by W. M. Martin
SHADOW OF OKEAOUS
_______________________________
THE FALLEN TRILOGY
BOOK ONE
W.M. MARTIN
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Greetings, friends! Shadow of Okeaous was so much fun to write. It has been a labor of love based on a unique premise that my daughters came up with one evening during our nightly bedtime stories. There would have been no story to tell without the vivid imaginations of three very creative and special little girls.
After four consecutive nights of continuing the tale from memory, I had to put pen to paper to keep track of all of the characters and the fantastical new worlds borne of the collective minds of my children. They would take turns in offering wild ideas and coming up with the exciting powers and weapons of the Kindred. They also chose every totem for each of the Guardians and the Fallen in the story. It is because of Olivia, Violet and Joyanna Martin that we can all travel to a magical world away from our own and fantasize about the Clans and totems that would best represent who we are on the inside.
I never would have had the tenacity to stick to the story and seek publication had it not been for my greatest supporter and my best friend, Stephanie Martin, my wife. She kept me supplied with hot coffee and home-cooked meals every day to help keep my mind focused and my belly full. Stephanie was my springboard for story beats and my initial proofreader. She devoted countless hours to keeping me sane during my process which is messy and haphazard to put it mildly. Thank you, my love. You are perfection personified and you are my muse.
Thanks to my oldest daughter, Katelyn, for keeping my spirits high when I felt overwhelmed at the task that I’d set for myself. Humor is the best medicine and she’s the doctor on call at my house.
I also need to thank my Mom who has fostered my love of writing ever since I was a boy, and my Dad who has proven by example that devoting time and effort to a dream yields tangible results.
I want to extend my most sincere gratitude to my editors, Sarah Minnon and Russ Gordon. You are both brilliant and I would be remiss to not express my deep affections for you both. I love you and you are as precious to me as family. Sarah and Russ are two of the most genuine, selfless and caring people that I’ve ever had the very distinct privilege of knowing. Again, thank you!
I can’t forget to thank Gabriela @ BROSEDESIGNZ for her amazing cover art. I told her exactly what I needed for the novel and she nailed it.
Finally, and most importantly, I want to thank you. Thank you, so very much, for reading Shadow of Okeaous. Thank you for giving this novel a chance. I truly hope that you love it and are as excited to read book two in The Fallen Trilogy as I am about writing it for you. The next book in the series will be published just as soon as I can finish it, and I believe that you’ll enjoy it just as much as you will this one. I’m so excited for you to go on this extraordinary journey; I can hardly wait for you to read it!
W.M. Martin
April 23, 2018
This book is dedicated to my wife and our four amazing daughters.
You are my epic adventure.
Contents
Chapter 1 ...................................................1
Chapter 2..................................................33
Chapter 3..................................................57
Chapter 4..................................................67
Chapter 5..................................................82
Chapter 6 ...............................................101
Chapter 7................................................120
Chapter 8................................................133
Chapter 9 ...............................................148
Chapter 10..............................................173
Chapter 11...............................................191
Chapter 12 .............................................216
Chapter 13 .............................................238
Chapter 14 .............................................246
Chapter 15..............................................274
Chapter 16 .............................................279
Chapter 17..............................................293
Chapter 18..............................................315
Chapter 19 .............................................338
Chapter 20 .............................................344
Epilogue .................................................382
CHAPTER ONE
As the rain pounded the tin roof of the local diner, Decker’s Double-Decker, it seemed to lull its patrons into an almost monotonous cadence of banal conversation interspersed with the occasional bite of the signature dishes on each table. It was the fifth day of August and what should have been a sweltering day in Thieves, had instead been replaced by a heavy rainstorm which turned the otherwise charming little town into a sweaty, sticky bog. Outside, Maggie Bennett was celebrating her sixteenth birthday in the sultry storm by watching the heavy downpour all alone. Under the awning, in the rear of the diner, Maggie moved her straight, light-brown hair, which had the slightest hints of blonde and was soaking wet from the deluge, out of her face with her free hand. She then heaved and tossed a bag of refuse into the dumpster, which was a few feet away, with her other hand. The foul odor of wet trash permeated the alley and clung heavily to the bricks of the opposite building.
Maggie leaned over an aluminum rail that was on the back steps of Decker’s and sighed to herself, “Happy birthday, Mags.”
Even though she was drenched to the bone, all things considered, it was a far better birthday than her previous one. Her mother and father, Wallace and Mary Bennett, had gone missing a year ago to the day. They had gotten up that morning and had written a letter to Maggie for her birthday. The note detailed Wallace and Mary’s pride and affections for their only precious child who had been told all of her life that she was a rare miracle, whatever that meant. Maggie remembered thinking to herself, at the time, how ridiculous the letter was, but now, it was her most prized possession. She had very little in the way of personal property, but of the scant few items which belonged to her, the birthday letter from her parents was Maggie’s single, greatest treasure. It stayed folded up inside of her pillowcase, always.
Maggie had waited all of that fateful day and well into the next morning for her mother and father to return home and explain themselves. At first Maggie was furious that she had been left all alone on her special day. However, after countless attempts at trying to contact her parents, Maggie’s anger gave way to fear and worry as her parents were habitually in their bed by no later than eleven o’clock every single evening. By sunrise, Maggie had called the local authorities and reported her parents as missing. One thing had led to another and eventually Maggie was collected by the system, and she had been ordered to be placed in foster care. As she was being taken to visit the home where she would have been staying for the foreseeable future, Maggie had bailed out of the backseat of the car when the social worker who was driving it had stopped at an intersection. Maggie ran as fast as she could in order to escape the authorities, her potential foster parents and her life as she had known it.
Although she was absolutely lost and aimless at the time, she felt an inexorable pull to travel in the direction that would fly her to her incredible and unimaginable destiny. Due to her life’s sudden evanescence, Maggie trekked across the country for a few weeks before ending up in a small town called Thieves. As far as Maggie could tell, Thieves must have been somewhere in what she believed to be West Virginia. She had known the owner of the local diner, Nancy
Decker, for a few months now.
They had met when Nancy had caught Maggie trying to bail on her meal tab and had threatened to call the Praetorians, whom Maggie took to be the local police, if it was not paid in full. Maggie had cried and went into florid detail of her ordeal and of her parents’ disappearance. She had explained how she had run away when she was being taken to a foster home and how she had no relatives to take her in and that she was an only child. Maggie had explained how she had been sleeping in the park and rummaging through the garbage for half-eaten meals just to survive. She had told Nancy that the very thought of being in the foster system made her nauseous and after all, at the ripe old age of fifteen, she was practically grown by her own flawed estimation. Maggie had more or less taken care of herself thus far and was unwilling to be placed in the foster system.
Nancy had listened to the young urchin’s tale unfold with great interest. However, it had not been until the moment when she had heard the names of Wallace and Mary Bennett that her attention toward what Maggie was claiming was rapt.
After Nancy had heard the story to which the circumstances and ramifications were laid bare she softened and offered to call the Praetorians, now to help Maggie and not punish her. Maggie still had no idea what a Praetorian was, but regardless, she declined the offer outright and instead insisted that Nancy allow her to clean the dishes and help in any way that she could in the kitchen of the diner in order to make amends and earn her meal. She promised to return the next morning to continue working off her debt. Maggie kept her word and showed up the next day to clean the diner’s dirty dishes, much to Nancy’s surprise.
Nancy was impressed and having pity on the stray, she offered Maggie meals in exchange for the work. This arrangement went on for a few days like clockwork; Maggie would show up just as the diner was opening each morning, eat her breakfast of two eggs over medium, two pieces of toast, hash browns extra crispy and one waffle smothered in butter and syrup. Then she would walk straight to the diner’s kitchen and begin her remuneration by cleaning the soiled cookware, then came lunch and eventually dinner.
Each meal was concluded by a trip to the kitchen to clean more dirty crockery all over again. After a week of trying to convince Maggie to stop sleeping in the park, Nancy asked Maggie to stay with her at her house because she had a nice upper room all made up and cozy. Maggie, not fully trusting her benevolent hostess yet, had cautiously declined. Nancy finally offered Maggie a place to stay in the back of Decker’s Diner so that she would at least be out of the weather. After much hesitation, Maggie reluctantly agreed to stay at the diner for a short time on the condition that no authorities ever be called to collect her. Nancy happily agreed to the terms and Maggie was given the back room at the diner as a sort of makeshift apartment. So on it went that Maggie became somewhat of a fixture at Decker’s Double-Decker Diner.
Maggie was almost in a daze, still leaning over the aluminum railing and watching the rain blast down in front of her eyes. She let out another long blase’ sigh when out on the sidewalk across the street, Maggie could have sworn that she saw Ms. Forsythe, the local librarian who must have been well into her eighties, riding sidesaddle on a very large hyena under a floating, glowing umbrella. Ms. Forsythe turned and saw Maggie staring at her. Maggie then rubbed her eyes vigorously and in disbelief. When she looked back out across the street again, the unnaturally huge hyena was gone and Ms. Forsythe was holding a plain old umbrella, not a glowing variant and she was waddling slowly in the heavy rain. In the distance, beyond Ms. Forsythe, the sound of a loud pop followed closely by a hissing crackle caught Maggie’s attention. The deluge almost seemed to part and a strange shimmer caught her eye. As she tried to squint and better see the strange occurrence, she was startled back to reality by a gruff, yet kind voice.
“Hey there, Maggie. Hello? Earth to Maggie. Come in, Maggie,” said the line cook, Edgar Newman, from behind her, “Nancy needs you in her office!”
As if having been shaken from a dream, Maggie turned to the husky voice belonging to a corpulent, middle-aged man with a five-o’clock shadow who had been calling her name.
“I'm coming. I was just taking out the trash,” Maggie responded.
She turned back to see if the shimmer was still there or if the hyena had returned but only saw the blanket of water falling from the dark clouds and Ms. Forsythe still puttering along beneath her umbrella, slowly down the street. It was no doubt, she thought to herself, a silly mirage brought on by the day’s sad reminder of her parents’ disappearance on her birthday and the daydreaming of a teenage girl.
Maggie made her way to the office where Nancy was pouring over old food tickets and what appeared to be strange, colorful receipts, all while tapping away at her calculator in a fashion that would impress a concert pianist.
“Hey, Edgar said that you wanted to see me?” asked Maggie.
“Yes,” replied Nancy with a welcoming smile, “I was thinking that we could go shopping in a little while. I wanted to pick up a few things and after all, you told me today was your birthday and frankly you could use some new clothes. Now, I know that you said that you don't want anything from me, but everyone likes a gift for their birthday. I turned fifty-nine this morning you know? Today is my birthday as well. I received a lovely dress from Edgar this morning.”
Maggie cocked one of her eyebrows at that last part and smiled rather mischievously. Nancy noticed this and murmured to herself to stifle her embarrassment.
Nancy sallied forth to get back on track and stated, “The point being is that I still like gifts. I'll tell you what, your birthday gift to me can be you allowing me to at least get you a new pair of shoes. What do you say?”
Maggie shifted slightly and looked around a little embarrassed. She had endeavored, with great success, to earn her keep at the diner and the independence which her hard work afforded her felt cheapened somehow by the acceptance of gifts in any form. Maggie was prideful to be sure, but not at the expense of her friend’s happiness. It was this fact, that Nancy derived a sense of pleasure and of self-worth through giving, which allowed Maggie to lower her defenses and accept Nancy’s kind offer.
“Okay, but not as a gift. As a sort of loan that you let me pay back. Deal?” asked Maggie.
“It's a deal!” lied Nancy.
“Oh yeah,” Maggie said just before walking back to the kitchen, “Happy birthday, Nancy.”
“Happy birthday, Maggie,” Nancy replied cheerily before returning to her calculator.
As the day slowly merged with time to bring about the evening, the diner’s patrons had dwindled to only two remaining customers; Melvin Harris, the local mechanic and Grady Simmons, the owner of the Thieves Community Bank. It was only seven o’clock but Nancy decided it was time to go. She walked up behind Maggie who was lost in thought and busy washing yet another sinkful of dishes.
”Come on,” she told Maggie. “Let’s get going. Edgar can lock up the diner tonight.”
“Okay, sounds good to me!” responded Maggie gratefully after having been woken from the revery brought on by the monotony of scouring the crockery.
They walked out of the rear of the diner where Maggie had been earlier in the day and turned left out of the alley toward the center of town. The storm had mercifully ceased and the air had the scent of fresh cut grass, rain and the occasional exhaust fumes from the small town’s few passing vehicles.
“Hey, Nancy, why are you so nice to me?” questioned Maggie.
“Well, to be honest,” replied Nancy. “You are a good kid and a hard worker. That seems to be in short supply these days. I just see how dedicated you are to keeping your word and that deserves to be recognized.”
Maggie stopped and looked earnestly at Nancy and rejoindered, “So it’s not because you feel sorry for me? I don’t want any kind of pity.”
Nancy tensed, slightly taken aback by the sharpness of the question, but calmly responded, “No, Maggie. There is no pity, only a twinge of pride at the strength and forti
tude that you’ve shown in the face of true loss. There’s also the tenacity in which you hold to your convictions, for better or for worse. You are an inspiring young lady.”
“I can live with that,” smiled Maggie.
The duo made their way down the street, and Maggie suggested that they walk straight across the center of the park.
“Let’s go through here, Nancy. It’ll save us some time. It’s a shortcut,” stated Maggie as though she were the one from Thieves and not Nancy.
Proceeding forward, Nancy asked, “So, I know that you’ve told me how you ended up here in Thieves, but what made you decide to stay?”
“Wow. That came out of nowhere,” replied Maggie with a hint of mild surprise before continuing. “I really don’t know. I just felt like I was supposed to be here. I can’t explain it, but it just felt like I was heading toward some kind of an answer. The crazy thing is that I don’t even know the question. That probably sounds stupid.”
Nancy looked at her young walking companion and offered, “No, not stupid. Perhaps you’ll figure out the question sooner rather than later.”
“If you say so,” answered Maggie with a bit of a sigh.
They walked through the still damp grass from the day’s earlier futile attempt to flood the town and as they approached the center of the park a strange flicker of light caught Maggie’s attention. She immediately stopped and pointed to its location, about one-hundred yards to their right.
Maggie gasped, ”Nancy! Did you see that?”
“See what?” asked Nancy.
“There was some kind of really strange light out there. It flashed, shook, and disappeared!” exclaimed Maggie. “Look! It’s doing it again! What is that?” Maggie screeched.
“I can’t see anything! Stop being silly, and let’s get going. My feet are drenched because of this ‘shortcut’ of yours,” complained Nancy.
