"A wonderful blending of Paranormal, Romance, and Suspense!"
Lazarus Conlon was born in the latter half of the fifth
century A.D., the child of a mortal woman, Octavia daughter
of Romulus, and Lexliel, a fallen angel. Lexliel had been
one of the Grigori, the fallen angels of the tenth choir.
In Eden they had been charged with the supervision and
education of mankind. Curiosity had been their downfall for
they had coupled with the children of Adam and Eve against
the will of God. Children of such unions were most often
born demons, unless their angelic parent had repented his
sins and their mortal parent was bound to Paradise, or so
the legend goes. Lazarus' soul was untainted, but with his
father dead, destroyed by the devil himself, he would
either die or be claimed by the demons. It was for that
reason alone, that Octavia had come to her father to beg
him to bring her son across -- to gift him with dark
immortality. Romulus agrees, with the condition that Octavia be brought
across as well to rehabilitate the child's soul. Romulus
had been a vampire for many centuries. Unlike the members
of the Dark Breed, depraved beings who feasted on the blood
of mortals, Romulus' soul had been rehabilitated by the
Nazarene. In the days following the death of the savior, he
had been entrusted with sacred relics, the Saint John's
Stake, and the Amulet of Christ. The Amulet contained the
blood of Christ, and could restore mortality to a vampyre
as long as it was worn by it. Romulus had fallen in love with a Tracker, a woman of the
line which hunt the vampyre. He had been accepted in his
rehabilitated state and had become mortal to give her a
family. But as time passed the darkness had called to him
once more. He had left his home to rule over his vampyric
tribe known as the New Breed. This clan of rehabilitated
vampyres were his kin, who feasted not on the blood of man
but instead kept their hunger at bay with the gifts of
heaven, Paradisian wine and fruits. He had turned the
sacred relics over to his wife's people, the Trackers, to
be held until the day that his heir would reclaim them by
fulfilling his destiny. The days of the great Roman Empire were at an end, his soul
was tired, and now with an heir to lead his tribe Romulus
was free to greet the sun. When the deed is done, Romulus
informs Octavia of the child's destiny. He will someday wed
a mortal woman of the Tracker line, and together they would
bear a child who would hunt the Dark Breed. Lazarus is
gifted with a pack of wolves to assuage the lust for blood.
He is not to take the blood of mortals, except at such
times that he must bring across a member of his kin. At
those times his soul would have to be rehabilitated or he
would be lost. Shortly thereafter, the angel Montgomery appears to
Octavia, proclaiming his debt to his fallen brother,
Lexliel. Montgomery despises the vampyre for what they had
done to his family, killing his wife and son, but Lexliel
had been killed defending the boy, Lucius. Despite his
distaste for Lazarus' kind the angel would do everything in
his power to protect his brother's son and love him in
Lucius' stead. Six hundred years later Lazarus, now grown, senses that the
tribe is once again being stalked by the evil presence
which had driven them from Rome when he had been just a
boy. Lazarus has great cause for concern. Not only has he
the New Breed to protect, but he now had a wife to defend
as well. Neomina Delacroix was a mortal woman of the
Tracker line. He had entered into a contract with her
father when it had been realized that she was the woman of
whom the prophesy had foretold. The sacred relics that had
once belonged to his grandfather were now in the possession
of her father. Through Neomina, they would one day return
to Lazarus. He had never expected to fall in love with her,
but he had and there in lied a dilemma. Lazarus is tortured by his divided responsibilities. He had
made a promise to Neomina's father not to bring her across
while he still lived. He also knew that his kin would not
accept her as their mistress unless she became one of them.
As a Tracker it was her duty to hunt their kind. Lazarus
was well aware of her father's reasons. He had withheld his
dark secret from his daughter, but even Lazarus is unaware
of the true danger her blood carries. The vampyre that stalks them is unlike any other, and he
has a score to settle with Lazarus. He will not rest until
he has that which should have been his birthright, that
which Lazarus possessed in his stead. He too been born of a
union between an angel and a mortal, but had not been as
lucky as his cousin. Lazarus had the love and the life
which had been denied him. The demon had suffered
incomprehensible torture a the hands of a beast so dark
even the devil feared it. He could still feel the pain as
his soul had been ravaged along with his form. His father
had not come to save him and for that he would pay. Though
sheer will he had become powerful, and the child his father
had protected in his stead would suffer as well. His
devious plot had been orchestrated most carefully. He had
created the perfect pawn in Neomina. She would be the
implement of Lazarus' destruction. At a weak moment Lazarus falls into the demon's hands.
Neomina instinctively knows that only she can save him. To
do so she would require the sacred relics which were now
hers by right. The Trackers had held them for her after her
father's death. In order to obtain them she must assure
them of her allegience to them. By pledging her soul to
them, she would forfeit a part of her heritage and would
no longer have the option of being "brought across" in
order to share her husband's world. It would be a form of
betrayal, but she cannot allow Lazarus to die. Though she
has been promised an army of angels if necessary, she knows
that this is a battle that she must fight alone. Ms. Armae has created a unique tale which combines the
paranormal, history, horror, suspense, spirituality, and
romance. This complex tale is peopled with a variety of
interesting entities, the likes of which I've not seen
combined in such a way before. I found it fascinating and
look forward to the next installment. Copyright © 2001
Reviewed by Leslie Tramposch
Posted December 20, 2001
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Angels, Vampyres, Heaven and Hell… In medieval Ireland two worlds collide and the term Dark Ages takes on a whole new meaning. An evil entity stalks Lazarus Conlon, Vampyre patriarch, threatening the safety of his wife and his family tribe. But to conquer this enemy, Lazarus must first fight his own demons, including a sacred heritage inherited from fallen angels. Amid this strife, Lazarus learns his only true hope rests within the heart and soul of a mortal tracker—his wife, a woman born to hunt and destroy his breed. Can she help him defeat this evil threatening his very soul or will her tracker heritage demand she kill him? Neomina Delacroix is no stranger to the world of the Vampyre. As appointed heiress of the Tracker Council and the keeper of the Amulet of Christ and the St. John Stake, Neomina's allegiance to her people is sealed in blood. But she doesn’t know that her father is not what he seems, and because of him, her true nature is grounded in the very evil threatening her husband. When terror strikes the Conlon Tribe, Neomina is their only hope. But will the dark heritage she inherited from her father save Lazarus and his Tribe, or will evil corrupt her soul and destroy them all?
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