Prologue Bari, Kingdom of Naples March 1560 The nightmares did not start until my old age, when sleep becomes elusive for some, while for others it is burdened with images from their past they would rather not remember. The stone cellar, dank and malodorous; the glint of a blade; the killer’s cold eyes; the victim’s... Continue Reading →
Excerpt from The Column of Burning Spices (Hildegard of Bingen #2)
Chapter 25 Ingelheim, May 1154 Volmar presented the letter of invitation stamped with the royal seal to a guard. We were ushered through an arched tunnel into the inner courtyard, where brightly-dressed courtiers and clerics in dark lawyers’ robes came and went between the buildings ranged along the perimeter. I noted signs of both greatness... Continue Reading →
Chapter 1 – Bermersheim, Rhineland, September 1115
The night I learned that I would be leaving my family home, the sounds of talk and laughter took a long time to die down. Finally, a growing chorus of snores from the hall told me that the guests from Sponheim were asleep. But there was a murmur of voices close by, and a faint... Continue Reading →
P.K. Adams 