Title: Taking Angels
Author: CS Yelle
Publisher: Staccato Publishing
Genre: YA Fantasy
Book Description:
Britt Anderson went along with everything the doctors said for nearly four years, but she was still dying at eighteen. The cancer had won leaving her without a future, without any options, and without control. No control, except for how she would leave this world. As Britt tries to end her life by going into the frigid waters she realizes her mistake. She struggles to get back to shore, to cry out for help, but her atrophied muscles are useless and the frigid water steals the breath from her chemo-scarred lungs. Despite her father’s attempts to reach her, she flies over the waterfall.
When Allister Parks finds Britt’s fragile body on the riverbank something calls out to him. Ignoring the warnings of his sister, Allister brings Britt back from the edge of death. The only problem is that an Eternal like Allister isn’t allowed to touch those who have already passed from this world. It is forbidden; an infraction punishable by death.
As Britt relishes her new cancer-free life and senior year of high school, her very existence threatens Allister’s place in this world. Allister struggles to keep Britt a secret from the Eternal Council and out of the hands of the only Eternal who already knows the truth: the one who stole her guardian angel.
C.S. Yelle was born and raised in Grand Rapids, MN,
the “almost” middle child of six. He attended Grand Rapids Senior High
School where he enjoyed music and sports.
He received his BS in Chemistry from Mayville
State University,
Mayville, ND
in 1987. He taught 7-12 Science and coached for six years in several North Dakota schools and currently works as an Executive
Account Manager in the Water Treatment Industry where he has been for over
eighteen years. He is the father of four and grandfather of one. He
writes novels, screenplays, and an occasional short story. He has been
writing seriously for over 15 years and plans to continue until his fingers are
unable, maybe longer. He currently resides in a Minneapolis, MN
suburb with his wife Jennifer.
Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@csyelle
Blog/Web: http://p8.hostingprod.com/@csyelle.com/
Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Taking-Angels-CS-Yelle/dp/0983934150/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366030406&sr=8-1&keywords=Taking+Angels
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Taking-Angels-CS-Yelle/dp/0983934150/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366030406&sr=8-1&keywords=Taking+Angels
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/298603
Eighteen and dying. My reality sucked the big one and
I’d had enough.
The movement of the canoe hypnotized me while I lay in the
bottom of the aluminum craft, the waves creating a hollow pinging sound as we
cut across the lake. I kept my eyes closed against the bright sun baking my
face, the light breeze keeping me from feeling the burn.
Spending most of my time in hospitals under the dull
fluorescent lighting with its incessant hum had left my skin pale and white.
I’d rather be out here instead of taking chemo or radiation, anyone would. This
felt like heaven; a place I’d spent far too much time thinking about lately.
“Britt, you’re getting sunburned,” Mom scolded as she paused
in her paddling to stare back at me. “Put your chin down so your hat can block
the sun.”
“Let her be, Mary,” Dad sighed.
“She’s going to get burnt. It isn’t good for her skin, Jim.”
“What will it do besides make her uncomfortable?” Dad
argued.
He paused now and again to drag the paddle in the water,
steering us towards his goal across the lake. I didn’t remember which lake we
were on; only that it was part of the pristine Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Northern Minnesota.
I pulled the large-brimmed hat down over my eyes and went
back to listening to the rhythmic waves. I moved my bony butt on the metal
support of the canoe, trying to get comfortable. Without any padding, it wasn’t
5happening. Still, it beat the hospital beds and the sterile
linens.
Shifting again and looking to where we headed: tall pines
reaching for the blue sky, little white clouds floating overhead; I remembered
the place. It was a nice campsite with good fishing and a waterfall leading
into the next lake. The mosquitoes were murder on that trip six years ago. I
hoped they didn’t like the taste of my blood as much this time. Maybe the chemo
could stop something.
stiff?”
“Not much further, Britt,” Dad said. “Getting
“Yeah.” I nodded, shifting a little more.
My parents kept paddling, steady and strong. I closed my
eyes again, recalling how Mom and I used to take turns paddling up front. Now I
couldn’t lift a paddle, much less use one. Soon sand and rock crunched against
the bottom of the canoe bringing us to a sudden stop, jolting me hard against
the metal frame.
“Land ho,” I cried as loud as my chemo ruined lungs allowed.
I breathed like a severe asthmatic or someone who’d smoked all her life.
Mom began unpacking our supplies while Dad pulled the canoe
further onto shore and I went along for the ride. The smell of pine hit me and
the sound of the waterfalls reached my ears.
“I want to go in the water.” I forced a grin from under my
absurdly large brim.
Dad nodded as he lifted me in his arms and carried me to
shore. “You need to get your suit on and we have to set up camp first.”
“I have my suit on.” I showed him, pulling my shirt up with
a thin hand.
He chuckled. “We have to get things set up before it gets
too dark though, Britt.”
“Can I just sit in it up to my waist?” I pleaded, glancing
at the outlet and the water flowing over some nearby rocks.
He stopped and turned to Mom who stood with her arms
crossed, listening to our conversation. She opened her mouth to object but
looked at my face and her expression faltered. She gave a resigned nod.
“Yay.” I clapped as Dad set me down.
Mom helped take off my shorts and top leaving the baggy
one-piece to cover nothing anyone would want to see. Dad picked me up again,
walked down the bank, and began to set me in before I stopped him.
“Hey, I want to have some current flowing over me,” I
protested. “Closer.”
He glanced at me and then back to Mom. Sighing, he took
another dozen steps or so closer to the small waterfalls. A light rumble
reached my ears as the water struck rocks out of sight and felt the mist drift
over us. A bigger fall lay just beyond these.
The cold, fresh water made me shiver as he put me into a
spot between two large rocks, worn smooth from centuries of moving water. I
gasped and tensed until my body began to relax, acclimating to the temperature.
him.
He looked down, impatient, as I grinned up at
“What?” “Is that enough?” “No, I want to sit a while.”
“Britt, I need to set up camp.” “Who’s stopping you?” “I
can’t leave you alone.” His eyes were wide and
anxious. “I won’t be. You and Mom are only a few feet
away, I’ll be fine.” He stared at me, cocking an eyebrow and
crossing
his arms over his chest. “Go on, I’ll be fine,” I reassured
him. His eyes narrowed as he leaned his head to one
side and frowned. Without another word he walked back to
camp, looking over his shoulder every few steps, making sure I wasn’t going to
slip off somewhere.
The funny thing is...that’s exactly what I planned. The four
years of treatment, the endless hours in a hospital bed; I wouldn’t allow any
more. I would slide myself into the current and let the water take me away from
here, from this world filled with nothing but pain and suffering. The decision
didn’t come easy. My parents were wonderful, my friends, the ones that stuck by
me, very supportive. I would miss them all, but to watch their eyes cloud with
sympathy and sorrow as I became a hollow shell was something I didn’t want to
put any of us through. Not anymore.
I glanced over my shoulder at the camp. Mom was setting up
the tent with Dad. I waved at her, putting on the smile I learned to use when
she needed to feel better. If they knew my plan, of course they’d try to stop
me. What parent wouldn’t?
She waved and turned back to the tent and my smile melted
away.
Inching my butt forward, closer to the current tickling at
my toes and ankles, I slid down further, pushing off from the smooth boulders.
My suit hitched up, but I didn’t care about a wedgy before floating to my
death. I grinned at the thought. After all those months in a hospital bed,
sliding down as my underwear crept up wasn’t even a worry. It ended today, now.
Stealing another look at the campsite revealed them
collecting firewood around the edge of the camp’s clearing. Their backs to me,
I took my chance.
I thought it would feel different, somehow, when my body
floated off the rock. The panic I feared would seize me at that moment didn’t
come. The urgency to reach this point melted away. I leaned back, my head
rested in the water. An eagle drifted above me gliding on air currents while it
searched the water for fish, captivating me with its elegance and majesty. I’d
forgotten the beauty of this place. For the first time in over a year, I felt
my world around me, caressing me, stimulating my senses which had gone stale
and making me feel...alive.
A rush of fear gripped me. What was I thinking? I wanted to
live, I wasn’t a quitter. I wanted to fight until I couldn’t fight anymore. But
the realization that my choice in the matter was gone hit me as I slid into the
current, my head above water for a split second before the sounds went muffled.
My silly hat with the big brim pulled away from my hairless head.
I expected them to try and reach me, hoping they would be
too late. Now, I prayed that they would come. Paddling with all the strength in
my atrophied muscles, I fought the current. It tugged, hard, and carried me
away.
Mom screamed and Dad shouted right as a loud splash hit the
water upstream.
I opened my eyes in the hazy water as a dark shape darted
past, too late to catch me. I hit something hard and was airborne, the sound of
the falls rumbling in my ears. The feeling was like nothing I’d experienced
before. The air and the water mixed to frothy foam and then I plunged
underwater again, the sounds going muffled. My body hit the rocks and debris at
the bottom of the falls, jarring me and forcing the warm air from my lungs to
be replaced by cold, crisp lake water. Spinning over and over I lost my sense
of up and down as the churning water kept me lurching from side to side. My
head throbbed and my lungs bucked. The water pulled me along and soon black
spots filled my vision. The spots spread until the blackness enveloped
everything. Then, the pain was over and the next stage of my existence, if any,
began.
Thank you for leading the book blitz Amber! :)
ReplyDelete