The Hero's Chamber
Page 28
To be continued…
Beyond The Hero’s Chamber
Stalemate
In the fleeting moment linking the Defender with the Hero, Jacob came to know his son. It was miraculous to embrace the essence of the boy he always loved, but heartbreaking to feel the abandonment, shame, and anguish caused by so many years apart.
He reached out to soothe Connor’s anger and bitterness, but the emotions recoiled, tightening into a knot of greed and pride. The dark, swirling mass overshadowed the boy Jacob once knew, and it began growing, making him feel small and unwelcome. Though the joining was brief, Jacob was not the only one learning.
At precisely the same time, Connor curiously probed the essence of the man defending him from far below. In a bewildering blur, the knowledge and skills of a Blacksmith and those of a Cooper transferred without words from father to son.
Connor watched Jacob Miller transform into Jacob Duncan, and he was electrified with emotions that spawned an unbelievable pain. His breath caught in his throat, his back arched in agony and with each beat of his heart he stiffened. He was unable to move and unable to look away from the visions in his head.
Lightning coursed through Connor as it flashed in the Chamber, transforming his view of the world. He witnessed and experienced a lifetime of people and places from Jacob’s perspective.
When the thunder subsided, the two men pulled away from each other and time stopped. In their private, timeless void, ribbons of emotions became flesh and nowhere became the past.
Jacob stood at the bottom of the steps leading up to the orphanage while Connor looked down upon his father.
Connor glanced from side to side, almost turning completely around. He knew the tragedy this place had to offer, and it fanned the coals of hatred within him like the bellows to a forge.
“Do you remember this place?!” he demanded of Jacob.
Jacob nodded, knowing there was no right way to undo this wrong.
“I’m not sure how you could! You only spent enough time here to abandon me!”
“Connor I’m…”
“How could you lie to me this whole time?!”
Jacob began to answer, but Connor wasn’t interested in answers.
“Why did you leave me here all alone?!” he screamed.
Anger, loathing and bitterness rose like the welts of a switch across the fabric of Connor’s soul. He and Jacob separated and the orphanage dissolved.
Jacob watched helplessly while the Light ruthlessly harvested the strongest emotions from his son.
Connor writhed and screamed in pain as the very essence of his being was torn to pieces.
With the menacing goliath of evil towering over Jacob and bellowing with rage, he knew there was no escape. He had gambled and lost.
Minutes later, his life slipping away, Jacob wedged his hand between the glowing spire and his broken back.
“You cannot have my son!” he screamed at the towering creature.
As the massive fists came crashing down, Jacob whispered, “Stalemate.”
To be continued…
Thank you for reading my book.
If you enjoyed it, please do me the favor of leaving a review.
“Beyond The Hero’s Chamber”
will be available in July, 2016.
My Team of Heroes
The following brave souls rolled up their sleeves and cleared more than a few nights and weekends to edit, proof read and generally mark up what use to be a difficult to read collection of ideas and visualizations. Through this process, each of them has brought something to me that I did not or could not see at the time.
The difficult, frustrating, humbling and ultimately very rewarding journey from dream to written story would not have been possible without their help.
Thank you all, I am forever grateful to each of you.
Molly Spurgeon
Lynn Bryant
Elizabeth Meith
James Hoover
Finnigan
Sonya Joynes
Gwynn Newton
Amy Ramm
Suzie Bottjer
Jim Ramsey
Michelle Meith
Elana Memke
Dennis Stephenson
The Book Club
Duncan “The Book Guy”
Marcia Adams Ho
Special thanks to Mrs. Wilson’s 4th grade class, 2013-2014, Blakely Elementary.
About the Author
About the Author
Ian Newton lives with his amazing wife on the Kitsap peninsula in Washington. He is a pharmacist, photographer, stargazer, artist, inventor, avid outdoorsman and father to three sons. He is currently working on the second half of this story. The title of second book is “Beyond the Hero’s Chamber” and it will be available in the summer of 2016.
He’s also a dreamer, but he’s not the only one.
About the Illustrator
About the Illustrator
Tucked away in a nondescript Southern California home, Marcia Adams Ho illustrates a world full of color. She creates art with detail that both draws the eye in and gives the author’s story a magical reality while keeping the reader’s imagination alive.
Marcia graduated with a BFA from Art Center College of Design and began her career as a background artist in animation. She currently freelances as an illustrator and produces fine art paintings in her studio. More of Marcia’s work can be viewed at marciaadamsho.com.