The Dark Knight / Medieval Menage
In Print
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MEDIEVAL MENAGEResplendence Publishing [Buy paperback]
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ISBN/EAN13:1607351188 / 9781607351184
Three Heroes Are Better Than One!
Go back in time with this trio of thrilling, sensuous tales. Your heart will be conquered by lethal knights and daring lords who are as skilled on the battlefield as they are in the bedroom.
The Dark Knight by Marianne LaCroix
Lord Marco Cordoba stalks the dark shadows of his castle in Spain, haunted by death of his bride at the hands of a demonic vampire. Seven hundred years later Marco is ready to end his lonely vampiric existence, but then a light of hope enters the deserted halls of his castle...
A Liar's Truth by Kimberly Garland
Ellsworth Castle is the only home Christina Edmund has ever known, and it has just been conquered by the evil Lord Renault Brandon, whose legendary cruelty has earned him such names as the Blood of Berlin and the Sorrow of Sicily. But when Christina finds herself face-to-face with the notorious Lord Brandon, she is stunned. How can this man be the same unrepentant fiend who tortured, raped and murdered his way across the known world?
Wishes Through Time by Annmarie Ortega
When Caitlyn wishes to meet the man of her dreams, she has no idea her wish will take her to medieval England. She will quickly discover that finding true love and adjusting to life in 1400 is much more difficult than she could have ever imagined.
Lord Marco Cordoba, the Moorish Prince of Castilla de la Cordoba, is a man tormented by the past. Unable to save his bride Isobel from an evil vampire, Marco vows to stop at nothing to destroy the creature even if it meant becoming the very thing he hated—a vampire.
Now, more than seven hundred years later, Marco stalks the dark shadows of his castle in Spain. Haunted by his memories and failure, Marco is ready to end his lonely existence. But then a light of hope enters the deserted halls of his castle—Christine, a woman that he believes is the reincarnation of his beloved bride. With her arrival at the castle, the demon that long escaped Marco’s revenge returns to take her soul along with her life. Can Marco destroy the creature before he kills again? Will Christine recognize Marco as her knight in shining armor?
*previously released as Lord Sancho
EXCERPT FROM THE DARK KNIGHT
Spain, 1362
“Isobel.” Lord Marco Cordoba whispered her name into the still and silent night. Nothing could be heard upon the wind except the mournful cry of the Prince.
“Mourn not for me, my lord.” Isobel’s voice was raspy as she wheezed her final breaths of life. “I will always be with you.”
Then with a final gasp, she was gone, dead within his arms, there in the dark depths of the forest.
“I will always love you,” he wept.
Isobel had disappeared from their bedchamber while he awaited her to prepare for their wedding night. Her screams echoed in his memory, filling his heart with painful regret. By the time Marco had burst through the chamber door, Isobel was gone—kidnapped by the vampiro, Vicente.
Marco rode out into the night after his beloved Isobel, searching for any sign of her within the pitch black. Frantic with worry, he came upon her and the demon. Marco leapt from his horse and attacked the creature, but Vicente was too quick. He transformed into a mist and escaped, his hideous laughter echoing in the night.
Marco was too late.
Isobel lay unmoving upon wet leaves and mud. His love was gone, ripped from his embrace on the very night they were wed.
With tears burning his eyes, Marco lifted her limp body from the damp ground. The gaping holes at her neck were the only marks upon her body. Fresh blood oozed from the wounds, bright against her pale, white skin.
Even in death, her fair beauty astounded him. Her hair, like golden strands of fine silk, framed her face in soft waves. Her features were delicate and feminine—angelic.
“Isobel,” Marco croaked as he tucked her head under his chin, holding her close like he had dreamed of doing for so long. Tonight, his courtship of the fair Isobel was to have ended. They each had been denied their wedding night. Isobel was yet another victim of the vampire.
However, this attack was not random.
Vicente DeMarco’s heart was filled with the thirst for revenge and he hungered for much more than satisfaction. When his wife and children were killed in a raid upon a village by the invading Moorish troops, Vicente held the commander responsible for their deaths—General Santiago Cordoba, his grandfather. It was said that with the hopes to curse the entire Cordoba bloodline, Vicente turned to the devil and entered a terrible contract. He became a vampiro, a dark creature that fed off the lives of the living.
Marco believed the tales of a demon hunting his family to be mere bedtime stories to scare him at night. When his father was murdered ten years ago, found entirely drained of blood, Marco reconsidered the tale. When he began to prepare for his union with Isobel, a dark atmosphere engulfed the castle.
“Grandson of Santiago Cordoba,” an ominous voice called from the shadows of the trees. “Leave the body here. I am not yet finished with your sweet bride.”
Confused, Marco straightened, but continued to hold Isobel’s body in his arms. “She is dead,” he announced. “You have no further use for her.”
“You are wrong, young one. She has much to give.”
Marco searched the trees as Vicente’s voice seemed to move about the clearing from one side to the other noiselessly.
He’d have to carry Isobel back himself, his horse had bolted long ago, scared of the evil aura floating about the woods. Smart beast. Marco began to move quickly through the trees carrying his bride’s body.
“You can not run from me, Lord Marco. I will finish what I started. I took her life, but I need more.”
“What more could you need?” Marco asked breathlessly as he continued to carry Isobel out of the forest.
“I need her soul.”
Marco stopped running and turned. “I will not let you damn her soul.”
Vicente flew from the darkness in a blink. Standing before Marco, the vampire was pure evil, his face was pale and sickly, his thin lips were red and drawn back, and his eyes were wild and a strange light silver in color. Never had Marco ever seen such a hideous sight.
“Then will you give your soul in exchange? Give your last remaining possession to save your beautiful bride.” The last was not a question. Vicente reached a bony hand to Isobel’s face, but Marco pulled her away.
“You are the devil,” Marco said.
The demon began to laugh. “No, my lord, I am not the devil, however I am one of his exalted minions. I am here to collect souls—Cordoba souls—and if I can not have the virgin bride’s, I will have yours.”
“Do you expect me to hand you my life without a fight?”
“I expect you to try and stop me, but I tell you now, you will fail.” Vicente cocked his head and Marco felt a shiver of dread run down his spine. “I believe death is too easy for you.”
Marco took a step backwards.
The vampire stepped forward. “You shall learn the pain and suffering that I have endured. You shall repay the debt.”
Marco’s heart beat wildly, and Vicente screeched his evil laugh.
“You, grandson of Santiago Cordoba, shall become as me and spend eternity in pain over the memory of the woman you loved.”
Fear pumped through Marco’s veins as he turned to run, hideous laughter echoing behind him. He clutched Isobel’s body tightly as he jumped over fallen logs on the forest floor. Leaves crunched beneath his feet, and twigs cracked with every step. He tried to gain the speed he needed to escape. The mist closed about him, but he continued to run, feeding off the adrenaline with every stride.
But he was no match for the vampire’s dark strength. He swooped from behind and tackled Marco to the wet ground. He lost grip of Isobel’s body as the creature sank his teeth into Marco’s neck. His voice stilled in his throat as the thing drained him of every drop of his strength.
Black spots danced before his eyes and unconsciousness beckoned. Marco knew death was at hand, and he had not the power to stop it from coming.
And just on the verge of the abyss, a tangy fluid dripped over his lips. Blood…
