49th Mystic (Beyond the Circle Book #1) , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - Ted Dekker

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246 pages

English

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Some say the great mystery of how one can live in two worlds at once died with Thomas Hunter many years ago. Still others that the gateway to that greater reality was and is only the stuff of dreams.They are wrong. In the small town of Eden, Utah, a blind girl named Rachelle Matthews is about to find out just how wrong.When a procedure meant to restore Rachelle's sight goes awry, she begins to dream of another world so real that she wonders if Earth might only be a dream experienced when she falls asleep in that reality. Who is a simple blind girl to have such strange and fantastic dreams?She's the prophesied one who must find and recover five ancient seals--in both worlds--before powerful enemies destroy her. If Rachelle succeeds in her quest, peace will reign. If she fails, both worlds will forever be locked in darkness.So begins a two-volume saga of high stakes and a mind-bending quest to find an ancient path that will save humanity. The clock is ticking; the end rushes forward.Ready? Set?Dream.

Sujets

Thriller

Informations

Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	15 mai 2018
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781493414017
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	3 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0432€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2018 by Kiwone, Inc. f/s/o Ted Dekker
Published by Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
PO Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.revellbooks.com
Ebook edition created 2018
Ebook corrections 01.14.2019, 01.04.2022
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-1401-7
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible®, copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)
Scripture quotations labeled ABPE are from The Original Aramaic New Testament in Plain English—with Psalms & Proverbs. Copyright © 2007; 8th edition Copyright © 2013. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations labeled BLB are from The Holy Bible, Berean Literal Bible, BLB. Copyright © 2016 by Bible Hub. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations labeled ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2011
Scripture quotations labeled HCSB are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
Scripture quotations labeled ISV are from the International Standard Version, Copyright © 1995–2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
Scripture quotations labeled KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Scripture quotations labeled NHEB are from the New Heart English Bible.
Scripture quotations labeled NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Author is represented by Creative Trust Literary Group, LLC, 210 Jamestown Park Drive, Suite 200, Brentwood, TN 37027, www.creativetrust.com.
“A welcome return to the world of the Circle and a fine novel in its own right.”
Booklist
“Fans of the Circle series will certainly want to check out Dekker’s latest.”
RT Book Reviews
“Creatively entwined with teachings from Scripture, Dekker’s book will appeal to readers looking for a thrilling, faith-driven adventure.”
Publishers Weekly
“Dekker’s story line is fast-paced, exhilarating, and faithful fans will be eager to read the next one.”
Christian MARKET
“ The 49th Mystic is an extraordinary and riveting read from first page to last and unreservedly recommended.”
The Midwest Book Review
“Dekker’s many fans will be lining up for this profound and multilayered allegorical tale, which will also appeal to readers of fantasy fiction with a spiritual bent who like a challenge.”
Library Journal
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Endorsements
Epigraph
Foreword
Prologue
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
Author’s Note
About the Author
Back Ads
Tayla’s Journal
Back Cover
Epigraph

Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm.
Song of Songs 8:6 ESV
Foreword
You are about to escape the old, limiting confines of your mind. The ride is wild and sometimes bumpy, so hold on tight. There is no greater thrill than finding freedom from the shackles of a common existence. The status quo is no life at all.
All of the neuroscience and psychology herein is firmly established. If in doubt, google it.
In addition, the nature of reality as demonstrated by Talya can be found in excerpts taken from his journal at the end of this novel. If in doubt, read it.
And so it begins . . .
Prologue
I’M WALKING through a field of yellow daisies, wanting to love the way they sway in a gentle breeze, wanting to enjoy the scents of fresh earth and natural grasses, the bright blue sky, the sound of chirping birds in the trees just ahead of me. Wanting to love it all but not quite able to, because a voice deep in my mind tells me that it will change any minute now. Any second. And when it changes, I’ll wish I was dead.
I run my hand through the tall grass, determined not to listen to that voice, because I’m smart enough to know that people get into trouble when they pay too much attention to the crazy voices that run through their minds. Not me. Not this time.
Still, the ancient memory of something off-color haunts me, so I stop thirty feet from the tall pine trees and look around, just to be sure.
Nothing. Nothing but tall swaying grass and thousands of bright daisies. It’s all slightly blurry to me because my eyesight isn’t the best, but it’s peaceful and full of wonder all the same. And not a sound except for the chirping birds.
See? It’s okay. Nothing’s wrong. Nothing to be afraid of.
So I start walking again.
I make it five steps before that distant dread finds me once more, insisting that something really is wrong. Terribly wrong.
My house is through the trees, maybe a hundred yards away, and I decide then that I have no business being out in the field. God only knows what could happen to a girl walking alone in a field. I walk faster, straight for the trees, and I begin to hum for comfort, for distraction from my thoughts.
The first three notes are sweet and high.
The fourth comes out low and guttural, snarling with static, and I pull up sharply, terrified to breathe. The sound had come from inside of me?
No, it comes from behind me, a loud, crackling roar that slams my heart into my throat. I spin toward the house and tear for safety with the threat at my back, gaining, gaining.
I sprint through the trees, running without thought of the ground I’m covering. Praying I’ll make it. Desperate.
Just before the roar reaches me, I crash through the front door and slam it shut. For the briefest moment, I think I am safe.
But now I hear a sound behind me. A soft chuckle. I jerk around with the door now at my back, and I see him. A tall man with slicked-back hair and penetrating red eyes.
Shadow Man.
I’ve seen him before, many times, and I know what he’s going to say. What he’s going to do. And although my lungs are frozen and my throat is tight, my mind is screaming.
“Hello, Rachelle,” he says, drawing out each word through a slight grin. “Do you know what seven times seven is?”
I remember now. All of it. He’s asked me the same question a thousand times and I know what he’s going to do, but still I can’t move.
“Forty-nine, the fullness of all that is,” he says. “All the darkness and all the fear in the world, dumped into one worthless girl.” He takes a step toward me, eyes gleaming with anticipation. “She must be punished for her failure. You know what that means, don’t you, 49th?”
I am so terrified that my mind begins to go numb. Waves of heat rush through my body. I want to run, to find my father, to hide. But my legs are lead.
“I’m going to blind you.” Another step. “And when you see again, I’m going to blind you again. And again. And again, until even the thought of seeing makes you want to puke, because you know that I’m only going to blind you again .”
Another step. I’m trembling and I can smell his putrid breath. It’s like dirty socks that have been deodorized with vanilla.
“Because of you, and through you, I’m going to blind the whole world. What happens to you happens to them all. It’s all your fault, and they’re going to hate you even more than they already do.”
A weak plea manages to squeak past my throat. “Please . . .”
“This is only a fore-shadow.”
In a flash he’s on me, slamming me against the door, prying my eyes wide as I flail in a hopeless attempt to free myself from his iron grip. I know what he’s doing. I think I would rather he kill me.
His mouth is spread wide, and in that last moment as my first screams fill the air, Shadow Man becomes himself, a shadow shaped like a cobra, spitting venom into both of my eyes.
Excruciating pain slices into my head and lights every nerve in my body on fire.
I bolt up in bed, screaming.
I didn’t know I was asleep. I never do. But now I know I’m awake.
And that I’m blind.
1
IT WAS the same nightmare I’d had every night for the past ten years, beginning at age six. The dream betrayed my deepest fears that nothing would ever change, but still, it was just a dream. I reminded myself every morning.
I couldn’t have been more wrong.
My name is Rachelle Matthews, and I was born in a small mountain community well off the grid. The town was roughly ninety miles southeast of Salt Lake City, Utah—close enough to find help if the need arose, and far enough to be a world unto itself. When I say off the grid I mean completely self-sustaining in every way imaginable.
Eden, population 153 at last counting, sourced its own utilities and food, all generated and grown within the valley. We had our own law enforcement, our own hospital, our own government, and everything else required to sustain and protect life on an island.
Only we weren’t on an island. We were in a deep mountain valley shaped like a bowl roughly two miles in diame