Blackfire: The Rise of the Creeping Moors (Volume II of the trilogy) continues the story of four unlikely teenagers who are summoned by a mysterious stranger to save another world being destroyed by evil. Elli Adams and her friends Beatriz, Jamie, and Alex must overcome challenges of blindness, self-confidence, and Down syndrome as they struggle together to fulfill their mysterious calling as Bairnmoor’s last prophetic hope. Join them as they adventure through singing forests and stardust valleys full of mystical, glorious, and ferocious creatures, all of which test their resolve in the face of overwhelming adversity. Eckblad’s novel wrestles with the age-old questions of Good and Evil and the nature of the heroic life, even as it provides a fresh perspective on how we can have faith in the Good against every indication that Evil is prevailing―and how each of us can be immensely more than we seem to be.

Four unlikely teenagers are summoned to quest for the salvation of a perpendicular world. Elli Adams and her friends Beatriz, Jamie, and Alex must overcome their own personal challenges of blindness, self-confidence, and Down syndrome as they struggle together to fulfill their mysterious calling as Bairnmoor's last prophetic hope. Join them on an adventure through singing forests and stardust valleys full of mystical, glorious, and ferocious creatures, all of which test their resolve in the face of overwhelming adversity. James Eckblad's novel wrestles with the age-old questions of good and evil and the nature of the heroic life. The story offers a fresh and challenging perspective on how one can have faith in the good against every indication that evil is thriving, if not prevailing, and how every child--and so all of us--can be immensely more than we are, and all we were meant to be.

Wuthering Heights is the name of Mr. HeathcliffÕs dwelling. ÔWutheringÕ being a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather. Pure, bracing ventilation they must have up there at all times, indeed: one may guess the power of the north wind blowing over the edge, by the excessive slant of a few stunted firs at the end of the house; and by a range of gaunt thorns all stretching their limbs one way, as if craving alms of the sun. Happily, the architect had foresight to build it strong: the narrow windows are deeply set in the wall, and the corners defended with large jutting stones. Before passing the threshold, I paused to admire a quantity of grotesque carving lavished over the front, and especially about the principal door; above which, among a wilderness of crumbling griffins and shameless little boys, I detected the date Ô1500,Õ and the name ÔHareton Earnshaw.Õ I would have made a few comments, and requested a short history of the place from the surly owner; but his attitude at the door appeared to demand my speedy entrance, or complete departure, and I had no desire to aggravate his impatience previous to inspecting the penetralium. One stop brought us into the family sitting-room, without any introductory lobby or passage: they call it here Ôthe houseÕ pre-eminently. It includes kitchen and parlour, generally; but I believe at Wuthering Heights the kitchen is forced to retreat altogether into another quarter: at least I distinguished a chatter of tongues, and a clatter of culinary utensils, deep within; and I observed no signs of roasting, boiling, or baking, about the huge fireplace; nor any glitter of copper saucepans and tin cullenders on the walls. One end, indeed, reflected splendidly both light and heat from ranks of immense pewter dishes, interspersed with silver jugs and tankards, towering row after row, on a vast oak dresser, to the very roof. The latter had never been under-drawn: its entire anatomy lay bare to an inquiring eye, except where a frame of wood laden with oatcakes and clusters of legs of beef, mutton, and ham, concealed it. Above the chimney were sundry villainous old guns, and a couple of horse-pistols: and, by way of ornament, three gaudily-painted canisters disposed along its ledge. The floor was of smooth, white stone; the chairs, high-backed, primitive structures, painted green: one or two heavy black ones lurking in the shade. In an arch under the dresser reposed a huge, liver-coloured bitch pointer, surrounded by a swarm of squealing puppies; and other dogs haunted other recesses.

In a culture where the supernatural possessed an immediacy now strange to us, magic was of great importance both in the literary mythic tradition and in ritual practice. In this book, Daniel Ogden presents 300 texts in new translations, along with brief but explicit commentaries. Authors include the well known (Sophocles, Herodotus, Plato, Aristotle, Virgil, Pliny) and the less familiar, and extend across the whole of Graeco-Roman antiquity.