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Back Crimson Phoenix
Chapters (37)
  1. Praise
  2. Also by
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright Page
  5. Dedication
  6. PART I
  7. CHAPTER ONE
  8. CHAPTER TWO
  9. CHAPTER THREE
  10. CHAPTER FOUR
  11. CHAPTER FIVE
  12. CHAPTER SIX
  13. CHAPTER SEVEN
  14. CHAPTER EIGHT
  15. CHAPTER NINE
  16. CHAPTER TEN
  17. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  18. CHAPTER TWELVE
  19. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  20. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  21. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  22. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  23. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  24. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  25. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  26. PART II
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  35. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  36. Teaser Chapter
  37. About the Author

Caleb had no idea what to say.

“You’re a soldier now, Caleb. I’m not sure what the new army looks like yet, but you are a soldier in it.”

Inexplicably, Caleb felt close to tears.

“Never lose sight of your responsibilities, though. Never lose sight of right and wrong. With the kind of decisions you’ll be making, there’s sometimes no going back. React fast, but think fast first. Your father would have been so proud to see you today.”

Caleb no longer trusted his voice.

“I do have something I want you to remember,” Victoria said. She squeezed his hand. “Violence, or the threat of violence, is almost never the first choice. Let others be the ones who escalate conflicts to violence. Never be the one to do the escalating.”

“Mom, you’ve taught us that for years.”

“Yes, I’ve taught, and yes, you’ve at least pretended to listen. But now it’s real, and nobody’s going to be helping you with your individual decisions anymore. You’re a hothead and you know it. Don’t you?”

He smiled and wiped his eyes. “And a pain in the ass.”

Victoria threw her head back and laughed. “Oh, my God, yes. Such a giant pain in the ass! Just be careful.”

“I will,” he said.

Victoria stood and extended her arms for a hug. Caleb stood and gave it to her.

“Something you need to know,” Caleb said. “We brought a prisoner back with us. I think they’re gonna ask you to be the judge at his trial.”

“What’s he going to be charged with?”

“Murder, I think.”

Victoria sat back down, shoved her hands in her hair. “Damn.”

PART II

PART II

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY

SOME OF ADAM EMERSON’S FARLIEST MEMORIES INVOLVED TOP HAT Mountain. A regular pilgrimage for the whole family, the vistas from up here were beyond description. On a breezy evening, on a night with a good moon, the moving treetops looked to Adam like undulating ocean waves. In the autumn, during the day, those same trees looked like so much spilled paint, with every color represented by the changing leaves. He didn’t know how far you could see before the curvature of the earth swallowed the view, but it had to be many, many miles.

It was on those trips that Dad taught him how to fish and how to hunt small game. Dad wasn’t terribly concerned about licenses or hunting in season, but they always ate what they killed, and this part of West Virginia likely had never seen a game warden. Here at Top Hat Mountain, Mom had taught them about edible plants and berries—and, perhaps more important, which plants and berries should never be consumed.