Free Fridays - 4/22/11

Check out the latest books offered for free on Amazon Kindle. (prices are subject to change, so please check that the price is still at zero before one-clicking)

Meet Lawson. A cynical, wise-cracking vampire charged with protecting the Balance between vampires and humans, he is part cop, part spy, and part commando -- a James Bond with fangs. Lawson mixes shrewd cunning with unmatched lethality to get his job done. He tries his best to dismantle conspiracies, dispatch bad guys, and live long enough to get home. This time, Lawson has been given an easy assignment, a “dead drop.” That is until an old enemy returns…

When Jack Brenin finds a golden acorn lying in the grass, little does he know that it is the beginning of a thrilling and magical adventure. Just an ordinary boy, Jack has been chosen for a hugely important task, and enters a world he believed only existed in legend. Full of twists and turns, talking ravens and mischievous Spriggans, 'The Golden Acorn' is a hugely entertaining and exciting tale from a very talented new author. Your kids will love it, and so will you! This brilliant story deservedly won the Brit Writers' Awards 2010 for unpublished writers and has now been published by Infinite Ideas. The much awaited sequel 'Glasruhen Gate' is out this February.

There are rules for dealing with ghosts. Too bad Ree Hutchins doesn't know them. When her favorite patient at a private mental hospital passes away, psychology student Ree Hutchins mourns the elderly woman's death. But more unsettling is her growing suspicion that something unnatural is shadowing her. Amateur ghost hunter Hayden Priest believes Ree is being haunted. Even Amelia Gray, known in Charleston as The Graveyard Queen, senses a gathering darkness. Driven by a force she doesn't understand, Ree is compelled to uncover an old secret and put abandoned souls to rest—before she is locked away forever....

Every year, professor of antiquities Jack Hawthorne looks forward to the winter break as a time to hide away from his responsibilities. Even if just for a week or two. But this year, his plans are derailed when he's offered almost a blank check from a man chasing a rumor. Billionaire Gordon Reese thinks he knows where the bones of the prophet Elisha are--bones that in the Old Testament brought the dead back to life. A born skeptic, Jack doesn't think much of the assignment but he could use the money, so he takes the first step on a chase for the legendary bones that will take him to the very ends of the earth. But he's not alone. Joined with a fiery colleague, Esperanza Habilla, they soon discover clues to a shadowy organization whose long-held secrets have been protected . . . at all costs. As their lives are threatened again and again, the real race is to uncover the truth before those chasing them hunt them down.

Orphaned sisters Christy and May Williams have chosen very different paths after the sudden death of their parents 15 years earlier. Christy retreats into alcohol and abusive relationships, while younger sister May tries her hand at running a ranch. When the death of a close relative brings the two estranged sisters together, internal pain resurfaces that cannot be ignored by either one. Slowly, amid violence and false accusations, Christy moves toward May, emotionally and spiritually, as both young women discover the possibility of second chances.

The story you are about to read features James Enge’s wondrous character, Morlock Ambrosius. Morlock is a swordsman, an exile, a hunchback, a drunk, and a wizard, though he himself would use the term “Maker” and say he is a master of the two arts, Seeing and Making. James Enge’s tales of Morlock the Maker have appeared in Black Gate magazine, in the anthology Swords & Dark Magic, and elsewhere, and Morlock features in the novels Blood of Ambrose, This Crooked Way, and The Wolf Age. In honor of this burgeoning Morlock fan base, and to commemorate The Wolf Age’s status as Pyr’s one-hundredth title, Pyr is issuing a free, exclusive, ePub novelette called “Travellers' Rest.” Featuring a cover by artist Chuck Lukacs, “Travellers' Rest” is an 8,500 word original novelette, written for Pyr, which takes place before the events of Blood of Ambrose. Enge describes “Traveller's Rest” as “a story that's been trying to chew its way out of my head for a while now, and this seemed like a good time to release it as an introduction to Morlock. Also, Morlock’s apprentice Wyrth has a small but discerning fan base, and ‘Traveller's Rest’ gives them a chance to encounter him again.”If you are new to Morlock, it should make a fine introduction to Enge’s creation, and if you are not, you will be pleased to see the return of at least one old friend. Either way, we hope that you enjoy it.The story you are about to read features James Enge’s wondrous character, Morlock Ambrosius. Morlock is a swordsman, an exile, a hunchback, a drunk, and a wizard, though he himself would use the term “Maker” and say he is a master of the two arts, Seeing and Making. James Enge’s tales of Morlock the Maker have appeared in Black Gate magazine, in the anthology Swords & Dark Magic, and elsewhere, and Morlock features in the novels Blood of Ambrose, This Crooked Way, and The Wolf Age. In honor of this burgeoning Morlock fan base, and to commemorate The Wolf Age’s status as Pyr’s one-hundredth title, Pyr is issuing a free, exclusive, ePub novelette called “Travellers' Rest.” Featuring a cover by artist Chuck Lukacs, “Travellers' Rest” is an 8,500 word original novelette, written for Pyr, which takes place before the events of Blood of Ambrose. Enge describes “Traveller's Rest” as “a story that's been trying to chew its way out of my head for a while now, and this seemed like a good time to release it as an introduction to Morlock. Also, Morlock’s apprentice Wyrth has a small but discerning fan base, and ‘Traveller's Rest’ gives them a chance to encounter him again.”If you are new to Morlock, it should make a fine introduction to Enge’s creation, and if you are not, you will be pleased to see the return of at least one old friend. Either way, we hope that you enjoy it.

Island Life by William Meikle

An archaeological expedition is intent on opening an old barrow on a remote island in the Scottish Hebrides despite the reservations of the locals, who all know and fear the old stories. The scientists unleash a colony of murderous monsters from deep under the earth. As the released creatures swamp the island, slaughtering livestock and people alike, the humans must band together to combat it with few resources save their courage and wits.

About the Author: I'm Willie, a Scottish writer, now living in Canada, with ten novels published in the genre press and over 200 short story credits in thirteen countries, the author of the ongoing Midnight Eye series among others. My work has appeared in a number of professional anthologies.

My current best seller is THE INVASION, a sci-fi alien invasion tale with mass carnage, plucky survivors, and last minute rescues. It has been as high as #2 in the Kindle > science fiction charts. (and #4 in Kindle > horror ). Please check it out.

I've been asked many times why I write what I do. I choose to write mainly at the pulpy end of the market, populating my stories with monsters, myths, men who like a drink and a smoke, and more monsters. People who like this sort of thing like it.

I've also been criticised for it by people who don't get it. Willie Meikle is..."the author of the most cliched, derivative drivel imaginable...the critical acclaim he receives from his peers is virtually non-existent." is only one of the responses I've had.

Now, I don't write for the critical acclaim of my peers. I couldn't give a toss what other writers think of me. I'm writing for two reasons... myself and a readership. Posterity, if there is one, can decide on whether it's any good or not. Besides, the harder I work at it making my writing accessible, the more readers I get, so I'm doing something right.

But that's still not why I do it. My pat answer has always been the same. "I like monsters."

But it goes deeper than that.

I write to escape.

I grew up on a West of Scotland council estate in a town where you were either unemployed or working in the steelworks, and sometimes both. Many of the townspeople led hard, miserable lifes of quiet, and sometimes not so quiet desperation. I was relatively lucky in that both my parents worked, but I spent a lot of time alone or at my grandparent's house.

My Granddad was housebound, and a voracious reader. I got the habit from him, and through him I discovered the Pan Books of Horror and Lovecraft, but I also discovered westerns, science fiction, war novels and the likes of Mickey Spillane, Ed McBain, Alistair MacLean, Dennis Wheatley, Nigel Tranter, Arthur C Clarke and Isaac Asimov. When you mix all that together with DC Comics, Tarzan, Gerry Anderson and Dr Who then, later on, Hammer and Universal movies on the BBC, you can see how the pulp became embedded in my psyche.

When I was at school these books and my guitar were all that kept me sane in a town that was going downhill fast. The steelworks shut and employment got worse. I -could- have started writing about that, but why bother? All I had to do was walk outside and I'd get it slapped in my face. That horror was all too real.

So I took up my pen and wrote. At first it was song lyrics, designed (mostly unsuccessfully) to get me closer to girls.

I tried my hand at a few short stories but had no confidence in them and hid them away. And that was that for many years.

I didn't get the urge again until I was past thirty and trapped in a very boring job. My home town had continued to stagnate and, unless I wanted to spend my whole life drinking (something I was actively considering at the time), returning there wasn't an option.

As I said before, I write to escape.

My brain needed something, and writing gave it what was required. That point, back nearly twenty years ago, was like switching on an engine, one that has been running steadily ever since.

And most of the time, the things that engine chooses to give me to write are very pulpy.

I think you have to have grown up with pulp to -get- it. A lot of writers have been told that pulp=bad plotting and that you have to have deep psychological insight in your work for it to be valid. They've also been told that pulp=bad writing, and they believe it. Whereas I remember the joy I got from early Moorcock, from Mickey Spillane and further back, A E Merritt and H Rider Haggard. I'd love to have a chance to write a Tarzan, John Carter, Allan Quartermain, Mike Hammer or Conan novel, whereas a lot of writers I know would sniff and turn their noses up at the very thought of it.

I write to escape.

I haven't managed it yet, but I'm working on it

Dawn's Review:
I can't even begin to tell you how much I loved this book. It was gripping right from the beginning and held on until the end. I loved the way William sprinkled the backstory throughout the book, giving us an inside look at the bad guys. But just enough without taking away the mystery and fear they evoked. Which is of course what I loved most about it. Horror. My favorite genre. This was the first book I read by William Meikle, but I can assure you it won't be the last.

One Dollar Wednesdays - 4/20/11

Nicole Baxter has always tried to control every element of her life, but that control is slipping away. She has issues. Abandonment issues. Marital issues. Conception issues. And she thinks her house in the hills is haunted. It doesn't help that her husband Truman spleunks and climbs, making her worry more with each adventure he takes. As the two grow apart, Nicole makes decisions that may ultimately shatter her fragile marriage. Her life changes on the afternoon she receives a phone call from the harbor. During a scuba dive, Truman disappears. No one -- not his diving instructor, not the Coast Guard -- can find him. Is he still alive? Or is grief making her believe the impossible?

A man learns a painful and valuable lesson... one finger at a time. An old couple bickers over disgusting leftovers. Kids go ignored when they tell their parents about the horrors that lurk in their bedrooms, until it's too late... LESSONS AND OTHER MORBID DRABBLES is a collection of 25 100-word shorts that range from darkly comic to downright terrifying and wrong. Some shorts feature ghouls and monsters while others are simply about people behaving very, very badly. Which is scarier? Find out in this sick and twisted collection. They may only be a few words long, but that doesn't lessen the bloodshed any... A sinister puppet finally makes a new friend. A man learns about his bleak future. A killer has another painful lesson to teach. From the author of LESSONS AND OTHER MORBID DRABBLES comes this terrifying and amusing follow-up. 30 100-word shorts about horrible ghouls, monsters and deranged, bloodthirsty lunatics. In these drabbles, you'll run into kid-hungry goblins, sadistic dolls, zombies and psychopaths who believe that violence can solve just about anything. Disgusting, creepy and darkly comic, LESSONS II: ANOTHER MORBID DRABBLE COLLECTION is bound to entertain, as well as horrify. There's always time for another lesson... Features bonus story by David McAfee, from his horror collection DEVIL MUSIC AND 18 OTHER STORIES.

Seventeen-year-old Elizabeth Moon has been dreaming of her murder her entire life, and in those dreams, a dark presence is there, watching. When she returns home to Hauser’s Landing, the very place her father disappeared, she comes in contact with a gorgeous boy named Lev Walker, and it’s not long before she’s falling in love. But there’s something wrong with Lev. When she realizes he’s the eerie watcher in her dreams, she’ll have to discover the truth. Is he a guardian angel or a sojourner, an angel of death who has come to collect her soul? Book One of the Sojourner Series

To Harvey Doyle, law-abiding vampire and civil servant, Christmas represents no more than an inconvenient disruption of his routine. When he receives a nearly-dead elf during the office gift exchange, he discovers the true meaning of disruption. Bowe Winderowe, elven assassin and convicted felon, has been ordered to serve the remainder of her sentence dressed as Santa’s slutty little helper. Her condemners, required to offer her a chance at redemption, claim they’ll revoke the execution order if she can awaken the Christmas spirit in the saddest excuse for a bloodsucker she’s ever seen. Since Bowe doesn’t believe in death-averting Christmas miracles any more than Harvey does, she’s determined to spend her final twenty-four hours teaching him how to live… whether he likes it or not.

A murder by beheading sends Alice Harte, reluctant real estate broker for thugs, running into the arms of Nigel Channing, a charming British con man. This comedy mystery, the first in a series of criminally funny fables, is set in Miami and London. Fans of Stephanie Plum will cheer for Alice as she watches her back in attempting to keep her head, while being stalked by Nigel's daft ex-wife and inept, but dangerous mobsters. Alice's world is filled with memorable characters strangely reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland. She's guided through her dangerous adventure by her own Cheshire Cat. Nigel, a chubby John Cleese with serious dress-code problems, whisks Alice to England. Alice sees him as her White Rabbit rescuer. The plot trips along at a cracking pace with Alice flinging zingers like a drive-by shooter. After Alice discovers a gangster's freshly beheaded body in his Miami mansion, she launches a desperate self-defense in a kangaroo court. The main witness against her is Algy Green, a bumbling cockney swindler who super-glues his bat wing ears to his head and commits perjury for theme park tickets. But in the middle of the trial a small piece of evidence opens her eyes.

Seventeen-year-old Alice Bonham's life feels out of control after she meets Jack. With his fondness for pink Chuck Taylors and New Wave hits aside, Jack's unlike anyone she's ever met. Then she meets his brother, Peter. His eyes pierce through her, and she can barely breathe when he's around. Even though he can't stand the sight of her, she's drawn to him. But falling for two very different guys isn't even the worst of her problems. Jack and Peter are vampires, and Alice finds herself caught between love and her own blood...

Character Interviews: Vyktor Petrov of Reining In

Author Name: Dawn Judd

Book Title: Reining In

BB: Tell us your name and a little bit about yourself.

VP: My name is Vyktor Petrov. I am a vampire. I've spent the last few hundred years tracking down the vampire that killed my wife and unborn child. She will pay for what she did.

BB: What role do you play in your book?

VP: Apparently I'm the bad guy. I don't get it. I'm the one that was wronged. Why do I have to be the bad guy?

BB: How did you meet your author?

VP: I think she thought me up while looking for a scapegoat. Really. I mean, why did she think everyone would hate me after what happened to me?

BB: Do you get along with your author?

VP: Are you kidding? You should see the things she does to me. My life sucks because of her.

BB: Is this your first role in a publication?

VP: I guess. Supposedly there's supposed to be a prequel, so I suppose I'll make an appearance there. But I don't know. I'm pretty put out with how this one went.

BB: Do you plan on returning in other books?

VP: Well that would be kind of difficult since she killed me off in this one, wouldn't it? But you know, even death can't keep me from exacting my revenge. Mark my words.

BB: Do you like how you were written?

VP: Not even a little bit. I'm not really a bad guy. I just want the people who took my family away to pay for it. Why is that so wrong?

BB: What is the most interesting thing that happened to you in this book?

VP: Besides dying? I suppose going to Egypt was pretty interesting. Although nobody tells you about my trip. Kicked to the backburner as usual.

BB: Who is your favorite character in your book, besides yourself? Why?

VP: Claire. For many reasons. She's good to me. She would never betray me like other people I know. She tells me things; things about the future. I feel like she would do anything to protect me.

BB: Is there anything we should know about you that we haven't been told in your book?

VP: Besides the fact that I'm not as evil as everyone makes me out to be? No, not really.

BB: How do you feel about the way your story ended?

VP: HA. I lost my head. How would you feel? You people are sick. I'm outta here.

BB: Well then. It was "nice" getting to know more about you Vyktor. To learn more about Vyktor and his family secrets, check out Reining In.

Book Description: Khalida is a five thousand year old vampire. As technology and national security become more prominent, it becomes harder and harder for her to hide her secret from the world. In order to remain undetected by humans, she creates a network of people whose only job is to hide her identity. But these aren't just any group of people. They are the best of the best, brought to her by chance; tied to her by a bond stronger than any she's ever known before. Being discovered by the human world isn't Khalida's only concern, however. She has made enemies in the vampire world. When she makes a mistake that exposes her to those who want to take revenge on her, she is tossed into a whirlwind of death and destruction. She has to find out who is killing the humans who have become her family, and save those who remain. Khalida has spent her entire life trying to protect the people she loves, but ultimately, she will have to decide between the ghosts of her past and the people who have put their lives on the line for her. Her decision may haunt her for the rest of her life.

Free Fridays 4/15/11

Check out the latest books offered for free on Amazon Kindle.

(prices are subject to change, so please check that the price is still at zero before one-clicking)

The death of a fellow NCIS agent in North Carolina leads Will Coburn and his special team of naval crime-scene investigators to discover a drug-and-arms smuggling ring. The investigation leads them to a U.S. military base in South Korea. When a body is stolen from a crime scene, the team discovers that their suspect is not who he seems. Nuclear weapons have gone missing, and it's a race against time as the NCIS team uncovers the true face of evil.

Passion turns to envy. Love to murder. One way or another, everyone is spoilt. A sadistic killer is stalking the streets, carving his hatred into the bodies of beautiful, young women. The murders are stirring up bad memories for Detective Lucas Huson, as he struggles to remain focused - juggling the horrors of today with horrors from the past. When Chelsea Summerville's best friend goes missing, she's unwillingly dragged into the race to stop the killer. As Lucas and Chelsea find happiness together, Chelsea becomes the hunted rather than the hunter. Can Lucas shake off his demons and save the woman he loves, or will everything he holds dear be spoilt?

Two is trapped: hooked on heroin, held as property, forced to sell her body to feed the addiction. Time brings her ever closer to what seems an inevitable death and Two waits, uncaring, longing only for the next fix. That’s when Theroen arrives, beckoning to his Ferrari and grinning his inscrutable grin. He is handsome. Confident. Eager to help lift her out of the life that’s grinding her down. The only problem? Theroen is a vampire. His blood can cure her addiction, grant her powers she has never had, change her forever into something greater than she was. But when he sinks his teeth into her neck, Theroen also thrusts Two into a world of danger, violence, madness and despair. The powerful, twisted elder Abraham will use her arrival to shatter the uneasy peace that exists in his mansion, bringing an end to the dark game he has been playing for centuries.

Remember the twin golden rules of hitchhiking? # 1: Don't go hitchhiking, because the driver who picks you up could be certifiably crazy. # 2: Don't pick up hitchhikers, because the traveler you pick up could be raving nutcase. So what if, on some dark, isolated road, Crazy #1 offered a ride to Nutcase #2? When two of the most twisted minds in the world of horror fiction face off, the result is SERIAL, a terrifying tale of hitchhiking gone terribly wrong. Like a deeply twisted version of an "After School Special," SERIAL is the single most persuasive public service announcement on the hazards of free car rides. Beyond a thrilling piece of horrifying suspense, SERIAL is also a groundbreaking experiment in literary collaboration. Kilborn wrote the first part. Crouch wrote the second. And they wrote the third together over email in 100-word exchanges, not aware of each other's opening section. All bets were off, and may the best psycho win.

New York City is in the grasp of a deadly, unseen enemy. At least unseen by normal society. Lieutenant Jess Vandermire, New York City police officer, is uniquely specialized to recognize and fight this threat. It’s her job to forge a black ops team, an assortment of men and women who wouldn’t be considered for the job under normal circumstances. But these aren’t normal circumstances. The team has to be tough and, if need be, expendable. Jess understands what she’s fighting and what’s at stake. For her, it’s all about retribution until ex-cop John Brittain is recruited to her team. Suddenly, her priorities aren’t quite so easily definable. John Brittain has a chip on his shoulder and is as tough as they come. But is he ready for the whole truth? That combating “super” vampires whose primal need for blood and the addictive drug “Sunshine” is only the beginning of their problems? And when Jess tells him the truth about herself, will he stay and fight or will he turn against her and not only threaten their lives but destroy the fragile relationship developing between them?

Character Interviews: Gilbert Rochambeau of In the Eye of the Beholder

BB: Tell us your name and a little bit about yourself.

GR: My name is Gilbert Rochambeau; I'm from the Camargue, in the south of France. The Camargue is famous for its white horses and black bulls, both of which I know something about.

BB: What role do you play in your book?

GR: I start out as valet to Francois Delacroix, but eventually become majordomo for his cousin, Claire Delacroix.

BB: How did you meet your author?

GR: I started out as a minor character in the story, but I would not be quiet and so she wrote more about me.

BB: Do you get along with your author?

GR: I think she has a crush on me.

BB: Is this your first role in a publication?

GR: Yes.

BB: Do you plan on returning in other books?

GR: I will be back in the sequel, "In The Eye of The Storm."

BB: Do you like how you were written?

GR: Yes; I wound up being much more brave than I thought I would be.

BB: What is the most interesting thing that happened to you in this book?

GR: Moving from Paris to London, where I learn a great deal about myself.

BB: Who is your favorite character in your book, besides yourself? Why?

GR: Claire. I am in love with her, but no one can know; she is married to Erik LeMaitre.

BB: Is there anything we should know about you that we haven't been told in your book?

GR: My leg was injured in a freak accident while I was out riding on our family's cattle ranch. That is why I walk with a cane.

BB: How do you feel about the way your story ended?

GR: Optimistic, because there is more to come.

BB: Thank you Gilbert. Hope to hear more about you soon.

To learn more about Gilbert Rochambeau check out In the Eye of the Beholder by Sharon E. Cathcart.

Book Description: When French equestrian Claire Delacroix loses her fiancé in a tragic accident, she comes to live at the Paris Opera during its 1890s heyday. Life is not easy for a woman in fin de siècle France, where her rights are determined by a male guardian. Claire, both intelligent and independent, chafes under the strictures of her time. Whilst working at the opera, she meets a mysterious, masked stranger: Erik. Is it possible that the two of them will heal the pain of each other's past?

One Dollar Wednesdays - 4/13/11

After being forced to kill her own son, Khalida begins to spiral into a deep depression. With Jake gone and the Network in danger of falling apart, she runs away from Mack and everyone else she loves, hoping that they will be safer without her near. However, Fate has something else in mind for Khalida, and soon she learns that Vyktor had a secret that he was keeping from her. His secret becomes her chance at redemption. But atonement doesn't come without a price. She will have to risk everything to find the answers to the mysterious events surrounding her. Has Vyktor come back from the dead to exact his revenge? The only way to find out is for Khalida to face her fears. She must fight the monster that haunts her and save the one person that holds the key to her past. Rae Wilder has problems.... Supernatural creatures swarm the earth, and humanity is on the brink of extinction. Stalked by a handsome fairy who claims she is like him, demonkind, Rae thinks maybe it was a mistake breaking the rules by going over the Wall into demon territory. Plunged into a world of dark magics, fierce creatures, and ritual sacrifice, she is charged with a guarding a magical amulet. The changes to her mind and body are startling, but rather than accept her purpose she struggles against who she is destined to be. Throw in a big lust for a vampire who can't keep his hands off her, and life starts to get complicated. Rae is forced to make the ultimate choice: to live and die human, or embrace her birth-right and wield magics that could turn her into something wicked, a force of nature nothing can control. Young Adult: British English (BrE) Over fifty million people died when the Spanish Flu swept the globe in 1918. The virus attacked the young and healthy, dealing a crippling blow to a world still reeling from the horrors of the First World War. It wormed its way into communities large and small, killing mercilessly, before abruptly vanishing without a trace in the summer of 1920. That was then. In 2005, scientists completed sequencing the genetic code of the Spanish Flu. The following year, they infected monkeys with a reanimated strain of the very same virus. The monkeys exhibited classic symptoms of the 1918 Spanish Flu. Then they died. This is now. In the course of a routine transfer between government facilities, a team of ruthless mercenaries intercepts a supply of a highly engineered Spanish Flu virus. Gage Mercer, the future son in law of a deranged billionaire, finds himself drawn into a plot to trigger the extinction of the human race through a deliberate release of the virus. This could be the future. Stephanie Ann "Sam" McRae's busy, but orderly life as a Maryland lawyer takes a chaotic turn when two clients are accused of murder. A poor, black girl is accused of killing her mother. A young man suspected of embezzlement is accused of murdering his boss. The cases collide in a bizarre way involving girl gangs and computer pornography. Sam ventures into the heart of DC's suburban ghettos to find answers. A maniacal killer who'll do anything to hide them stalks her. After a nearly disastrous confrontation, Sam must do business on the run. As the body count grows, Sam races to learn the truth and clear her clients before she becomes the next victim.

A power kept secret for 2000 years. A brotherhood broken by murder. A woman who stands to lose everything. When Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead, the Apostles took stones from his tomb as a symbol of their brotherhood. At Pentecost, the fire of the Holy Spirit empowered the stones and the Apostles performed miracles in God’s name throughout the Empire. Forged in the fire and blood of the Christian martyrs, the Pentecost stones were handed down through generations of Keepers who kept their power and locations secret. Until now. The Keepers are being murdered, the stones stolen by those who would use them for evil in a world transformed by religious fundamentalism. Oxford University psychologist Morgan Sierra is forced into the search when her sister and niece are held hostage. She is helped by Jake Timber from the mysterious ARKANE, a British government agency specializing in paranormal and religious experience. From ancient Christian sites in Spain, Italy and Israel to the far reaches of Iran and Tunisia, Morgan and Jake must track down the stones through the myths of the early church in a race against time before a new Pentecost is summoned, this time powered by the fire of evil.