by Ike Hamill
“And did you?” Jacob asked.
Logan pulled the door shut behind them. He put his arm around Madelyn as they walked. She was trapped between Logan and her nephew, but it was a good kind of trap.
“No,” Madelyn said. “Turns out nothing out there makes any sense.”
Jacob laughed. He took her down a short hall to a door on the right. He knocked twice and then opened it up. Madelyn recognized an older version of Amelia at the front of the room.
“Can we interrupt?” Jacob asked. Amelia gave them a nod. As he swung the door fully open, Madelyn scanned the group. There were so many children. She couldn’t remember when she had seen that many small people in the same place.
“Noah,” Jacob said, waving. A girl—young woman, really—in the back row stood up and and came to them. She had her eyebrows raised in an unasked question. “This is your great-aunt Madelyn.”
The young woman raised her hand automatically and then took it back before Madelyn could shake it. She looked at Jacob. “Really?” she asked.
“Aunt Mac, this is my daughter, Noah.”
Madelyn took Noah’s hand in both of hers. She smiled at the young woman and tried to blink back her tears before they could fall.
“You have your grandfather’s name,” she said to Noah.
Noah nodded and looked back and forth between Madelyn and Jacob.
“You’re really Madelyn?” Noah asked. Her eyes belonged to Harper, but Madelyn saw her brother’s delicate nose.
Madelyn nodded.
“We learned about you in school. I thought… I thought they made you up.”
Madelyn looked down at the floor.
People in the classroom were getting up to come to the doorway and find out what was going on.
Jacob was looking down the long hallway. “Harper!” he called. “Look!”
Madelyn turned and saw her. She had one child on her hip and an older toddler by the hand. Both boys had their father’s eyes.
When Harper recognized Madelyn, she came fast.
Madelyn found herself surrounded by old friends and new family.
# # # # #
Ike Hamill
March, 2016
Topsham, Maine
ABOUT MADELYN’S LAST DANCE
Madelyn’s journey took a big chunk of time—more time than I usually spend with one set of characters. I hope you enjoyed the journey as much as I did. I had to stop myself at the end of this book. I had a lot more to say, but I didn’t want to leave a bunch of cliffhangers in the final book of a trilogy. If I get to return to Madelyn’s world, we’ll have to pick up everything then.
Because I wrote these books back to back, I didn’t spend time rehashing details from the previous books. I hope that wasn’t a problem for you. Someone made the comment to me that Madelyn’s Mistake was a little confusing because they didn’t remember everything from Madelyn’s Nephew. If that was the case for you, I’m sorry. It takes a very clever hand to summarize a previous book without bogging down the beginning of the next one. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be clever enough to make it work.
A significant portion of these books was written while I was hiding myself from the world. I resolved to spend an entire season without leaving my property. As a result, I only interacted with a handful of people. It’s doubtless that Madelyn’s viewpoints were colored by that experiment. But I still never felt like I really understood her. Even knowing about her past didn’t give me that much insight into what she would do in any given situation. To some extent, I was a spectator in these books.
If you have any questions, complaints, or compliments, please send them to me. You can find me on Facebook (http:// www.facebook.com/ikehamill), Twitter (@ikehamill), or eMail ([email protected]). I’d really appreciate a review on Amazon. Sign up for the mailing list at the bottom of my website (http://www.ikehamill.com) and I’ll give you a chance to download a free copy of my next book before it’s announced to the public. Read on for descriptions of my other books.
Thanks for choosing this book,
Ike
The Claiming
It wasn't her fault.
It wasn't Lizzy's fault that she saw the cloaked people out in the yard. It wasn't her fault that she was drawn by the moonlight to watch them as they advanced on the house. And it definitely wasn't her fault when people began to die. Lizzy didn't want the strange dreams where she saw how they were killed. Even her sister was starting to suspect her.
It wasn't fair because it wasn't her fault.
Lizzy was claimed.
Inhabited
They were looking for an adventure—a night of harmless fun. Miguel has a map. Kristin’s friend has the equipment. The mine leads to the cave, and the cave is where they’ll find their fortune.
But down in the darkness, something waits.
It needs them.
The caves hold a secret. They’re Inhabited.
Extinct
Channel Two predicted a blanket of snow for Thanksgiving weekend—unusual, but not alarming for the little Maine island. What comes is a blinding blizzard, and a mass disappearance of nearly every person Robby Pierce knows. He and his family flee, trying to escape the snow and the invisible forces stealing people right from the street.
Miles away, Brad Jenkins battles the same storm. Alone, he attempts to survive as snow envelops his house. When the storm breaks, Brad makes his way south to where the snow ends and the world lies empty. Join Brad, Robby, and the other survivors as they fight to find the truth about the apocalypse and discover how to live in their new world.
Post Grace
Grace Anne Orlov died peacefully in her home on Thursday, the 7th. Her husband, John, survives her in body if not in spirit. John studied killers and death, but failed to learn how to live alone after more than forty years of marriage.
Along with two daughters, a son, two grandchildren, and a stray bastard, John has a lot to figure out.
What he doesn’t know might kill him.
Kill Cycle
The town I grew up in is dying, and I know who’s killing it. At least I think I do. But he’s a master manipulator and nobody will believe me. It’s up to me to prove that he’s the serial killer who has been stalking the streets. I have to stop him before he targets me, or worse, my family.
Migrators
Do not speak of them. Your words leave a scent. They will come. Somewhere in the middle of Maine, one of the world's darkest secrets has been called to the surface. Alan and Liz just wanted a better life for themselves and their son. They decided to move to the country to rescue the home of Liz's grandfather, so it would stay in the family. Now, they find themselves directly in the path of a dangerous ritual. No one can help them. Nothing can stop the danger they face. To save themselves and their home, they have to learn the secrets of the MIGRATORS.
Accidental Evil
Kingston Lakes is a quiet town. During long summer days, the residents barely have a care. They almost never have to worry about the rise of a bloodthirsty demon who wants to feast on their flesh and enslave their immortal souls.
Almost never.
The Hunting Tree
For thousands of years a supernatural killer has slept in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. An amateur ghost hunter has just woken him up. Now that he stalks the night once more, he's traveling east. Although the monster's actions are pure evil, he may be the only thing that can save humanity from extinction.
Transcription
Thomas has found the biggest story of his career, and he can’t believe his luck. He’s sitting in the prison cell that at one time housed each of The Big Four, the state’s most notorious murderers. There’s only one problem: he’s beginning to understand what drove them to commit their crimes. He’s beginning to feel their madness.
Years later, his son suffers a curse. Every night, he’s compelled to transcribe his father’s stories. If he misses a single night, he’ll do something terrible. It has happened before. James has g
iven up everything to his curse, and it controls every moment of his life. James can only imagine what will happen if one of the stories gets out. In the worst case, people will die.
And the worst case is coming.
Camp Sacrifice
Welcome to Camp Sacrifice.
You’ll find your cabin clean and comfortable, but please bring the following items to get the most out of your vacation this summer:
1 - personal story of bone-chilling fright
1 - mirror for summoning spirits
1 - sharp knife for things that stalk the night
1 - shovel to dispatch the undead
Oh, and be sure to cancel your autumn plans.
The Vivisectionist
The boys have the perfect summer planned. They’ll camp out in the back yard for their last vacation before high school. There’s only one problem—even though they're just a hundred feet from the safety of the house, they’re being hunted by a serial killer.
Join Jack, Ben, and Stephen as they strap on their backpacks and go out looking for adventure. The woods behind Jack’s house contain endless trails to explore, and the boys have weeks to investigate them all. Their neighborhood finally seems at peace again, now that the man who snatched the kid from down the street has been caught. But there’s still danger in those woods, and the boys are about to stumble into it...
Lies of the Prophet
Gregory was the first to rise from the grave. With no organs and no pulse he burst from his coffin demanding to know why he’d been buried. His subsequent book made him a billionaire and encouraged others to follow in his footsteps. Unfortunately, the decayed, mindless undead who rose after him were nothing like him.
Lynne, Carol, and Marta are on a collision course with the same goal: they must stop Gregory. Join these three women as they battle supernatural forces and discover their own paranormal powers. They each have their own reasons for fighting Gregory, but the fate of the world rests in their hands.
Skillful Death
Deep in an Old World forest, an unnamed village lies hidden. Decades pass as the village waits for its special son to return. The boy challenged the lion, bested the snake, and defeated the elephant. He possessed an unearthly skill. His return will bring back balance to the village.
High in the Tibetan mountains, a monk waits for death behind a stone wall. For this last journey, he prepared his body over the course of one-hundred days. Outside his little tomb, another man is learning the secret of immortality.
In Seattle, an old man learns a new skill and finds unimaginable fortune.
It’s my job to document these lives, keep my boss safe, and find that unnamed village. At one of these tasks, I will fail.
Punch List
Jeff doesn’t want to think about the future. He’s not even sure he can deal with the present. High school, friends who aren’t friendly, and his crumbling family are hard enough. It’s time for him to make a change. Maybe, with a little luck, he’ll survive the summer.
Wild Fyre
The perfect technology would anticipate our every need, solve our problems, and answer questions we hadn’t thought to ask.
The perfect technology would defend itself.
It would spread everywhere.
It would kill if it had to.
In this unique blend of Sci-Fi and Horror, Ike Hamill will bring you into the world of Fyre. The question is, will she let you live?
