“Welcome,” he said. “I am Brother Chretien. How may I serve you?”
The Templars, it would seem, didn’t waste words. Michel glanced at me. “Hello,” I said. “I’ve been told to speak to the administrator?” I didn’t mean it to come out as a question, but I guess my uncertainty was making itself known.
The monk nodded. “Is he expecting you?”
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the sealed document Madeleine had given me. “Not really,” I said, “but I have this.”
His glance fell briefly on the parchment, but other than that he showed no reaction. “May I have your name, please?”
“Martin,” I said. “Maitre Martin. Of Orleans.”
He nodded. “Very well, Maitre Martin. Please follow me.” He led us out the way he had come, via a door near the back of the chapel. It brought us into a colonnade surrounding a small courtyard. We turned and followed the walkway around the courtyard.
“Brother Administrator Thierry is seeing a guest at the moment, but I expect their business will be concluded shortly. You are welcome to wait in our hall.”
Brother Chretien started to turn into an open doorway, but I froze, grabbing his sleeve. “Wait!” I hissed.
Brother Chretien, you might have gathered, is a Poor Fellowsoldier of Christ and Knight of the Temple of Solomon—a Templar. These guys were both knights and monks, and they made it their business to protect the pilgrimage routes to the holy land. His first appearance, in this scene from The Mason of New Orleans, seems innocuous—but it's not the last we see of him!
Softcovers—or maybe hardcovers!
At this level you get both The Mason of New Orleans and The Angel of Ecbatana in this campaign's exclusive, upgraded print editions. Your physical books will be autographed (and just to be clear: that'll be by me, the author).
The books are in trade paperback format, but through stretch goals I'd love to make upgrade to hardcover, and perhaps even add some nice deluxe features.
And you get the ebooks of both for free!
You'll get the print version of The Mason of New Orleans in early 2025. The Angel of Ecbatana will deliver later in the year. Ebooks will deliver earlier, with the first of them (the existing edition of The Mason of New Orleans) fulfilling shortly after the pledge manager closes. See the main page for details.
As a special thanks for your support, you also get three art prints depicting Martin, Madeleine, Celestine—any three of six favorite characters in these books. (You'll choose your three prints in the pledge manager.)
You'll pay shipping for physical products through the pledge manager. Product shots are mockups; final items may look different.
I jumped toward the front door, grabbed the handle, and pulled it again and again. Nothing. “Celestine!” I shouted. “Gigot!” I banged on the door. Where was everyone?
The window. I moved to it, grabbing the covering and pulling it off. The opening was high—above head level—and I couldn’t see anything but dark sky. And maybe the faintest glow of firelight, reflecting, perhaps, off the croft walls and outbuildings. Cool air rolled in through the opening.
I could bust out the staves, but I’d need something to do it with. And something to climb up on. I turned and looked into the room.
My chair—that would easily give me enough height. There was an iron bar in the kitchen, an angled thing I’d seen Loes use to maneuver pots on the cooking fire. I wouldn’t need anything too tough—just enough to get leverage. To pop two or three of those staves out of the window frame.
I crossed the smokey room and into the dark kitchen. “Shit!” I barked my shin—hard—against something. I moved, more by memory than by sight, toward the cooking fire, feeling around when I reached it. My hand closed on something metal, and I lifted. It was the handle of the kettle. I tossed it aside with a clatter and felt around some more.
There it was. The iron, cold and rough, was thicker than a pot handle. I hefted it, could feel its length in the darkness. I turned and started back toward hall.
