This hero of legend will encounter a challenge he has never faced before . . .
present-day New York City.
Tempus Unbound
Sacred Band Series Book 6
by Janet & Chris Morris
Genre: Dark Epic Fantasy Adventure, Mythology
Is this the Lemuria of antiquity, or of times to come? Once
you've ridden the storm clouds of heaven from the edge of time, anything is
possible. Demonic hordes threaten to destroy the very fabric of time itself.
The fate of all humanity rests on the shoulders of Tempus the Black, Favorite
of the Storm God. But even this hero of legend will encounter a challenge he
has never faced before . . . present-day New York City.
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Not one of the hundred pillows in Chiara’s bedroom
remained on her bed when the god finally had had enough of the woman who ruled
here as Lemuria’s Evening Star. She lay belly down on marble tiles in a slick
of oil and wine and surrounded by candles he was quenching, one by one, with
his fingers.
His short sword gleamed from the midst of the mess, hair
from her body and her head on its blade. He hadn’t done a protracted ritual for
the god in a very long time, and Lemuria’s rites rang as ancient and primal as
Enlil’s name.
Their tryst had included moments when fear glazed her
round, brown eyes, and moments when he felt certain the god overestimated what
Tempus’ human flesh could give and hers could accept.
Still, he’d never killed a woman unintentionally, and although
she might hurt when passion fled, now she merely lazed, intoxicated, malleable,
sated and unresisting in the middle of the floor.
Once he’d snuffed
the last candle, she reached for a pillow and propped her chin upon it so she
could watch him more easily.
The big bed might have been easier on her, but she and
the god had done things by the book. Still on her belly with the pillow under
her jaw, she said, “You’ll really go with Rath and Mano into their horrid world
tomorrow?”
“You tell me.” He was hunting for his leathers among her
pillows.
“Stay here. With
me. We could recast the lot. You could be free of your god forever, here. Stay,
and you’ll learn of pleasures you never dreamed . . .”
“I’m a fighter, a soldier, a simple mercenary who had the
bad luck to fall in with an insatiable god. It’s been so long, I wouldn’t know
how to do anything else.”
“You could be the first not to succumb to Lemuria’s
legerdemain. Don’t cast a lot, and you’re safe here until you do. We have
strife close at hand, should you crave excitement: all the strife of many
lands. From here you can help all of humanity — ”
“You must have
mistaken me for a politician or a would-be king. I’m not the one to chart any
soul’s course. Not after what I did with mine.”
“What do you
want, then?”
And Faun’s words
came back to him: “Survival, that’s the thing.”
Don’t miss the rest of the Sacred Band Series!
The Sacred Band
of Stepsons series is Homeric and heroic fiction following the exploits of an
ancient cavalry unit modeled on the Sacred Band of Thebes. Deftly mixing
history, myth, and fantasy, Morris’ Sacred Band of Stepsons live and die in a
world where gods are real and magic works — sometimes.
Morris’
accursed cavalry commander, Tempus, first appeared Sacred Band first appeared
in the million-selling Thieves’ world shared-universe in 1981. Subsequently,
Janet Morris, first alone and subsequently with her husband Chris Morris, take
the Sacred Band into their own series of novels, set in the fourth century BCE.
Passionate, gritty, lyrical prose and unforgettable characters make this
series. Perseid Press Sacred Band novels includes the “Author’s Cut” of the
Beyond Sanctuary Trilogy and Tempus, as well as the epic novel The Sacred Band,
and The Fish the Fighters and the Song-girl.
Find them at Perseid Press
Best selling
author Janet Morris began writing in 1976 and published more than 30 novels,
many co-authored with her husband Chris Morris or others. Most of her fiction
work was in the fantasy and science fiction genres, although she also wrote
historical and other novels. Morris either wrote, contributed to, or edited
several book-length works of non-fiction, as well as papers and articles on
nonlethal weapons, developmental military technology and other defense and
national security topics.
Christopher Crosby
Morris (born 1946) is an American author of fiction and non-fiction, as well as
a lyricist, musical composer, and singer-songwriter. He is married to author
Janet Morris. He is a defense policy and strategy analyst and a principal in M2
Technologies, Inc. He writes primarily as Chris Morris, but occasionally uses
pseudonyms.
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GUEST POST
What is something unique/quirky about you?
We breed Morgan horses. We consult with Morgan breeders to help them choose breeding combinations to achieve a desired result.
We are also song writers; Janet plays bass guitar and Chris sings and plays guitar. We have an album on MCA records. Look for Christopher Crosby Morris on Soundcloud or N1M.com
Can you, for those who don't know you already, tell something about yourself and how you became an author?
Janet wrote her first book in 1975 and Chris was the first one to read and comment on it. Their marriage survived. A routine emerged where Chris would read aloud all the new drafts and we would make edits on the spot. After a few books Chris’ ideas became frequent enough that we agreed he should have credit for writing, whereas before we had kept separate Janet’s storytelling and Chris’ songwriting. The rest, as they say is history.
Who is your hero and why?
Heraclitus of Ephesus, a pre-socratic philosopher, whose Cosmic Fragments foreshadow our knowledge of reality and how to perceive it. Among his precepts is the statement that change alone is unchanging. We’ve worked Heraclitus’ fragments in here and there throughout our books.
Which of your novels can you imagine being made into a movie?
All of them. We write cinematically, our books are vivid adventures undertaken without knowing the destination. I, the Sun, The Sacred Band, Outpassage and M.E.D.U.S.A. are particularly suited to film. The Threshold Series is a feast of opportunities for today’s special effects creators.
What inspired you, to write Tempus Unbound?
If you love your character, you often want to see them in unaccustomed circumstances, far from their comfort zones. Tempus surprised us because there is something about him that transcends historical periods, even far future encounters. Across time Tempus remains relevant and even his quirks take on added significance.
Convince us why you feel Tempus Unbound is a must read.
More than a must read, Tempus Unbound was a must write for us. It was time for Tempus to grow as a character and that demands that the reader grow with him. We know from experience that that is what our readers want and we do too.
Who designed your book covers?
Most of our covers, including Tempus Unbound, are realized by Roy Mauritsen, a gifted graphic artist.
Advice to writers?
As for advice to writers, here is all we know: write the story you want to read. Start at the beginning, go to the end, and stop. Seriously. From start to finish you must inhabit the construct in a manner that makes the reader choose to continue; if you, as the writer, can’t feel what it’s like being there, your readers can’t either. So close your eyes, look at your feet where they are standing on the story’s ground; tell me what you see. Tell me what you hear. Ask at the end of each paragraph ‘what happens next?’. If you lose touch with it, wait until you’re back inside it. Tell the story that comes to you, and from you, to me.
