FOUR STARS! Romantic Times
On the order of King William II, called Rufus, Alain De Crency goes to Cumbria to seize the castle of the sorcerer Fyren, kill him, and take Fyren's daughter as his bride- no questions asked.
But no siege or battle is necessary, for the castle is merely handed over to him. And inside he finds the evil Fyren dead, his body shrouded in the most magnificent purple cloak Alain has ever seen. Alain takes the cloak for his own, then discovers the intended bride is missing. He wonders, does the girl, as he had asked Rufus, have two heads? And what secrets will he find that Rufus didn't want to tell him?
Tormented by demons and hideous dreams, Melisande cares not whether she lives or dies, yet she fears death far more than dying. She has committed a sin that will never be forgiven, killed her murderous father to protect her people from his predations. But Fyren is said to be the Spawn of Satan, and Melisande has every reason to believe his claims. And once she crosses into the realms of Satan, she knows her father will exact vengeance beyond her worst imagination. The hellish voices that scream inside her head now are nothing compared to what is to come. Yet she knows the Norman priests will burn her for her crimes as well as her demons.
She flees, hoping the Norman lord will be satisfied with just the castle. But Fyren has sealed the fate of the Norman, for the purple cloak she left as Fyren's shroud is now draped over the Norman's shoulders. Only Melisande knows what it will bring. Only she can save the Norman from his fate, and the fate of her people with him. That means she must face death. And Hell. And Fyren.
On the order of King William II, called Rufus, Alain De Crency goes to Cumbria to seize the castle of the sorcerer Fyren, kill him, and take Fyren's daughter as his bride- no questions asked.
But no siege or battle is necessary, for the castle is merely handed over to him. And inside he finds the evil Fyren dead, his body shrouded in the most magnificent purple cloak Alain has ever seen. Alain takes the cloak for his own, then discovers the intended bride is missing. He wonders, does the girl, as he had asked Rufus, have two heads? And what secrets will he find that Rufus didn't want to tell him?
Tormented by demons and hideous dreams, Melisande cares not whether she lives or dies, yet she fears death far more than dying. She has committed a sin that will never be forgiven, killed her murderous father to protect her people from his predations. But Fyren is said to be the Spawn of Satan, and Melisande has every reason to believe his claims. And once she crosses into the realms of Satan, she knows her father will exact vengeance beyond her worst imagination. The hellish voices that scream inside her head now are nothing compared to what is to come. Yet she knows the Norman priests will burn her for her crimes as well as her demons.
She flees, hoping the Norman lord will be satisfied with just the castle. But Fyren has sealed the fate of the Norman, for the purple cloak she left as Fyren's shroud is now draped over the Norman's shoulders. Only Melisande knows what it will bring. Only she can save the Norman from his fate, and the fate of her people with him. That means she must face death. And Hell. And Fyren.
