Whistlestop (40 page)

“
And what do you think,
sweetheart?”

“
Dad, clearly everything
has changed!” she cried. “You, Jeremy and Grandpa are now Knights
of Winterpast. Uncle Arthur is the Foreboding of Asterpast again.
Karl may be emperor, but his power is gone. The Exile and the
Schism are over! The time for good to rule the forty-three realms
has arrived at last, thanks to all of us!”

“
Okay, I’ll grant you that
many things are different, but are they better?” Jerry asked. “We
had a nice house and everything was going okay. And worst of all,
you both aged seven years during the weeks we were apart. That’s
time your mother and I can never get back.”

“
That’s what I said!” the
younger Jeremy agreed. “And what about you, Lilian? You were a
nice-enough kid, but what are you now? Honestly, I have no idea
what happened to you.”

Lilian began to cry and dropped her
head in shame. Jerry put his arms around her and said, “Don’t cry
sweetie. It’s okay. We didn’t mean to pick on you.”

“
I’m sorry!” Jeremy
cried.

An old woman who looked a lot like
Lilian entered the kitchen and sat next to Jeremy, putting her hand
on his shoulder. “Please don’t be sad. This was my fault. Don’t
blame poor Lilian!”

“
I’m sorry, but who are
you?” Jerry asked.

She smiled and the years seemed to
melt away until she looked exactly like Lilian. Jerry and Jeremy
blinked repeatedly at the identical twins sitting across from them.
“I know it’s complicated.”

“
Dad, what’s happening
here?” Jeremy asked.

“
I. . . I’m not really
sure.”

The two Lilians spoke in unison, “The
universe is a much more magical and mysterious place than most
could ever imagine. We are Lilian Lynette Iron-heart, daughter of
Jeremy Davis Iron-heart II from the village of San Diego, Earth,
son of Jeremy Davis Iron-heart of Winslow, Winterpast. And yet we
are both the Eternal Spirit, from whom all souls are cleaved, and
mother of the King of Angels and King of Demons.”

“
How is any of that
possible?” Jerry asked. Instantly, he was sitting on a large rock
in the midst of a vast desert that stretched to the horizon in
every direction. The ancient version of Lilian was sitting next to
him. “Where are we now, Lilian?” As he watched her, she seemed to
change from the older version to the teenage version from moments
ago to the younger version he saw before he left Earth and back
again.

“
Outside of space and
time.”

He felt the sweat seeping through his
clothes and the heat of the sun on his back and replied, “This
seems pretty real to me.”

“
Daddy, I know this is
hard, but none of this is real, and yet it is all too
real.”

“
Lilian, please answer this
question. Am I your father, or are you the sum of all souls in the
universe?”

“
Yes.”

“
I don’t think you answered
my question, sweetheart.”

She jumped down from the stone and
extended her hand to him. “Let’s go for a walk, Daddy.”

Now he was standing next to his
teenage daughter, holding hands as she led him away. “Where are you
taking me, Lilian?”

“
We’re just walking, Dad.”
He looked at her and she was a young child as she had been before
he left Earth with the Emperor of the Universe.

He wrenched his hand from hers and
shouted, “What the hell is going on here? You’re not my child! What
kind of monster are you?” Now Lilian was a new baby, swaddled in a
diaper and blankets, lying on the hot sand and gravel at his feet.
He reached down and picked her up to protect her from the heat. The
baby began to cry and he held her close and tried to shush her
tears. Instantly, she was the teenage version again and he set her
down and backed away. “What do you want from me?” he
screamed.

The skies were suddenly cloudy and
rain began to pour down on them. Lightning stuck all around and the
rain soaked through their clothes. As the temperature plummeted,
she began to shiver. Jerry held her in his arms and kissed her
cheeks to calm her nerves. “Please tell me what to do.”

She wrapped her arms around her father
and said, “Daddy, it’s okay. Neither of us chose this, but it was
preordained for us both. You never knew you were a Knight of
Winterpast, and yet you are. I could not imagine myself to be the
mother of all creation and still your little girl, but that is who
I am. All I ever wanted was for you, Mommy and Jeremy to love me.
Now I know all the lives in the universe depend on me. In my soul I
know that has been true since the beginning of time, but I did not
remember any of that until this happened. Honestly, it’s too much.
I’m just a girl who needs her daddy to help and protect her. I know
everything has changed, but what do you think?”

“
Lilian, none of the titles
mean anything, except the role I honor most: the father to you and
Jeremy. I swear on my life to fight to protect you and your brother
at all cost.” He kissed her forehead. “Sweetheart, if you are the
Mother of Creation, then you don’t need my help, but whether you
need it or not is irrelevant. I love you and am always on your
side.”

###

Thanks so much for
reading
Whistlestop
. As an indie author, I sincerely hope you will review my book
on Amazon.com. Here is a link to that page. I really hope you
enjoyed it
and are wondering what other
stories I have. In fact, to help you decide, let me offer you a
reward:

First of all, if you join
the Adventurers Club, I will send you any one of my e-books free of
charge!
Click here to join!
After you
sign up, just send an e-mail to [email protected] and let me
know which book you want and the format (mobi, epub or PDF). I will
send the file by return e-mail. What a deal, right? I promise I
will not spam you and you’ll also be the first to hear about new
books and special deals. I want to connect with you and learn what
you like and dislike.

The bad news is that
Whistlestop
may be the
only book in this series. The good news is that I have three other
books due to come out soon. Their tentative titles are:
The Old House
,
2121: Twilight’s Last Gleaming
, and
2122: The Perilous
Fight
. As part of my club, you’ll see
samples and hear about them first.

Finally, whew, I bet you’re
glad to hear that, you are welcome to check out my
website
and connect with me
on
Facebook
and/or
Twitter
. That’s it! Thanks
again.

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Karl J. Morgan

Karl Morgan has a lifelong fascination with
stories in the science fiction and fantasy genres, whether it was
the Tom Swift novels by Victor Appleton he read as a young boy, or
television like Lost in Space and Star Trek, and especially films
like Star Wars, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. All of those
tales put the protagonist in terrible situations where the odds are
against them and, yet, somehow they prevail. The reader/viewer is
always left with a sense that something greater than ourselves is
watching over us.

The reliance on Divine
Providence, the power of friendship, and the desire to learn and
grow are cornerstones of the author’s Dave Brewster, Heartstone and
Modern Prophet series. That continues in
Whistlestop
, only through the lens of
high fantasy, with fantastical creatures and multiple
realities.

All of these are tales of reluctant heroes
who have been given powers they do not yet understand, and
challenges that would seem overwhelming. Still, the hand of Fate is
firmly on their shoulders and friends arise just when needed most
to prevent despicable evils.

Karl lives in the San Diego area with his
wife, Aida, and their beloved puppies. Their two grown children
have fled the nest and started their own adventures in life.

To read more about Karl and
his projects, please visit his website and blog:
www.karljmorgan.com

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/karlmorganauthor

Twitter: @karljmorgan.

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Other Books By Karl J.
Morgan

The Dave Brewster Series

Showdown Over Neptune (Book 1)

ISBN: 978-0-9860270-0-0

Second Predaxian War (Book 2)

ISBN: 978-0-9860270-1-7

The Hive (Book 3)

ISBN: 978-0-9860270-2-4

Tears of Gallia (Book 4)

ISBN: 978-0-9860270-4-8

The Accord (Book 5)

ISBN: 978-0-9860270-6-2

Heartstone

Heartstone: Sentinels of Far Sun (Book 1)

ISBN: 978-0-9860270-3-1

Heartstone: The Time Walker (Book 2)

ISBN: 978-0-9860270-5-5

Modern Prophet Series

Two Doors (Book 1)

ISBN: 978-0-9860270-7-9

The Reluctant Prophet: A Love Story (Book
2)

ISBN: 978-0-9860270-8-6

Hand of God (Book 3)

ISBN: 978-1-5088365-4-4

Demonic (Book 4)

ISBN: 978-1-5227745-8-7

Individual Books

Remembrances: Choose to Be Happy and Embrace
the Possibilities

ISBN: 978-0-9826461-9-9

The Old House

Available soon

New Unnamed
Series

2121: Twilight’s Last Gleaming (Book 1)

Available soon

2122: The Perilous Fight (Book 2)

Available soon

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