1632 Snippets
The Demons of Constantinople – Snippet 38
The Demons of Constantinople - Snippet 38 Bertrand wanted to keep pushing. Partly because it was the right strategic move. But politics were involved too. His king, Charles V of France, wanted the Christian powers to push the Turks back across the Bosporus. So did Pope Gregory. And because of the phones in Paris, they could tell him so. The pope was in Avignon again, but Avignon wasn't Rome. It was only a few days away for a fast rider. And besides, the pope had a crystal set enchanted by a cherub in Avignon. The effect of these things was to...
The Demons of Constantinople – Snippet 37
The Demons of Constantinople - Snippet 37 "Allah protect me!" "That will be up to Allah, I would imagine," the slate said. "I am simply here to examine your wound and see if it is becoming infected." That was a whole other fear, to be without his left arm. It would end him as a janissary, probably end him period. Fear for his life warred with fear for his soul, and it was fear for his life that won. He let the priest examine his wound with the phone. *** "There is a bit of infection, but not much yet. If we treat it now and seal the wound, he...
The Demons of Constantinople – Snippet 36
The Demons of Constantinople - Snippet 36 Chapter 11 -- Battle Damage Location: Inn Converted into Hospice, Tzouroulos Time: 4:15 PM, November 22, 1372 Andronikos had a broken arm. Which to hear him tell it was because of Bill Howe's cowardice in failing to support him. He had lost almost ten percent of his knights, again the fault of the twenty-firsters, their cowardly demons, and Bertrand du Guesclin. This time because Pucorl was late in coming to his defense. His cousin Demetrios was dead because Pucorl had abandoned his duty and because,...
The Demons of Constantinople – Snippet 35
The Demons of Constantinople - Snippet 35 "Right, General," Bill said. Then to Sherlock, "Amplify. Pucorl is coming, men. Hold them a little longer and they're toast." Bill said it in French, but Sherlock shouted it in Greek. It seemed like it would work. The defenses stiffened. But they were still being pushed back. *** On receiving the new instructions, Pucorl made a sharp right turn and, external speakers blaring "Ride of the Valkyries" at full volume, he charged to the right. *** Jennifer's phone, Silvore, shouted, "Pucorl's going to...
The Demons of Constantinople – Snippet 34
The Demons of Constantinople - Snippet 34 *** In the van, Annabelle heard what was going on, and pushed the down button on the power windows. They didn't move. "Pucorl! You open that window unless you want me to shoot through your roof." "Shoot through my roof then. Better holes in me than in you," Pucorl shouted back. "I can't see through the roof. Open the window." The window opened to Pucorl's pleas for her to be careful. With nothing really approaching care, Annabelle grabbed the upper edge of the window frame and pulled herself half out...
The Demons of Constantinople – Snippet 33
The Demons of Constantinople - Snippet 33 Location: Outside Tzouroulos, Byzantium Time: Three Hours After Dawn, November 22, 1372 Murad I, the founder of the Ottoman Empire, sat his horse outside Corlu and examined the tactical situation while in his hidden heart, he raged. How dare they? Could they not see that he was the Chosen of Allah? Destined to found an empire the like of which the world hadn't seen since Alexander? In less hidden places in his mind, he determined that though there was a slight rise, there were no walls protecting the...
The Demons of Constantinople – Snippet 32
The Demons of Constantinople - Snippet 32 But these guys were a solid half-century away from that sort of thing. There was a flash in Pucorl's dash cam. That arrow was enchanted. "Behave," Pucorl said in demonic. But the arrow didn't seem to understand. For that matter, Pucorl didn't recognize the sort of demon that was in the arrow. That was when Pucorl used the new phone system. He called Wilber and asked who or what it was. Wilber spoke in demonic and the arrow glowed. "I'm not entirely sure, but I think it's a djinn. An extremely minor...
The Demons of Constantinople – Snippet 31
The Demons of Constantinople - Snippet 31 "I want to try something," Wilber said. "But I am going to need Pucorl's permission. Can you tell me why you didn't want Merlin or Igor in on this call?" "Because Merlin is a muse of a god that existed in France in the time of the Neanderthals. That god sleeps and is ignoring Merlin, and will continue to do so unless Merlin learns something that will aid it. If Merlin does learn something from you or your experiments that would be of great value to his creator, he will be obligated to inform it. I...