{"id":1118,"date":"2019-02-12T23:07:10","date_gmt":"2019-02-13T04:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/read.whitefire-publishing.com\/?p=1118"},"modified":"2019-10-22T11:19:05","modified_gmt":"2019-10-22T15:19:05","slug":"the-darkness-deepens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whitefire-publishing.com\/read\/the-darkness-deepens\/","title":{"rendered":"The Darkness Deepens"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>
\n

The Darkness Deepens<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

by Sara Davison<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previously titled The Dragon Roars
<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their Secrets Protect Them \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Secrets are Hard to Keep<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No one in the army can find out that Captain Jesse Christensen has become a believer. He and bookstore owner Meryn O\u2019Reilly are forced to meet in secret, facing imprisonment or worse if they are found together. Their relationship deepens, but so does Lieutenant Gallagher\u2019s hatred for the Christians in their city. As Gallagher\u2019s power grows, it becomes clear that his connections go much further up the chain of command than anyone realized, putting all believers, especially Jesse, in extreme danger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meryn wants to give her heart to Jesse fully, but her past holds her back. Although circumstances conspire to keep her silent, she needs to tell him her secret. When he finds out what she has been keeping from him, nothing will stand between them anymore. Or nothing will ever be the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The year is 2054. As the world descends into chaos around them and Christians in Canada and around the world face tighter and tighter restrictions, Jesse and Meryn wage a battle against forces of darkness \u2013 both physical and spiritual. They face the threat of being ripped apart forever as Gallagher closes in on his favourite target. Jesse\u2019s life hangs in the balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesse, Meryn, and all believers must decide if their faith is strong enough to carry them through these dark days, or if the cost of declaring allegiance to Jesus Christ is just too high.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t

Chapter 1<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Captain Jesse Christensen pushed\nopen the back door of the old cabin and stepped onto the rickety porch. Where is she?<\/em> Clouds drifted across\nthe moon, obscuring the opening to the woods. Did Meryn have a flashlight? He\nscanned the trees, straining for a glimmer of light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sound of an\napproaching vehicle tightened his stomach muscles. Meryn wouldn\u2019t try to drive\nhere, would she?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesse edged to the\ncorner of the building. The ancient wooden boards groaned under his hiking\nboots as he peered around the corner of the cabin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A green army jeep\nwhizzed by the end of the driveway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He ducked back out of\nsight. She better not come that way. Even the half-mile drive from her\nfarmhouse, the next property over, put her at risk of being caught out after\ncurfew. As a convicted felon, the army would come down hard on her. And this\ntime not even he or Caleb, his best friend and commanding officer at the base,\nwould be able to help her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A twig snapped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instinctively, he\nreached for the Glock in the back of his jeans. It wasn\u2019t there. He measured\nthe distance from the porch to the jeep he\u2019d parked behind the cabin. Could he\nget to it in time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relax. It has to be her<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He crossed over to\nthe stairs. A spring thunderstorm had passed through the area that afternoon\nand the mingled scents of crushed wildflowers and damp earth hung in the air. The\ncracking of branches and rustling of grass grew louder as he approached the\ntrees. A hard thud made him wince. \u201cMeryn?\u201d he whispered her name as loudly as\nhe dared as he made his way down the path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cComing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The clouds parted.\nHer long dark hair, pulled back in a ponytail, gleamed in the moonlight as she\nlimped toward him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesse pulled her into\nhis arms. \u201cAre you hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m fine. Just\ndidn\u2019t see a branch lying across the path.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you have a\nflashlight?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes.\u201d She stepped\nback and pulled the small silver tube out of the pocket of her windbreaker. \u201cI\ndidn\u2019t want to use it, though, in case someone saw the light.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s smart, I\nguess.\u201d He glanced down at the torn knees of her jeans, then reached for her\nhand. \u201cCome inside. I can assess the damage better there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She followed him up\nthe stairs and into the cabin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesse let go of her and swung the door shut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The room plunged into blackness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meryn inhaled sharply. \u201cJesse?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust a sec. Don\u2019t move, okay?\u201d He felt in the thick\ndark for the lamp he\u2019d set up in the corner of the room. His fingers brushed\nagainst the shade. \u201cAlmost have it.\u201d He pushed the button and soft light\nflooded the cabin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meryn clasped her hands in front of her. \u201cWe have power?\nHow?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He waved a hand at the machine humming in the corner.\n\u201cSolar generator. There\u2019s heat too.\u201d He nudged another small machine with his\nfoot. \u201cSo we\u2019re all set.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meryn walked across the room toward him. The smile on\nher face made all the work he\u2019d done to try and make a cozy room out of this\nold shack worthwhile. \u201cBut won\u2019t someone see the light?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNope.\u201d He gestured toward one of the windows. \u201cI\ncovered all the glass and any chinks in the wall I could find with black paper.\nFrom outside it still looks like an abandoned wreck of a building.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meryn stopped in front of him. \u201cSeems you\u2019ve thought of\neverything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEverything except how to get you here in one piece.\u201d He\nlooked her up and down. \u201cYou\u2019re bleeding and covered with dirt.\u201d He gently\ntraced a line of red slashed across her cheek. \u201cWhat happened to your face?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI took on a branch somewhere in the middle of the woods\nand lost.\u201d Meryn looked down at the rips in the knees of her jeans. \u201cI\u2019m okay.\nIt was a little tricky coming here, that\u2019s all. I\u2019m going to have to hike\nthrough in the daylight sometime and see if I can find a better path.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesse sighed and placed his hand on her back. \u201cCome sit\ndown.\u201d He guided her to a wooden table in the middle of the room and pulled out\na paint-flecked chair. When she settled on it, he turned another one to face\nher and sat down. \u201cI\u2019m sorry we have to meet this way, Meryn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not your fault. We both knew it would be like this\nwhen we agreed to try and keep seeing each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI guess, but \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She touched his arm. \u201cIt\u2019s fine. Actually\u201d\u2014her gaze\ntraveled around the room\u2014\u201cit\u2019s a lot better than fine. I can\u2019t believe what\nyou\u2019ve done in here. It\u2019s like our own little world that no one else on the\nplanet even knows exists.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not yet, anyway<\/em>. Jesse pushed back the thought. Their time together would slip\nthrough their fingers like water. He didn\u2019t want to waste a second of it\nworrying about what might happen in the future. \u201cThat sounds good to me. I wish\nwe could stay in this world forever, but I promised Caleb I\u2019d be back on the\nbase by ten. Any later than that and someone will start asking questions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s okay. I know you have to be\ncareful.\u201d                                                                    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He turned her hand over in his and rubbed his thumbs\nover her palm, brushing off the dirt. \u201cWe both do.\u201d He finished with that hand\nand reached for the other one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She searched his face. \u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s what?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s bothering you? Has something happened?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course she would see it in his eyes. He\u2019d never been\ngood at hiding what he was feeling, especially from her. And new laws seemed to\nbe passed every week. Almost all were designed to oppress Christians after a\nradical group, \u201cThe Horsemen,\u201d had carried off a deadly terrorist attack on\n10\/10\/53, six months earlier. She probably expected something like what he was\nabout to tell her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesse blew out a breath and reached inside his jacket to\npull a slim, white box out of the inside pocket. \u201cI wasn\u2019t going to give you\nthis right away, but since we can\u2019t stay long, maybe it\u2019s best.\u201d He held the\nbox toward her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meryn reached for it. \u201cYou got me a present?\u201d She\nstarted to lift the lid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stopped her by covering the box with his fingers.\n\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surprise flickered in the ocean-blue eyes that met his.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he spoke, he couldn\u2019t keep the coldness from his\nvoice. \u201cThis is not a gift. And it is definitely not from me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n