Eternal Hearts Book Six-Bark At The Moon

Eternal Hearts Book Six:

Bark At The Moon

Prologue

England, 1607:

It a dark forest a crowd
of people gathered around a condemned man as they shouted curses
of hate and loathing at him. His clothes were tattored and
covered in dirt, sweat and blood. The magistrate and officials
forced him to his knees. His hands and feet were shackled with
heavy chains. A priest stood amidst the screaming mass of people
offering prayer for the condemned before his sentence was to be
carried out. A wooden stake had been driven deep into the Earth
and surrounded with logs and sticks and dried foliage. The man
was forced to his feet and unshackled. Then he was dragged to the
stake and bound to it tightly with rope. The people's anger grew
stronger as their rants grew louder and they pelted the man with
fistfulls of dirt and pebbles.

"Douglas of Salsbury,
thou hast been found guilty of the following charges. Consorting
with the dark one and accpeting from him unholy powers to commit
sin most malicious and foul against thy fellow man. Thou has
committed murder, torture, fornication against and consuming the
flesh of both beast and human alike. Thou hast committed these
most grave of offenses against man, woman and child and lesser
beasts of the Earth." Proclaimed the magistrate.

"Thou hast confessed
with thy mouth during inquisition that thou hast indeed consorted
with the devil and did of thine own free entered into pact with
him. In return for thy immortal soul, the devil gave thee the
power to change from man to beast. Thou hast confessed to writing
thy name in the devil's unholy book of darkness and renounced God
and his gracious mercies. For the crimes comitted against God and
his righteous deciples you are to be burned alive until thy body
is reduced to ashes. And here without ceremony or hope of
salvation, thou shalt be buried in this place, and thy name never
to be uttered by all good and righteous peoples until coming of
God's judgement." He continued.

"Douglas, son of
Richard and Annabell of Salsbury, hast thou any last words toward
thy fellow man before sentence is carried out?"

The man known as Douglas
looked upon the crowd with pure malice and hatred. "I shall
burn with nothing but hatred in my heart for all of you! I curse
all thee who stand before me in judgment! I shall be resurrected
by innocent blood! And I shall claim my revenge by all that is
unholy against those who carry out this sentence! And if any who
carry out this sentence rot in the ground, I shall hunt down your
descendents and they shall know suffering and torment never
dreamed of by man! With all that is unholy and evil, I curse
thee! I spit the devil's hatred at thee and cast down thy mercy
and compassion! I shall live again in his darkness!"

With his anger spewed, the
magistrate looked toward the executioner and nodded his head. Oil
was poured upon the wood and a single lit torch was set upon it.
Instantly the wood piled around the condemned began to burn. As
he screamed in agony, the crowd took their turn in releasing
their anger and hatred upon him.

"Spawn of the devil!
May thou burn forever in the flames of Hell!" One man
yelled.

"You violated and
killed my only daughter! May God cast thee into the devil's pit
for eternity!" A grief strickened mother cried.

"You took away my
wife and our unborn child! You feasted upon their flesh as if
they were common cattle! May thy soul be consumed forever by
hellfire!" A widower screamed.

"I shall have my
revenge!" Were the last words of Douglas of Salsbury before
the flames silenced him once and for all.

Later that night, long
after the people had dispursed and returned to their homes, a
small group of men gathered the ashes of this terrible man and
locked them in a silver box. They dug a hole deep in the Earth
and carefully placed the container within it. The priest stepped
foward as the first shovel full of dirt was dropped into the
makeshift grave.

"Oh God, our most
righteous and mighty God; we pray for thy mercy and protection.
Let no one disturb this resting place or the one who lies within
it. Have mercy upon our souls for what we had to do this night.
We pray for thy grace and to give comfort to those who have
suffered at the hands of darkness." He said.

With the prayer said, the
men made sure the box was well covered. They placed upon it
scattered leaves and twigs to disguise the result of their
activities. With this done, they left the cursed spot never to
return.

to be continued...