The Black Rood
The Celtic Crusades: Book II
Chapter One
November 10, 1901: Paphos, Cyprus
The summons came while I was sitting at my desk. The afternoon post had just been delivered-the office boy placing the tidy bundle into my tray -- so I thought nothing of it as I slid the paper knife along the pasted seam. It was only upon shaking out the small cream-colored card that my full attention was engaged. I flipped the card over on the blotter. The single word, "Tonight" written in a fine script, brought me upright in my chair.
I felt my stomach tighten as an uncontainable thrill tingled through me. This was followed by an exasperated sigh as I slumped back in my chair, the card thrust at arm's length as if to hold off the inevitable demand of that single, portentous word.
Truth to tell, a fair length of time had passed since the last meeting of the Inner Circle, and I suppose a sort of complacency had set in which resented this sudden and unexpected intrusion into my well-ordercd existence. I stared at the offending word, fighting down the urge to pretend I had ... read full excerpt from Black Rood, The ebook
