Today I welcome Jan Fischer Wade, author of the tantalizing VEILED VIRTUES.
One question: Do Knights Exist? Fischer Wade is quick to answer:
Yes, modern day English knights do exist...
and Paige desperately needs their protection to survive!
When Paige Stewart left America to house-sit in England, her only thoughts were to get away from her controlling mother and to have fun. Little did she know that her working holiday would turn into a battle between good and evil, or that she would be the epicenter of that battle. She certainly didn’t expect to be swept off her feet by a modern-day English knight. But when blood appeared on her keyboard and she discovered her childhood scars bleeding, her holiday took a turn for the eerie and dangerous, and when she ventured into the metaphysical shop run by Nathaniel Brightmore, she found much more than tarot cards and crystals.
Excerpt of VEILED VIRTUES:
Part One
Paige
“The greatest virtues are those which are most useful to other persons.” – Aristotle
Prologue
I remind you, Brothers, our entitlement is clear. Long ago, vast lands were unjustly taken from our forefathers by an insufferable monarch whom they unsuccessfully sought to remove from power. As punishment, their blood was spilled, and their property given to loyal members of the royal court. Our duty to our ancestors to reclaim our rightful wealth and power remains to this day. It is our destiny.
The Brotherhood’s destiny depends upon our skills and power, bestowed upon us by the Dark Master. He gifted those with the power of a third eye to see beyond present reality, those with the talent to harness the energy of the spirit world, and those endowed with commanding and formidable physical prowess. The fortunate ones who possess these talents are obligated to craft their skill to its highest potential for our uses, ensuring our power grows stronger with each decade.
To fulfill our destiny, we have the power to claim others as our own whom we, by blood-given right, must seek out and use for our empowerment. We live among the weak only to identify those for whom our Brotherhood has a use, and those whom we must suppress. Our rights supersede the insignificance of a life that does not further our goals. Each of our Brothers maintains the responsibility for protecting the confidential nature of the obligation our existence and purpose has placed on us. Society knows there is power in numbers. Thus, to disguise our numbers is to veil our power. May the dark master bless us with the forces to secure our destiny.
Written in the Scroll of Dominion in the year 1787 in Badenfield, England By Robert F. Shickley, Eighth Red Lord of the Brotherhood of Cerberus
Chapter One
A picture is worth a thousand words. At least, that’s how the old saying goes. But the uninvited pictures which invaded my mind usually left me speechless. Often of unknown persons and places, they are a constant reminder that I’m different. I wasn’t always like that, though.
The morning after my high school graduation, I wandered around our house, trying to figure out what to do with myself. I sauntered into the kitchen, where my mom poured coffee into her travel mug before she left for work.
“Quit moping around the house. Why don’t you call one of your friends to come over for a slumber party?”
“Mom, I’m almost nineteen. We don’t call it a slumber party anymore.” I rolled my eyes. “And besides, all of my friends are on the campout you wouldn’t let me go to. Remember?”
She simply sighed and then left for work, closing the front door quietly behind her.
Why did my mom have to ruin everything? She made her way onto my shit list the previous day, and my annoyance with her had not waned.
Even a well-planned-out appeal to my dad about the camping trip didn’t work. I was leaving in a few short weeks to house sit in England by myself for the rest of the summer. Who was she to tell me I couldn’t go be with my friends in a tent for one harmless night?
I couldn’t wait to get out of Charlottesville and away from my mom. Two whole months of peace from her would be refreshing. It seemed like her life revolved around keeping tabs on my life. I don’t know why she didn’t trust me. It was essentially a miracle she’d finally agreed to my England trip, because generally, only divine intervention would have made that happen. It was as if my mom was scared for me to be out of her sight and control.
Thankfully, my dad came through for me on the England trip and basically put his foot down. He insisted it could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity I shouldn’t miss out on. I definitely looked forward to so much independence away from Mom’s suffocating presence.
** Watch the trailer:
