Amulet’s Rapture by Linnea Tanner.
Book 3 of 4: Curse Of Clansmen And Kings.
Blood stains her Celtic home and kingdom.
The warrior Druid princess will do anything to retake her kingdom.
Awarded 5 Stars By The Editor At Book Marketing Global Network. Epic Series Continues!
Those of us following The Curse of Clansmen and Kings series by Author Linnea Tanner continue this Celtic Tale in book three titled ‘Amulet’s Rapture’.
Books One and Two cover the (4 AD to 24 AD) war between tribal rulers and the Romans (over political differences) that put Britannia in peril. Revenge, accusations of treason, kidnapping, tests of loyalty, romance and even shapeshifting brings us to where we are now in the saga.
Amulet’s Revenge begins in Northern Gaul, Late Autumn, 24 AD as Catrin “Still, she held out hope. Her dead father had appeared in a dream and told her that a young raven would teach her how to gain more powers from the ancient Druids.”
Let me bring you into the story at Chapter 26, titled The Black Sphinx and set in Durocortorum, Gaul, August, 26 AD. I quote:
…Catrin’s world had been turned on its head. After a week of traveling inside a wagon, she couldn’t connect to her caged raven, though it was in close proximity next to the driver. Unlike before, she couldn’t travel to the Wall of Lives in the raven’s mind and visit Marcellus in his dreams. It was as if her second sight had vanished. For the first time in her life, she was blind, in darkness, desperate to find the light out of her dilemma. She had already made several attempts to latch onto the image of the white raven in her mind and shapeshift to its form. Her wits were in a whirlwind, trying to figure out what was blocking her magic. Was the stress of being a condemned gladiator taking a toll on her mystical abilities?
…The click of the opening door and Verus’s voice barking, “Get out,” jolted Catrin out of her grim contemplations. She and the other shackled prisoners shuffled out of the wagon onto a rampart. To her dismay, she recognized the slave quarters at Durocortorum, where Decimus had previously threatened to imprison her.
…Panic coursed through her veins as guards escorted her into the graystone building, where they passed rows of cages holding slaves. To the rear of the structure was a splintered wooden table on which a black cauldron had been set. Log benches lined the back wall. A disheveled female slave, whose front teeth were missing, scooped porridge into bowls, handing one to each of the prisoners.
…Warily glancing around, Catrin wondered if this was a temporary stop or would they be retained here. She sat on a log bench beside the other shackled men. Though queasy, she lifted the bowl into the palms of her hands and shook it to dislodge the porridge into her mouth. Most of the pasty cereal adhered to the surface of the rust-colored bowl. With shackles restricting her movement, she scraped the upper edge of the bowl with her fingers and licked the pasty substance off her fingertips. It tasted salty and a little sour. Her stomach clenched when she observed green tinge of mold on the porridge. She retched what little she had eaten. A dark-skinned, shackled prisoner scooted away from her with a look of disgust.
… “It’s moldy,” she explained, scrunching her face in disgust. The shackled prisoner shrugged and gobbled his glob of porridge down.
…Catrin then noticed Verus approaching with the caged raven. Next to him was the disgusting slave dealer, Rufus, whom she remembered from her previous visit to the site with Decimus. He was furiously scratching red sores on his neck—a tell-tale sign of lice infestation.
…Verus set the caged raven at Catrin’s feet. The bird, in obvious stress, shrieked and flapped its wings against the wooden bars. She leaned over the cage and said softly, “Calm down. No one will hurt you.”
…The raven quieted and gawked at her, opening its beak as if begging for food.
…Rufus handed Catrin a couple strips of bloody flesh. “Here. For the raven.”
…Not sure if the tissue was animal or human, Catrin pushed it between the wooden bars for the raven to eat. The creature clasped the tissue in its beak and gobbled it down. After that, it pressed its black-feathered body against the cage. Although she wanted to stroke the raven’s plumage, hoping she could connect with it, the metal shackles restrained her.
…Verus and Rufus then began talking about Catrin, as though she were not there. Their discourse disquieted her as she closely listened.
…Rufus remarked, “She would bring top coin as a personal slave to a politician in Rome. He would enjoy taming the wild creature in his bed.”
… “She’d slit his throat before that happened,” Verus retorted. “I watched her fight Centurion Priscus. She held her own.”
…Rufus’s eyebrow cocked. “Pity. Who will she fight in the arena? Another woman?”
…This book is a must read for those who love Historical Epic Fantasy. Enjoy each book in the series, as we wait for ‘Skull’s Vengeance (Book 4 of the Curse Of Clansmen and Kings series.
…Author Linnea Tanner researched this historical time period very well, and her excellent story telling brings this drama to life, keeping the readers engaged and turning and the pages. She includes maps of Britannia and Gaul along with a complete list of characters (even a downloadable PDF).
Amazon Print:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0998230073/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i3
Kindle:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Y8SS2B2/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2
Author’s Page At Book Marketing Global Network:
https://bookmarketingglobalnetwork.com/book-marketing-global-network/author-linnea-tanner/
