They Rise

By Griffin Carmichael

Halloween. Spooky. Creepy. Evil. Take your pick.

 

On this particular Halloween, Reverend Garrett Morgan is determined there's not going to be any funny business in his church's cemetery. Not like in previous years, where the local witches did rites and danced naked among the dead.

 

He's not quite prepared for what's going on this year, and learns it's better to be a bit more, well, open-minded. He needs to work with the local coven, rather than fight them, when a spell goes so awry, it could mean the end of the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Guthrie Press
• Release date: Oct 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223316381

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Copyright

Copyright 2023 by Griffin Carmichael.

All rights reserved.

NO AI TRAINING: Without in any way limiting the author’s [and publisher’s] exclusive rights under copyright, any use of this publication to train generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.

I assert my moral right to be identified as the author of this work, under the applicable laws of each country in which it may appear. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the express written permission of the author, except for brief passages used in reviews.

This novel is a work of fiction. Names, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any reference to any person, living or dead, or any place, product or cultural reference is either a product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously.

Cover copyright 2023 by Sheila Guthrie

All images used by permission.

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CHAPTER ONE

Reverend Garrett Morgan had just gotten in from a late night visit with one of his parishioners. The poor soul was in need of spiritual solace as he lay dying in the local hospice, and Morgan had been spending many days and nights ministering to the man.

He was easing off his shoes when a noise outside made him pause, one loafer half off, toes of the other foot poised in the act of sliding the worn leather down his heel.

Martha Morgan, his beloved wife of more than thirty years, groaned in her sleep. She turned to face the Reverend where he sat on his side of the bed.

Hello, my love. Just getting in from visiting poor Jacob Harley?

Morgan nodded, then remembered it was dark in the room. Yes, Dear. Jacob is failing, the doctors say only a matter of days now. God rest his soul.

Martha reached out, putting a comforting hand on her husband’s wrist. She knew these sorts of visits took a lot out of Garrett, but she also knew there was nothing he wouldn’t do for one of his flock.

Finish undressing and come to bed. I’ll keep things quiet in the morning so you can rest.

Garrett was listening more to the outside world