The Captive Within (A Prairie Heritage, Book 4) (31 page)

One family . . . steeped in the love and
grace of God, indomitable in their faith, tried and tested in the fires of
life, passing forward a legacy to change their world. The compelling saga of
family, faith, and great courage.

Book 1:
A Rose Blooms Twice

Book 2:
Wild Heart on the Prairie

Book 3:
Joy on This Mountain

Book 4:
The Captive Within

Book 5:
Stolen

Book 6:
Lost Are Found

Nanostealth,
Book 1

Vikki
Kestell

My name is Gemma Keyes.
Other than my name, I am
utterly forgettable—so those who never paid much attention to me in the first
place haven’t exactly noticed that I’ve disappeared. Vanished.

It’s much more complicated than it sounds.

I should tell you about Dr. Samuel Bickel, world-renowned
nanophysicist.
We used to work together, but I’ll be candid with you:
He’s
supposed to be dead
.
Well, he’s
not
. (Imagine my surprise.)
Instead of the proverbial “six feet under,” he’s subsisting in an abandoned
devolution cavern beneath the old Manzano Weapons Storage Facility on Kirtland
Air Force Base here in Albuquerque.

“I need to show you what I’m protecting here, Gemma,” he
insisted.

I stared into the clear glass case. I could
hear . . . humming, clicking, buzzing. A faint haze inside the
box shifted. Dissolved. Came back together. It reminded me of how mercury, when
released on a plate, will flow and form new shapes. Only this, this
thing
was
“flowing and forming”
in midair
.

“Do you see them?” Dr. Bickel asked.

“Them?” I was confused. My mouth opened to a stunned “o” as
the silver haze dissolved into blue letters.

H   E   L   L   O

Dr. Bickel hadn’t pressed any buttons. Hadn’t said anything.
Hadn’t gestured.

He grinned. “Ah. They’ve noticed you. They know they haven’t
seen you before.”

“Well, I wish they
wouldn’t
notice me!” I choked on
the words, my eyes fixed on the glass case.

And I need to warn you about General Cushing.
The
rank and name likely conjure images of a lean but muscled old soldier, posture
rigid, iron-gray hair cut “high and tight” framing a weathered face cemented in
unyielding lines.

Let me disabuse you of that impression.

General Imogene Cushing is short and a tiny bit plump. She
wears her silvered hair in an elegant braid knotted at the nape of her neck,
and she knows how to smile sweetly.

With the deadliest of sharks.

You wouldn’t suspect a two-star general,
an Air Force O-8
,
of being a traitor, would you?

Nanostealth

Stealthy Steps
, June 1, 2015

Stealth Power
, 2016

Stealth Beyond Borders
, 2017

Girls from the Mountain
follows the series
A
Prairie Heritage
and profiles four of the young women of Palmer House. Read
their life-changing stories and, while doing so, catch glimpses into the lives
of Rose and Joy Thoresen and others at Palmer House in the years following
Stolen
.

Why the series title, “
Girls From the Mountain
”? This
conversation between Joy and Grant excerpted from
The Captive Within
explains.

Joy was thoughtful. “You said something just
now . . .”

“Hm? What was that?”

“You called them
girls from the mountain
. I rather
like that.”

“Certainly less degrading than ‘former prostitutes.’” Grant
smiled his endearing half-smile.

“Perhaps that is how we should refer to them from now on. Of
course, when the Lord gives us women from Denver, the phrase will no longer
apply.”

“Denver is surrounded by mountains. I don’t see a problem
with it. It could be our own little code for the young ladies of Palmer House.”

The first of these stand-alone books,
Tabitha
, features
the fiery redhead whose equally fiery temper and affection for her family at
Palmer House vie for dominance in her life. In the weeks before Tabitha returns
to nursing school, Rose Thoresen challenges Tabitha to write her testimony for
other women who will someday live at Palmer House and who will likely face the
same need for spiritual and emotional healing that Tabitha herself has faced.

Book 1:
Tabitha,
Late
2015

A
Short Story

What happens one sultry summer night when a Christian and a
vampire meet on a fire escape and agree to engage in a cordial conversation? A
touch of hilarity, plus eye-popping—and Undead
heart-starting
—revelation
as vampire myths and legends give way to greater Truth!

Buy
The
Christian and the Vampire
in Kindle format from Amazon.com.

Excerpt

“Oh, I’m just in the mood for some good conversation.
Cordial
conversation, I assure you.” The shadows twisted and I thought he turned
toward me. “What do you say, Taz?”

“I can always agree to a cordial conversation.”

“Ah. Good.”

I saw that flash of white again and the faint outline of a
sharp jaw. His voice was young and cultured, and I guessed his age at about
thirty, but . . . but his elegant manner belied that relatively youthful age.
Something distinctly
mature
emanated from him, and I warned myself not
to base my estimation of his age on his appearance.

“I watched you work down in the Glades tonight,” he
murmured, “and I confess I am somewhat
curious
. . . about you. . .
Taz.”

He paused before adding, casually, “Dear me. This rusty old
fire escape doesn’t lend itself much to comfort or civility, does it? Might we
be more at our ease inside?”

“You want me to invite a vampire into my home.” I waggled my
eyebrows and just looked at him. Like,
really
?

He giggled low in his throat, tickled that I’d found him out
so quickly. “But surely you’re not afraid?”

I shrugged. “Not afraid. Just not stupid.”

He spread his hands again, a self-deprecating gesture. “It
was just a . . .
cordial
suggestion, Taz.”

“Well, could I offer you something to drink?”
I
smiled
this time. “In the spirit of cordiality, of course.”

It was quite interesting how his eyes flared red. I hadn’t
been 100 percent certain where they were until they did.

Annnnnd apparently I’d ticked him off.

The Christian and the Vampire
: A
Short Story

Vikki Kestell’s passion
for people and their stories is evident in her readers’ affection for her
characters and unusual plotlines. Two often repeated sentiments are, “I feel
like I know these people” and “I’m right there, in the book, experiencing what
the characters experience.”

Vikki holds a Ph.D. in
Organizational Learning and Instructional Technologies. She left a career of
twenty-plus years in government, academia, and corporate life to pursue writing
full time. “Writing is the best job ever,” she admits, “and the most
demanding.”

Also an accomplished
speaker and teacher, Vikki and her husband Conrad Smith make their home in
Albuquerque, New Mexico.

To keep abreast of new
book releases, visit her website,
http://www.vikkikestell.com/
,
or find her on Facebook,
http://www.facebook.com/TheWritingOfVikkiKestell
.