Author Allen M Werner

Now is your chance to start the epic fantasy series – The Crystal Crux. The 2nd edition of the first book, Betrayal, is available for its lowest price ever!

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“The black dragon roared and raged as his patience evaporated, Like the devil he was, he swore to turn this magnificent battle into a tornado of fire and stone.”

“Oh Venus, you love, you charming sweet dame, smile and kneel, afford, entertain. Touch not my soul but arouse this old flame, kiss me, inhale me, be not ashamed.”

“Rugerius kicked off the breeches and stood at her bedside with his fists on his hips. “Are your feelings hurt? I don’t care. I’m in no mood for your insolence. My men are waiting for me. This has already taken too long. Open your goddamn legs and let’s do this.”

“No, if Pero ever ceased to be incensed by injustice and deliberately defied God, forswearing his sacred duties, I would be disenchanted with him. His spirit is as real to me as his face. I can recognize Pero, eyes closed, heart open.”

When the door closed and the room was silent, Pero and Maria came together at the end of the bed and mourned in each other’s arms. The man they loved most in the world was traveling on a quest from which he would never return.

Bergus spat on the floor careful to miss the Englishman’s shoes, not wanting to end up like Rugerius. “You have no friends, Spaniard. Your life is over. Consider it done.”

“Life is the dream, my dear, if we let it be. Anne is my dream. she is the product of my devotion to God.”
Midonia chuckled. “She is the result of your lust towards me.”

“Recant! Recant! Get down on your knees and recant! I am your wife. You owe me.”

“Faith is not in the finding, Midonia. Faith is in the believing it will be found.”

“I didn’t sleep nare a wink last night. I polished everything. I wanted you to blind the eyes of your enemies.” He looked to the items in his hands with disappointment. “And now I’ve messed it all up.” Merle’s enthusiasm was gone.

Pero was dead serious. “You seem a godly sort, Francis. Should the occasion arise, can we forge an alliance? Would that be asking too much?”

The peacock knight staggered to his feet. He cleared butterflies from his thoughts as feathers danced around him.

“Did you hear me?” Pero asked… “You have saved my life today, Francis of England. Now I’m going to save yours.”

Pero exploded… He stomped his boot on the castle floor. The great hall didn’t quake but should have. “Sir Knight! Read!”

“You are a peacemaker, Pero. You brought light into a dark remote corner of the world. Capua is your home now. Don’t let Gherardus take that from you.”

Several grains in the door began to glow with a golden shine that seemed to be trapped inside the wood itself. The light continued to intensify as the sinewy rays warped and wrapped themselves around one another like snakes until they formed the letter R twice.

“Come now, Francis, we both know my quest is futile. I will not return. If the satyrs and goblins on Eagles Pass do not devour me, then surely a cohort of Parthenope’s finest will.” Pero paused. “Anthea is right. It’s a trap.”

Her eyes were brilliant and terrified. “Stay, Francis, parakalo. If Pero has said anything fatuous in this letter… I may become foolish with my own life. I am so scared of what he has written.”

She rose as high as her toes would allow, getting in near to his ear and flushed cheeks. “For a few gold coins,” she whispered, her voice nearly singing. “Anything is possible.”

“You must take better care for your virtue, Gisele. There are real wolves about. They will not behave as decently as I am behaving now.”

Pero shut his eyes for a long hopeful moment. He pleaded with God. “Please Lord, don’t let her be old or ugly, please, please, please.”

He was getting lost, sailing into her gaze. And then he realized she was smiling and approving of him. In unison they said to the other, “Beautiful.”

“Who appointed them kings and princes? Did God do that? Would a God of love condone their greed, violence and lust? Samson slayed them. He slayed the Philistines with the jawbone of an ass.”

“Da, I will be fifteen tomorrow. My life is just starting. Let me live a little. Nothing will happen, I promise. I’m still your little girl.”

“We are all angels, Francis Whitehall, one and all.” A shower of warm blue light sprayed out of his comforting blue eyes and engulfed the stairwell in remarkable brightness.

Pero knew the hunt was far from over. He was still quarry. There was still time to be taken to ground. There was still time to be mauled and eaten alive. There was still time for the devil to claim his soul.
“Iya basta!”

A strange weight like invisible hands seized his shoulders. The ghost began pulling him backwards, away from the clearing.

But Tomas did what he had always done. He thought about it but did nothing more. He wasn’t going anywhere. He had not the courage to leave. He had not the faith. Not now. Not ever.

Curling the corners of his mouth, Sinibaldus winked at a leopard resting near the dais. Without hesitation, the animal, possessed by a new thought, leapt to its feet, dashed a few short yards to its right and pounced on a timid fawn grazing on a short nip of grass.

“Time is still the best medicine. Leave it on through the night and I’ll re-wrap it in the morn. Patience and prayer, son. If we don’t have time for those, we deserves what we get.”

“We all wear masks to hide our fears. Even this animal. It’s scared of something. It doesn’t want to hurt me but it’s not sure it can trust me.’

Unlike Dato, Tomas has tasted the riches of Parthenope. He was born there. He played in the palace. He had friends. He never speaks about it. The desire to escape is strong. He is a good boy with dreams. Many of those dreams, I’m sad to say, involve vengeance. He believes he is owed. And he is not wrong.

“I tire of your vacillation. Sheath that damnable weapon and never unsheathe it again in my presence unless you intend to use it.”

“Eagles Pass was once a peaceful road, well-protected and sanctified by the presence of eagles. Gherardus and Sinibaldus spoiled it and destroyed it. I thought by now the kidnapping ploy would have worn out its usefulness. I’m surprised to hear he has used it again.”

“Although he cares very little for Christ or the Church, he clings to the possibility that violent men willing to shed blood to further God’s kingdom on earth can be absolved of their sins. And he is good at shedding blood. And he is willing.”

‘Is Gherardus really nothing more than a foil for the Church? Did he murder his parents to take the throne? Is the princess in Melfi a ruse to rid the Court of troublesome officials like me? Is there a magician controlling animals with a crystal? Are there flying horses?’

Pero was standing on the side of an exceedingly high mountain, snowy windswept peaks as far as eye could see. He was cold and terrified.
Anthea was angelic. Without wings, she hovered in the air off the edge of the cliff before him, her silvery dress a wispy, formless mist. Her Grecian skin was translucent but sparkling with color.
Smiling, she opened the collar of her dress, exposing her breasts. Her heart was a crystal.
“That’s my crystal,” he thought, shocked. He checked his chest and as suspected, the crystal heart was gone. ‘Anthea has my heart.’
“Let me in,” Anthea whispered. “My grace is sufficient.”
Pero had his toes on the edge. He reached out as far as he dare. He feared any further move forward would result in a fall. “How do I reach you?” He asked Anthea. “You must come to me.”
Anthea’s heart stopped beating and the light in the crystal faded. The sky turned darker. Great clouds formed.

_ EXCERPTS FROM THE CRYSTAL CRUX – BETRAYAL

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