The origins of vampire beliefs, porphyria and vampire folklore were all tricks of involved magic. Thereâs no end to his evil. Jack took six men with him, but the sorcerer called up darkness, and the darkness came to his command. He kept the unnatural darkness around him like a cloak, and all the good men who came into his path came to grief because they couldnât see. The grim came. Even his love, Desirae herself, was struck down by one of the sorcerer's minions, but fortune preserved their lives. What held them tighter, true love for the real folklore or the love of magic?âLet the dance of the dark ones beginâ¦â

In 1957, four-year-old Brett is confronted with his fathers misdeeds. When Bretts father, Burt, has an affair with a police officers wife, Officer Benny Garcia vows to return the favor and destroy Burt and his family. After moving to another district in Detroit to escape Garcias wrath, Brett is accepted to Burton Elementary, a prestigious school for gifted children. The cop is relentless, however, and guns down and kills Bretts second-grade classmate and attempts to frame Brett for his murder. The Detroit police uncover the true perpetrator and reveal Garcia as the criminal. Brett learns Garcia is not just a cop but a federal agent operating with several accomplices. Brett uncovers a plot to kill President Kennedy and the only hope to bring the rogue agents to justice is to memorize the crimes the team commits with his photographic memory. Soon after Brett begins his quest, hes stabbed by a local gang. His mothers father, a highly skilled marksman, takes Brett down south for gun training to learn to defend his family. In a short time, Brett becomes skilled and deadly with a hand gun, and the war in the Cass Corridor is on.

Pipedream meets reality along Route 66. Charged up with expectation, Henry Collins, a man with a subconscious Magnum fixation, and his band of argonauts explore the beat generation trail. Searching for the ghosts of Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, they rub shoulders with next generation beats in roadhouses and speakeasies, and survivors from the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. Recognising their romantic visions of beatdom are tainted with fallacy and paradox, after six weeks on Route 66 travelling from Chicago to LA and returning to the Windy City on a northerly route, they exit the world of intellectual and down and out beats, flushed with an appreciation that no counterculture, no matter how seductive, approaches perfection.

Join pastor and bestselling author Kyle Idleman as he illustrates a clear path away from the heartache of our twenty-first-century idolatry and back to the heart of God--enabling us to be completely committed followers of Jesus. What do Netflix, our desire for the corner office, and that perfect picture we just posted on Instagram have to do with each other? None of these things are wrong in and of themselves. But when we begin to allow entertainment, success, or social media to control us, we miss out on the joy of God's rule in our hearts. In Gods at War, Idleman helps every believer recognize that there are false gods at war within each of us, and they battle for the place of glory and control in our lives. According to Idleman, idolatry isn't an issue; it is the issue. And he reveals which false gods we are allowing on the throne of our lives by asking insightful questions, including: What do you sacrifice for? What makes you mad? What do you worry about? Whose applause do you long for? We're all wired for worship, but we often end up valuing and honoring the idols of money, sex, food, romance, success, and many others that keep us from the intimate relationship with God that we desire. In this updated and expanded edition of Gods at War, Idleman adds a new introduction as well as new content about the battle many of us face with technology, whether we are tempted to send just one more text, stay online when our bodies need rest, or put email before in-person relationships, teaching us how to seek God with our whole heart instead. Praise for Gods at War: "Today's false gods are more tempting than ever as they promise comfort, wealth, and happiness. Kyle Idleman equips us to kill the deceitful pests that harass our hearts. Get ready for battle." --Mark Batterson, pastor, National Community Church, and bestselling author of The Circle Maker "Don't just read this book--read it now! Kyle's words will dig deep to expose the false gods that drive us away from the real One. In these pages, liberation awaits." --Lee Strobel, bestselling author of The Case for Christ and The Case for Faith

In the kingdom of Branchwater, the humans have peacefully lived alongside their guardians, the mantliks, for the last seven hundred years. But that changes one morning when they wake up to find a foreign army encamped outside the castle town. What follows is a gripping story of several young friends-human and mantlik-and how they come together to survive. Facing an onslaught like no one imagined, the two races must stand side-by-side on the walls of Branchwater, bracing themselves for the future. As the siege commences with lifted shields and drawn bows, the children hide deep inside the castle. It is the young Desirae who wanders through the inner halls and down into the basement. What she stumbles on below the castle could mean either salvation for Branchwater or its destructive end.