The Tears of Nero (The Halo Group Book 1) Read Online Free

The Tears of Nero (The Halo Group Book 1)
Pages:
Go to
man stirred.  Sadie shook one while Edward shook the other.   “Are you okay?” they asked.
    Both men grumbled before finally opening their eyes.  They both looked like they had emerged from a night of bad dreams.  “The beach,” the older man muttered.  “Great.  God must be punishing me.  I hate the beach.”
    “Who are you and what am I doing here?” the younger man asked, sitting up quickly.  The moment he did so a lightning bolt of pain shot through his head, and he pressed against his temples to ease the ache. 
    “I’m Edward and this is Sadie.  Who are you?”
    “Franklin Griffith III,” the younger man said, placing special emphasis on the fact that there were two Franklin Griffiths that came before him.
    “I’m Henry Lincoln,” the older man sighed.  “How did I get here?  How did you two get here?  I remember you from that bizarre dinner party.  But I don’t remember traveling here.  Where are we anyway?”
    Edward and Sadie both shrugged.  “That’s the million-dollar question,” she said.  “We were hoping you guys might know what was going on.”
    “I certainly don’t,” Henry said.
    “Neither do I,” Franklin said. 
    “I might be able to shed a little light on this subject,” the final member of their group said as she slowly got to her feet. 
    “Who are you?” Franklin asked. 
    “My name is Kelly Avery.”
    “All right, Miss Kelly Avery, what can you tell us?”  Franklin demanded.
    Kelly pointed to an object that was partially buried in the sand.  “I would be willing to bet that a clue to our problem might be found there.”
    The group immediately focused on a yellowed old tequila bottle that looked like it hadn’t touched human lips in more than a century.  The bottle contained a message. 

 
    Chapter 3
     
    The bottle’s contents begged to be read.  Sadie hummed “Message in a Bottle” by The Police as Kelly removed the cork and pulled out the rolled scrap of paper.      
    “Dear lambs, I think God is mad at us.  If you don‘t believe it, look at your own lives for proof.  You have all been punished to some degree.  That is why you are valuable to me.  You are here to help me understand why bad things happen to good people.  You are part of an experiment in cosmic justice.  You are here to help me come to terms with my own life and to set free the horses of Armageddon.  You are all good people.  As a result, expect bad things to follow.”
    “Is this for real?” Sadie asked, running her fingers through her close-cropped hair.  Even dressed in a black pencil skirt and charcoal blouse, she looked like a fire-haired pixie who was ready to get into mischief.      
    “This is for real,” Kelly said.  “We’re in big trouble.”
    “That’s a logical assumption,” Henry said.  “Someone went to great lengths to bring us here against our wishes.  I don’t think they have our best interests in mind.”
    “I don’t know why anyone would want to hurt me,” Sadie said.  “A few boyfriends have wanted to strangle me to make me shut up sometimes.  But I don’t have any real enemies.”
    “Neither do I,” Henry added.  “And yet here we are.” 
    “Who wrote the note?” Franklin asked. 
    Kelly shrugged her shoulders and glanced back over the letter.  “It’s signed Nero.” 
    “Nero?” Edward said.  “Like the Roman emperor?”
    “Does that mean something to you?” Franklin asked.
    “Maybe,” Edward said.  “I was thinking about the letter ‘N’ on the invitation I received.  There’s an ‘N’ in the sand over there too.  That could stand for Nero.  Did anybody happen to meet our host at the party?”
    “I didn’t,” Henry said. 
    “No, but I wish I would have,” Sadie added.  “I would have given him a piece of my mind.  I never should have gone to that party.  The only reason I went was because of the picture.” 
    “You got a picture too?” Kelly asked.  “I thought I
Go to

Readers choose

Kathryn Shay

R. J. Blain

Dakota Rebel

Candice Owen

Alice Wisler

Cari Quinn

A Tale of Two Vikings

James Jones

Cindy Myers