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Title: Primal Entities: Chaos
Author: Kathryn Loch
ISBN: 1928928005
Description:
The ancient Greeks believed that the first, primal entities to exist in the universe were Chaos, Nyx, Erebus and Tartarus. The vivid mythology has the strength to reach beyond layers of time to a distant land during a dark age. Primal Entities: Chaos, a paranormal romance, takes place in historic England in 1322. Does love have to power to overcome the darkest of forces in a time when despots control English politics? Adam de Leyburn is twenty-nine and the baron of Copeland. He is powerfully built with long black hair and blue eyes. When he was twelve, mercenaries murdered his father. Although Adam has long sought to bring the murderers to justice he has been unsuccessful. His desire for vengeance consumes him. Christiana de Moriceby is twenty-five. She is petite with green eyes and long brown hair. When she was nine, her father was killed in battle. Christiana hates her step-father who sometimes beats her. William de Moriceby has little use for his step-daughter except as a pawn in his plays for power. He studies avidly in the black arts and ancient history. When his wife, Clarissa, discovered his studies he denounced her as an adulteress and sent her to a convent. But through his studies, Moriceby discovers a legend of armor cursed by Chaos. A force so powerful, it is nearly invincible but the armor can only be worn by members of one family. In Moriceby's extensive research, he learns Adam de Leyburn carries that blood in his veins. The story opens with Moriceby forcing Adam to enter a cave and obtain the power. He uses Adam's rage and guilt over the death of his father to push him forward. Adam can no longer live with his failure to find justice and enters the cave, only to discover the power is a sentient entity that takes possession of his body. Adam's journey into darkness begins. He comes to Moriceby's home, Hayes Castle, where he meets Christiana, although she does not recognize him as the baron. Adam constantly battles the entity to keep it from slaughtering indiscriminately. Adam and Christiana are immediately drawn to each other and find companionship. Adam dislikes the way Moriceby's men treat Christiana. When he comes upon one of the thanes trying to rape her, Adam's fury causes him to release the entity. Christiana, fighting against her attacker, looks up to see a giant man, with strange black armor, dragon-like wings, and glowing blue eyes. The armor covers most of the man's face. The creature attacks the man, ripping him apart with taloned hands. Terror possess Christiana. A demon resides in Hayes Castle, bearing the vengeance of hell.
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Prologue
Somewhere in Northern England
Early Spring, 1322 A.D.
"Fear followeth after thee, terror is about thine arms. Thou hast been embraced for millions of years by arms; mortals go round about thee. Thou smitest down the mediators of thy foes, and thou seizest the arms of the power of darkness."
Egyptian Book of the Dead 240 B.C.
Baron Adam de Leyburn tensed against the shiver crawling over his skin. The starless night cast a terrible chill around him. In the distance, he heard the waves of the cold Irish Sea crashing against the barren cliffs. The misty salt air clung to his cloak and beaded in tiny drops of water on his hair and face. Adam's horse tossed his head and snorted nervously as the small, heavily armed party stopped before the black crevice of a cave.
Adam patted the animal's neck but in truth he understood his mount's apprehension. A powerful foreboding hovered in the air, as thick as the mist around them. The leader of the armed party, Lord William de Moriceby, motioned for him to dismount.
He did so and gritted his teeth when a sword tip pressed between his shoulder blades. How had Moriceby found the courage--and the manpower--to forcibly take his baron from his home? Didn't he know that ultimately he would pay for this outrage? Adam glared at Moriceby.
Moriceby pointed toward the cave, his armor creaking softly. Adam stepped next to him, his anger fading as he stared into the blackness. "After you, Baron," Moriceby said, curling his lip.
The hairs on the back of Adam's neck stood upright. He dug his heels into the rocky earth. A dark evil dwelt in the cave. Sweet Jesu, Adam thought. What is this place? The chill of death shuddered down his spine. This was not a normal cave but the door to Hades.
The tip of the sword jabbed Adam's back again. "Go you cowardly sod," Moriceby said between clenched teeth. "'Tis the only way to avenge your murdered father."
Rage and anger ripped through Adam. The vision of that terrible day returned. A group of unknown knights had descended on Adam and his father as they hunted. His father fought valiantly but the knights slaughtered him. Twelve year old Adam ran, abandoning his father to the vultures.
Hatred! A strange voice, neither male nor female, whispered in Adam's thoughts. He blinked, staring into the black crevice. He sensed a presence...a force so black, it matched the rage in his heart.
Moriceby seized Adam's shoulder. "You are a coward," he whispered. "A second time you would run from the justice your father's blood demands."
Adam's vision tinted red. He clenched his fists, fighting the urge to strangle the older knight. Adam glanced at Moriceby's thanes surrounding him. They held torches, their weapons at the ready. Adam was twenty and nine years, a fine and powerful knight, but he could not slay all of these men and his heart told him it was not yet time to die. He glowered at Moriceby. The knight's face was weathered but in his prime he had been brutally handsome. His eyes flashed dark and cold. Adam knew this venture was not solely to avenge the death of his father. Moriceby had his own agenda and possessed a cruel reputation. Adam stood at the mouth of the cave because of Moriceby's threat of death.
Blood lust! the strange voice in his thoughts cried. Adam tried to swallow his rage. The voice was soft but it spoke with undeniable power. It was haunting, calling to some part of his soul Adam had never looked upon.
"Only you can do this," Moriceby said. "Only you can claim the power that is rightfully yours by blood and family. Your father's death demands retribution." Again rage and pain rose within him. Adam stepped forward. Moriceby was right, his father's soul cried for revenge. He returned from the grave each night and haunted Adam's dreams. You abandoned me. The pain of loss battered him but the disappointment in his father's voice cut Adam's soul. Nigel's only son, the boy he doted on, had ran in his time of need.
Vengeance! the soft voice called. Come to me. Adam moved, like a puppet pulled by unseen strings. Moriceby, carrying a torch, followed him. The cave narrowed, littered with rocks, making passage difficult and hazardous. Adam wondered if the rocks tried to tell him to stay out, to keep him from the power calling so seductively to him.
A few paces into the cave, the rock-strewn path angled downward. An icy breath of air caressed Adam's face. A shiver passed through him with the power of a quake. "I can go no further," Moriceby said and handed Adam the torch. "But mind my words, if you emerge from this cave without the power in your possession, I will gut you like a pig."
Adam curled his lip but took the torch. Death at the hands of Moriceby's thanes was nothing compared to what he faced. He could not explain how, but Adam knew his soul was in peril. Yet the power beckoning to him would allow him to avenge his father. He had tried in the past, after earning his knightly spurs at sixteen, but the murderers hid themselves like rats from a cat. He had not been able to find the answers, but the trail led to some of the most powerful men in all of England, perhaps even to the throne itself.
Why did you abandon me? his father's voice cried from the depths of Adam's nightmares.
His grip tightened on the torch, the hard wood digging into his hand. Anguish assailed him. Forgive me, father. But Adam knew he would never be forgiven. He had begged for that every night for the past seventeen years. Still his father's specter tormented him. Neither Adam nor his father could rest until those responsible paid with their lives.
Sweet hatred, the voice called again. Find solace with me.
Adam continued along the path, leaving Moriceby behind.
About forty paces later, the path opened into a huge cavern. The blackness seemed to press down on Adam, cold and evil. His torch dimmed slightly, as if the small flame fought to stay alive under the weight of the darkness.
The sensation of evil strengthened. Surely when God cast Lucifer out of heaven, this was the blackness tangled in the deep folds of his cloak.
Vengeance and hatred, the voice whispered, taunting yet alluring. Come to me. Adam stepped into the cavern. A black gulf yawned before him and he stopped.
Adam de Leyburn, I have waited so long for you.
He swallowed hard. It was alive...aware. Power danced around him, lifting the hairs on his arm - an entity of the most primal forces, more ancient than even time. Accept me, Adam de Leyburn, find comfort in my embrace. Vengeance shall be yours. His heart pounded and his belly coiled. Adam battled the urge to turn and run, damn Moriceby and his thanes. He might die but at least it would be by a mortal blade. All power came with a price. Was he willing to pay with his soul?
Why did you abandon me? his father whispered. Why have you not found justice? Fury clawed at Adam's heart. Justice. Those who murdered his father should pay not only with their lives but their souls as well.
Rage! the sweet voice whispered. The murderers hid behind their veils of power, taunting the helpless son, laughing at his torment, their very presence goading him.
Hatred!
They deserved no mercy, they mocked him with each breath they drew. Vengeance!
Their blood would ransom his father's tormented spirit, their souls would assuage Adam's grief.
Accept me! They shall pay.
His vision fogged with rage so primitive that it matched the power around him. "Yes," Adam whispered. "Yes!"
A soft laugh filled the cavern. Adam saw movement in the gulf before him. A black tendril reached upward, strangely translucent. It wrapped around his ankle, and he suddenly realized it was powerfully solid. Horror slashed at his mind. Icy cold, like invisible daggers, stabbed into the marrow of his bones, traveling upward and reaching for his soul.
A wave of black pain threatened to crush his chest and Adam tried to stagger back. Dear God, what was happening? More tendrils emerged from the gulf. They wrapped around his legs and toppled him. He slammed into the ground, losing his grip on the torch. The flame flickered then went out. Adam writhed against the thing holding him. But tendrils seized his waist, then his chest. One wrapped around his throat. Terror possessed him and he clawed futilely at the thing. The soft laughter grew into a deafening screech. The blackness seeped into his pores, igniting Adam's blood with icy fire. It ripped at his heart and wrapped around his mind.
Hatred! it screamed. You are mine!
The thing was sentient, black evil, made of the foundation of hell. "Nay!" Adam bellowed. His mind, his sense of self, recoiled violently. Pain fogged Adam's thinking and for an instant the blackness almost overwhelmed him. But his will rose in defiance. He would not allow the thing to destroy his identity. He would not allow it to control his thoughts and actions.
The blackness withdrew slightly with a distinctive hiss of disappointment.
Adam forced his vision to clear and hauled himself to his hands and knees. The assault of pain eased. Dizzy, he dragged in a breath followed by another. It was there, in his body, its claws buried in his soul. His fury faded, replaced by agonizing sorrow and grief. Adam squeezed his eyes shut. "Father," he whispered, his voice shaking. "What have I done?"
The entity surged within him. Pain ripped through his right forearm. Adam stared in horror. His skin bubbled and moved, as if something tried to claw its way out. He roared in agony, clutching his arm. Blackness oozed out of his pores like blood. It wrapped around his arm and became solid, forming an armor-like gauntlet. Suddenly, fire burned through every part of Adam's body.
The primal entity within him yanked him to his feet. He howled against the pain. Adam's voice deepened, his roar stripped of humanity. The entity joined with his cry, screaming its own.
"I am vengeance!" The power enveloped Adam's body, forming a black armor like none he had ever seen. The entity squirmed and writhed. Both terror and hope pounded through Adam's being as he became one with the power. With this force he could achieve all that he had sought. Adam clenched his fists and threw his head back.
"I am Chaos!"
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