Waking the Ancients - Nemesis of the Gods #2 by Catherine Cavendish Book Tour and Giveaway :)
Waking
the Ancients
Nemesis
of the Gods #2
by
Catherine Cavendish
Genre:
Horror
Egypt,
1908
University
student Lizzie Charters accompanies her mentor, Dr. Emeryk
Quintillus, on the archeological dig to uncover Cleopatra’s tomb.
Her presence is required for a ceremony conducted by the renowned
professor to resurrect Cleopatra’s spirit—inside Lizzie’s body.
Quintillus’s success is short-lived, as the Queen of the Nile dies
soon after inhabiting her host, leaving Lizzie’s soul adrift . . .
Vienna,
2018
Paula
Bancroft’s husband just leased Villa Dürnstein, an estate once
owned by Dr. Quintillus. Within the mansion are several paintings and
numerous volumes dedicated to Cleopatra. But the archeologist’s
interest in the Egyptian empress deviated from scholarly into
supernatural, infusing the very foundations of his home with his dark
fanaticism. And as inexplicable manifestations rattle Paula’s
senses, threatening her very sanity, she uncovers the link between
the villa, Quintillus, and a woman named Lizzie Charters.
And
a ritual of dark magic that will consume her soul . . .
The man looked down at his scattered
ashes. “I am growing tired of waiting. When will I be free of this
prison?”
“Soon.” The woman moved away in
that fluid, ethereal manner of hers. Her scarlet gown flowed around
her. An armlet shaped in the goddess Isis’s symbol—a coiled
cobra—gleamed. Heavy black kohl rimmed her eyes, emphasizing the
deep violet of her irises, while her long, black hair, set in many
tight braids, reached her waist. “You must be patient,” the woman
said. “I told you I would help you get what you desire.”
“But that isn’t possible. She is
back in her body. Back in her tomb.”
“All is possible. I have the power.
Haven’t I proved it? Aren’t you the proof of it?”
“I still don’t live.”
“Your spirit lives.”
“My spirit cannot touch her.”
“But it can touch her spirit. Mate
with her spirit if you so desire.”
“And why would you do this for me?”
“My revenge is incomplete. My
murdering sister rests while I am forced to wander in spirit with no
substance of my own.”
“And how will it be done? I am in
your hands. This is not comfortable for me. I am always in control.”
The woman threw back her head and
laughed, showing black, rotten teeth. Stinking, no doubt, if he could
smell anything.
“You have not been in control for a
long time. The god I serve is Set, and he is in control. He will come
and he will work through me. More powerful this time, for Sekhmet
will bring him.”
“And I will have my queen?”
“You will have her.”
“She will be in the one who is here
now?”
“That is to be determined.”
“But this one is not of the blood.”
“She will not be possessed, but
transformed. We do not need a blood relative.”
“That has been tried before. And
failed.”
“The rules were not properly
followed. You cannot possess all of her. You have seen that. The gods
will not allow it. Her spirit must be divided. Some of it must remain
with her body—and lie cold in her tomb. Waiting. Always waiting. In
that way, the gods are appeased and my price is also exacted.”
“So part of my queen will still
wander, looking for her lover, but enough of her spirit will be
released to come to me.”
“Now you understand. You will have
all that you desire, and my revenge will not be compromised.”
“And I can be with her. For all
time.”
The woman didn’t answer. She gave
the merest hint of a smile and passed on.
In his world of shadows, Dr. Emeryk
Quintillus waited.
Wrath
of the Ancients
Nemesis
of the Gods #1
DESTINY
IN DEATH
Egypt,
1908
Eminent
archeologist Dr. Emeryk Quintillus has unearthed the burial chamber
of Cleopatra. But this tomb raider’s obsession with the Queen of
the Nile has nothing to do with preserving history. Stealing sacred
and priceless relics, he murders his expedition crew, and
flees—escaping the quake that swallows the site beneath the desert
sands . . .
Vienna,
1913
Young
widow Adeline Ogilvy has accepted employment at the mansion of Dr.
Quintillus, transcribing the late professor’s memoirs. Within the
pages of his journals, she discovers the ravings of a madman
convinced he possessed the ability to reincarnate Cleopatra. Within
the walls of his home, she is assailed by unexplained phenomena:
strange sounds, shadowy figures, and apparitions of
hieroglyphics.
Something
pursued Dr. Quintillus from Egypt. Something dark, something hungry.
Something tied to the fate and future of Adeline Ogilvy . . .
Following a varied career in sales, advertising and career guidance, Catherine Cavendish is now the full-time author of a number of paranormal, ghostly and Gothic horror novels, novellas and short stories. She was the 2013 joint winner of the Samhain Gothic Horror Anthology Competition, with Linden Manor, which was featured in the anthology What Waits in the Shadows. Cat’s novels include The Pendle Curse, Saving Grace Devine, and Dark Avenging Angel. She lives with her long-suffering husband and black (trainee) cat. They divide their time between Liverpool and a 260-year-old haunted apartment in North Wales.
Red
Ivan and the White Lady of Bernstein
Since
1199, Bernstein Castle has stood, dominating its surroundings in the
Oberwart district of wine-producing Burgenland in the south-eastern
part of Austria.
Only
after the Second World War did it become part of Austria when borders
were moved and Burgenland became Austria’s newest region. Until
then, it had officially lain in Hungary. Its history is one of
multiple battles, sieges and increasing fortification. Needless to
say with so much conflict and so many centuries of existence, more
than a few legends surround it.
Tradition
centers on two ghosts in particular; the White Lady of Bernstein and
Red Ivan.
Cathalina
Frescobaldi, Italian wife of a former owner of the castle, is the
main contender for White Lady. The story goes that her husband caught
her in
flagrante delicto with
his secretary. The Count murdered his employee and walled his wife up
in one of the castle towers - to die a terrifying death. But
Cathalina would not rest in peace. She appeared to her husband after
her death and scared him so much he dropped dead. That doesn’t seem
to have been enough to send her into peaceful eternal rest as she is
still reported being seen in the castle to this day.
Nowadays,
the family-owned castle has been part converted into a luxury hotel.
Maybe you will feel the ice cold hand of the White Lady yourself.
Red
Ivan’s story dates back to the 13th
century and his true identity is Johann von Héder, Count of Güssing,
a notoriously cruel and vengeful man who terrorised the whole region.
He is instantly recognisable as he wears a red vest and has flame-red
hair and beard. He isn’t someone you would want to run into, as he
delights in scaring the wits out of residents and guests alike.
Sometimes he doesn’t materialise physically but contents himself by
causing heavy rumblings and thundering steps throughout the hallways.
The
castle has been in the
Almásy
family
since 1892 and one of the current owner’s ancestors –Ladislaus
Almásy
–
was immortalized in the book and film ‘The
English Patient’. A
keen Africaphile, he has left his mark all over the castle with
symbols in Arabic attesting to his prowess. He was a desert explorer
and racing car driver and known in Africa as Abu Ramla (Father of the
Sand).
Bernstein
Castle is awash with atmosphere and, in addition to the resident
ghosts, guests can enjoy an authentic stay in a magnificent family
home set in some of the most stunning scenery you could wish to find.
If
you go there, give my regards to the White Lady…
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the tour HERE
for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!
Congrats on the tour and I appreciate the excerpt and the great giveaway as well. Love the tours, I get to find books and share with my sisters and now my twin daughters who all love to read. We have found some amazing books for everyone. So, thank you!
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