Vision

VISION

T HE F INAL B OOK

OF THE

B LAZE T RILOGY

HOPE BOLINGER

Illuminate YA Fiction is an imprint of LPCBooks a division of Iron Stream Media 100 Missionary Ridge, Birmingham, AL 35242 ShopLPC.com Copyright © 2021 by Hope Bolinger All rights reserved. First printing 2021.

Printed in the United States of America Cover design by Elaina Lee No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Iron Stream Media serves its authors as they express their views, which may not express the views of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents are all products of the author’s imagination or are used for fictional purposes. Any mentioned brand names, places, and trademarks remain the property of their respective owners, bear no association with the author or the publisher, and are used for fictional purposes only.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021937412 ISBN-13: 978-1-64526-293-0 eBook ISBN: 978-1-64526-294-7

PRAISE FOR BLAZE Vivid. The perfect picture of the adolescent human condition that both entertains and empowers. ~A. R. Conti Fulwell Author of An Angel in the Distance and Angels in Darkness Blaze peels back the curtains of our world’s desires, and reveals the beasts lurking behind. Packed with relevant topics and worldview, the book draws readers into a white-knuckle adventure where anything can happen—and anything can go wrong. Hope Bolinger delivers a fiery page-turner perfect for students and pyromaniacs, and shows what happens when we’re called into the lions’ den. ~Caroline George Author of The Vestige and Dearest Josephine Hope Bolinger is a fresh new voice in compelling YA fiction that’s not to be missed! ~Michele Barrow-Belisle Bestselling author of Farie Song Trilogy When I heard that Hope Bolinger was writing a series of books taking the Daniel story and putting it into modern times, I knew it would be something special. And indeed, it is. Even though you know the Bible story, Blaze will keep you turning pages as you watch events unfold, as you cheer the faith of four brave students, and as you wait to see how Bolinger will tell the story next. Bolinger is creative, funny, and engaging. Blaze does not disappoint. ~Linda Taylor, M.A., M.F.A. Assistant Professor of Professional Writing, Taylor University

Bolinger has created a captivating academy world and engaging characters in Blaze. Readers will easily relate to the characters’ struggles, and will find comfort in the humor and grace with which the characters navigate a never-ending slew of incredibly trying experiences. ~DelSheree Gladden Author of Invisible Hope Bolinger is a fresh new voice in young adult fiction. Teen readers won’t be able to stop turning pages to find out what will happen to Daniel and his trio of friends in this witty, contemporary take on familiar Bible stories for a new generation. Blaze has something for everyone: adventure, relatable characters, themes of faith in difficult times, humor, and, of course, lots of fire. ~Amy Green Author of the Amarias Adventures and The Things We Didn’t Say In her debut novel, Hope Bolinger artfully delivers a witty and harrowing thriller. Blaze is the riveting account of friendship, faith and survival in the face of the fires of King’s Academy boarding school.

Whatever you think of your school, it’s probably not as bad as the neoBabylonian captivity that Danny Belte and his friends find themselves thrown into at King’s. Bolinger has a gift for ingenious narration and fast-paced dialog with an imaginative and incendiary plot built on magnetic and luminous characters. Danny, Rayah, Michelle and Hannah are unique and infectious high school sophomores, but they face alarming threats, not only to their social and academic well-being but to their very lives. As the fires continue to be lit, their courage, resourcefulness and commitment to faith will keep you glued through each twist and turn. ~Kevin Diller, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion, Taylor University Author of Theology’s Epistemological Dilemma: How Karl Barth and Alvin Plantinga Provide a Unified Response

In Blaze, Bolinger has developed a curious world where nothing is as it seems. Bolinger’s Blaze is a unique twist on the classic high school drama. ~Amalie Jahn YA author of The Clay Lion Series and The Next to Last Mistake Debut author Hope Bolinger entertains the young and young-at-heart with her YA novel, Blaze. She introduces us to Danny Belte and his friends and their struggles and triumphs of life in high school. But this book is so much more. Blaze is a contemporary twist on stories from the book of Daniel in the Bible. The way Hope threads allegory throughout the modern high school setting is masterful. Above all, Blaze is a fun, and can’t-put-it-down, delightful story. ~Jennifer Hallmark Author of Jessie’s Hope We see the Book of Daniel unfold in a completely contemporary way, full of the same intrigue as the Bible story…yet young adult readers will be able to relate to the characters and the plot as it twists and turns in a story that keeps you turning the pages. ~Michele Chynoweth Award-winning author of The Faithful One, The Peace Maker, The Runaway Prophet and The Jealous Son Blaze explores the classically icky elements of high school—mean girls, boys who bully, crappy cafeteria food, pressure to compete, insensitive teachers, midterm stress—and amps it all up a notch when students find themselves involuntarily enrolled in a boarding school from, well, hell. The story’s protagonists, firm in their Christian faith, rise above and put a bold new spin on the concept of school spirit as a school principal attempts to place himself on an impossible pedestal. Author Hope Bolinger cleverly and stealthily superimposes her contemporary teen drama with symbolic content based on old-school values. ~Kelly Anne White Author of The Legend of the Fairy Stones and The Bible Adventure Book of Scavenger Hunts

Dedication To Mom, And all the readers who made it this far, So, so, so sorry for all the stress.

I’m hoping for a happy ending too.

Chapter One

“D

EAN, YOU IDIOT. YOU DIDN’T KILL HIM?” Pain. Fiery pain exploded in the back of Danny’s head as something wet and warm crawled up the back of his neck. Blood, he assumed.

Wetting him and the gym floor. He attempted to jerk to the right, trying to avoid the puddle that snaked between his shirt and shoulder blade, but he couldn’t move.

As he lay flat on his back, the ringing in his ears grew louder with each second. Am I going to heaven soon? Maybe when the ringing stopped, he would.

A grunt right above him interrupted the vibrations.

“I nailed him in the back of the head. He couldn’t have survived that, Val.” “His chest is moving. See? He’s alive.”

Right then, Danny recognized the high-pitched voice. It belonged to ex-student body president Valentina Inanna.

It took him a moment longer to figure out the other voice. A sudden sturdy kick to the shoulder jogged his memory once more.

It was his ex-roommate Dean Chahal. Yay, surrounded by his two favorite people in the world.

“See, look, he just winced when you kicked him. Alive.”

Another grunt erupted from Dean. He clapped his big beefy hands together overhead. “You think he can hear us?” He stomped right by Danny’s ear, which set off the ringing even louder this time.

“Who cares? He literally saw you with a gun. He knows you tried to kill him. Oh—” Valentina swore. “What’s that smell?”

2 • Vision The odor took a moment to hit Danny right smack in the nose.

Urine. No wonder his pants felt wet too. Well, this was awkward.

“People do that sometimes when they get shot.” Dean’s heavy footsteps padded two paces to the right, toward Valentina’s voice.

“It happened to me when my dad took me hunting when I was eight.

Accidentally nicked me in the leg. Claimed he saw a deer five feet ahead but missed.”

He did put a heavy emphasis on that accident word. Just like a true King’s Academy student. No true accidents happened here.

“Yes, so you’ve said a billion times.”

“Why don’t you believe me, then, Val?” “Your dad doesn’t seem like the ‘shooting my next of kin’ type.”

“Because of his job?”

Valentina growled. “Listen, we have an actual problem here. He’s still alive and you have the gun that shot him in your hand.”

“Think I should shoot him again?”

Danny’s heart roared in his chest. His body tried to outdo both the sound in his ears and the pain in the back of his head. He attempted once more to scoot to the right. No luck. Something had disconnected his body from his brain.

Pain electrocuted his temples.

Oh, Jesus, he prayed. If it’s my time to go, please take me now. Please stop this pain.

Then memories surged back in a flood. Dean had tried to shoot him. He’d turned around and bolted for the door, heard a loud roar, and then darkness and ringing. Ah, OK, everything made sense now.

Except that it didn’t.

Why did Dean want to kill him again? That part still felt a little fuzzy, like the tingling sensation crawling up Danny’s neck.

“No, you idiot. The last two you killed looked like suicides. People don’t miss when they shoot themselves and then shoot themselves again just in case. Like, that would be so painful.” She huffed. “I mean, look at him. He doesn’t look like he can even lift his arm to cock a gun.”

True to Valentina’s word, Danny tried to command his arm to rise, but the bones remained slack on the smooth gymnasium floor as blood crawled toward his lower back.

Hope Bolinger • 3 Anytime now, God. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and he’ll bleed out?” Dean sounded hopeful as he stomped back over to Danny.

Something jabbed him in the back of his head as white-hot pain covered his skull. The ringing roared in his ears so much it took a few moments for it to die down. He caught the last bit of what Dean said.

“—close enough to his temple where it looks like he did it.”

The sound of Valentina’s shoes drummed into the gym floor.

“You’re saying it can still look like a suicide attempt?” Now was Valentina’s turn to sound hopeful.

“Got any better ideas?”

“No.” Valentina made a clicking noise, maybe with her tongue against her teeth. She did that sometimes at student council when meetings didn’t quite go the way she wanted. “You sure the school won’t pinpoint you? I mean, the so-called suicides of this past semester happened to all Emmanuel students. And you weren’t in love with our old school rival.”

Then all the memories came rushing back. Two of his friends and now he had fallen victim to the escalation of the age-old school rivalry between King’s Academy and Emmanuel High. Even though Emmanuel burned to the ground last year, any student who transferred from there received the unwelcoming spirit of King’s students. Right before Dean Chahal had clicked the gun, Danny had tried to get him talking, monologuing. That plan failed.

“Why’d you kill my friends?”

“Plain and simple.” His silver eyes glinted in the glare of the gym lights. “I hate Emmanuel.”

“Anything else?”

“Yeah. I hate you even more.”

Click, boom.

Gym lights overhead hummed to the sound of Dean pacing back and forth. “Most people aren’t going to think that. We’re fine, trust me.”

“I still think you should’ve spent more time planning. Now we have to whip up something fast.” Valentina’s voice came out in a clear nasal. Maybe she’d pinched her nose. She did that whenever she got

4 • Vision impatient. “You sure people won’t question his so-called suicide attempt?”

“Trust me, I think I know how we can make this work. Let’s head back to the dorm and figure this out. Before someone finds us in here.”

Augh!

The tingling sensation in his neck had gone from a soft prickle to a sharp thundering of electrical nodes. Thousands of fingers, it seemed, now drilled against his skin. Like the shock treatment he’d read about in Cuckoo’s for English; this felt like that. Spurts of endless, simmering pain.

Was he about to die? The headache and throbbing did seem to disappear into a sensation of floating in a lake full of ringing. Yep, here came death.

Seeing Jesus isn’t the worst thing in the world.

Just before the water covered his ears, his left hand tingled for a moment as Dean or Valentina—he couldn’t tell which—placed something heavy in his palm and squeezed his fingers around steel.