This is a preview of the first couple of pages from my new novel, the third in the ‘One Man’s Fault’ series, titled “The Vulgate Manuscripts”…
Grace Preston and Gustav Petersen sat on the settee in Wilson Small’s lounge, while the Angel Barachiel and Wilson Small, sat opposite them in armchairs. They all looked at each other, the atmosphere in the room laden with deep suspicion. Not a word had been spoken since Grace and Gustav arrived at the house, apart from the terse invitation to enter. The mistrust stemmed from the fact the two visitors tried to obtain the ‘Pythia Chalice’ from Wilson by fraudulent means, the very artefact Wilson Small had used to save his comrades, and Humanity, from the Devil only three months before. Had Wilson not possessed the Chalice at that critical moment in history I would not be recounting this story and Humanity would be in bondage to Satan… at best…
“What can we do for you?”
Barachiel looked at Wilson with approval, despite their obvious mistrust of Grace Preston and Gustav Petersen, Wilson’s tone of voice was friendly, if neutral. It was Grace who answered.
“I’m…” she glanced at Gustav Petersen then continued. “We’re sorry, the Chalice was obviously in the right hands at the right moment…”
It was not general knowledge about the goings-on at Satan’s Tower in the town of Cormoring less than four months before, the human sacrifices and the failed rescue attempts by the authorities. Even less well-known, and acknowledged, was Wilson Small’s role in the saving of the Human Race, or the importance of the part the ‘Pythia Chalice’ played in the affair. It had all been hushed-up by the authorities, with Wilson and everyone concerned in the failed ‘Satanic Resurrection’ ceremony subject to a stringent “Official Secrets” document, with dire penalties should they transgress!
Barachiel looked at Grace with scepticism writ large on his face.
“Why did you want the Chalice, and how did you know of its significance?”
Grace looked at Petersen, who shrugged, it was all in the past. What was about to happen in the next three months was what terrified him!
Kenneth J. Matthews 