Patricius, a young man of Britannia, is taken from his home
and family when Gaelic pirates attack his village. On his arrival in Ireland,
he is sold as a slave to the cruel underking of the Dalriada tribe in the
north. Six years later, Patricius manages to escape. His journey takes him
through France to Ravenna in Italy. His subsequent plans to return to Britannia
are side-tracked when he finds himself accompanying several monks to the island
monastery on Lerinus. His devotion to his faith, honed during his captivity,
grows as he studies with the monks.Haunted by visions of the Gaels begging him
to return to Ireland and share the word of God with them, Patricius gains
support from Rome and his friends to return to the land of his captivity. His
arrival is bitterly opposed by the druids, who have held power over the Irish
kings for many years, and he and his companions must combat the druids to
succeed in their God-given mission.
Trigger Warnings:
Sex, violence, swearing
Follow the tour HERE
Buy Links:
Available on #KindleUnlimited.
Universal Link
¸.•*´¨)✯ ¸.•*¨) ✮
( ¸.•´✶
EXCERPT
At dusk, Patricius and five men
approached the fortress of Tara once again. The druids, upon seeing them, raced
towards them with blades and clubs. With an ease and swiftness of practice, Patricius
and his men pulled the brambles aside, entered the tunnel and, disguising the
entrance once again, moved rapidly along the tunnel, exiting where Robertus was
awaiting them with the horses. They mounted quickly and rode speedily away.
By the time the druids arrived where
they had seen Patricius and his men standing, they had disappeared.
“Where are they?” they asked each
other. “They cannot be gone far.”
“There!” A druid pointed to a hill on
the other side of the valley where Patricius and his men could just be
discerned galloping away on their horses. “Deer! They have turned into deer!”
Not wanting to believe this, the
druids searched a while longer, but they could find no trace of Patricius and
his men. They returned to the Great Hall in Tara and reported their failed
mission to Laeghaire. Laeghaire was feasting in his palace together with kings,
princes and nobles. He jumped up and thumped his fists down on the table.
Plates clattered and cups upturned. “Do I have to do everything myself?” he raged
“You are a useless bunch of do-no-goods! Go, leave! I cannot bear the sight of
you all.” Then he let himself fall back onto his throne and exasperated took a
large swig of red wine.
Suddenly Patricius and his five
companions appeared in their midst. The door had been locked but still
Patricius, Lupus and four men loomed abruptly among the High King and his
guests.
“You invited me and my men to come and
teach you the word of our Lord.” Patricius spoke as if nothing had occurred.
“Ye… yes, indeed.” Laeghaire quickly
hid his astonishment. “Come and sit down at my table. Servants!” he called,
clapping his hands. “Bring food and drink for our guests.”
Lucetmael, the druid, wore a massive
chunky gold ring on his left forefinger. It was adorned with a large emerald
which concealed a small hollow filled with poison. Passing a silver cup of wine
to Patricius, Lucetmael smiled to him welcomingly, disguising his hatred.
Covering his left hand with the sleeve of his robe, he pressed a catch on his
ring to release a drop of poison into Patricius’ cup. Patricius waited until
his men also had wine, then, rising from their seats, they crossed themselves
and blessed the wine.
“In the name of the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit, Amen.” They raised their cups to their lips.
Laeghaire and his company looked on,
dumbfounded. Leaning in close to each other so that Patricius and his men could
not hear them, they asked one another, “What are they mumbling? And why do they
make strange signs?”
Lupus used the distraction to sprinkle
a substance into Patricius’ cup. The wine froze to ice, solely the poison
remained liquid. Patricius turned his cup upside down and the poison fell out.
Then he blessed his cup again and the wine returned to its natural state.
Lucetmael looked on angrily as Laeghaire became impressed.
“Tell me,” Laeghaire asked, “what do
you mean with ‘the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit’?”
“Come outside with me,” Patricius
invited Laeghaire, “and I shall show you.”
The company went outdoors and Patricius
plucked a shamrock from the grass.
“It is no mystery,” he told Laeghaire,
handing him the three-leaved shamrock. “The greatest secret of heaven lies
smiling in the sun beneath your feet. This is one leaf, yet it is parted in
three. It represents the Trinity, where we acknowledge God’s existence as three
distinct persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each of them is separate from
one another and yet they are identical and one God. This is the Sign of the
Three in One. Each is fully divine and although distinctly separate, they are
one God. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.”
Rowena Kinread
Rowena Kinread grew
up in Ripon, Yorkshire. After leaving school, she started working for Lufthansa
in Stuttgart. There she met her future husband whom she married in Ripon. After
raising 3 children, she began working as a secretary in a private physiotherapy
practice. At the same time, she started writing non-fiction books and magazine
articles. Retirement finally brought the financial security to start writing
full-length fiction. A keen interest in history and her own family ancestry
inspired her debut novel “The Missionary,” the dramatic story about the life of
St.Patrick. A second book, “The Scots of
Dalriada” will be published this year. Ms. Kinread says that she welcomed
retirement and all its wonderful opportunities to launch a third career.
Social Media Links:
Website Twitter Facebook Linked-in Instagram BookBub Amazon Author Page Goodreads
