The
Raveners
Book
1
LD
Towers
Genre:
Paranormal Thriller
Publisher:
BadBird Publications
Date
of Publication: September 20, 2016
Word
Count: 100k
Cover
Artist: Pranav Lohani
Photo
by Blackbird Photography
Book
Description:
On
26 May 1897, Bram Stoker brought us the story of Dracula; an undead
creature who terrorised the living by drinking their blood. He based
his creature on the legends of Ireland and Eastern Europe, bringing
it to life with all the pomp of Victorian literature. What if his
concept was correct, but the execution was not? What if there was not
one creature, but a band of twenty-four? Crusader knights who
committed such a terrible act that the Pope of Rome and the Rabbis of
Jerusalem joined together in petitioning God to bring a terrible
curse upon them.Sentenced to eternal life as punishment for their
crimes, yet hounded by both the clerical and the secular as they
struggle to live them. The Jews called them Ga’ashekelah: the
Raveners. To the Catholic Church, they are the Accursed Ones.
Feasting on the bodies of the living to maintain their power.
What
starts as a simple trip on the Eurostar to the buried trenches of
World War One in Northern France is going to take Imperial War Museum
expert Dr. Alexandra Horne on a journey she could never have
conceived. From the bustling streets of Paris to the azure waters of
Collioure and the very Vatican itself, Lexa will discover the
Raveners and those who have sworn to hunt them down.
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Excerpt:
She
found herself going from map to map. This was sometime around the
second phase of the battle, before Beaumont-Hamel was finally taken.
Thiepval as well. “This must be from the middle of September 1916.
Maybe October. It’s obvious from this that he was trying to bring
men around to penetrate the Allied lines from the areas they couldn’t
budge.” She found herself gnawing on a thumbnail. “Dear God! With
a counteroffensive like this, he might have shifted them. It’s a
bold plan. Whether or not he could have managed it, with the Germans
bleeding to death at Verdun, would have been the question. But damn!
This might have changed the battle. Maybe even the war.”
“I
wondered about that.” Another voice behind her.
Lexa
turned and coloured, realising that in her wonder she had completely
ignored the stranger in the room. “Oh! I am Sorry! Dr. Lexa Horne
of the Imperial War Museum.” She held her hand out.
“Dr.
Jack Bennett. Pleased to meet you.” Bennett was a large, fit man in
his mid fifties with close-cropped, iron grey hair and a face lined
from years digging in the sun. He had a bit of the George Clooney
about him and Lexa was sure that all the archeology undergrads wanted
him as a prof. He was a trifle swoon worthy. “Call me Jack. It was
great that you could come out here at such short notice. We will be
wrapping all this up in the next week or two.”
“The
pleasure is entirely all mine,” Lexa told him in all earnestness.
“This is simply unbelievable. This is like walking into heaven for
me.” Ok. A small lie. Dead men and unexploded ordinance aside, it
was heaven.
Bennett
gestured back with his head and stepped aside. “I doubt the major
there would agree.”
Lexa
gasped as she saw the body at the desk. He was perfectly mummified,
just as Darby had told her. He was hunched over, as if sleeping, and
his golden hair gleamed in the light. His skin was the colour and
texture of tanned leather, and his lips under a large moustache had
pulled back to show his teeth. His head lay on on crossed arms,
sunken eyes closed in eternal repose. The fingers were slightly
curled; a large ring on one hand and a wedding ring on another. His
light blue uniform hung on what was left of his frame, but was in
decent condition through the shoulders. In fact, there were no real
decomposition of the fabric. His side arm rested on the chair, the
belt having slid down with time. The silver bullion on his uniform
had a dull tarnish and the aiguillettes on his shoulder seemed
suspended as if by magic. Beside him, his uniform cap was on the
desk.
“Oh
dear God!” Lexa exclaimed. “You’ve just left him there? How
could you do that?”
“The
question is how to get him out of the trapdoor without disturbing
him. We have another specialist coming in from Germany. He is one of
theirs, after all,” Bennett shrugged. “And you know the Germans.
They are trying to find the right person. I would move him, but he is
perfectly preserved. Outside of this environment, I expect he would
not last long. It seems a shame to compromise his remains
unnecessarily.”
The
body rooted Lexa to the spot. She felt a terrible weight on her
chest. “I’ve never seen a dead body before.”
Darby
walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s ok. He can’t
hurt you.”
“It
also feels a bit indecent to be looking at him.” But she found she
couldn’t tear her eyes away.
“We
treat all remains with the greatest respect,” Bennett said quietly.
“As you know, there is a lot we can learn from him. He is so
perfectly preserved. When we have learned from him, we can return him
to his family, if they still exist. He can be reburied with honour.
He was lost and we found him. There is nothing indecent about that.”
“I
just feel so strange with him there. I feel like a thief in his
home.”
“The
first time you see remains is always the hardest,” Darby told her.
“Just remember that he is gone. What made him a person is gone. He
is in a better place.”
Lexa
nodded and walked closer to the desk. Her mouth was rather dry but
now curiosity was getting the better of her. They were right. She was
just being a ninny. Yes. This man was dead and he couldn’t hurt
her. “Yes. I suppose you are right.”
Bennett
quirked up a little smile. “Just don’t touch him.”
It
was the moustache. The moustache was so familiar. Even in death, it
had that upwards curl which was so familiar. A vain bushiness. When
she had seen it in pictures, it always made her smile. “I think I
know who this is!” Lexa exclaimed and reached into her bag for her
iPad.
About
the Author:
LD
Towers travels the world like a rootless vagabond! A military
historian, she searches out places of conflict to find a deeper
insight to the things she writes about. Presently enjoying the warm
weather and azure seas of Central America, she has lived all over
Western Europe, including 5.5 years in the incomparable Berlin.
Primarily
working in Historical and Military Fiction, LD sometimes sneaks in
the odd Dystopian or Modern Thriller piece. In fact, her new book is
a complete redo on the vampire concept. Look for The Raveners; coming
September 20, 2016.
https://ldtowers.net
book trailer https://youtu.be/zHxgDt0G2PA
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Thank you so much for hosting me today! :)
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