Brotherhood and Bartered Souls: A Novel

The mysterious Mr. Turel leads Jon to the lost Tree of Life where he is given stewardship of the tree's fruit-one bite of which will maintain a person's youth and vitality for a year. With the help of his closest friends, Jon provides the fruit in pill form to select individuals for a hefty price. Those who receive it must pledge their souls to Turel's patron, a god who supposedly co-created humanity and is now locked in a deadly rivalry with his former partner over men's souls. Turel assures Jon that both gods are equal in power and are neither good nor evil. But Jon isn't sure if he's fighting for the right side-if there is a right side. And, as time progresses, his partners become increasingly resentful of Jon's leadership and secretly plan to wrest away his power. Jon finally realizes that what he is doing has caused grave discourse in the spirit world, and he may have sparked the beginning of Armageddon. When he attempts to take action to undo what he has started, it may already be too late.

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Brotherhood and Bartered SoulsA NovelBy J. Arthur McCraryiUniverse, Inc.Copyright © 2009 J. Arthur McCraryAll right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4401-8981-4ContentsIntroduction..........................................viiChildhood.............................................1Jon's Crew: EJ, Mike, and Neville.....................3Graduation, Murder, and Mr. Turel.....................13Korea.................................................85Virginia..............................................88Fast Forward..........................................104Kim...................................................106EJ Comes Home.........................................110Born Again............................................142Kim's Choice..........................................172Rafael Transforms.....................................186The Trouble with George...............................212Mr. Turel Reveals Information.........................240EJ and George.........................................253The Meeting...........................................286Mr. Turel.............................................293The Other Side Closes In..............................307The Final Mission.....................................329Chapter OneChildhood Jon was not sure how the four of them became so close as children. He couldn't remember not knowing his partners-his best friends. He supposed it was just because they all grew up in the same place; a small town in southeastern Ohio called Belmont. It sat on the edge of the Ohio River, and you could see West Virginia on the other side. Belmont was one of those towns where everyone seems to know everyone else; there were only about ten thousand people in the entire town. Mostly they were white people, with a few black folks mixed in. The black population must have been around a thousand. Looking back, Jon thought that it was a pretty strange place to grow up in the 1960s. For the most part, blacks and whites got along okay. In the sixties, the blacks in town were really getting into the whole civil rights movement, but only because the rest of America was in turmoil and the black folk in Belmont wanted to feel like they were part of the bigger world and not really isolated in this tiny corner of the country. In Jon's little town, most people worked in the factories in Belmont and the other small surrounding industrial towns. It was called the tri-state area, because it bordered West Virginia and Eastern Pennsylvania, and there were dozens of little towns lining both sides of the Ohio River. Most whites and blacks worked in the same kinds of places: coal mines, steel mills, chemical plants. The people were working-class folks from varying backgrounds; blacks, Italians, and other European descents that they really didn't care much about as they were growing up. Basically, they were a lot of poor blacks and white trash all thrown together, living in a different world than most of America. There were four of them: Jon, EJ, Mike, and Neville. They all grew up on the same street. Three were black-Jon, EJ, and Neville. Mike was the white-trash boy they took in. They would call each other nigger and whitey from time to time, mostly joking with each other, but they were as thick as thieves. They truly loved each other more than their own blood siblings. Jon couldn't conceive of life without these guys. It's still hard for Jon to think about Neville. It truly was beautiful to grow up like that in the sixties. They were in their late teens and early twenties by the time the 1970s began. It was a fun time. These guys were like brothers, and they swore from childhood that they'd be together until death. That oath became a reality for Neville much too soon; dying young is one of the great tragedies of this life. Such a waste ... Jon never knew his father. Jon's father was the proverbial rolling stone. He and his mother met, married, and produced Jon, and then he disappeared from the face of the Earth, as far as Jon was concerned, long before Jon was old enough to even think about him. Jon and his mom just lived their lives as if his father never existed. He sometimes thought of trying to find out more about his father and where he was all his life, but after a while he just said to hell with it. Jon's grandfather was the closest thing to a father figure he ever had, and he died of a stroke on the job when Jon was sixteen years old. That's the first real pain he'd ever felt; the first death he experienced that really hurt him. Eventually, of course, he would see his entire family grow old, sick, and die, one at a time. He had cousins and uncles, but they lived far away in South Carolina. He never saw them much and had very little contact with them at all. Basically, his immediate family was all he had. When they died, Jon felt all alone-except for his three close friends. Chapter TwoJon's Crew: EJ, Mike, and Neville Jon is the chairman of the company, but only for reasons outside of his leadership capabilities. EJ Reid is probably the one who would have been naturally qualified for that position, had it not been for the other flaws he acquired growing up; flaws that run counter to his charismatic qualities. EJ had lived about three blocks from Jon. He had four younger brothers and one older sister, and they were poor as dirt, just like Jon was. His daddy never lived with his mother. Hell, as far as anyone knows, he and his siblings didn't even share the same father. Jon really never knew what EJ's mother did to make ends meet-that wasn't something they ever talked about as children. EJ's mom could have worked as a domestic somewhere, or as a dishwasher at some restaurant they never went in, or she could have been on welfare like Jon's mother. It didn't really matter at the time. The thing was, they were the poorest of the poor, but they hung together. Jon thought this was kind of funny, looking back at it now. Most people in that town were just laborers working in an industrial economy, but it was hardly a classless society. The children of coal miners and steel workers looked down on Jon and his buddies because they were poor black and white trash from the hood known as Ramcat. Ramcat was the unofficial street name of their poor, rundown neighborhood. That was really stupid on their part, because they weren't much better. Jon guessed they looked down on them to make themselves feel better. You could call EJ the life-of-the-party type-though that's probably putting it lightly. He was always the center of attention, no matter what the arena. Jon was a little jealous of him growing up. Later in life, Jon found out that EJ felt the same way about him. He had qualities that Jon lacked, and Jon had qualities that he envied-like Jon's ability to stay out of trouble ... or at least, not to get caught. EJ was always getting caught at something or other. Most of the time he'd end up getting out of it, sure, but he was living on the edge. EJ loved living like that. He wanted to be in the center of everything, good or bad-but most of the time it was bad. EJ was the star athlete who never made it to college or pros. He was probably good enough to play at the next level past high school, but there's no way he could have gone to college with his grades. Besides, EJ wanted to get that fast money soon after high school. The only reason he stayed in long enough to graduate was because of all the love and attention he got from being good at sports. That wouldn't have lasted through college. He needed the big money and controversy, and he needed it soon. College sports wasn't going to get it for him-but stealing and drug dealing could provide what he needed, and it could provide it fast. His choice was easy. His grades sucked in high school. He wasn't even taking regular courses; he was in special-education classes all through school. Why that was, Jon had no idea, because EJ was one of the most intelligent people he'd ever met. Well ... to qualify that, his street intelligence was high, and that's different from book smarts. Jon was book smart. Jon knew enough about the streets to survive in any situation, but he didn't have the street savvy to excel at making it in the underworld. That's why he and EJ made a good team. They complemented each other; but even more than that, they loved each other. Of the four of them, EJ and Jon were the closest. They were all close, but EJ and Jon had the deeper relationship. They never talked about it, but they could both feel it. Mike and Neville never really saw that. EJ and Jon never consciously saw it, but something was there. EJ and Jon both were considered the ladies' men of the gang, especially EJ. He had a certain quality about him as a teenager that attracted women, and he still has that today. Jon had something that worked for him in that arena, too, but it was never something that stood out. A lady would have to get to know Jon before she saw it or was attracted to it. EJ, though, had it right up front. It was the way he carried himself. He had an outgoing personality and an ability to communicate with people and make them laugh. He had a way of putting people at ease, but there was also a side of EJ that attracted trouble. He loved to be in the middle of controversy. If things were going well, he was bored. He craved action, good or bad. When they were young, he was always into something. If there was a party, he was the life of it. If there was a street fight, he was always in the center of it, talking shit. Now, Jon wouldn't call EJ, at least back in his younger days, particularly brave. He would run in a heartbeat if the odds weren't in his favor; make no bones about that. If shit was going bad, EJ was gone in the blink of an eye. He was a distance runner in high school, and when he took off running, no one would catch him. He was amazing. Jon never saw anyone so young drink, smoke, do drugs, and still run like the wind for what seemed like hours at a time. EJ was some kind of genetic freak. He was loved by most. Well ... loved is probably the wrong term. Let's just say people loved being around him because of the buzz he created. He attracted people to him because of his personality, but Jon doubted most people really cared about him outside of their inner circle. Most people who hung around EJ were there for the excitement-they were kind of like his groupies. Another thing about being popular like he was is that there were also some enemies lurking in the background. He had his share; mostly other boys jealous of his magnetic appeal to the ladies. EJ always attracted ladies, and a lot of the time, those ladies belonged to other guys. Consequently, EJ was followed by as much controversy as good times, and his personality loved them both. He had to be into something. Sometimes, good shit; sometimes, bad. He was a magnet for it all. EJ was also a natural-born thief. That was another difference between him and Jon: Jon couldn't steal. Presumably, it had something to do with the way his grandparents and mother raised him; he just didn't have the nerve. There were a couple of times when he was real young that he'd go to the little corner stores in the neighborhood and shoplift some candy or something like that, but that was as bad as it got. Even then, Jon felt such a nervousness that he knew he couldn't be involved in anything like breaking and entering or stealing anything worth more than about fifty cents. Of course, that never stopped Jon from selling drugs with the fellas in high school. He never really thought of that in the same light as stealing from someone. Yes, it was a crime, but it wasn't the same in his mind as stealing or robbing. EJ, on the other hand, stole all the time. He damn near stole something daily. When EJ and Jon were on the high school track team in ninth grade, EJ used to sneak into the locker room during practice and steal change out of his teammates' pants pockets. He would do this every day and never get caught. Jon sometimes wondered if everyone knew it but just let it go because it was EJ, and no one wanted to cause trouble for him. They would leave practice and walk home and stop at this little store on the corner-it was called "The Corner Store" of all things, and EJ would steal food. He would steal lunch meat and a can of pork and beans and take it home and cook it and eat it. Jon would be with him, but he would never steal. EJ knew that Jon just wasn't into it, but it didn't bother him. He would steal and share with Jon. He was just like that. He would go home and cook, and his mom would be right there, watching. She never asked where or how he got the food; Jon assumed she really didn't want to know. EJ would never try to hide it or sneak it into the house. They just had that silent understanding. He would do what he needed to do to live. They were poor, and that was the way it was. It seemed funny to Jon that EJ always had a pocketful of change-more than enough to buy the food, of course, but he wasn't about to pay for it. It just seemed so natural for him to steal, and he looked so natural doing it. Later in life, EJ's crimes escalated, and he would pay a hefty price for his criminal behavior. EJ was one of the nicest people Jon knew growing up; Jon never thought he would harm anyone. He would steal from you, but he would never hurt you. But that changed at some point in EJ's life. By the time EJ turned eighteen, he had killed someone. Jon was with him when this happened. Jon doesn't really think he wanted to kill the guy, but the circumstances forced him into it. This and one other event in EJ's life changed him forever. It made him cold. It made him ruthless when he had to be. It took his innocence away. It dug him into the street life so deep that he could never come back to the way they were when they were young. It took him in a different, dangerous direction. The other event that changed EJ's life was the eight years he spent in prison for armed robbery. Jon wasn't around when this happened. When they hooked up again afterward, Jon could see that EJ was a changed man. Jon knew that, after those experiences, EJ was capable of anything. They were still extremely tight; EJ felt that Jon was the only person in the world he could really trust. Even though they never saw each other or stayed in touch during the time EJ was gone, when he got out, he knew Jon was in his corner. Or hell, maybe it was more that he knew that everyone else wasn't. EJ realized, while he was away, that his so-called friends were mostly just hangers-on who really didn't give a shit about him unless he was throwing a party and handing out free drugs. In fact, when he was in the joint, some of his so-called buddies were having a good time with his lady. People who owed him cash basically said, "To hell with EJ, he's in the joint anyway." He knew Jon wasn't part of that crowd. When EJ got busted and sent to prison, Jon was in the military overseas. He heard about it almost after-the-fact, because he was trying to find his own way in the world outside of Belmont. Jon had temporarily separated himself from that life to find his own. But when EJ got out of the joint, Jon was there for him. So were Mike and Neville. EJ realized by then, that they were his only true friends. The rest were just groupies who loved living off his lifestyle of fast, furious, and fun. The fake friends loved it while it was happening, because they were part of the party; but when the party was over, they turned their backs on him and took whatever was left. When he went to prison, they took his drugs, his cars, and even his lady. Mike Tucker was one of the coolest white boys Jon ever knew. He grew up down the block from Jon's house, and used to hang out at his house so much he must have thought he was black. They used to play in the alley next to Jon's house, throwing rocks and racing up and down the street on our tricycles. Later, they walked to school together-from the first day of kindergarten until they graduated from high school. He loved black music and Jon's mom's soul food. Jon's mother and grandmother were really against him having Mike as one of his best friends, just because he was white. It wasn't because they didn't like him-they did-but because they were afraid for Jon. They didn't want Mike's parents to treat Jon like shit because he was black. Mike's parents were some drunk-ass rednecks. They were very abusive toward Mike and his brothers and sisters. Mike's dad worked in the coal mine like most of the folks in the neighborhood and, like everyone else, would spend his time either working or drinking. That's just the way it was in Ramcat. Sometimes Mike's dad would get real drunk and come home and really treat his family badly. He would especially be abusive to Mike; Jon didn't know why. Maybe it was because Mike was the oldest of the kids. Mostly it was because Mike stopped taking his dad's shit when he got to be a teenager. Mike loved to be around Jon and the other blacks in the neighborhood. He wasn't like the other white boys or girls who liked to hang with blacks because they thought it was a cool thing to do, though. Mike didn't try to act black or speak in the same slang terms black people used. He wasn't trying to imitate them. With him, it was a natural thing. He knew he wasn't black and didn't try to put on a front like he was. He talked like them because that was all he knew. He hung with them because, from a young age, they just accepted him as one of them. Th ey knew that he was white, and they were black, but it didn't matter. Th ey were all just plain 'hood folks. He was one of them. (Continues...) Excerpted from Brotherhood and Bartered Soulsby J. Arthur McCrary Copyright © 2009 by J. Arthur McCrary. Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

About the Author

J. Arthur McCrary served twenty-one years in the United States Air Force. He and his wife, Anita, live in Lithonia, Georgia. This is his debut novel.

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