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Join the Adventure
Category:
Fantasy
Publisher: Sacred Life Publishers
ISBN-10: 153366837X
Type: Fiction
Pages: 332
Copyright: Jun 20, 2016
ISBN-13: 9781533668370
Price: $3.99 (eBook)
Join Jerry Winslow as he ventures into the multiverse to save his family and stop the Emperor of the Universe from universal domination and destruction. A tale of love and faith that spans the cosmos.
Jerry Winslow is about to realize his entire life has been a lie. He never was a regular family man, living an ordinary existence in San Diego. His life was a deception crafted by his parents to keep him alive. But now, the Emperor of the Universe has discovered their hiding place and they must run for their lives.
The emperor and his evil master are trying to achieve total dominion over the forty-five realms of the universe. First, they must kill the last Knights of Winterpast, including Jerry Winslow, his father and son. Once they are dead, nothing will stop evil from enslaving all life.
Whistlestop is a tale of friendship, family and faith, set in an eleven dimension universe where fantastical beings and magical powers are commonplace. While dark and foreboding at times, it is ultimately a story about a family's love for each other and their friends; and just perhaps saving the universe.
Excerpt
Jerry was fast asleep, but was not having a restful night. He was dreaming about a wall of fire surrounding his house. At first, he noticed the smell of burning wood, but there was something more acrid in the smell that reminded him of the scent he had picked up from Brad Lincoln during their confrontation at the ballpark. He climbed out of bed and could see the flames and black smoke through the windows. All his neighbors’ houses were on fire. Fred Tompkins was pulling his wife through their front door. She lay motionless as Fred tried to revive her. As Jerry watched, a cat, the size of a large dog, pounced on his neighbor’s back and began to bite and rip at his flesh. Fred fought desperately to get the cat off his back. The two rolled around on the grass as the veil of smoke began to obscure them. Then the cat lunged at his neck, sinking its fangs into his throat. Fred let one final gurgling scream and then fell silent and motionless. Jerry’s feet felt frozen to the floor in panic. He had just witnessed a murder and could see all the houses burning to the ground. He wondered how many burned corpses would be found inside those houses. As he stared at the cat, it turned its head and began to stare back at him, its face wet with blood. The cat crouched down and launched itself into the air, flying right toward him. Jerry tried to back away but could not move his feet. The cat crashed through the window, sending shards of glass everywhere.
Jerry sat upright in bed, panting for air and covered in sweat. The room was quiet, the window unbroken, and Lynn was sleeping soundly. He hurried over to the window and saw that everything looked totally normal. He sighed heavily and reprimanded himself for the stupid dream. How could household cats get that big, he asked himself. His heart was pounding and his thoughts were still filled with the nightmare, so he went to check on his family. As soon as he stepped out of the bedroom, his panic returned. Somehow, there was a reddish glow coming from under little Jeremy’s door. The doorknob glowed brightly. He hurried over and put his hand an inch away from the knob. He could feel the heat radiating from the knob and the breath of hot air coming under the door on his bare feet. He pulled off his pajama top and wrapped it around his hand several times as an insulator. He held his breath for a second and grabbed and turned the knob, pushing the door open. The blast of heat from inside the room almost caused him to faint. He pulled off the top from his hand and noticed it was singed. He looked around the room. Jeremy was still sleeping, but had kicked off all the covers. Then he saw them. Ten large cats were sitting around Jeremy’s bed, watching him. They all turned their heads to look at Jerry. The three closest cats stood and began to snarl and hiss at him. Jerry tried to maneuver around the animals to get closer to his son, but the cats moved as one, until they had cornered him. “This has got to be another nightmare,” he said out loud.
“You are such a fool, Knight of Winterpast,” the closest cat said in a human voice that sounded oddly like Brad Lincoln. “The sins of your grandfather have stained your heart, which we are happy to extract from you. Only your deaths can cleanse your souls and release Winterpast from its torment.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Jerry shouted. “And why am I talking to a goddamn cat!”
The cats all looked to their left toward a darkened corner of the room. A tiny white light appeared on the floor. It stretched into a white line about three feet long. The line then stretched up until it formed the photograph-like image of a man. That image then expanded forward until a man wearing a long red hooded robe was standing in the room. The cats had all turned to face the man and were prostrating themselves before him. He smiled and nodded at the cats, and one by one, they all jumped up on a dresser and out the open window, which then slammed shut after the last cat was gone. “Jeremy Davis Winslow II, Knight of Winterpast, I presume,” the man said in a deep, throaty voice.
“And just who the hell are you and why are you in my house?” Jerry exclaimed.
The man pulled his hood off, revealing his head and face. He seemed to be around forty years old, with a few light wrinkles and a bit of gray around the edges of his otherwise brown hair. His eyes were sky blue, almost a bit too light to be real. “Well, I’m more accustomed to deference from my subjects, but yours is a unique case. I am Karl August Galantine Armstrong, Emperor of the Universe.”
“Really, Emperor of the Universe,” Jerry chuckled. “How come I never heard of you before, if you rule everything?”
“Your stupidity is not my problem, young knight. There are those who will and probably have told you that I am an evil man, but I think it is important for a person to make their own decisions. What do you think?”
“If the cats are an indication, perhaps those others are right?”
“Security for someone in my position is critical. I understand your president has extensive security with and around him at all times, and he only represents a small portion of this one planet.”
“Please just tell me what you want, or get out of my house.”
“You must be more courteous if you expect to do well in life, Lord Jeremy.”
“I am no lord, your Majesty.”
The emperor smiled. “I appreciate your kind words, but as a Knight of Winterpast, you are indeed a lord of that realm.” He walked over and stood two feet from Jerry and extended his left arm. “I would like to show you some of the reality you have missed, Lord Jeremy. Please put your hand on my arm.”
“I don’t understand, and why should I trust you?”
“Lord Jeremy, if I had wished harm to you or your family, you would already be dead. You remember the vision I gave you a short while ago, with the fires and the slaughter of your neighbor? That could have been real, if I had wished. You see, you have forgotten the essential skill of folding, and so I wish to teach you and show you a few things, after which you will be returned to your bed safely. You have my word as Emperor of the Universe.”
Jerry was convinced this was nothing but another dream. He could either try to force himself awake, which had not worked so far, or could just go along and see what happens. He raised his right hand and set it on the emperor’s arm. He held his breath as he felt his body flatten down to two dimensions and then collapse into a line, then a dot and disappeared completely. “That was so cool,” little Jeremy said softly after witnessing the exit through half-opened eyes. He promptly fell back asleep.
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