1632 Snippets

The Demons of Constantinople - Snippet 07 Location: Pucorl's Garage, Netherworld Time: 9:37 PM, August 24, 1372 Roger stepped into the pentagram in a room off the mechanic's bays in Pucorl's garage. This was a special pentagram. It went from Pucorl's lands to the land of Themis. He bowed and sat in the chair. A moment later the titan Themis appeared in the pentagram, sitting on her throne. "Hello, Roger," Themis said. "What can I do for you today?" Themis was a friend. Normally mortals didn't count titans as friends, in the same way that...

The Demons of Constantinople - Snippet 06 *** A few minutes later, Leona strolled onto the parking lot of Pucorl's garage and Pucorl opened his side door. "Kitten is worried you got lost and Mrs. Grady . . ." Pucorl sighed heavily. ". . . insisted I come pick you up before the magic of my world drove you crazy." "I'm fine." "I don't doubt it, but let's keep them happy. I'll arrange for some smoked fish for dinner." Leona strolled over to the van and leapt in. The door closed and suddenly they were back in the mortal realm. Leaping up to the...

The Trouble With Huguenots - Snippet 11 "Sorry," Marc said. "It's the best we can do with the documentation I've been able to procure." He wasn't really sorry. Susanna blinked. "Mama isn't sick, is she?" "Not as far as we know, but it's a good excuse, especially since you're an only surviving child." "I haven't heard from her for ages and I'm not even sure that she's still in Tyrol. When the regent remarried to Grand Duke Bernhard, she didn't take most of the ladies-in-waiting she had in Tyrol with her. Mama's mistress had come from Tuscany...

The Trouble With Huguenots - Snippet 10 Aunt Alis also sent the scullery maid out to scrub the front steps again, which earned the guests a sour faced glare as the woman walked around the pile of dripping, filthy, clothes they had left on the mud room floor. Soubise's valet rummaged through the luggage and managed to find a dress suit that he deemed presentable, so the duke remained to take the noon meal with his hostess, his unhappiness much ameliorated by an excellent leg of lamb accompanied by young peas, grown in Mme. Cavriani's own...

The Demons of Constantinople - Snippet 05 Location: Kitten's Tree, Dryad's Grove, Netherworld Time: Late Evening, August 23, 1372 Leona looked around the grove and wondered. Why humans did things was always a mystery, and here she was with a human. At least, a sort of human she could talk to. "Why were you in my village, Kitten?" Kitten yawned and curled up next to the tree. "We were going from Paris to Constantinople. Your village was on the way." "And why are you going to Constantinople? Is there good hunting there?" Kitten's eyes opened,...

The Demons of Constantinople - Snippet 04 Chapter 2 -- How Are We Getting There? Location: Pucorl's Garage & Happytime Motel, Netherworld Time: 8:50 PM, August 23, 1372 Roger McLean lifted the Sword of Themis from his back where it floated. It was five feet long with a foot and a half of hilt. It was also light as a feather in his hand. He laid it in the rack that Pucorl installed in his room, then sat on the bed to take off his boots. He opened Sun Tzu, his laptop, enchanted by a muse of war. "Sun Tzu, where are we?" The map function...

The Trouble With Huguenots - Snippet 09 Chapter 7 The Low Countries March-April 1636 Any given Channel crossing from England to the Netherlands was likely to be better in March than in February. Not much, but some. On the average, so to speak. Marc Cavriani said that everyone involved in Henri de Rohan's rescue mission for his brother should be grateful for that. Moreover, Soubise was out from under an, admittedly pretty comfortable, prolonged house arrest in London. Soubise failed to support that cheerful perspective, but did heave a...

The Demons of Constantinople - Snippet 03 "Leona wanted to see the grove, Mama." Then, with a severe look at Leona, Kitten added, "Leona was supposed to stay in my backpack till we got to my tree." "Did you tell her that?" Catvia asked, and a mist flowed from the box and turned into a woman with cat ears and a tail. "Never mind. If you don't know better than to think you can tell cats what to do, it's time you learned." Leona meowed in complete agreement with this. "But you tell me what to do all the time," Kitten complained. "You're a kitten...