The Adventure of Immanuel

The Adventure of Immanuel

  Kevin L. O'Brien

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  Text Copyright 2013 by Kevin L. O'Brien

  Cover design and typography copyright 2013 by Kevin L. O'Brien

  Agincort font distributed under a free use license by SWFTE International, Ltd.

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  License Notes

  Please consider writing a review for this book on the retailer's website.

  If you see any misspellings or typographical errors, please notify Kevin L. O'Brien using one of his online social networks. Thank you.

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents, including those based on the real world, are either products of the imagination of Kevin L. O'Brien or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Because some ebook platforms do not support special characters, certain words may appear misspelled, but this was done deliberately to avoid the problem of the platforms deleting the characters. Also, the LRF platform used by older models of the Sony Reader does not permit the use of links to external URLs, whereas the PDB platform used by Palm reading devices does not support any form of linking whatsoever.

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  Table of Contents

  Preface

  Immanuel

  About the Author

  Other Books by Kevin L. O'Brien

  Connect with Kevin L. O'Brien

  Sample Excerpts

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  Preface

  This is a Christmas story, though it owes more to "The Selfish Giant" by Oscar Wilde and the universal belief in protective spirits than it does to Christian dogma. The "actors" were chosen based on the theme, but otherwise non-Christian symbology could have been used.

  It takes place on Christmas Eve, 2011. Eile and Sunny are married and have two children. In Post-Traumatic Redemption, they had decided that the best way to atone for Eile's victims while a vampire was to adopt Pastor Sjauken's mission and help support it, and they have done so in a dedicated fashion ever since. Sjauken makes his second appearance in a Team Girl story, and the names of other characters are dropped, who will show up in their own stories in future. Beyond that, this story was inspired by tales of mysterious strangers, often children, who alert and guide good samaritans to people in distress and then disappear without trace.

  Whether they are true stories or urban legends, they are nonetheless inspiring.

  Back to TOC

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  "From the dread caverns of the grave, thy people save."

  Eile checked her bag to make sure she had everything, then looked around for Sunny, spotting her on the other side of the chapel talking with Pastor Sjauken. John was a good friend, and a Lutheran minister who ran a homeless shelter that catered to single mothers and their children. He was also their spiritual advisor and counselor, who often guided them through personal crises and moral dilemmas. He had been instrumental in helping her work through her guilt over her victims when she had been turned into a Vampire, and he had married her and Sunny in a private religious ceremony prior to their public wedding officiated by Medb.

  In return, she and Sunny helped him out with his shelter as much as they could. As their own personal fortunes improved, they provided him with donations, including co-signing a loan so that he could expand, and paying to fix his central heating one December when it broke down. Mostly, however, they devoted their time and effort to supporting his charges: cooking and serving meals, providing counseling of their own, babysitting for the mothers who worked or went to school, training them for job interviews, tutoring the children; whatever needed to be done.

  And they got their friends involved as well. Wendy Cleasa, who was a licensed nurse practitioner as well as an exotic dancer, provided free medical care, which they subsidized. Bettie Stivic, who had adventured with them when they had been Dreamers, provided cleaning services and helped serve meals. Dolores Cadera-Hueso and her police colleagues performed routine maintenance work, and helped the women who were victims of abuse secure court protection from their abusers. Dr. Mabuse, a certified mad scientist, made mechanical and electronic toys, as well as provided a computer-based learning center. Giovanna Borgia and Sir Differel Van Helsing donated large sums of money at regular intervals for maintenance and upkeep, and the girly vampire often hired the mothers for her businesses. Dr. Joyce Luasaigh, Snowshoe Kitty's veterinarian, came by several times a year to put on a show featuring her cats. Mariam Alina-Fuad, though a Muslim, helped with the children and counseled the mothers with chemical dependencies. Annis Nin, Fael Cayleen, Lt. Gen. Morgan Leia Ross, and Shasta Taffady, as well as Sunny's parents, made irregular donations, and helped serve meals and clean up whenever they were in town. Even some unlikely characters provided support, such as Ceithlenn, who once performed a magic act, and Uallach Ruadhrion, who scared off a few abusive husbands or boyfriends who tried to take back their lovers or children. Though some refused to say why they helped out, Eile had no doubt it was due to their respect for Sjauken and their approval of his work.

  Christmas Eve was their favorite donation time, and they made the whole day of it. They arrived early, and cooked and served breakfast, often providing the food themselves. While Sjauken led the mothers and older children in a worship service, they would entertain the younger children by singing Christmas carols and reading Christmas stories. After lunch, which they also prepared, they led the families in putting up and decorating the tree and the dining hall. Afterwards they watched Christmas videos and sang more carols as they drank hot chocolate and snacked on Christmas treats. The high point came after dinner, when Sunny dressed up as Mrs. Claus and Eile played the Chief Elf. They pretended to be sent by Santa to give one special gift to each child at the shelter, before he would make a later general delivery of communal toys and games. Even the older children joined in, if while pretending to denigrate such a "baby" activity.

  That was the third year they did it, and Eile reflected it was probably the best year of all so far. Though most of the kids wanted the usual stuff, there were a few unusual requests that taxed their ingenuity to the limit, even with the help of their friends. One young boy wanted a rare stamp to complete a collection, which Medb managed to locate in France. A teenage girl, who wanted more than anything to attend her senior prom but had no dress, received an elegant evening gown donated by Differel. A teenage boy, who wanted to meet the starlet Dione "DD" Donoway from the reality TV series High Rockies, received a special invitation to attend a shooting and have lunch with her afterwards, arranged by Kojoro who was involved in the production. And a little girl wanted to be reunited with her grandfather, who disappeared some years ago and whom Dolores was able to find in a nursing home, suffering from a paralyzing accident. Mabuse was able to cure him with one of her wonder drugs, and they would have their rendezvous at Eile and Sunny's house after New Year's.

  But there was one gift of which they felt especially proud. Nearly all of the mothers at the shelter had no job skills to speak of and needed to be trained, but one was different. She was a certified biotechnologist unable to find work in Denver's depressed market. Giovanna was expanding her biotech firm and was willing to hire her, sight unseen, for a six-month trial period. Eile especially liked how she and her children's faces lit up when Sunny gave her the offer letter.

  Eile checked her watch; it was almost 11:30. After they had finished handing out the gifts, they sang a few more Christmas carols and Sjauken blessed the children before they were put to bed. They then helped to clean up, and with the mothers having finally retired she wanted to get home to relieve Mariam. The problem with going out on Christmas Eve was finding a babysitter fo
r their six-month old daughters, Connie and Liza. Nearly all their friends had their own plans, but Mariam didn't celebrate Christmas, so she volunteered. Besides, they were hosting a Christmas feast at their home, and they needed to get up early to get ready.

  "Sunny, let's go!" she said, impatient. "I don't wanna miss the bus."

  "Just hold your horses! Well, as usual, it's been fun, Pastor. Thanks!" And she wrapped her arms around him in a bear hug. He returned it and patted her on the back of the head.

  "Hey, don't smother 'im, ya spaz."

  Sunny let him go, smiling and giggling, and walked towards her. When she reached her, they both waved at