The Beast Within by Cory Barclay

Author:Cory Barclay [Barclay, Cory]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: catholic, Action, witch-hunt, historical mystery, witch, female lead, detective, reformation, protestant, true story, wolf, historical fiction, priest, true event, adventure, true crime, pirate, investigation, werewolf, war of religion
ISBN: 9781986335461
Published: 2018-04-01T22:00:00+00:00

Once Georg was gone, activity at Claire and Leon’s estate slowed considerably, though there was still much to be done. Sybil continued with her divine consultations, Daxton took on the head carpenter position for the ongoing tavern construction, Leon Durand managed the project, and Rowaine slowly began re-training her legs, though her back remained quite sore. Sybil’s theory was that when Rowaine was initially injured, the bullet had pinched something in her back or spine, paralyzing her, and the fall from her bed had unstrained the pinched nerve and fixed her legs. But she still needed to exercise her legs after not using them for so long.

A few days later, Georg returned to Strangers Shire looking much different. Gone were his rugged beard and long hair. Except for some pockmarks and facial scars—which he’d vaguely attributed to his “rough-and-tumble” time in the Spanish army—his face was now smooth and his scalp close-cropped. The only thing still bearing witness to the “old” Georg were his clothes—grimy and ragged, more the attire of a beggar or wild man than that of the new shipping representative of King’s Lynn.

And he’d returned with a large advance of money—enough to complete his tavern.

“Unfortunately,” Georg told his comrades, “I won’t be here to see it finished. And neither will you, Daxton.”

“What are you raving about?” Daxon asked. “Has that city deranged you so quickly?”

Georg shook his head. “I’m going to need another boat to ship the goods to Germany—through Amsterdam and down the Rhine. I’d like to use the Lion’s Pride.”

Rowaine stepped forward. “It’s not yours to use.”

Georg frowned at his daughter. “I know that, Cat . . .”

Daxton put his arm around Rowaine. “Come now, Row, don’t take your anger out on your poor old father.” He smiled. “I was getting bored of building that damn tavern anyway.”

“Then I’m coming with you,” Rowaine answered, gazing around at the faces in the room. “I’ve been cooped up here for far too long. I miss the sea.”

Daxton nodded, then thought of something. “Does that mean you’ll want to be captain again?”

Rowaine smiled, shaking her head. “I’ll never be captain of the Pride again, Dax. That is your job now.”

Sybil joined in. “I’d like to go with you too, then.”

Which stopped the conversation cold.

After a moment, Georg, Daxton, and Rowaine all shook their heads in unison. Sybil’s mouth fell open. “And why not?” she asked.

“We need someone here to look after our enterprises, Beele,” Georg said. “Don’t you see?” He motioned out to the countryside beyond.

Sybil eyed the group suspiciously. “Did you all plan this?” she asked.

Georg shook his head. Raising three fingers, he ticked off the reasons: “We could count on you to oversee the building of the tavern. Second, you’d be close to Claire so we’d have a place to stay when we return.” And with a small grin, he said the third. “And of course you get to continue spiritually uplifting your followers in the shire.”

“Grow the legend,” Daxton added with wider grin.

“Your job will be more important than any of our’s, Beele,” Rowaine added.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.