Airel
Airel: The Awakening is a young adult paranormal romance about the angel Kreios who falls so deeply in love with a woman that he chooses to fall from heaven to be with her. She gives birth to a daughter in Arabia, 1250BC. The girl is pursued ferociously, relentlessly by an enemy in the deepest darkness.
In present day, Boise, Idaho is just a girl: Airel. She's just your average high school student...who turns out to be anything but average. It's because of who she is, because of her ancestry, because of her lineage. Past and present collide as what has been twisted comes dangerously unraveled.
Excerpt from Airel: The Awakening by Aaron Patterson & Chris White
“CLASS, THIS IS MICHAEL
Alexander. Michael, welcome to Borah High. Please take your seat.” Mr. Brashear
turned back to the board while Michael began moving toward the only empty seat,
just one over from mine. I wanted to shake my fist at the sky and shout, “Why,
God, why,” but I couldn’t do that in the middle of History 301.
As he moved through the
motionless room, I felt the difference his presence made.
I didn’t want to, but I
was staring, too numb to do anything about it. He smiled as he looked around.
His wheat- colored hair was spiked up softly, wildly, in the most out-of-control,
amazing way. I felt my heart speed up as his bright blue eyes fell on me.
There he was. Mr.
Napkins. I was Miss Coffee Spill, and I so
wanted to be Mrs. Napkins.
I felt heat rising to
the surface of my face. I’d never felt
anything like this. Airel, what is wrong
with you? This is so not like you. Michael moved with smooth grace.
I was gawking, staring like some love-struck calf. I hoped he wouldn’t notice
me. This was so stupid. Why was I acting like this?
But I could hear the
universe calling my number, and I was stunned to discover that I had really
been waiting in line all this time, staring wide-eyed, ticket in hand. But I don’t want this. I held my breath
without realizing it. The draw I felt toward him was overpowering.
He sat in his seat and
looked straight ahead, and I shook my head ungracefully. Just as fast as the
room had stopped, it launched itself into hyper speed, and then I felt a hand
on my shoulder. It was Kim, wearing a big, dumb grin on her face. Her eyes
sparkled as she said, “Wow, girl. You’re as red as a lobster.”
“What?” I said. It came
out as a raspy, forced whisper, but it was all I could manage. Kim was stifling
a laugh. I slunk down behind my history book. “Shut up, Kim.” But she just
smiled and batted her eyes. I really didn’t like her right now. Maybe I could
find a new best friend.
***
THE CLASS BELL RANG. I
jumped up and rushed out the door, desperate for the bathroom. I didn’t feel
well. I turned on the water and splashed its cold wetness over my warm cheeks,
trying to cool myself down and shake my mind from the maddening fog that had
overtaken me. It wasn’t like me to freak
out about a boy. I was the last girl in the world to go gaga over a
good-looking guy. But it was more than that. So what if he was good-looking—there
were lots of hot guys around. It was something else, and I was starting to
think it was really a spell.
I looked in the mirror.
“Aw, man.” My face looked like I’d just had my first kiss and then sat under a
heat lamp for a few hours.
Kim came in and stood
with her foot jammed at the bottom of the door—so she could grill me in private,
no doubt. “So,” she said, “you see the new guy?”
I shook my head and
rubbed the back of my neck. “Whatever. I was hot. That classroom … it’s always
so muggy, and I had a headache.”
“Oh, is it? I hadn’t
noticed.”
I ignored her, pulled
my hair into a ponytail, and splashed more cold water on the back of my neck. I
was relieved to see my face returning to its normal slightly fair hue.
Kim just grunted and
smirked and looked down at her nails, inspecting them, looking up at me in
little snatches of concern. “Well, I think he’s ugly. Besides, what kind of
name is ‘Michael Alexander?’ It’s like he has two first names. I mean, what is he, America’s Next Teen Pop
Superstar?” Her face was calm. Much too calm.
She’s
totally mocking me. I couldn’t help smiling. His face filled
my mind for a split second. I could feel my blood warming, rising to my face
again. I thought of all the dumb 80s song lyrics that my parents continually
tortured me with. “Hey,” I said, trying to go on offense a little, “you and I
both know he’s gorgeous, so stop lying. I don’t know what came over me. The
room was actually spinning.”
“Oh, the room was
spinning? That’s news. Airel, are you crazy? Because, like, how did I miss
that?”
“Kim, I don’t know. You
know this isn’t like me at all. Something weird is going on. When he walked in,
I completely lost it. It was weird. It’s like the clock stopped. Or jumped
forward. Am I going crazy?”
“Yeah,
and he looked at you like he knew you or something,” she said, coming closer to
me, a little worry showing on her features.
I couldn’t make my mind
stop. It was racing, replaying every second of our first meeting—the coffee,
his hand, his smile. He looked at me like he knew me, looked me right in the
eyes, saw me, and I could feel him
searching me, looking for something, perhaps some kind of confirmation from me
that I knew him too. My heart fluttered with the memory of that moment. I
suddenly had this insane desire to cry and laugh at the same time.
Kim made a kissing
sound, reaching out to me. “Loooove, Airel.”
I brushed her off,
moving to an empty stall and locking myself in.
“You should see
yourself. You so just went all googly
eyed over him.”
I fell to my knees as
crippling pain suddenly shot through my side. I couldn’t help whimpering. Then
a sickening wave of warmth washed over me and I was instantly depressed. Hello, roller coaster. Wow, what’s your
name? Could it be Michael Alexander? Ugh. Or maybe it’s just barf. “Ugh,” I
said aloud, turning toward the toilet. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Loooovesick.” Kim was
clearly enjoying my discomfort, but I had no time to defend myself. I bent and
threw up into the toilet. Oh, dear God.
This is fun. I was totally heaving in the high school bathroom.
Kim snapped out of
taunting mode and rushed in to help me, going back into best-friend mode. I
lost my dinner and yesterday’s lunch and started to wonder if maybe I should
have had breakfast after all—was that why I was so sick all of a sudden?
Skipping breakfast? There is a nasty flu going
around this year…
Kim held my hair and
rubbed my back. I didn’t know I was crying until I saw the tears splashing onto
the floor and heard myself sobbing. I’m
crying. Why am I crying? My stomach felt like a knife had been plunged into
it and my whole body convulsed as I tried to stand up, my legs shaking like a
newborn colt.
Kim helped me to the
nurse’s station and soon after, I was on my way home, looking like death in the
passenger seat. Trusty Kim was driving my trusty Honda. It was a good thing Mom
was at work, and that Dad was out of town. I hoped I would be feeling better by
the time Mom got home because she had a tendency to go overboard when I got
sick. Parents.
Kim parked in the
driveway and helped me up the stairs, and even though it was the middle of the
day, I went to bed and fell asleep feeling
cold and scared. Maybe I wasn’t lovesick and something was really wrong with
me.
About the Authors
Aaron Patterson is a NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestselling author of over a dozen novels. He writes hard-boiled thrillers and young adult fantasy. He was home-schooled and grew up in the west. Aaron loved to read as a small child and would often be found behind a book, reading one to three a day on average. This love drove him to want to write, but he never thought he had the talent. He wrote Sweet Dreams, the first book in the WJA series, in 2008. Airel is his first teen series, and plans for more are in the works. He lives in Boise, Idaho with his family.
Chris White is an award-winning author and editor, and is co-author of the Airel Saga with Aaron Patterson. Chris also writes psychological thrillers under the nom de plume Jet Deaver, and has penned some short stories as C.P. White. He blogs occasionally about writing and the journey of the Christian artist at C.P. White Media Blog and lives in Idaho with his family.
Praise for the Book
*“This is not your typical fallen angel story. It is one that has left me breathlessly waiting for the next one in the series.” --Sandra Stiles, Amazon review
*“A beautifully written and crafted fiction about teenage innocence, faith, loss and love. A must read for teens and adults alike." --Vincent Zandri, International Bestselling Author of The Remains, The Innocent, and Concrete Pearl
*“This was such a unique twist to the common way angels are portrayed…. The struggle between good and evil is the forefront of this great story!” – Courtney, Amazon review
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