Michael (The Curse) (The Airel Saga, Book 3: Part 5-6)

ACCLAIM FOR AARON PATTERSON

AIREL

“Move over,
Twilight!
Here comes Aaron Patterson!”

—
Joshua Graham, bestselling author of
Beyond Justice
and
Darkroom

“I was surprised by how much I really, really liked this book. I have not jumped on the whole ‘fallen angel’ bandwagon, just as I didn’t jump on all of the vampire stories that came out after Twilight. This is not your typical fallen angel story. It is one that has left me breathlessly waiting for the next one in the series. Hurry up, please!!!”

—
Sandra Stiles

“It takes rare talent for a man to write a novel from a male POV and have it published to great critical and commercial acclaim. But it takes a miracle for that same male, or in this case, males, to write a novel from the POV of a teenage girl and have it turn out as incredibly as did the new StoneHouse YA by Aaron Patterson and Chris White,
Airel
. From the first sentence, I felt compelled to dive into this young woman’s story, and just as importantly, I felt like I personally knew her, which means I laughed, stressed, and cried right along with her. A beautifully written and crafted fiction about teenage innocence, faith, loss, and love. A must read for teens and adults alike.”

—
Vincent Zandri, international bestselling author of
The Remains, The Innocent,
and
Concrete Pearl.

“An amazing story that will captivate audiences ranging from young adult to the young at heart!
Airel
crosses boundaries in a fascinating and unforgettable way to engage readers within a story that will not soon be forgotten!”

—
Amazon Reviewer

“I am happy to say that this novel is one of my favorites of its kind. I never thought I could read a novel like this and be so swept away. I am always willing to try new books, but I usually steer clear of this kind of novel. Not anymore. Not when I can be so engrossed into the character’s story, like I was with the beautiful Airel, that before I know, it’s over. I kept turning the pages, wanting, no, NEEDING, to know what was going to happen next.”

—
Molly Edwards
, Willow Spring, NC

“The word ‘enjoyed’ somehow doesn’t express, in a positive light, what this book,
The Airel Saga, Book 1,
gave me. I loved the book and can hardly wait for the sequel! Though the storyline is about Airel’s teenage experience, I, at 75, truly enjoyed the read and was able to identify with her. As it happened to Airel, I felt it was happening to me.”

—
Amazon Reviewer

ACCLAIM FOR CHRIS WHITE

THE MARSBURG DIARY

“Yikes. This is one well-written and very strange book which will pique your interest from beginning to end. The author does a masterful job of moving you between centuries as you read two different point-of -view stories about one very unusual book. The telling of the tale, as found in the father’s diary from the 1800s, is very well portrayed and the writer has you believing you are actually back in that time period. Stepping forward to today, you experience the son’s horror as he reads both his father’s diary and the unusual book, and discovers it is currently driving him into the same mindset it created in his father... near insanity. This is one roller coaster of a read and is sure to delight fans of the occult, supernatural occurrences, and mystery. A solid 4 1/2 star read.”

—
POIA, Top Amazon Reviewer

“A story that conjures mystery, suspense, and dark evils,
THE MARSBURG DIARY
is a page turner. White calls on the spirit of Steven King, Jules Verne, and Edgar Allen Poe to create a contemporary story that is as compelling as it is enduring. Marsburg learns of his father’s past through a diary, a past filled with horror and mystery. But history doesn’t stay in the past and visits Marsburg, sending him into his own thrilling adventures.
THE MARSBURG DIARY
is to
AIREL
what
Torchwood
is to
Doctor Who:
a grownup, stay-up-late, dark theme on a masterful series.”

—
Peter Leavell, Meridian, ID

“I really love Chris White’s writing. He’s extremely talented and he is quickly becoming a favorite of mine.”

—
Michelle Vasquez, Life in Review

K: [PHANTASMAGORIA]

“Chris White has the talent of long-ago writers interlaced with his own unique voice. Anything this man writes keeps me up. I literally have to schedule time to read his work because I know when I start I'll not eat, sleep, or bathe until I've finished it. K: [PHANTASMAGORIA] is nothing short of his signature work. In fact, this might be his best novel to date. K is a character that you can't even begin to summarize. His experiences are all too familiar on so many levels. His relationship with others and God is eerily too close to home for not only myself but so many I know. You simply have to read this book.”

—Bri Clark, Meridian, ID

Also by Aaron Patterson

Sweet Dreams (Book 1)

Dream On (Book 2)

In Your Dreams (Book 3)

Breaking Steele

Twisting Steele

Melting Steele

Airel (Book 1)

Airel (Book 2)

Michael (Book 3)

Michael (Book 4)

Uriel (Book 5)

Uriel (Book 6)

19 (Digital Short)

The Craigslist Killer (Digital Short)

Zombie High (Digital Short)

Elena’s Secret: A Vampire Diaries story

Also by Chris White

Airel (Book 1)

Airel (Book 2)

Michael (Book 3)

Michael (Book 4)

Uriel (Book 5)

Uriel (Book 6)

The Marsburg Diary (Book 1, an Airel Saga novella)

The Great Jammy Adventure of the Flying Cowboy (a children’s book)

K: [phantasmagoria] (Book 1)

Strongbox (a digital short)

Yes Dear (a digital short)

Amethyst (a digital short)

From the Book of the Brotherhood, Volume 3:

Introduction

Dear esteemed Host, you know by now, from previous volumes, what great struggles we endure for the Master, the Leader of our righteous rebellion. The Brothers have taken you into the fold of the horde. The Seer has bestowed upon you the Leader’s imprimatur. Ye stand now ready to do battle against the Sons and Daughters of El, cursed be the name. Be it now known the Four Great Principles of our Dominion under the sun:

The Dominion belongs to the Brothers. It was given to the Master Lucifer by the first created man at Eden. The Master has delegated to the Brothers various Principalities…

CHAPTER I

Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho—Present Day

ALL I COULD FEEL was speed. Everything was racing along under me and my body was like an arrow shot at the speed of sound, only there was no sound. I could feel the turn of the earth as if I was about to step off—or be pushed off.

Thoughts—I guess you could call them thoughts—were whizzing through me even faster. I was an observer of my own life, and everything came back in random flickers.

I saw Kim making a silly face. We were—where were we? At the mall? She looked younger. But we were shopping, all right. She must have dragged me along again.

I saw the valley. The big tree where I first read the Book of Kreios. My spot was still there.

I smelled apricots. I was in the kitchen, and I must have been young because I was looking up at my mom, my head at about countertop height, and she was canning. The sun was low and warm in the room, and everything glowed like gold. Apricots. She smiled at me.

I felt the stress knotting my center as I relived that moment in the movie theater restroom when I first saw Kreios. I thought I was going to die.

And then I did.

I saw Michael Alexander’s smile. We were at school. That was the Great Day of the Coffee Disaster, and I
so
wanted to be Mrs. Napkins.

My heart fluttered.

I could feel it. But it was broken. Pierced.

Echoes from outside, somewhere else.

“…sorry…”

“…sorry…”

“…sorry…”

The Alexander residence. I was carrying Kim, busting through the garage door like a kung fu master through paper. I tripped and tumbled. Kung fu beginner.

The face of evil was a sidewalk-chalk sketch and it came up at me off the driveway, and Kim was gone. It was black and it grew arms and reached for me, enfolded me, then became smoke and disappeared.

I smelled death.

Then I smelled Abercrombie Fierce.

Weird.

Again, the walls of my hurtling bullet-arrow rattled with the refrain:
“…sorry…”

I wanted to cry.

Why?

I was floating over the lake, looking at the cliff. That’s when I realized there was someone with me. But I couldn’t tell who.
Michael?
Then the cliff-top scene appeared and played out in front of me as I floated there.

Michael was crawling there. There was a trail of blood behind him.

The lake below boiled, the massive disturbance of an angel of El exploding out of it. Kreios hunched over my body there on the top of the cliff, and it struck me as odd—I had been husked. My dead shell remained and he was trying desperately to save it. I looked to my side, trying to see whoever was with me. I still couldn’t tell.

Michael was there on the dirt, sobbing uncontrollably, lying beside my body. Then Kreios brought the Bloodstone near to him.

What was he doing…?

Michael howled furiously.

And then everything changed.

Michael was carrying me and I was in his arms.

There was a streak in the sky and I knew Kreios was gone.

Then I was on my bed again. Not my bed at home, no. It was the bed I had slept in as a captive of my grandfather.
My grandfather.
And everything was cold. So cold.

Echoes:
stabbing pain, life death, fury, anger cold, water grave, AIREL,
a scratching noise like pen on paper and,
“…sorry… sorry… sorry…”

Ice fire. That’s what it was. My heart was consumed with burning cold, and I could feel it. I hovered over myself; something was hovering over me.

Then my ears popped.

And I could hear it: “Airel, I’m so sorry… please forgive me. I love you.”

***

CHOICES.

Choices that we make lead us to make other choices, and those choices can sometimes bust us in half and dump us in a blind alley with no way out.