Update on me Mather, by J.C. Kavanagh

 

Book 1 of the award-winning trilogy

https://bookswelove.net/kavanagh-j-c/

It's been a trying time for everyone involved in the 24/7 care of my elderly mother in her home. She's in stage 4 bone/lung cancer. Meds have increased almost weekly and yet the fighting Irish in her marches on. 

Mom's many brothers and sisters phone regularly. I've sadly discovered that caring for the terminally ill can bring small, Canadian families together... and sometimes not. Nonetheless, we carry on. Mom, after all, is the priority.

All prayers and positive thoughts are welcome! 

In the meantime, below is Chapter One of the final book in The Twisted Climb trilogy. The book, A Bright Darkness, is a "grand and epic final to an award-winning series." Enjoy!

J.C. 

A Bright Darkness, Chapter One 

Patty pressed her body against the cold cliff wall, her hands searching for outcroppings and ledges. The ghostly rays from the moon above illuminated the jagged footholds on the rock wall above her and she pulled herself higher, edging closer to the top. Within moments, her fingers were touching the smooth top surface of the rock cliff. She peered cautiously over the edge. 

There they were – her teenaged daughter, Jayden; the handsome dark-haired dark-haired fellow; the carrot-haired guy, and a young curly-haired child – just a stone’s throw away. The flat rocky surface at the top of the cliff only spanned a mere three or four metres across. Beyond that, a yawning, deep blackness dropped into a steam-filled volcano vent. 

Ah - and there – there was the boy she followed so relentlessly. “Dick” they called him. The boy with the thick red scar etched across the top of his sickly, bald head. Patty was going to get rid of Dick once and for all. She lowered her head slowly, remaining out of their sight.

It was almost time.

She waited, panting with excitement, hands and feet braced, heart racing. 

Now. 

Patty raised her head and then gasped. The nerdy-looking, carrot-haired boy and the young child were gone. Had they jumped over the opposite side and into the volcano? Dick was standing at the opposite edge, his long, scarecrow-like arms dangling by his sides. At his feet lay the cable cutters he carried as his personal weapon. Maybe he pushed them into the abyss?

Her gaze shot over to Jayden and the handsome guy. Jayden was whispering and emphatically gesturing toward Dick. Before Patty could pull herself over the top, her daughter and the young man clasped hands. She watched in horror as they sprinted forward and picked up the scarred boy in an arm- tackle manoeuvre, just like the ‘red-rover’ game she used to play as a child. Before Dick could untangle himself from their grasp, they leapt off the cliff, taking Dick with them. 

Patty scrambled to the rock surface. All was quiet. White wisps of steam floated up from the hot volcano ahead. She was alone.

“Fools!”

Walking to where the kids had jumped, she picked up the long-handled cable cutters that Dick had dropped. Holding the tool up to the light of the full moon, she shook it angrily. A primal howl erupted from deep within her, the high pitch gaining intensity until she could hold it no more. As if on queue, a pack of wolves began a matching chorus of howls, echoing eerily across the valley.

Patty smiled – a cold, soul-less, unholy display. She manifested neither joy nor love nor sadness for the fate that had befallen her daughter, the scarred guy, and the handsome fellow. Instead, her green eyes were dark and malignant, reflecting a hatred that poured from within. She slapped the cutters across the palm of one hand and stepped toward the volcano’s edge. Steam and an orange glow came from below. She peered into the depths and the pupils of her green eyes reflected the hellish glow swirling beneath. 

“Fools!” she repeated.  “Dick was mine to destroy.”

* * * *

To purchase The Twisted Climb series, check out the links via BWL Publishing site: https://bookswelove.net/kavanagh-j-c/

J.C. Kavanagh, author of
The Twisted Climb - A Bright Darkness (Book 3)
and
The Twisted Climb - Darkness Descends (Book 2) voted BEST Young Adult Book 2018, Critters Readers Poll and Best YA Book FINALIST at The Word Guild, Canada
AND
The Twisted Climb,
voted BEST Young Adult Book 2016, P&E Readers Poll
Voted Best Local Author, Simcoe County, Ontario, 2021
Novels for teens, young adults and adults young at heart
Email: author.j.c.kavanagh@gmail.com
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