Here is a sneak preview of my next novel, THE PLAGUE OF CORRUPTION, which is the final installment of my CADAVER ISLAND trilogy:
Constantine Stark lived in the cellar of his brother’s
cathedral. Candlesticks and wall-mounted
torches provided light in the dark, cramped room. Mahogany bookcases, which were stocked by classic
novels and history tomes from The Old Times, towered above the cellar’s
cobblestone floor. Small, narrow windows
near the ceiling allowed sunlight to filter into the chamber during the
afternoon. Constantine
reclined in a leather chair and flipped through the pages of an Edgar Allan Poe novel while he chugged red wine from a bottle.
He paused, placed the bottle on a wood table, and tossed the book aside
when he heard loud screams, which originated from upstairs. He rose from the chair, dusted bread crumbs off of
his black robe, and walked briskly toward a spiral staircase. A cold draft of wind caused his long, white
hair to fall across his hazel eyes while he climbed the stairs. His arthritic knees popped and ached while he
hastened his climb.
Constantine
stepped into a narrow corridor when he reached the top of the stairs. The loud screams of his brother echoed in the
main cathedral. He hobbled toward a
tall, oak door, which provided access to the cathedral. He yanked the door inward and gasped. His wide eyes ogled a swarm of huge rats and
mice. The rodents swarmed toward the
closed door of a Bible study classroom. Constantine
realized that his brother’s screams originated on the other side of the
classroom’s door.
“This is an abomination!
I must cleanse this church of vermin!” he proclaimed.
Constantine
seized a wall-mounted torch from the wall.
He marched into the cathedral and scorched the rodents with the torch’s
flame. Rats and mice squealed while the
stench of burnt hair and sizzled flesh filled the air. Constantine
stamped the rodents with the soles of his shoes. Blood, gore, and intestines burst from the
innards of the vermin while Constantine
marched toward the pulpit. He exhaled
the laughter of a madman while he used his free hand to topple a fountain of
holy water. The rodents exhaled shrill
squeaks and painful screams while the holy water flowed across their bodies.
“I beg you, my Lord!
Cleanse this church! Rid it of
all evil!” Constantine said.
Constantine
paused when his brother’s wails of agony ceased. He whirled on his feet when he heard the
classroom’s door open slowly. Rusted
hinges screamed while rats and mice scurried toward the church’s pews and
pulpit. Constantine
screamed when Reverend Stark emerged from the classroom and lurched into the
cathedral.
The teeth of the rodents chewed Reverend Stark’s arms,
hands, legs, and face until the skin was gone.
Raw flesh glistened in the pale light of torches and candles. Blood spurted from severed veins and
arteries. Reverend Stark’s left eyeball
dangled from its socket at the end of its optic nerve. His robe, crucifix, and leather shoes boasted
splatters of flesh and gore. He stumbled
toward the pulpit and reached for his brother.
Constantine gasped while he
watched rodents emerge from splits and ruptures in his brother’s robe. He screamed when he noticed a massive hole in
Reverend Stark’s upper torso. Dozens of
rats dug deeper into the ruptured cavity and feasted on his intestines.
“I’m dead, Constantine. I’m cursed, my brother. I must spread the plague!” he said.
“This can’t be happening!
There must be a way to save you!” Constantine
implored.
“It’s too late for me.
It’s much too late. You’re
witnessing the consequences of sin. I’m
doomed to roam the countryside for all of eternity!” Reverend Stark said.
Constantine’s
heart thudded under his sternum. He
watched his brother’s bloody, skinless hands reach for his robe and yank it
open. Cloth ripped and fabric shredded
while the gap widened. Dozens of rats
emerged from a bloody gap within the exposed bones of Reverend Stark’s
ribcage. Intestines dangled from the
carved gash while the rodents leaped out of the bloody cavity and dropped to
the floor. Constantine
fell and landed on his tailbone. Then he
screamed while Corruption’s rodents overwhelmed him.
