by L. M. Roth
The face of the Emperor turned as purple as his royal robe. His lips drew back in a snarl and he whipped out his own dagger and raised it against Decimus. But before he could drive home the thrust he clutched at his throat, dropping the dagger, and sank to his knees. He struggled for breath and his eyes rolled in his head. The Guard rushed to his side, and the Emperor lay writhing on the floor, gasping for air. After a long and agonizing struggle in which no one dared speak, he lay still and did not move.
It was Decimus who voiced the thought of them all.
“I suppose that meant no.”
Felicia rushed to her husband and clung to him. He appeared to have recovered himself, as if confronting the Emperor purged the pain in his heart. He extended a hand to his father, who clutched it against his cheek.
Marcus looked with a renewed sense of wonder at the Sword that now lay inert in his hand. Three years, it had been nearly three years since he last held it. He was awe struck by the beauty of it as if holding it for the first time. Suddenly he felt seventeen again and felt the thrill of receiving his very own Sword. He swung it through the air, the whooshing sound made his blood run in his veins.
Tullia, Felicia, and Antonius now came to join him, and to marvel at Logos. And he became aware that Decimus stood silently before him, waiting to catch his attention. When at last Marcus looked at him, Decimus raised his arm high and out toward Marcus in the Valeriun salute, the mark of respect that the men of the Empire gave to their equals. Marcus looked into the eyes of his old enemy and returned the salute.
And then he laid a hand on Decimus’ shoulder in the gesture that the men of the Empire accorded only to family and friends; and Decimus in turn laid a hand on the shoulder of Marcus.
Behind him he heard the excited voice of his daughter exclaiming.
“Father, look! Logos is speaking. It says; ‘The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.’ ”
Quest For the Kingdom by L. M. Roth is a 7 book series divided into 2 sections.
Books 1 through 3 comprise the Empress Aurora trilogy and the tale of the young Marcus Maximus.
Books 4 through 7 consist of the Chronicles of Logos and recounts the fate of the fabulous Sword. It also continues the saga of Marcus Maximus, his friends and their teenaged children, and reveals how the decisions of the next generation impact the Kingdom for years to come.
Individual titles for the series are also available, listed below.
Quest For the Kingdom Part I The Legend of the Great Pearl
Quest For the Kingdom Part II Conquering the Domain of Darkness
Quest For the Kingdom Part III Invitation To Eternity
Quest For the Kingdom Part IV A Stranger Among Us
Quest For the Kingdom Part V Rise of the Time of Evil
Quest For the Kingdom Part VI The Sorceress and the Seer
Quest For the Kingdom Part VII A New Kingdom Rises
Other titles by L. M. Roth:
A Knight’s Guide To Spiritual Warfare
Abelard and the Dragon’s Vapor
Arise My Love The Princess Who Fell Asleep
Christmas Cheer
Disenchanted In the Land of Dreams Come True
Lights In the Mist and Other Original Fairy Tales and Fairy Tale Spoofs
