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The epic conclusion to the first Tarimain series

Life is Hard. Eternal Life is Impossible

Plymouth, England – Cologne, Germany, 1941

The world is at war again, a vampire army is marching forwards, and the Shrine that must be kept shut, has been opened. The Earth is falling into chaos and decay. Luke leads an army of ghosts, Atharron duels a demon, and Sarah travels to the heart of the turmoil to repair the fissure between fantasy and reality.

This book adheres to the Sane Self-Publishing Ebook Pricing Model. It contains 9400 words, and is approximately 37 pages long.

The Tarimain, the immortal soldiers of God, tasked with fighting on the front lines of the eternal war, uncover a dark demonic plot to raise an army. Atharron, a four thousand year old former ruler of Calnis; Sarah, apathetic, but determined to do her duty; and Luke, a young Tarimai discovering the wonders and burdens of immortality. Together, they make their way through the first half of the twentieth century on the trail of a Great President of Hell and the mysterious Man with the Eyes.

Outside, houses burned, or melted. Roads ran like rivers, some with water, some like molten rock. People screamed as they ran from centaurs or giants. Alien spaceships flew through the sky, targeting houses. An army led by Napoleon fought off a pack of huge wolves. The clouds rolled through the sky, marbling the heavens with red, black, and grey, and on one of the domineering spires of the cathedral, perched an enormous black dragon being ridden by a boy no older than ten. The dragon roared, sending flames a hundred feet outwards.

‘Welcome,’ Naomi said, ‘to Heaven on Earth.’

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Life is Hard. Eternal Life is Impossible

Plymouth, 1941

With impossible things happening, and a vampire army on the rise, Luke, Sarah, and Atharron must find out what’s causing the world to fall into disorder. But deep in the heart of a gothic cathedral, within the Shrine of the Magi, the Man with the Eyes is awakening.

This book adheres to the Sane Self-Publishing Ebook Pricing Model. It contains 5500 words, and is approximately 22 pages long.

The Tarimain, immortal soldiers tasked with fighting on the front lines of the eternal war uncover a dark demonic plot to raise an army. As Earth approaches a worldwide war, they hunt a Great President of Hell, and the mysterious Man with the Eyes.

The Archbishop stared at the Shrine in all its gold plated, bejewelled beauty. The shape of an ornately carved sarcophagus lying on the apex of two more beneath it, made up the reliquary. And inside lay the bones of some of the first people to see Jesus Christ.

Every time he looked at it, he felt closer to the Lord, but now he saw it as a more mysterious artefact. It wasn’t what the girl said that made it seem so different. But she reminded him he was forbidden to open it. He was the Archbishop of Cologne. It was his duty to take care of it. And he at least needed to see if everything was still kept safely inside.

He retrieved a stepladder and climbed up it looking over the mass of the Shrine. Along one arched side of the top sarcophagus was a hidden hinge. He took hold of it and pulled gently. He didn’t want to damage it, so he didn’t force the opening, but it came apart with a wooden grinding sound.

A whiff of stale air came from inside, and as he opened it wider he saw the remnants of people almost two thousand years old. They were wrapped in once white silk that had now turned to a dirty yellow colour over time, but from the shape of the three figures inside, there could be no doubt these were human skeletons treated with reverence. No trapped man.

He closed the lid and climbed down the ladder. Believing all was well, he left the Shrine to God’s protection.

Once the Archbishop was gone, the Shrine released a smoky vapour from the cracks along the lid, and the reliquary began to glow.

Life is Hard. Eternal Life is Impossible

Plymouth, 1938

Luke, Sarah and Atharron find a body in the woods, attacked by a vampire. But evidence points to something else, something different, something more evolved than a standard vampire. And more dangerous.

This book adheres to the Sane Self-Publishing Ebook Pricing Model. It contains 5400 words, and is approximately 21 pages long.

The Tarimain, immortal soldiers tasked with fighting on the front lines of the eternal war uncover a dark demonic plot to raise an army. As Earth approaches a worldwide war, they hunt a Great President of Hell, and the mysterious Man with the Eyes.

‘The two puncture marks along with the shallower ones beneath indicate a human mouth with elongated canines. This was no animal attack, or a regular human.’ She moved the light to shine on the girl’s face. ‘Hang on, what’s this?’ She opened the girl’s mouth and Luke saw a dribble of red liquid come out, possibly blood and saliva. Sarah peered into the girl’s mouth. ‘I don’t see any cuts; it could be from internal bleeding, but that doesn’t usually happen with a vampire bite.’

‘You don’t watch a lot of movies do you?’ Luke said. ‘He was turning her.’

Allison Sands is the daughter of Daniel and Emma Sands. She is the primary protagonist of Allison’s Defeat and a major figure in the history of the Chronicles.

Allison

Life is Hard. Eternal Life is Impossible

Plymouth, 1931

David has struggled with his inner wolf for decades. Recently he has gained some level of control when he changes. He never considered the wolf may control him.

This book adheres to the Sane Self-Publishing Ebook Pricing Model. It contains 6200 words, and is approximately 24 pages long.

Warning:

Contains graphic descriptions of bloody violence.

The Tarimain, immortal soldiers tasked with fighting on the front lines of the eternal war uncover a dark demonic plot to raise an army. As Earth approaches a worldwide war, they hunt a Great President of Hell, and the mysterious Man with the Eyes.

Before he realised what he was doing, David jumped on the girl and began to claw at her, ripping her clothes and skin to shreds. She screamed and slapped at him, but he just held her down. He bent her neck back and sunk his teeth into her neck, silencing her shouts. He savoured her sweet warm blood and devoured her raw flesh. Someone grabbed him from behind, he pushed them off and went back to feeding. The taste of real food after years of starvation was phenomenal. He greedily ripped the woman’s flesh as if he had never tasted meat before. The girl fell limp in his arms and he carried on feeding with no worries of her slipping from his grasp.

He felt strong arms wrap around him and pull him away. He scrambled to get back at the girl, but was pulled back again. As he made another attempt, Atharron stood in front of him and held him in place. ‘What the devil d’you think you’re doing man?’

David looked to Atharron and growled, baring his teeth. A second later, he felt his cheek sting as Atharron slapped him. He looked again at the man, then at the mutilated corpse in the middle of the wood. Then back to Atharron. ‘What … I … I don’t know…’ He held his hand to his mouth to stifle a sob. Feeling wetness, he pulled it back and saw blood. His breaths came short and fast. ‘I just … I just felt hungry.’

It came from out of nowhere, and now it wants my blood…

All I know is I was in the middle of it. I don’t know what my thoughts were exactly, it’s strange how you forget things like this. I suppose I was shocked. I mean, who wouldn’t be? I do know I stared at it for a while. Ha! Stared. If I was sensible I would run.

But everyone else did the same. They must have remembered the Spielberg movie, I know I did, but that convenient fact was wrong. You can’t trust movies though. They even intentionally get things wrong. Did you know raptors are actually the size of chickens? Yeah. And it is so difficult to near impossible for a car to explode without using dynamite or C4 or whatever explosive is the order of the day.

Anyway, I’m getting sidetracked. So, yeah, everyone stayed still. It was probably out of fright actually rather than some logical thought about what a movie said. But when I saw it, that’s what went through my head. Well, after the screaming and yells of ‘Oh, shit!’

So there it was, huge, monstrous. I’m not sure how else to describe it. You know, other facts aside, it did look like in the film.

What did it do? Well … nothing. It stood there staring at us. I suppose it was just as surprised. Suddenly going from some empty plains to an all you can eat buffet? I assume it was from an empty plain. Perhaps that’s a silly assumption to make, but wherever it came from, there was now no need to starve. It was probably picking which one of us looked the tastiest. If those things even had a concept of taste. I suppose they must have.

So after a few moments, it must have decided we’re all very similar and it just dived in. And when it happened … oh the screams. You’ve heard the phrase blood curdling right? I think that aptly describes how their dying shouts sounded. Oh, shit, I can still hear them. In the back of my head as if they’re right behind me.

Oh, I need to calm down, you don’t have any tea do you? Thanks.

So yeah, it dived in, just like a child at hallowe’en. Ha! It could even be a kid dressed up sticking her hand a bowl of sweets. And then when it came back up again, I saw a few … a few … people in its mouth. Oh, Christ, they were still alive and … wriggling, screaming for help that wasn’t coming.

Yes, I ran. Just like all the others. I wasn’t going to be a canapé. I don’t know whether you’ve seen a stampede before, but they’re bloody dangerous. You have to keep up. If you falter for one second, if you see somebody fall down, if you look to see what you just stepped on, you’ll go under as well. It’s a primal thing. No one cares about anyone but themselves because showing empathy will get you killed. So it was death by jaws, death by feet, or life by an inhuman apathy.

So I ran. I kept running and I’m sure I stepped on more than a few …

I could hear the beast behind us. Another thing the movie got wrong. It was a low growl. Almost out the range of hearing, but I felt it. It wanted me, and all the others and it’s worst weapon was fear.

Some people turned corners and the stampede branched through the city, so it soon thinned out and I was able to turn around. I heard the thud of its giant feet as it ran down another street. It shook the ground like an earthquake. Or at least what I imagined an earthquake to feel like. You don’t tend to get many of them in Berkshire. So I saw it go out of sight … and another one poked its head around the corner. I swear it looked straight at me. And I remember thinking how small it’s eyes were compared to the rest of its body. But it stared at me for what felt like minutes. Until it decided I had to die.

It took one foot forward and I ran again. The instinct was strong, but I managed to overcome it to think logically. I couldn’t keep running. It would get me eventually. So I found a narrow alley and dived for it. I looked up after falling to the ground and saw the beast push its snout in the gap. Oh, God, I felt its teeth. They brushed my foot. I scrambled back and the thing pushed through. It was barely wide enough to fit, and it scraped itself against the brick walls leaving smears of blood in its wake. I stood up and ran for the other side of the alley, but I crashed into a dead end. Ha, what an appropriate phrase.

And what could I do besides stand with my back to the wall, watching that thing slowly squeeze its way in my direction? If I ran towards it, it would surely get me, and the wall was far too sheer to climb, and too tall to jump and grab the top.

They say your life flashes before your eyes in moments like that. People who say that obviously haven’t been in a life or death situation. All I could see before my eyes were yellow teeth and long sharp claws. I smelled the stink of its breath as it was inches from me. But then something strange happened.

Well, stranger.

I calmed down. I felt my heart beat less, and my breathing slowed. In the absolute certainty of death, I acted as though I had not a care in the world. Because what’s the point of panicking about something which you cannot control? I’m sure it would have been painful, and yes, I was frightened by that, but I was going to die and nothing could stop it. So I accepted it.

And so now I’m here. I honestly don’t know what happened. I remember the pain of its jaws around my chest, the sliminess of its tongue, hell, I even vaguely remember being swallowed. But I don’t even know where here is. You say it’s been a few thousand years since that attack and none of those creatures are around any more, but if I can come back, so can they.

And I can still hear those screams.

The Calnis Chronicles Of The Tarimain Volume 1.7 – Friend Or Foe SAMPLE

Life is Hard. Eternal Life is Impossible

Plymouth, 1931

David has struggled with his inner wolf for decades. Recently he has gained some level of control when he changes. He never considered the wolf may control him.

Warning:

Contains graphic descriptions of bloody violence.

The Tarimain, immortal soldiers tasked with fighting on the front lines of the eternal war uncover a dark demonic plot to raise an army. As Earth approaches a worldwide war, they hunt a Great President of Hell, and the mysterious Man with the Eyes.

Before he realised what he was doing, David jumped on the girl and began to claw at her, ripping her clothes and skin to shreds. She screamed and slapped at him, but he just held her down. He bent her neck back and sunk his teeth into her neck, silencing her shouts. He savoured her sweet warm blood and devoured her raw flesh. Someone grabbed him from behind, he pushed them off and went back to feeding. The taste of real food after years of starvation was phenomenal. He greedily ripped the woman’s flesh as if he had never tasted meat before. The girl fell limp in his arms and he carried on feeding with no worries of her slipping from his grasp.

He felt strong arms wrap around him and pull him away. He scrambled to get back at the girl, but was pulled back again. As he made another attempt, Atharron stood in front of him and held him in place. ‘What the devil d’you think you’re doing man?’

David looked to Atharron and growled, baring his teeth. A second later, he felt his cheek sting as Atharron slapped him. He looked again at the man, then at the mutilated corpse in the middle of the wood. Then back to Atharron. ‘What … I … I don’t know…’ He held his hand to his mouth to stifle a sob. Feeling wetness, he pulled it back and saw blood. His breaths came short and fast. ‘I just … I just felt hungry.’

It’s finally here! But is it better than The Golden Compass?

Op.42