The Starfish Island Gang: Secrets of Shell Cove

By Brenda Mize Garza

Nothing is as it seems in the tranquil town of Shell Cove on beautiful Starfish Island. Guarded by powerful angelic forces, the island and its residents are the focus of demonic attacks. However, The Starfish Island Gang is fighting back. Each kid is armed with a special gift, and all are armed with faith in The God Who created everything and Hi

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blueprint Press Internationale
• Release date: Jan 12, 2023
• ISBN: 9781959365501

Brenda Mize Garza

Brenda Mize Garza's characters talk and act true to life, so much so that at times it seemed like they were living breathing human beings who might at any moment step off the pages of the book and into my backyard. You can hear God's message on every page, in every verse you read. She portrays God's Word through stories that readers of any age can relate to. Her desire is for everyone, everywhere to come to know The God Who created everything. She chooses to share his great and unconditional love through storytelling. Brenda and her husband Jesse now live in McRae, Arkansas, with Sugar Baby their Pomeranian, and their two rescue kittens, Tiger, and Peanut.

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Secrets of Shell Cove

BOOK 2

BRENDA MIZE GARZA

The Starfish Island Gang

Copyright © 2023 by Brenda Mize Garza

This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are produced by the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons living or dead is entirely beyond the intent of the author.

All Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, King James Version, Cambridge Edition 1769.

Illustrations created by Myca Nutt

Illustration of the Starfish, Sea Horse and Sand Dollar created by Juan Mora

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

ISBN

978-1-959365-49-5 (Paperback)

978-1-959365-50-1 (eBook)

978-1-959365-48-8 (Hardcover)

This book is lovingly dedicated to my many readers, who have waited patiently for the continuing adventures of The Starfish Island Gang. Thank you for your support. May this book take you on a new and exciting journey.

Finally, my brethren, be strong in The Lord, and in the power of his might.

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Ephesians 6:10-13

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1 The Vote

Chapter 2 The Tea Party

Chapter 3 Patrick

Chapter 4 The Library Encounter

Chapter 5 The Second Special Seashell

Chapter 6 The Meeting

Chapter 7 The Exploration

Chapter 8 The Stay-Over

Chapter 9 Charlie and the Armour

Chapter 10 The Caves

Chapter 11 Michael’s Adventure

Andrew: The true leader of the gang. Spends most of his time swimming or surfing. After all, Water is my life, he would say. However, over the last year, his priorities have vastly changed.

Paige: The first girl in the gang. One day she will be a research professor. Until then, she is the Reader.

Michael: Paige’s younger brother. Mostly known as the Brave One. He planned to follow in his dad’s footsteps and become a Marine—well, until now!

Lee: Andrew’s younger brother. He has yet to find his special place in the gang. He does, however, travel between times! This is yet to be recognized by himself or the gang.

Allen: Paige and Michael’s younger brother. He is the keeper of the pouch, the finder of the Special Shells and Objects. What are these for? Let’s just say—no one really knows yet!

Sally: The latest member to join the gang. Sally and her father moved from England to Starfish Island last year. She too is wondering about her special gift. However, for now, she is just excited to find her place here in Shell Cove.

Prologue

Andrew, Paige, Michael, Lee, and Allen—the gang, as they are known here on Starfish Island. They have been friends as long as they can remember. They have grown up on Starfish Island. In fact, they were all born here in the little town of Shell Cove. Shell Cove is the only town on the island, population of around 700. For years they have played together, exploring their island, building sandcastles, and swimming in the crystal blue ocean.

The gang are together for a higher purpose—one that even they hadn’t been aware of. Well, not until last summer.

For years, it was just Andrew and Paige. Then Michael, Paige’s younger brother, joined the gang.

As years went by, Lee and Allen were born into their separate families.

Lee and Allen would try to tag along with the others. This was not always a fruitful endeavor. Once they were old enough, they too became part of the gang. Since then, it has been the five of them.

No one was ever allowed into their secret meeting place. Not until they were officially part of the gang. Right now, you might be wondering if there are any other children here on the island. The answer to your question would be yes. However, none of the other children have become part of the gang. Not until last fall, when the new girl, Sally, moved to Shell Cove.

Lee and Allen made a huge discovery when Ms. Martha took them to check out the basement under the library. Who knew that so many treasures were sleeping silently beneath it? Ms. Martha not only revealed the hidden treasures of worldly things, she also revealed one of the many Godly treasures, The armour of The Lord.

Last summer, the gang dared to venture into the old beach house. Since then, their lives have been anything but normal. Their day might start with building sandcastles on the beach or taking a swim in the beautiful clear blue ocean.

Then, the angels would show up, just to see how they were doing, and maybe to warn them of something brewing in the demonic realm. Yes, the carefree life they once knew was gone. But to the gang, this new and exciting life was, they knew in their hearts, why they had been born on this island in the first place. This was not the life they had dreamed of, but boy, was it exciting!

As for the demonic world, let me give you a little recap. Raef, in this little demonic realm, is known as the boss. His mission here on Starfish Island started many years ago. His function is to make this island a living hell for all the humans. But more importantly, he is to find the hidden secrets of the island and destroy them. Under his control are several lesser demons, ones he can easily manipulate.

Then there is Tpmetnoc, whose job was to watch Allen, the keeper of the pouch. However, this assignment ended after Allen found the first special shell. Raef, his boss, was very unhappy with his handling of this assignment. However, his boss has given him one more chance to prove his worth. His new assignment is to get Charlie into the gang, then use him as his spy.

Etah now has the assignment of watching Allen. He is not happy with this assignment. He likes to watch the humans and cause havoc whenever he can. But after watching how the boss treated Tpmetnoc, he really wants to succeed.

Then there is Rail. Raef is not Rail’s boss. He and Raef are on the same level of demon ranking. Rail was sent to Starfish Island the night the demons attacked the gang and lost. Let me just say that the master of the demonic world was not pleased.

Chapter 1

The Vote

Paige walked along the sandy shore, feeling the warm white sand beneath her feet. She felt a sense of peace and joy as she watched the translucent blue ocean waves rolling gently toward the shore. The sun was bright and gave off just enough of its massive heat to warm the air ever so gently. It too gave one the feeling of peace and fulfillment. The spray that was carried across the ocean by the gentle breeze concealed the true heat from the sun as it gave a soft, salty spray. This is a great place to live, Paige thought, as she continued to walk toward the secret meeting place.

To the gang here on Starfish Island in the small town of Shell Cove, it seemed as if the school year had just begun. And now it had ended, at least for the summer.

There was one new member added to this merry band of friends. Her name was Sally. She and her father moved from England. Sally had fit nicely into the gang. Paige and Sally quickly became the best of friends. Sally went to every meeting. And, like the rest of the gang, she was learning more, and more, about The God Who created everything!

There was no doubt in the minds of Allen and Lee when it came time to vote. Sally is as brave as any of us, and she is mighty pretty, Allen had told them. The vote had passed unanimously!

She was then taken to see the caves. This was her rite of passage, for the gang had never taken another living soul into their secret meeting place.

Sally was thrilled to be part of this gang. She had longed for her friends in England and missed having someone to share her thoughts and feelings with. She had not forgotten her old friends. But now, she was no longer sad and pining for her old home.

Since the defeat of the demons at the beach, there was much discussion of the event. These discussions always seemed to lead them back to God’s Word. This in and of itself gave each member new insight, knowledge, and wisdom about who they really were in the sight of God.

There were several interactions between the members of the gang and an occasional demon. But nothing like the night on their beach.

When they would gather at the cave, each one would bring to the gang information about a new experience with the demonic forces. Each member of the gang had started researching his or her encounters with the demons. They had learned that not every thought that came into their mind was from them. And their reactions to these thoughts was just one way the enemy was defeated. The gang was more powerful against the demons together. However, they were powerful on their own when they called upon Jesus, and the Word of God, and not on their fleshly thoughts, which always led to negative actions.

The rocks and