Emperor's Errand: Part II

Byzantium Infected #4

by James Mullins, Lee Jenkins (Editor), Doug Cree (Editor)

The damned armed with sharp teeth, relentless hunger, and endless numbers have invaded the Roman Empire. Emperor Heraclius, desperate to stem the tide and embolden the fighting sprits of his retreating armies, charges Constan and Athos with a mission. The mission, retrieve a holy artifact to bolster the flagging spirits of the Army, is vital to the survival of the Empire. The surviving armies of the Empire are all that stand in the way of the damned hordes and Western Civilization.

The mission? Retrieve the legendary instrument of execution used by the Romans upon the son of God, Jesus Christ. Enshrined in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the True Cross, is whispered to have holy powers when carried at the head of an army. Powers that bolster the spirts of Christian soldiers while striking down the enemies of God. The cross, recovered by St. Helena, mother of the first Christian Emperor Constantine, three hundred years prior, was enshrined in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Stolen by the Persians during the war, The True Cross is said to have inspired the Christian armies of Emperor Heraclius to countless victories over the Persians, on the path to its recovery.
Now, the cross lies at the heart of the damned infested lands in the city of Jerusalem, one of the first to fall to the scourge. Charged by the Emperor to recover the cross, Constan must lead Athos, Baltazar, Nasir, Maarika, Athea, Liana, and the men of the 5th Babylon deep into infested lands of Palestinia Province. Once there, they will once again be called upon to face the damned hordes. This time without the protection of the walls of Damascus. Once again, the fate of the Empire and likely the world, rests upon their shoulders. Will they succeed, or will Fonda Queen of the damned, feast upon their living flesh?

445 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 4, 2019

About the author

I was born into a military family in the United States. At a very early age I was able to travel the world. One of the first places my father was stationed at was Germany. Europe was a magnificent land dotted with castles and history. This invoked within me first a curiosity about history, and later a passion. I became captivated with tales of history.

After my experience abroad, history was filed in the back of my mind. We returned to the United States and went about our lives. School, a trip to Italy with my Grandparents to become acquainted with my Italian cousins, and finally my own tour in the military took me to more wondrous places full of history the Middle East and Iceland. These new experiences helped bring the love of history to the forefront of my thoughts once again.

As life always does, living life got in the way of my passion. More school, and several jobs later history came crashing back to the forefront of my thoughts. I read extensively of several authors here on Goodreads. Some of my favorites being Gordon Doherty, Simon Scarrow, and Griff Hosker to name a few, but my real inspiration was Harry Turtledove - a master of alternate history. This time was different. This time not only did I love reading, but tales of my own began to form in my mind. For my first book, Scourge of Byzantium, I combined my love of history with a more recent passion the walking undead.

My mind imagined a world in which the infection did not take place in the modern world, but during the later Roman Empire or Byzantium as that nation is known. Imagine how much better equipped a Roman Army is to deal with this problem. Now imagine how much harder it is to kill a zombie wearing armor! I hope you enjoy my first tale about Athos and his company of friends as they deal with changes to their world.

Thanks for Reading!

James Mullins