I couldn’t read it. Two words were all I could read: Home, and insane. Either way it doesn’t matter. These have been abandoned for years.”

“We aren’t going to look in all the buildings are we?” Yume asked, her voice beginning to shake noticeably. There were only three buildings, though there had once been a fourth which was now torn to the ground.

“No,” he answered, giving her cause to sigh for relief. “Like I said, we are only going to have a short look around here, and then we are heading back again.”

She nodded and hummed in agreement once again, then took another step forward. She ran her hand slowly across the back of the old chair. She could feel the grainy wood and small splinters that, if she were to move her hand any more quickly, would have likely embedded themselves into her skin. A tinkling noise from beside her caused her to spin quickly. Taiku had picked up a rusty wind chime from the floor and was hitting the pieces together with a finger.

“Stop it!” She hissed.

“It is only a wind chime!” He complained.

“It might attract something here,” she responded worriedly.

“Like who?” Taiku scoffed.

“I don’t know. Someone, or something.”

“Something?!” he repeated in a laughing tone. “Do you really believe those stories about vampires? Those are just stories the adults tell to scare children into doing what they are told. No person, or creature, could ever really have red eyes, especially not ones which glow.”

“Maybe the glowing isn’t true. Maybe none of it is true. But right now, I cannot help thinking about it.”

Taiku snickered, but carefully set the chime on the floor nevertheless. It was said that vampires could hide their fangs so they could walk among the humans unseen. Their eyes only turned red when they were about to feed on human blood, or when their hunger for blood became so great that they would do anything to find someone from whom they could suck blood. She had always wondered if perhaps vampires were real. Sometimes real events seemed like something that might have happened because of a vampire. Even in her hometown two men were found dead with blood on their necks, shoulders and chest. There was an open wound on their necks and those who studied the bodies said there was not nearly as much blood to be found as a human body should have carried. The papers never mentioned anything about the wounds seeming like fangs, and the stories were somewhat obscure. She wondered if it was merely a story which had been made up to gain some more sales for the papers, but the names of those who had been found dead must have been real names, and those that knew these two men must have known they were dead whether they saw the bodies or not.

Yume shook her head. She was thinking far beyond the level of a ten year old and she knew it. She was not an ignorant child. She often understood conversations carried on by the adults that they would not have expected her to be able to fully comprehend. She tried to stand more bravely and finally took the step into the light coming through the window. The long chest was sitting against the wall directly in the light of the moon. It had a lid over it made of a single wooden plank. The hinges on it were so rusty she wondered if it would even open and, if it would, whether it would break before the hinges would turn. She reached down and gripped the edges of the llid.

“Don’t!” Someone yelled and she felt something jolt her, gripping her by the shoulders. “It might be vampire!” She screamed loudly and spun around smacking Taiku across the face so hard that he staggered, nearly falling to the floor. When he came to, he was holding his reddened face with one hand, then he started laughing.

“You should have seen the look on your face!” Taiku chortled.

Suddenly a cold chill shot down Yume’s spine as Taiku slowly took a step backward. His eyes were wide and his lips quivering. The force of her blow had not brought this about. Many times she had assumed he was truly frightened but was trying not to show it. This was the first time she had noticed that he was certainly filled with fear.

Yume swallowed and turned around slowly, backing towards where Taiku stood motionless. A dark shape moved in the shadows. She could not see for certain what it was, yet its eyes revealed the mystery. Stepping from the shadows, waiting on the edge of the light, and the dark, the shape came forward. He was tall with pale skin and wore a pitch-black robe. He studied the two children carefully with his red eyes—and they did glow, only very faintly, but it was noticeable beyond a doubt.

“What are two children doing all alone out here?” He asked. His voice was raspy. Amidst all her frantic fears, Yume found a moment for one thought she knew did not belong. She thought for a moment that this creature in front of her was handsome—then he smiled. Sharp fangs appeared. “Let me escort you to safety,” he spoke almost soothingly. “Let me escort you to heaven!”

Yume was the first to scream, but Taiku was not far behind her, however, Taiku was the first to run. Yume tried to move but stumbled in fear, then she turned towards the door and started to run. She had only taken a few steps when she felt something grip her arm with such a force that she stopped completely, falling to the floor. She felt something sharp sinking into her wrist and blood starting to ooze out.

“Help!” She screamed out in worry and pain.

“You’re friend has abandoned you,” came the grating voice of the evil creature. “There is no one else.”

Scrambling to break free, she glanced back to realize that the vampire had not sunk his teeth into her, but his fingernails. His robe was still finishing billowing around him after his quick lunge. He took a deep breath, taking in the smell of the blood, and his eyes seemed to become a little more red. His strong arms curled her into his chest despite her useless struggles, and he forced her head down onto his knee while he pulled back the hair from her neck. He grimaced and coughed as if he were the one afraid for a moment. Then he scrambled at the necklace she wore around her neck. It was a thin silver chain with a locket and a picture of her mother and father and her, as a baby, in it.

“Take off that necklace!” The vampire shrieked! “Take it off or I will rip out your entrails!” He drew his hand back, readying the sharp nails on his fingers.
Not sure what else to do, Yume hastily removed the necklace. He stepped on her hand which contained it, pressing it to the floor, then he forced her head back onto his knee and bared her neck once more.

“It always tastes better coming from the neck,” he sighed with pleasure, leaning forward.

Just then Taiku leaped out of the shadows, clutching a metal bar from the wind chime he had found earlier.

“Die you demon!” He shrieked driving the small weapon into the side of the vampires head with all his might. Despite his own small size, and the simple size of his weapon, it tore a noticeable gash down the side of the vampire’s face and blood began to drip from the wound.

Regardless of his injury the vampire held Yume in place, using one arm to knock Taiku back. Then he prepared to drink her blood again.

“I’m not done with you!” Taiku screamed, coming back again lunging with the bar in his hands. He wasn’t able to get a blow in before he was stuck back with such force that he struck the wall with a thud and dropped to the floor.

“Give up,” the vampire warned.

“I won’t give up until you let her go,” Taiku grunted in pain as he forced himself to his feet and again picked up the small bar which he had dropped nearby where he fell. He began to run at the vampire. This time the vampire was truly getting annoyed with him.

“Very well. I shall drink your blood as well! I am thirsty enough for both of you!” He stood, keeping his foot on Yume’s arm, then faced the charging Taiku.

Yume quickly moved her free arm to grab the silver necklace from her pinned hand. She recalled that vampires hated silver. Obtaining it with his weight on her was not easy, but she managed to do it in a very short time. She hurriedly grasped at his leg and slid the necklace under his trousers, touching it against his bare skin. He bent over in anguish as if he had just been hit in the midsection. Taiku came down on top of him with the metal bar and he took his foot off of Yume’s arm. She stood and leaped away from him, still gripping the silver necklace in her fist.

“Run!” Taiku ordered! “Go now!”

“It is the girl’s blood I want!” The vampire hissed. He grabbed Taiku’s arm and spun him downward violently. Yume heard the boy’s arm snap and saw its mangled form get twisted all the way behind his back and over his shoulder. Taiku screamed in pain.

“Run, Yume! Run!” He managed to shout amidst his screams of agony. Tears of pain dripped down his face.

She did not know what else to do but follow Taiku’s orders. She turned to run.

In an instant she heard the sounds of the vampire lunging after her again. She turned and hurled her necklace at his face. He shrieked and leaped aside, scarcely dodging the silver chain. Taiku snatched it up from where it landed.

“Yaru ka! Kono yaro!” he raged, somehow managing to stand again despite all he had been through.

Yume didn’t see what happened next, for she was fleeing away as quickly as she could, but she knew that Taiku must have managed to draw the vampires attention again, for moments later she heard the boy release an agonizing cry that continued for several seconds. Moisture began to build in her eyes as she ran, ducking under the fence and continuing onward. She knew the vampire was fast and would be after her soon. There was a dull ache in her side, but she had no choice but to keep running. Tears now streamed from her eyes and blurred her vision. Still she ran.
<p style=”text-align: center;”>* * *</p>
Torches flickered along the several columns down the large corridor. Red carpet lined with a golden trim and design was rolled down the center of the room. Guards stood beside each of the pillars. At the eastern end of the hall, it opened up even more expanding into what was like a large room with twelve exotic chairs and a thirteenth chair, or throne, at the head of the room. Six chairs rested to one side of the large centermost seat, and six to the other. A tall, arched, stain-glass window seemed to hover high above the thirteen chairs. The ceiling was high above, and several smaller windows near the uppermost parts of the room cast their light down as well. The light coming in from the windows did little to brighten the room at this late evening hour. Though the place was meant to be like a sanctuary, yet it seemed cold and empty at the time.

Catherine paced the floor where the wide hall expanded to become the room at the eastern end. Looking further down the hall she could see the large double doors open. several guards stood outside the door, and a few more stood directly inside as well. Anyone entering, would be entering with permission. She had only just heard what little news there was of the one who was coming, yet she immediately allowed audience. The twelve Shugoshin, her counselors and the guardians of the Realm, were not around. Having one or two of them around was not uncommon, but unless there was an arranged meeting, or a sudden urgent meeting, they were usually not around. They had lives and some had families as well. There were better things for them to do than to sit in the grand hall and wait. Catherine had no family. Her mother had died giving birth to her and her father was killed only a few years later by vampires. Besides her grandfather, she had no other known close relatives. At the time, her grandfather was the Chief Shugoshin. He took her in and raised her and, though she was only sixteen when he died, she took his place at the head of Realm as the Chief Shugoshin. Not two years had passed since then. It seemed not so distant and yet, somehow, so very far away. A lot had happened since then. She was perhaps the youngest person to ever fill the seat of the Chief Shugoshin. Many thought her unqualified for the position, though by custom and unwritten law they were not supposed to question the place of those who supposedly held the blood of deity, which was assumed of all those who were Shugoshin. She doubted that she had any more deity in her blood than did any others. Perhaps all mankind was the offspring of deity. It didn’t matter now. She had to do the best with what she had been given, however small, or large, it may be.

“Lady Catherine,” a guard spoke as he and two others led a child along the hall. She turned and faced the approaching group, her cloak swirling behind her. She hated the long red robes she had to wear almost constantly, but they did seem to help others realize her position and respect her more. Her wardrobe contained very little of anything else other than long red robes. The bushy layers of cloth hid her slim features, but she didn’t mind that. She was not of the mind to impress people with her beauty, but only to lead them with whatever wisdom she could gather. She was very grateful for the Shugoshin, all but two of which were around when her grandfather was the chief Shugoshin. They knew very well how to guide and counsel her, and they were respectful in doing so.

“This is the boy you were told of,” the guard said, stopping a few paces away from Catherine.

“I see,” she answered. The boy’s clothes were tattered and he had blood spattered on them. “Vampires?” She asked the guard softly. He nodded. She stepped nearer the boy and knelt down in front of him, putting her hand on the cleaner of his two shoulders. “What is your name,” she asked. The boy was silent. He stared downward as if seeing nothing. His eyes were cold and silent. He looked lost, both physically and in his mind. He seemed confused.
“You look hungry. Perhaps we can talk after you have been cleaned up, have a new change of clothes, and have had a bite to eat.” At her words, the guards began to turn the boy away as if to guide him back down the hall. He pulled away from them and turned to face Catherine again. He was breathing more intently now and he seemed more alert. Whereas before his eyes seemed to see nothing, something was sparking in them now, but it was not something Catherine was pleased to see. Anger.

“You wanted to speak to me, did you not?” she asked. He nodded. “Then perhaps you should allow me to speak with you, as well. It is only proper that a conversation go two ways.” He nodded. “What is your name?” she asked again.

“Akuma,” he answered.

“Akuma?” she questioned. “That cannot be your name.” She could sense the anger in his voice and was quite certain he was lying.

“It is now,” he answered.

“If you wish to change your name, it would be best to choose something to remind you of the good in your past, not the darkness you are looking into.”

The boy trembled and clenched one of his fists, but remained looking downward. He did not appreciate her words.

“Don’t you think your family deserves that respect?” she asked.

“What?!” he gasped and stumbled backwards, then gritted his teeth together. “Baka!”

“Do not speak so in front of the Chief Shugoshin, Lady Catherine!” A guard scolded.

Catherine held up her hand to the guard, motioning for him to stay his tongue. She noticed that her words had sparked some life into the child’s eyes, if only a very small amount.

“Hunta?” The boy asked, seeing what Catherine thought of the name.

“That is a little better, I suppose,” she smiled. “It will do until we think of something else for you. Now, Hunta, tell me, are you ready to get cleaned up and have a bite to eat, or did you have something to speak with me about right away?”

“I want to get into Excadia!” He immediately admitted.

“What?!” Catherine gasped. The request surprised her so that she could think of nothing to say for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure. “Excadia is quarantined. It is off limits to all. The virus which spread there is—”

“Baka!” Hunta complained. “I know what the virus is! The vampires! The vampires took over the entire town and killed everyone in it! Why are they still roaming there?! They should be dead, every last vampire! I will kill them all!” he screamed loudly.

“You are a bright boy,” she commented. “There are several plans being worked with that we hope will help us to be able to rid us of the vampire threat, but in the meantime, we need to keep as many people alive as possible.”

“I will kill them all!” he raged through clenched teeth.

“You will die!” Catherine emphasized, putting her hand back on his shoulder and gripping it firmly. “If you want something, the way to go about it is not to die, but to live and improve yourself until you can obtain what you want. I am trying to raise a special band of vampire assassins—the Shugosha. Do you want to run away and be killed, or would you like to join this team and make a difference?”

“I—” Hunta looked up into her eyes for the first time. His own eyes were still filled with anger, but she saw tears trying to well up in them. He choked them back. “I want to join your Shugosha,” he pleaded. “I will become the greatest fighter! I will destroy the vampires!”

“You can think about that later, for now go and get cleaned up and get something to eat before you faint from weakness.”

“Yes. Thank you, Lady Catherine!” he nodded and turned as two of the guards led him out.

“Some of the vampires have plead to be taught humanity. They wish to be in peace with the humans. Do you think it will ever be a possibility?” she asked the guard.

“If they want it badly enough, perhaps it will, Lady Catherine,” he bowed. “Your wisdom will lead the way. I am sure you will know which decisions are the right ones.”
<p style=”text-align: center;”>* * *</p>
Sleep in solitude beneath shady veil of blue moonlight.
When darkness comes sweet dreams share sweet crimson.
For a moment there was pain, then I saw you, still out of reach.
Your cold embrace made me warm, your distant smile spread through me.

And I told the dark, you can sit beside me, just don’t sit too close.
When everything is over will any of this make sense anymore?

So soft. So cold.
What is eternity to us?
What then? Wait then.
Will we ever know if we don’t seek?

Sleep in loneliness beneath the misty veil of red moonlight.
Once I stumbled in the bright light, now for you I wait in it.
For a moment there is joy, but how long can it last?
An unreachable warm glow on the horizon. Some things cannot be.

And I told the dark, you can sit beside me, just don’t sit too close.
For destiny knows this must end, and what becomes of us?

So soft. So cold.
What is eternity to us?
What then? Wait then.
Will we ever know if we don’t seek?
I’m dreaming.
Keep dreaming.
Keep dreaming…

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<h3>Prologue</h3>
A strange twitching on her cheek is what had caused Miss Ledoit to hurry to the restroom. She had been through law school. She knew how to maintain her composure, but this was different. Besides, she had made the best of a dull moment to make her break away. She paused a moment and opened a small dark brown flask and took a swig of the contents then hid it in her coat once again. She glanced around, only slightly nervous, to make sure no one was watching her. The halls were silent. She didn’t expect anyone, but she still felt somewhat foolish for not having looked first. There was no one around. Even the voices coming from within the courtroom were completely hidden by a series of two doors and the hall to where she now was.
After assuring herself that there was no one around, she pushed open the door to the ladies room. There was no one inside, either. She peeked under the stalls to make sure. Though professionally based, part of being a professional was knowing how to get away with as much of anything unprofessional as possible and still make it seem professional. Peeking under the stalls when no one could see her was one of those things she considered, unprofessionally professional.
Life for Miss Ledoit wasn’t about helping the innocent or defending those in need of legal defense, it was about winning and getting paid. She wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but she wanted to be paid as much as possible, for as little work as possible, which meant she had to play sides. She didn’t feel at all guilty in condemning the innocent or letting the guilty go free when she knew that it would be easier to get her pay that way because, as far as she was concerned, that is how everyone based in law believed and acted. She was just another member of the group.
After peeking under the stalls once more, not for any more reason than for the sake of doing it, Miss Ledoit faced the mirror. She was a tall middle-aged woman. At thirty-five years old, she was still unmarried and still beautiful. She rather liked it that way. No man wanted to stay with her for long, not when they realized that she was very stubborn, very demanding, and very haughty. Naturally, she never admitted to these things a moment too soon. Her brown coat detracted somewhat from the red suit she wore beneath, but it was a very cold day, and she didn’t have any warmer coats, so she had to do with the coat she had. She admired her slimness and the lack of a single gray hair. She managed to stay away from stressful situations as much as possible, which was why she believed that she wouldn’t be getting a gray hair still, perhaps, for some time to come. She was a firm believer in positive thinking. Staying away from stress meant staying away from marriage.
She was wearing a thick red lip gloss and had a heavy coating of mascara. Remembering the drink she had taken outside the door, she quickly rinsed her mouth with water, opened a package of mints, and began sucking on one, then she returned to looking at herself in the mirror.
For all her makeup, she still couldn’t hide the cause of the twitching on her cheek. She had not noticed it this morning, which meant that it must have appeared very quickly during the last several hours in the courtroom. There was a large white zit on her left cheek, just below her cheekbone. She was absolutely horrified at the sight of it. The horror of her brain knowing that this zit existed and knowing that she was meant to be beautiful must have been the cause of the twitching. Just the fact that such a horrible thing could be on her face must have caused her brain to panic! She felt more humiliation than she knew she should ever rightly have to feel. She wished she could march home and hide herself the rest of the day, but she knew that she had to go back to the courtroom, and there was no way of hiding it. What was worse, the zit must have been there for a while, meaning that the people in the room had already seen her with it!
Miss Ledoit whimpered in despair. She didn’t understand how this could have happened! She was perturbed at her facial cream for not keeping this incident away. She couldn’t help it if occasionally a little zit appeared on her face, but most of the time it was very small and was gone before anyone noticed it. This wasn’t the same. She groaned again.
“This can’t be happening to me!” She raged. She began pacing in front of the mirror frantically. “Why? Why? Why?!” She repeated over again. Finally she stopped in front of the mirror and stared at the white blemish on her face. She could feel it twitching even now. She shuddered uncontrollably, unable to admit that she was afraid of pinching it because of its size. Finally, she lifted her cherry painted nails towards it.
She shuddered again, then began to work at it. A violent twitching ensued, almost as if her brain was telling her to hurry up and get the job done, or—she shuddered to think—to leave it alone! She wasn’t about to leave it there! She squeezed it. It began to break. But she stopped suddenly and recoiled in horror as a large slimy string of white emerged from it and fell to the counter top. Blood began to drip from the hole in her face, but it wasn’t the blood that worried her. The slimy white string on the counter was flopping about like a fish on dry land! It turned over and began to ooze along the surface of the counter. She started whimpering in total fear as she watched it. It was a worm! A living maggot-like worm slid across the surface of the counter, then fell off the edge and landed on her bare toes which were visible through her sandals.
Miss Ledoit screamed violently. The gastly blood-curdling scream echoed throughout the halls and the blood from the hole in her face began to drip more quickly.

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“<strong>B</strong>ut the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.

And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.” Robert paused looking out the small window into the fading light of dusk. He was eager to get back into town. There had been much discussion over whether or not he would be able to go back. His mother understood his desire to follow in his father’s footsteps and, in the end, that was the only thing which persuaded her to let him go back. But not without evening study.

“Keep reading.”

Robert didn’t realize he had paused for so long. “Yes, Ma.” He scanned the old page for where he had left off reading. “Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.

And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.”

Robert found it odd that the passage which was chosen for study matched his thoughts of spirits and ghosts. He continued reading until he reached the next chapter and he was allowed to leave. He had already saddled Bay prior to reading, so she was ready to ride when he went to the stable.

“Are you ready to go into town?” Robert asked, stroking her nose gently. Bay whickered and nudged him. He smiled and led her to the path then mounted and rode toward the town.

Not surprisingly, the street in town seemed more silent than usual, though Robert couldn’t be sure as it was nigh unto dark now and there wasn’t much cause for folks to be about. Some voices could be heard coming from the saloon, but there were only a few and they were quiet.

Robert rode to the hitching posts outside the mercantile store and dismounted. Bay was accustomed to being left hitched to a post. Cars passing through didn’t bother her unless they were unusually obnoxious, but not many cars passed through this part of Rockland.

Nelson was nowhere to be seen. Robert was hoping he would come, but Nelson had seemed hesitant when they spoke earlier so his appearance wasn’t expected.

The night was still besides a soft breeze which blew over Rockland. Robert was hoping to get back in time to talk to a few more people, but the hour didn’t allow time for that, now. He began straightway toward the graveyard.

The graveyard was a fair distance from the main part of town. There were a couple of houses along the way, but other than that there was nothing. Robert could have rode Bay there, but he didn’t want to risk spooking the horse and having her run off as there was nowhere to hitch her to.

Robert kept a good distance from Mr. Oakre’s house. He had a large mastiff and it was easily upset. Often the dog would try to attack anyone who came too close to the house.

A twig snapped behind Robert and he spun around. He could see the long grass swaying, but there was no one there. Robert watched for another moment before turning again. Just as he turned a loud bark caused his heart to pound in his chest and Mr. Oakre’s mastiff was staring up at him. Robert would have turned and fled toward the house but a moment of fear froze him and by the time he was ready to run, he realized that the do wasn’t attacking, nor did it act like it was going to. Its tongue was hanging from the side of its mouth and it was breathing softly. Robert watched it carefully then reached out slowly toward it. The dog backed away from his reach, as if frightened, or unsure, then it held still and let him touch it.

“Dobbs!?” A voice called. “Where are you, Dobbs?” Mr. Oakre was standing at his door. He must have heard the dog bark.

“He is here,” Robert called back. Walking toward the house. The dog followed.

“Dumb dog,” Mr. Oakre growled, taking the dogs collar and pulling it toward him. Then he sat down beside it and began scratching behind its ears. “Dobbs isn’t like he used to be. Once he barked at everything, and then came the ghost.”

“You have had experiences with the ghost, too, Mr. Oakre?”

“You could say that, I suppose. The same night that Mrs. Lampshire claims to have seen the ghost Dobbs began barking wildly. Even more than he usually does, perhaps. And then he stopped. Something must have scared him. Now he rarely barks and doesn’t do much good at protecting the house because he is too frightened.”

The dog didn’t look frightened. It appeared to be relaxed more than anything. “I’m glad of it, tonight,” Robert commented. “Dobbs was out in the field today and I didn’t see him until he was right in front of me.”

“He doesn’t bite much,” Mr. Oakre seemed offended that Robert was happy the dog wasn’t acting as mean as it once did. “Just a lot of bark, unless someone tries to fight back.”

Robert knew of a couple of people who had been bitten by the dog, but he wasn’t about to argue. He changed the subject, instead. “Has anyone else who lives near to the graveyard spoken of strange things happening or claimed to have seen a ghost?” Robert asked.

“Of course they have. The only people that I know of who claim to have seen the ghost are Mrs. Lampshire and the three White boys, but there are plenty of tales which people credit the ghost with, all of them began four nights ago. Mr. Thompson just across the street was working outside on that same night after Mrs. Lampshire had gone home screaming. He set down his trowel, went inside for a glass of water and when he came back, the trowel was gone. No one in town would have taken an old trowel for no reason and Mr. Thompson is certain that he left it where he said he did and when he returned it was gone. Even if he had put it somewhere other than he had thought, he would have found it by now. It had a bright red handle—hard to misplace, that.”

Robert agreed and bid farewell to Mr. Oakre then continued on his way. As soon as Robert began to go, Mr. Oakre hurried back inside, as if frightened by the thought that he was outside after sunset.

Once again the night was still. The graveyard was in a little gully and it extended up onto the hillside, making it difficult to see from a distance. By the time the graveyard came into view, he was almost there.

Robert walked slowly down the hill. There was a fence with a gate that served as an entrance, but the fence only ran along the east side of the graveyard, making the gate quite useless, however, when people visited the graveyard, they nearly always passed through the gate. Robert did so, too. For some reason passing through the gate seemed more appropriate. The gate was old, dented and rusty. No one knew who had put it there or how long it had been there.

The graveyard wasn’t arranged in any mannerly fashion. Many of the graves were old, too. The carved stones on many of them had become illegible after so many years. Many graves were decorated by a large uncarved stone rather than a fine gravestone. Some graves were large and had stone on the ground around it, as well as a carved stone at the head. Tall weeds had taken over much of the graveyard, but the areas around the graves were kept trimmed at least somewhat.

Again a twig snapped from behind Robert, pulling him from his thoughts and observations. He quickly spun around.

“Its me! Its me!” Nelson squealed, throwing his hands in the air, as if Robert had been pointing a gun at him.

“What are you doing here!?”

“I wanted to see if you could find anything out. I had to sneak out of the house to get here, too.”

“If you get in trouble for it don’t include me in the blame,” Robert said, trying to keep his breathing steady so as to show that he had not been frightened.

Nelson scrambled down the hill and joined Robert at the gate. “If I hadn’t have come, you may have thought I was afraid, and I’m not.”

Robert nodded and walked further into the graveyard. On the left near the entrance was Mr. Lampshire’s grave. “This is where Mrs. Lampshire would have been when she first saw the ghost,” Robert whispered.

“Why are you whispering?” Nelson asked.

“Because!” Robert hissed, putting a finger over Nelson’s mouth. “If there is someone playing a hoax and they hear us, they are going to know that we are here and we will lose the element of surprise.” Robert paused. He walked around for another moment, being careful not to step over the graves, then he said aloud. “Come, Nelson. There is nothing here. Let’s go back home.”

Nelson looked confused. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but Robert quickly threw a hand over it. “Just play along, Nelson,” he whispered softly. “As far as anyone who might be listening is concerned, we are going home.”

“I am tired anyway,” Nelson said aloud and he followed Robert to the gate, then they both moved behind a gravestone and waited.

Robert watched each of the graves carefully. He had a good view of Mr. Lampshire’s grave. All was silent. A crow cawed in the distance and another answered it. Time seemed frozen. Thin clouds were scattered throughout the sky. Through the gaps in the clouds the starlight shone through as well as the light of a large round moon. Robert could feel the chill in the night air as he remained still. He would have to start moving after a while in order to keep himself from getting too cold.

A sound like the turning of a stone came silently through the graveyard, almost too quiet to be heard. Then it came again, a little more loudly. And then the breathing started.

Like the grinding of bones it echoed in the air sending chills down Robert’s spine. He gripped the gravestone in front of him. Nelson held on to Robert’s shoulder.

Again came the breathing as the breath of a mighty beast. Grinding bones, crushing out life, it seemed.

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<h3>Chapter Three</h3>
The night was dark, but the moon and stars, as well as the school’s exterior lights and street lamps, made it fairly easy to see.

The window to Mrs. Jennings class was too much in the open for Jamis’ comfort. Anyone walking by or driving by along the eastern side of the school could see them trying to get in through it. Before they could make their move they had to be sure that the coast would be clear long enough for all three of them to get inside. Ben had followed, though he wasn’t sure what it was that Jamis and Louie were trying to do. Jamis wished that he would have taken a moment to tell Ben what was going on earlier, for now Ben’s questions were not only annoying him, but they were going to give away their position behind the bush.

“Shhhh!” Jamis scolded, as Ben opened his mouth to speak again. “We have to be quiet.” Their hiding spot behind the trimmed hedge wasn’t much of a hiding spot. Anyone looking out of the school’s second floor, or anyone walking around the outside corners of the school could have easily seen them, but it kept them out of the view of cars, so it was better than nothing.

Jamis crouched lower. “Go make sure the window is still unlocked,” he told Louie. Louie nodded and began to rise. “Wait!” Jamis pulled him back down by the arm. “Just walk by casually. Examine the window out of the corner of your eye and continue along until you get to the far end of the hedge, then duck down and hurry back to us.” Louie nodded and stood, then moved on.

There was an anticipated silence while Louie examined the window. Jamis was impressed by how casual he managed to appear. Louie’s face was void of expression as he walked by so that not even Jamis could tell by it whether the window was unlocked or not.

“It’s open,” Louie whispered, as he returned from the far side of the hedge. “It’s open!” He repeated, more excitedly.

“Great!” Jamis nodded. He peered over the hedge. Cars were coming. If they had to wait too long for cars to pass by they were either going to head back, or find Louie in a heap of trouble. Jamis didn’t want to admit even to himself that he would likely get in trouble, too, if he stayed out too long.

“We don’t need all three of us to go in,” Jamis whispered. “And the longer we stay out here, the better our chances of someone walking around the corner and seeing the three of us crouched by the hedge.” Louie knows where Mr. Graham’s paper was last seen, so I think he should go as soon as there is an opening. Ben and me will watch for cars. Then I’ll go while Ben watches for cars, and as soon as the coast is clear, if Louie and I haven’t been too long gone, Ben will follow.”

“How come I have to be last?”

“Sounds good to me.” Louie peered over the hedge. “I’m just going to get ready to run, and you signal me as soon as the coast is clear.”

Jamis nodded, keeping an eye on the approaching car. It sped past. No more cars could be seen from where he was. “Now, Louie! Go!”

Louie dashed toward the window, threw it open, and rolled inside. The roads were still empty. Jamis decided to take his chances now, too.

He raced toward the window. Inside the class he could see Louie getting ready to close it enough that anyone who saw it wouldn’t wonder what was open, but as he saw Jamis coming, he moved aside. Jamis jumped through.

The classroom was dark. Outside he could hear cars coming. Ben was going to have to wait a little longer. “Lets get going,” Jamis said. Louie nodded and they moved toward the door. It could be unlocked from inside, so there was no problems with getting out.

The hallway was empty and dark except for the glowing lights of exit signs at either end. Jamis crept down it as quickly as he could without making any loud noises on the floor. Louie followed. Somewhere in the building someone was moving things around. Likely a janitor.

Moments later Jamis stood in front of Mr. Graham’s office door. “Shoot!” He cried, as he tugged on the handle. “It’s locked!”

“What!?” Louie moaned. “I hadn’t thought of that!”

A scuffle sounded around the corner. Jamis heart leaped within him. His head darted around looking for a place to hide. He had no chance to get anywhere before the maker of the sound rounded the corner. It was Ben!

Ben scurried over. “Sorry, guys. I tripped on an electrical cord back there. Is it locked?” He asked, looking at the door.

Jamis wanted to scold him for his noise, but he answered the question instead. “Yeah; darn thing’s locked.”

A grin stole across Ben’s face. “Lookie, lookie!” He said, holding up a set of keys.
Louie’s jaw dropped. Jamis hoped he held his composure better. “Where did you find those!?” Louie asked.

“I’m so used to going to the other way for the bathrooms that I went that way before I remembered that I was supposed to be going this way. There was a janitor cart in the middle of the hall. These keys were on it. I grabbed them just in case. Hope one fits!” He looked to be thinking for a moment, but he began whispering again before Jamis or Louie could say anything. “We had better hurry before the janitor comes back and finds them missing.”

“I’ll say,” Jamis agreed. “Give me the keys.” Ben hesitated a moment, not wanting to hand them over, but he did. Jamis immediately got to work testing the keys on the door. As fate would often have it, the key which opened the door was the last on on the chain that he tried. He couldn’t help being relieved, however, that the correct key was there.

“Here, Ben.” Jamis handed him the keys. “Take them back. We don’t need them anymore. We’ll lock up when we leave.” Again Ben hesitated, not wanting to have to run them back, but he took them and hurried quietly down the hall.
Like everything else, Mr. Graham’s office was dark, but this time there was no exit sign glowing above them so they could see.

“It’s too dark,” Louie commented on the obvious. “If I try to feel around I might break something, and we couldn’t read anything without the light anyway.”

“Watch the hall,” Jamis told Ben, as soon as he returned.

“What?” Ben moaned.

“We have to turn on the lights in order to find anything and if anyone comes they are going to notice that the lights are on and we won’t hear them coming. You need to watch the hall and hurry back and warn us if anyone starts to come.”

“Why should I do any of this?” Ben complained. “I don’t even know what is going on here!”

“We’ll let you know later,” Jamis promised. “But right now we need to hurry up then get out of here.”

“Alright,” Ben nodded unhappily, but he went to watch the hall as he had been told.
Light flooded the room as Louie flipped the switch on the wall. The office had been cleaned up since Jamis was in there on Wednesday.

“Perfect,” Louie moaned sarcastically. “He’s cleaned his office, now I have no idea where to look, or even if the paper is in here at all.”

“We’ll never find it if it is here and we don’t look for it. Come on. But if you move anything put it back exactly the way it was.”

“Jolly.” Louie nodded. He checked the desk drawer where he had seen it last, but it wasn’t there. Jamis checked the small set of drawers just beside the desk. They were cluttered and keeping things as they were before he started looking through them was difficult. Because of that he was only able to partially search through them.

“I found something,” he heard Louie say. “Here is some records of previous trips to Bladegrass Hollows.”

“I don’t see anything wrong with any of these,” Jamis said after scanning through them. There was a paper from five years ago titled “Bladegrass Hollows” and subtitled “The haunting truth of an insanely quick completion of an obstacle course.” The paper talked about how one boy managed to beat Mr. Graham’s obstacle course in an extremely short period of time, then it compared the stamina of the youth to older adults who couldn’t have come anywhere near such an incredible time. According to the paper the obstacle course had been run the following week by several adults on a camping trip and none of them had been able to come close to the young boy’s time.

Louie looked disappointed. “That must have been the article I saw him looking at. Though I don’t remember the subtitle being such a drag.”

“You didn’t remember what the subtitle said at all,” Jamis reminded him. “You were trying to remember and you probably pulled a random guess out of your hat when you told me earlier what you thought it said.”

“I guess you are right. We’d better get out of here before we get in trouble.” Louie moved toward the door.

Jamis followed, but stumbled over a small cardboard box on the floor near the desk. It spilled revealing an old yellowed and wrinkled newspaper entitled “Bloodgrass Hollows” and subtitled “Haunting night. Young boy claimed to be possessed kills other boys.” Jamis eyes widened.

“That’s it!” Louie exclaimed. “That is the paper I saw Mr. Graham hide!”

“This paper dates back to ten years ago,” Jamis mused, picking it up. “Mr. Graham has only been taking class members there for eight years.” The paper started off by saying that Bloodgrass Hollows, (named for the fields of Cogon Grass, also known as Japanese Blood Grass, there) had been renamed to Bladegrass Hollows after an extremely disturbing event on a class trip for students from Rocksford High School. The events there caused Bladegrass Hollows to be closed to all public for two years.

“Then there is something evil that happened at Bladegrass Hollows,” Louie said.

“But that doesn’t mean anything, really,” Jamis responded. “People have been going there for eight years with Mr. Graham and nothing has happened. Besides, if we look at the history of the world, something bad has likely happened in any place you’ve ever been to, or ever will go to.”

Silence returned as they both turned their eyes back to the page and began reading again. The paper told of six youths that had crept off in the middle of the night, wandering away from the general camp of their class members and teacher. Of the six that had crept away only three had returned. All three of them came back with blood on their clothes. One of them was confused and frightened but didn’t know what was going on. The other two were running back, one chasing the other with a large bowie knife. The young boy doing the chasing claimed that the other boy had killed his two friends and was possessed with an evil demon and must die. The fleeing youth denied his claims. The noise awoke the other students and the camp leader and they kept the two boys apart, trying to get some straight answers from them. The two boys glared at each other during the questioning. The one with the bowie knife lunged at the other but was held back. The teacher himself held the boy with the bowie knife as he seemed to be the aggressor, and the other boy hadn’t fought back at all. But just then the other boy pulled away from the grasp of the class mates who were holding him and, in a fury, he lunged forward, stealing the bowie knife and stabbing its owner. The stabbed boy was critically wounded, but he survived.

Both boys were assumed to be insane and were taken away to be handled as such. The paper didn’t say what had happened to them in the end.

The teacher was taken to court for the possibility of killing his students. Though he was not convicted of any crimes, he was still denied his job as a teacher. The report didn’t say much more, but what Jamis read was enough to shock him, and, from the look on Louie’s face, his friend was horrified, too.

By now Jamis was worried that someone was going to walk in and slice him in half for having snuck into the school. The dark night outside suddenly seemed more haunting than it had before, and every passing car reminded him of a mafia member preparing for a drive-by-shooting. Cold chills tingled up and down his spine.

“Bloodgrass Hollows,” he heard Louie whisper. “A more fitting name for it. I wasn’t the only one who was cut by what must have been what the paper refers to as blood grass.” His voice was shaking. “The grass is all red-tipped, too, as if it has cut people thousands of times before.”

“Still,” Jamis paused as he put the paper back into the box and closed it as it had been before he tripped over it. “This incident happened only once. Mr. Graham has never had any problems ever since they allowed people to camp there again. Everyone loves Mr. Graham. And none of us going this year are bad people. I know Lester and some others can be hard at times, but they aren’t evil.”

“We can think more about this later,” Louie said, his voice still shaking. “Let’s just get out of here.”

Jamis nodded. Suddenly a noise thumped at the door. Ben was supposed to be keeping an eye on things down the hall, but someone could have come from one of the other rooms, or the nearby janitor closet, even. Jamis quickly flipped the switch on the wall off. The room went dark. The rattle of the door handle sounded. Whoever had made the noise at the door was coming in.

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<h3>Prologue</h3>
An Epistle of Silence

Have you ever stared at something for a long time and didn’t even notice what you were looking at? Or, have you ever been thinking so hard you forgot what it was you were trying to think of? Well, that is what Tom Seamas was doing on a certain day quite some time ago. The day seemed like an eventful day, like the kind of day where he just knew something was going to happen. Most of the time when Tom thought the day was going to be eventful he turned out to be wrong, but on this particular day, he had no idea just how eventful it was going to be.
Tom had his palms propped up under each side of his chin causing his cheeks to squish up near his eyes and partially block his view. He was sitting on the edge of his little dresser and staring out a tiny window in his small attic bedroom. He had been staring blankly into the distance for what must have been nearly an hour. The pond outside, where Tom’s gaze fell, was reflecting a thousand little pinpoints of light from the sun as it cast its reflection upon each little wave crest.
Despite the fact that the sun was shining and it seemed like a very good warm day, Tom knew the weather outside was quite chilly.
The wind was blowing somewhat fiercely and the temperature was not the kind that a young boy, only ten years of age, would like to play in. That was why Tom was indoors on this day. He had quite wanted to go outside and play near the foothills or in the pond, but he was trapped inside in his room just thinking about all the fun things he might have been able to do had the weather permitted it. Thinking about it for such a long time — and it seemed like a long time to a young boy — had made Tom’s mind wander in several different directions. He started thinking about brave warriors clashing swords and daring knights in battle, and other things that young boys like to dream about. Thinking all that time had made Tom forget what it was he had first begun to think about, for as soon as a new thought came he forgot the old ones and embraced the new one.
Tom just happened to be thinking about strange places and different worlds when he heard a loud thump behind him.
“Yikes!” Tom bellowed, leaping from his dresser and turning around. Surprisingly, there was no one in his room. Everything seemed to be just the way it had been before he had begun daydreaming. Nothing had been knocked off a shelf or had fallen to the floor. A bowl of chili still sat untouched on a little bookshelf in the corner of his room.
“Hmm?” Tom wondered. Then he decided that perhaps he had been thinking so hard that he had imagined something going “bump” in his room and had let his mind play a silly little trick on him. Tom straightened his shoulders and sat down on his little dresser again where he could stare out the window once more.
“Oh, how I wish it was a nicer day outside,” Tom grunted, setting his chin in his palms once again and resting his elbows on the thin window sill in his attic bedroom. — It wasn’t the type of window sill that a grown up could have rested elbows on very nicely, but it worked quite splendidly for a ten-year-old — “Dollie was gonna come over today and we were gonna go exploring in the foothills and go diving down deep in the pond.” Tom was just the type of boy who thought there must have been a deep hole in the pond, with lots of treasures in it, despite the fact that the bottom of the pond could be seen from almost anywhere a person chose to stand on the shore.
“Bother,” Tom complained, shaking his head as though he was trying to concentrate, when in reality he was just preparing himself to start thinking once again about the things that young boys think about. He did not think for a moment that Dollie would come over and play now. He would have called her up on the phone if he could have, but you see, telephones weren’t invented yet in his world. So he had to just sit there and wonder what might happen, and Tom was almost certain that something would happen, because it was, very much so, that sort of eventful day in Tom’s mind.
Another sudden loud noise frightened Tom and caused him to jump.
“Oh shucks!” Tom groaned, as he realized what the noise was. “It’s just thunder! If it rains it will certainly spoil all of my fun, and Dollie’s mother will have to keep her home and then we’ll have no fun at all!”
Although what Tom could see of the sky was a beautiful blue, he knew that the rest of the sky that he couldn’t see, must have been gray and gloomy.
Tom reached forward and untied the three latches on his window and pulled it out of its hole. (Windows where Tom lived didn’t open and close like the windows we have today.) Instantly a strong gust of wind surged into the room and began tossing things about. The blankets on his bed were unfolded in the wind; and a few papers were swirled about the room, seemingly creating a miniature tornado.
Tom ignored the mess it was making in his room and stuck his head out of the little hole as far as he possibly could, to try to look at more of the sky. There most certainly were dark gray clouds, and also some that were almost black.
“Aw shucks!” Tom shouted as quietly as a shout could be, as he pulled his head back inside and proceeded to put the little window back in its place with
much difficulty. It isn’t easy putting a window in when it is quite windy outside and it makes a trying time for a young boy. Just as Tom got the window back into its place and secured the third and final latch, he heard another loud crash. This time he was certain it was in his room, and it was not the thunder.
Once again he slid off his little dresser and quickly wheeled around to see what had happened. He was quite prepared to see something that had fallen off the shelf in the wind and had been broken or shattered. He wasn’t looking forward to things being broken, however, because he was afraid that he would be sorely scolded by his mother or father when they found out. What Tom saw though was completely unexpected.
Nothing had fallen to the floor; in fact even the papers that had blown around earlier were all back where they had been before he had opened the window. His bed covers were also folded nicely again, as they had been before the wind struck them. Everything was exactly how it had been before he had opened the window, even the bowl of chili.
Now, you might think that this frightened Tom quite a lot, seeing everything back the way it had been before, but if you thought that you would be mistaken. Remember that Tom had been thinking of weird things for almost an hour — which is quite long indeed for a young boy — and he was expecting something weird. Instead of being frightened, Tom was excited. He thought it was neat.
“Glorious!” Tom shouted, clasping his hands together. Then he did something that one might consider foolish after seeing such strange things. He turned his back to his room and shut his eyes, then waited. After ten seconds — Tom counted them out as evenly as possible — he quickly turned around to see if anything else had changed. Tom was somewhat disappointed to see that his room was exactly how he had left it before he had shut his eyes, but he wasn’t about to give up. So he carefully walked over to the bowl of chili and moved it onto the post which made up a part to the head of his bed.
After Tom had perfectly balanced the bowl on the small post, so it wouldn’t fall, he turned his back, shut his eyes and began to count again.
When the ten-second time limit was up, Tom found the bowl of chili still balancing on the bedpost.
“Rats and mold!” Tom huffed, obviously dissatisfied. He then waddled his way back near his window — Tom wasn’t a fat boy, but he waddled nevertheless because of disappointment — where he could try to think of some new ways to test the strange events of the day, and that’s when it happened.
Sitting on the little windowsill was a rolled up paper that seemed almost too ancient to handle. It was a dingy brown color and although it was quite thick and had the texture of a cloth of some sort, it seemed as though it would fall apart with the slightest touch.
Once again Tom clasped his hands together and walked slowly towards the rolled up paper.
As he drew nearer, he noticed that there was something written on it, for he could see ink that had leaked through the thick fabric-like paper. In the center of the paper roll, right where the paper line was, Tom could see a large blob of what seemed to be a seal of purple wax and there was an image of a little ship on a stormy sea placed deep into the wax. The wax was melted onto the paper and kept the paper from unrolling.
“Glorious,” Tom whispered, or at least he meant to whisper, but his voice was tight and it didn’t make any sound at all. His hands trembled slightly as he reached forward and attempted to pick up the piece of paper. He was quite surprised to find that the ancient thing did not crumble to pieces in his hands, as a matter of fact, it held together quite well.
After Tom had split the wax and removed the seal — very carefully of course, so it wouldn’t tear the paper — he opened the paper and laid it out flat on his dresser top. The edges were very stubborn and did their best to roll back up again. Tom decided that this made reading the strange parchment somewhat difficult so he placed a book on two opposite corners of the paper. Doing this kept the paper open enough that he could read it.
He was very interested indeed in the strange handwriting in which the note was written. It seemed to flow, almost majestically, as if the words were alive and speaking to him. Whoever wrote the note must have practiced very hard to get handwriting that could be so intricate and beautiful while still maintaining a form that was very easy to read.
The thing that surprised Tom most about the note was that there was one word that was not somewhat faded like the rest. This one word seemed to have been written in modern day ink and, although it was written with the same flowing handwriting, it seemed to have been written very recently. This one word was Tom’s own name, and the paper read as follows:

This parchment is addressed to you, Tom, and has been written as a method of transportation.
A solemn vow of silence you must now undertake
To hold to laws and promises that come beyond the way,
To hold within the mind-set of a single glorious hope
And keep alive the silence of ten seconds in your hold.
Time passes very quickly and silence it must be
If you are to obtain this travel victory.
You need not count nor hold in wait nor wander to any given place;
Just keep silent, say not a word, let patience take you away.

Of course, Tom did not understand this strange riddle-like message. He moved his face in closer to examine further the contents of the paper, thinking that perhaps there was some little clue or something written in little tiny letters, or maybe he was supposed to hold it up to the moonlight to see what was else written there.
The wind outside could still be heard blowing and the little pond was still glistening with the sunlight; but Tom was so fascinated by the paper that he gave them no thought.
Tom wondered if perhaps it was a map to a secret treasure. He was even more curious as to how it had gotten there. He was positive he had seen no one in his room, and since it was such a small room, there really was nowhere that one could hide.
Several silly thoughts and other such things passed through Tom’s mind, but it would take so very long for me to tell you about them all, and it really all happened in a matter of only a few seconds, so it is probably best if I leave Tom’s thoughts to himself.
But, as he was standing there thinking, he suddenly realized that his mind thought the word “ten.” Tom hadn’t realized it, but in the back of his mind he had been counting to ten. Maybe he was still trying his little trick to try to make things change, or maybe he just suddenly started counting without any good reason at all, but he somehow knew that he had begun counting the moment he had finished reading the paper and had just now reached ten.
The moment Tom had said “ten” to himself in his mind, the room suddenly shook a small bit, or so Tom thought it must have, because the bowl of chili fell off of the bedpost and spilled all over the hard wooden floor. The bowl broke into pieces, but strangely the shattering sound was much too loud. It seemed to echo so far that Tom thought even Dollie could have heard it at her house several walking minutes away. At that same moment he realized the word “ten” was still echoing in his mind and repeating itself in constant vibrations, each one becoming louder and more bass-filled than the first.
The echoing sounds grew so extremely loud and strong, that Tom was sure if anyone was to put an ear up to his, he or she could hear the word vibrating in his mind.
As a matter of fact, all the sounds were beginning to vibrate. Pieces from the shattered bowl and sloshing chili on the floor, combined with the sound of the wind outside, began vibrating together in deep pulses that seemed to shake the room. After a mere three seconds, the noises had become so loud that Tom brought his hands up to cover his ears in an attempt to drown them out. He was disappointed, however, to find that when he did this, the word “ten” was beating so fiercely upon his mind that it was almost worse to have his ears covered than uncovered. Then in an instant it all stopped. It stopped so quickly that Tom fell to the floor. He had been trying to keep out all the noise and when it suddenly stopped, he lost balance and fell down.
Tom quickly got to his feet again and looked around, half expecting to see his mother standing at the doorway ready to chastise him sorely for his breaking the bowl and being so noisy.
Another thing that made him rise so quickly was that he was afraid that someone might have seen him fall and he certainly did not want to be laughed at. As Tom rose to his feet he looked around his room and found that, other than the chili mess, there was nothing ruined.
“By thunder!” Tom shouted. He wasn’t sure why he had felt so much like shouting, but for some reason he had. It hadn’t been an angry shout as one might expect, but a shout of surprise.
He quickly stumbled over to the window — I say stumbled because he was still somewhat dizzy from the beating of the word “ten” on his mind — and peered out. Everything outside was just the same as he had always remembered . . . or was it?
You see, everything was different, but Tom felt as though he knew this place. Everything seemed to fit in right where it was. But somewhere in the back of Tom’s mind he knew that this wasn’t the same place he was raised in. The room was still the same, but outside was entirely different.
If Tom hadn’t been so excited and been trying so hard to concentrate on his surroundings — in an effort to make it feel as though this really was the world he had always known — he would have noticed his friend Dollie slowly disappearing at the doorstep down below him as she raised her fist to knock upon the door. And he would have thought that it wasn’t really her disappearing, but rather, it was himself as he slowly left the world he had once been in and entered a new realm; one which he thought he knew, but at the same time it was entirely new and unusual to him.

After being with them a bit, I am thinking I would like to join their guild. They require that someone attend at least 3 times before they can be a member… cool. Great! I’m okay with that. The only problem is that the only days they have said meetings are on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month, and schedules will not allow me to ever make it on the 2nd Tuesday, which means it’ll take me 3 months to become a member.

Oh well. There’s a bit of exciting news for me though! Hopefully I’ll still get to know some of the guild members well, despite only meeting once a month.

The long lag in any posts popping up on here has been due to a temporary cancellation. Life is demanding, and the publishing company I was going to use is currently not an option. I can wait until opportunities are a bit more stable though, it’s not a problem.

You can read an Etnan preview here.

You can read other previews here.

Some of the other previews include books from the Shadow Lantern series, Vampire Shugosha, and more. Let me know your comments on what you read! Did you like it? Which was your favorite? Which writing style seems to fit the best?

Thanks!
Micah