An Excerpt from the novel, HISSS! Its so much more than erotic escapades!!! “Tell me of love, Osaro,” Perhaps it was the gentle way in which he said her name that brought a misty sheen to her eyes and she quickly turned away. “It is a foolish human condition that promises only pain,” Ibrahim sat forward; he had seen the look in her eyes. “Yes, I agree… but does it have to be?” The longing in his voice echoed in the suddenly silent room. “I-I don’t-” “My dear Osaro, welcome home young one,” Ibrahim and Osaro both turned as an aged man wearing a brown robe stepped gingerly into the room. His bald head was crisscrossed with remnants of grey hair, and heavy bags weighted his deep set eye sockets. His skin was pale and wrinkled, yet he walked with the spritefulness of a child. Ibrahim, remembering Osaro’s instructions and with a sudden desire to please his maker, remained silent and kept his head bowed as the old man stepped between them and offered his right hand upon which sat a large ornate ring which graced his middle finger. Osaro dropped to her knees and kissed the ring once, reverently. “Father, it is beyond dawn, my report can wait until the evening… you must get your rest,” The old man scoffed. “Nonsense,” He turned his attention to Ibrahim. “What have we here?” Ibrahim fell out of his chair to his knees and kept his eyes on the hem of the old man’s robe. If indeed the man was Osaro’s father, then he had to make a good impression. “Ibrahim,” Osaro began. “This is my maker, Gaianus Octavius,” Ibrahim took the old man’s hand and kissed the ring there, noting the flat gold coin encased in gold, upon its surface was the symbol of the fish again. “May the Lord Christos bless you my son,” the old man said, turning to make his way around the table to the large throne-like chair. “And you may call me Porphyrio, much easier to pronounce… now, have you found what your brother has lost?” Porphyrio asked Osaro. “I am close,” Osaro answered. Porphyrio sighed heavily, rubbing his forehead with the flat of his palm. “Well, better close than nothing at all I suppose,” His eyes again focused on Ibrahim. “And I suppose you have a good reason for this?” Ibrahim saw Osaro swallow hard and her eyes sought the wrinkled wood of the table. “Father, why must you be so hard on me? I am the one child who has always followed your rules! He is my first and only!” Porphyrio’s gaze hardened and his eyes seemed to dim to black pools of darkness and when he spoke again, Ibrahim felt the hair upon his neck stand. “Your reason, child!” Osaro was silent for a long moment, before she cut her eyes at Ibrahim and he found them full of tears. “Love,” she said softly. The old man sighed deeply and sat back, seemingly deep in thought. His hand went from his forehead to cover his mouth as he sat back in the throne, considering his daughter’s words. “If only your brother was as innocent as you in the heart… but tell me my daughter, the way in which he was before your gift,” Osaro looked up at her father, unsure of his meaning. “Was he alive? Dead? Near death?” “He was alive and willing,” Osaro answered, her expression still hovering upon confusion. Porphyrio sighed again, but this time he smiled. “Good… good,” he said softly and then he stood, walked around to stand next to his daughter and gently caressed her cheek. “Go my beloved daughter, rest until the evening and we shall discuss your business then,” Osaro suddenly jumped up and threw her arms around the old man like a giddy child, causing the old man to smile and chuckle happily before prying her off of him and shooing her toward the door. Ibrahim stood and followed. “Not you,” Porphyrio said, his eyes on Ibrahim. “I would have a word,” Osaro stared from her father to Ibrahim and then back to her father before nodding and exiting the room. “Come, walk with me child,” Porphyrio instructed, following his daughter out of the door. Ibrahim obeyed, taking up pace behind the old man as they stepped back into the curving hallway. He stared after Osaro, who had gone to the right, his eyes following her until she disappeared into an unseen doorway further down the hall. He took note of Antioch, the large naked man, whom followed them at a short distance, his eyes never leaving Ibrahim. “Werewolves,” Porphyrio began, drawing Ibrahim’s attention as they neared the foyer to the large church they had passed upon entering. “Dreadful creatures… but they are children of God as are the rest of us,” The old man paused to consider the effect of his words on Ibrahim. “You find it odd that I speak in such a way? That I, a vampire, a child of darkness, a wicked, evil abomination, would have the audacity to speak in a way conducive to the light?” Ibrahim thought for a moment as they continued walking. “I know little of vampires, except for what I have seen and read in movies and books,” “Fiction, my dear boy, mankind’s greatest weapon against reality,” He chuckled lightly as they entered the underground church. “Although it has its beneficial uses… some of the greatest truths are hidden behind fiction for fear of prosecution,” He paused again, standing at the beginning of a short aisle that bisected the room, at its end, in the chambers rear area was a large open space which began just beyond three rows of pews. “Now, tell me… why has my daughter brought you here to me?” Ibrahim opened his mouth to speak of the love Osaro had claimed, but then stopped. He was smarter than that. He stared down at the old man with a level gaze. “Because of my connection with The Black.” “Ah, yes… I know of them, a small group of fools who think they are guarding humanity from the evil of vampires,” Porphyrio stepped down the aisle but then stopped, looking back to Ibrahim, “No offense,” “None taken, my lord,” Porphyrio nodded silently at the use of title, smiling as he resumed his slow pace down the aisle. “She brought you here because Lord Christos put it in her to do so,” “Lord Christos?” Porphyrio shook his head, seemingly chiding himself. “Jesus Christ,” he explained. “You see, he came to me in my dreams and showed me your face… he said you would bring about a great change,” He stopped walking, having come to the beginning of the open area. Ibrahim studied the smaller area before him, noting the intricate mosaics patched together upon the floor. In the center of them was the fish. Several other mosaics dotted the floor, some with ancient writings in a language Ibrahim could not guess. “For the last seven years I have been rebuilding this place, this small token of dedication to my Lord Christ- … Jesus Christ… before that I spent twenty one centuries waiting,” “Twenty…” Ibrahim fell silent, unable to wrap his mind around just what the old man was insinuating. It was beyond impossible, but then again, so was being a vampire. Porphyrio smiled warmly and looked up at Ibrahim. “I have walked with him son…broken bread with him-” his eyes filled with moisture as he spoke and he seemed to be looking through Ibrahim to a distant time. “…at this very table,” Ibrahim swallowed a lump in his throat as he came to the conclusion that the old man was indeed sincere. A chill jolted his body as he stared at the long table, its wood ancient and barely holding together. Bands of metal held it in place at some spots. “Sit, I will tell you why you were brought to me,” Porphyrio said, waving Ibrahim to the first row of pews. He sat next to the stunned man and sighed deeply before beginning. “This room was once a meager dwelling to a Roman Centurion and his wife Akeptous. It was built in the lands of Israel, not far from the place that is now referred to as Armageddon… there were many wars being fought in this place and it is the exact spot John the Baptist’s vision of the revelation is to take place.” “But back then, it was nothing more than home to me… it was here that I first met him. My wife had come to me claiming to have witnessed a miracle and that she had been in the presence of the messiah. I was retired and old by this time and I tried my best to deter the woman from such heresy… for Christianity had yet to take root, and Rome was in the practice of prosecuting any acts of worship conducted by the Jews or any others,” Ibrahim could not take his eyes off of the wooden table, but he felt and saw the man’s story playing out in his mind as he spoke. “I reluctantly allowed her to drag me across the land to witness first hand this messiah… and it was true. There was a man, blind of sight for all the years I had known him. He laid hands upon this man and miraculously the man’s vision was returned to him. I was captivated by his words, his teachings… I spent a week there, following him and listening. I spoke with him and bade him to return to our home, where I vowed to erect a meeting place for us and all who would attend. I returned home and commissioned several masons to lay these tiles… my wife, Akeptous, used the last of our money and bartered for this table.” “Did he come?” Ibrahim asked excitedly. “Oh yes, he came, but not for many months,” Porphyrio sighed and stared at the table. “Religion has become such a farce of what it was originally meant to be… so many denominations springing up, all twisting his word and shaping their own interpretations to suit their needs… It became a means of control long ago. Constantine was the first to realize the true power of faith and he used it, he stole Christianity and employed it as a means of control over the growing population.” “But did he come?” Porphyrio chuckled softly. “Understand this, I will not speak just to hear my voice reverberate in my own ears. As I learned from him, so to will you learn from me… for every word he spoke had meaning, a lesson that would benefit in some way that you will not understand until it happens,” Ibrahim lowered his head shamefully. “I understand, please, continue,” “Now, I will tell you something that if you repeat to anyone else you will be scorned as a fool, mocked as an idiot and even called the devil himself…Tell me, do you know the origin of the term Vampire?” amazon/Hisss-TL-Gardner-ebook/dp/B00B8KLQKO/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1411259538&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=HISSS%21+Tl+gardner
Posted on: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 00:36:02 +0000
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