About the Book
Title: Halloween Fires
Author: Val McMurray
Genre: Historical / Supernatural Thriller
The time: 1340
The place: Swan
village, the estate of Sir Hubert Longhurst, on the banks of the River
Severn, and the city
of Bristol in the south west of England.
The story:
On All Hallows Eve, a
satanic mass is held in the forest across the river Severn.
A girl is sacrificed
and a young boatman dies.
A suspicious priest,
Father Simon, the Sheriff of
Bristol and three
Dominican Monks hunt the “Satanists”.
Their evil leader is
the Dominus.
The Dominus is quite
mad and plans revenge. The villagers will suffer.
In Bristol devil
worshippers are tortured and burned.
The Dominus murders
his partner and kidnaps a girl.
A black mass takes
place. There is torture and death.
A battle is fought.
The Dominus flees.
The Lord of the manor
holds a Manor Court to investigate the frightening events. Prisoners must be taken to Bristol for trial
by the church.
They, and a rich
treasure, must be escorted to Bristol.
Satanists in Bristol,
plan to fight for the treasure.
There is a battle on
the road. Many are killed, the treasure is lost.
A blacksmith and a small boy assist the
Sheriff in an attempt to regain it.
Perhaps Evil has been
overcome; however, Devil worshippers in Bristol plan another mass.
The Sheriff is lured
away.
In the Glade of Stones
the Devil may yet triumph.
Chris at a Satanic Mass:
‘Drink!’ cried the Dominus. ‘A
toast to our Dark Lord!’
A part of Chris was appalled by it all and
yet he seemed unable to resist joining them. They turned back to the fire and
the Dominus threw more powder, and this time the smoke swirled up black. The
Dominus spattered blood on them as they circled the fire, mumbling incantations
as he did so.
Chris could hear angels singing and he
could see pretty flowers and faces, floating in the smoke. He was hot and threw
off his jerkin. The holy men were laughing and sat him on the ground to pull
off his hose and boots. He giggled and leapt up to dance naked, his strong,
muscular body glowing in the firelight. He leapt and gamboled around the fire.
Ecstatically joyful. Invincible. He loved everyone! Laughing loudly he jigged
about. Then he saw Mercy. She rose from the stone and walked slowly towards
him, hands outstretched. Of course, she was not dead. It had all been a game.
She was a pretty little thing.
‘Come, Mercy,’ he called, reaching out to
her. ‘Come dance with me.’ She came, but as she came, she changed; now she was
naked, her lovely round breasts and little pot belly filled him with desire.
©Val McMurray
Author Bio
As a child in England
I loved to write stories. I have lived in Sydney Australia for over forty
years. My children and grandchildren live close by. I worked as a trained nurse
until retirement. Sadly, then, my husband needed nursing. Now I live alone and
needed to follow my own interests. First a Book Club (all
writers need to read), and I love it. Our discussions are lively and I have
read many books that I would never have picked but for the club. It really
widened my horizons. I also joined a Writers Group in Liverpool and have found
great enjoyment and satisfaction in learning from the very different people in
the group. I have been pleased to see several of my articles in print. We
contribute to Freexpression Magazine (www.freexpression.com.au), which is edited by Peter Pike. His unfailing
encouragement and that of Michael Norris, who read the first draft of this book (and believed in it) has been the impetus needed to goad
me to finish it. The research was daunting, but I have always been interested
in history, and I soon became immersed in the 14th century. How the people
lived and their deeply felt superstitions and customs held me enthralled. There
are, inevitably, mistakes. Please forgive them. I set out to write a rollicking
good yarn, set in the south west of England, I hope that you enjoy it.
Links
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/545821
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