An
Excerpt from
The
Templar Knight, Book One: A Witch Spell
By
jangeo
Pinkerton
Chapter
Fourteen
All
Hallows Eve
1302
October 31
Twilight, on All Hallows Eve, Sir Bret
the meritorious knight stood on the hill near his cottage. Lo, he loved
standing on the hill looking about at the countryside. He closed his eyes and
once again the strange feeling about Briana overpowered him. The celebrations
were already beginning for Samhain, and for some reason there was
unpleasantness drifting through the evening air.
He remembered Alpin’s warning the night
before. Harboring such thoughts, Bret wanted to stay in a sober mood. But could
he? All Hallows Eve—his birthday—and the new wine all awaited him. He imagined
the wizard was at his cottage studying his divination, and natural magick of
the heavens and earth.
Alpin’s voice went through Bret’s mind
now. “Beware, on this night, the veil between the physical world and spiritual
world will be at its thinnest.” Bret felt the presence of someone, then heard
the man’s voice again. “‘Tis known among the ancients that on the night of
Samhain, the dead walks through the veil to enter our world.” Alpin said,
appearing magically beside Bret.
Josephus walked up, carrying two silver
goblets, a small platter of pastry, and two skins of sack draped over his
shoulder. He handed Bret a goblet. “Why all this talk of the dead, Magick Man?
Have the spirits got you restless on this eve?" He bit into a strawberry
tart with his strong white teeth and stood chewing the soft fruit and pastry,
while Bret reached for the other tart.
Bret laughed as best he could, while
chewing the delicious pastry. He reached for the skin of sack to pour some
wine. “’Tis nothing here to concern spirits. Nay, Magick Man. The dead have no
business here,” he said, with confidence.
“Agreed my knight—but demons and devils
do! Indeed they do! They are always busy, going about to stir things up, wicked
things,” the wizard said, looking up into the sky. He pointed to the heavens
with his staff, causing the blue crystal ball at the tip to light up suddenly.
Roman, his dog stood barking loudly.
“Aye, a sign from the Merlin! See before you now, a sign of great
trepidation!”
Bret and Josephus looked up into the sky
at the wizard’s request, and saw only the first star of the night breaking through
the dim sky to reveal its tiny light. “’Tis the first star wizard. Nothing
more,” Bret assured him, reaching for another pastry.
“Nay, Sir Knight. ‘Tis the last star of
the night appearing as the first. ‘Tis not Phosphorus, the evening star. Nay,
this is the last star to appear on the night sky—and lo there!” The wizard took
a breath. “The Dog Star, Sirius, moves beside it now. Can you not see this?” he
asked, with wonder. “Oh, dear me, the whole land of Egypt will be out of order
this night.”
The wizard’s eyes grew big with wonder,
and his voice trembled. “This night is hexed, and I fear this whole village is
cursed.” Alpin the Wizard, turned swiftly and clutched his staff tightly. “I
must make haste to the cottage to act upon me alchemy. I fear the witch Zarelda
is behind this,” he said walking away. “Oh, indeed she is.”
“By the Greek gods!” Josephus declared,
with his mouth full of pastry.
“Fear not,” Bret assured the anxious
man. “Alpin loves to be surrounded by his written works and chemical mixtures.”
Bret laughed now. “’Twill make his evening more exciting.”
But when Bret turned slowly to face the
tiny twinkling stars, he felt a sudden knot tighten inside his gut. What was
Zarelda up to now? he wondered. Nevertheless, she was not that powerful. Bret
doubted she could handle more than a few simple love potions, if any, or could
she?
Josephus spoke as if he could read his
kinsman’s mind. “Remember that night at Zarelda’s cottage? A demon, in the form
of some dark spirit was summoned up.”
About
the Author:
jangeo
Pinkerton is a husband and wife team with published articles, short stories and
the Templar Knight novel series. Their work has been seen in newspapers,
newsletters, magazines online and print and one of their short stories was
published in Chicken Soup For The Nurses Soul.
Born with a love for books, and
writing at an early age, this husband and wife have combined their talents to
write as a team. They are constantly researching ancient and American history,
children’s literature and their remarkable family history, which includes
Robert-the-Bruce, The Lady Mary Bruce and the Pinkerton's of the Pinkerton
Detective Agency.
Jan attended a community college, a
private women's college, and graduated nursing school. Geo operates his own
contractors business in their Virginia mountain community. jangeo Pinkerton is
a proud member of the Clan Colville Society, and the Clan Bruce International
Society.
Visit
the author’s website at:
www.authorsden.com/jangeopinkerton
Contact
Author: jangeo@planetcomm.net
C:2005jangeopinkerton