The Devil's Little Tadpoles

By Gary Kuyper

Why were the victims children? Why did the abductions occur during or after a hard nocturnal downpour? And was it possible that the horror terrorizing the surrounding villages had taken up residence in the old abandoned monastery? One young man, who had lost his brother to the evil, had resolved to solve the mystery or die trying. But, of course, some fates are far worse than death!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gary Kuyper
• Release date: Dec 3, 2010
• ISBN: 9781458098924

Gary Kuyper

Gary Kuyper began his professional literary career writing self-help and general interest articles for Daan Retief Publishers who produced a monthly book for their woman’s club called Woman’s Forum. These articles would sometimes require research and had titles as diverse as The Human Brain and Body Painting!Being a professional photographer on a part-time basis Gary has also managed to have his articles on photography (With accompanying photographs) published in books and magazines. He has also done some free-lance photography and photojournalism projects for numerous local newspapers.Over the past four years he has constantly managed to be one of the top finalists in the Nova Short Story Competition (A competition for budding writers of science fiction and/or fantasy).Last year (2009) Gary had the pleasure of seeing The Devil's Little Tadpoles grace the pages of the local SF & Fantasy Fanzine Probe.He is an avid film buff and amateur film maker. A few years ago I managed to take first prize in the SA Ten Best Film Makers Competition with a short film entitled The Crimson Cobra - An action-packed martial arts / superhero movie using some of the very talented local artists.He is a qualified prosthetics make-up artist and has used this talent on both amateur and professional productions. He has also appeared on television in a youth program especially made for enlightening people in the art of special effects make-up.Gary has a rather excellent general knowledge being not only an avid writer but reader of any material that is able to stimulate him cerebrally.He taught himself Adobe Photoshop and has become adapt and proficient enough at utilizing the software to such a degree that he has managed to sell a number of creations to various institutes and organizations. He is particularly fond of a logo designed for the Krazy Mug Coffee Shop and several covers that have graced the front of Probe.Gary has a vast knowledge of music and has appeared on the local Television Music Quiz Show Note for Note where he was able to win a substantial amount of prize money.In 2008 he entered the SF / Fantasy Mini Radio Play Competition and took first prize with his The Adventures of Captain Max Power of the Intergalactic Police - an obvious homage to the early Flash Gordon radio series’. A number of skilled professionals are now planning to produce Max to CD and have it aired on a local radio station (SAfm).All his literary and photojournalistic accomplishments have been done on a part-time basis due to the fact that his full time career is lecturing mathematics as well as engineering science at a Technical College. Although this is a most fulfilling profession, it has long been Gary's ideal to become a full-time writer – especially of fantasy, science fiction and horror novels.He has recently published his first full-length fantasy novel - The Chronicles of Baltrath: The DARK WIZARDS.As a considerable amount of time and effort has been expended in building the world of Baltrath, Gary has begun work on a sequel to The Dark Wizards.

Book preview

The Devil’s Little Tadpoles

A tale of mediaeval horror by

Gary Kuyper

This is a first edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Copyright © Gary van Nikkelen Kuyper 2010

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people living or dead, events or locales, is entirely coincidental

Smashwords Edition

ISBN 1 45643 861 1

DEDICATION

For my very good friend, Justin Holland

# # #

The Devil’s Little Tadpoles

Twice a day, without fail, we would pray to the good Lord above for His divine protection. Once just before the sun would set – We prithee safeguard us sinners through the long dark night. And again just after sunrise – We thankee Lord for preserving our souls whole till morn.

Of course, we hadn’t always been such a devout family, but time and circumstance can make a pious person out of just about any man.

I remember Father John Partridge joking, "Ye’ll be ‘ard-pressed ta find a single agnostic aboard a sinkin’ ship."

I piled a large bundle of kindling against the door. The kindling was damp, but I coaxed it along with a soaking of lamp oil from a small barrel I had brought along especially for such an emergency. I waited until the flames crackled brightly before adding more wood and oil. It hissed and spat. The door began to blacken and steam. It too was damp and would take some time to burn through.

I walked back up the long flight of carved stone steps into the scattered sunlight. The sun had moved behind the dripping forest, but there would still be a few hours of sunlight left. Enough time to breach the door and destroy the vile creature that dwelt within.

I returned to my horse and removed a large bottle of wine from the saddlebag and uncorked the stopper.

Wait! Did I not need to have the full use of all my faculties?

I held out a flat hand, fingers spread. It shook.

Was it dread? Excitement? Both?

Some say alcohol imparts courage. Others claim it merely dampens the fear. Either way, I could