Throne

By Steven D. Bennett

A man with a terminal illness returns from the Holy Land with an artifact he believes has the ability to heal. Supposedly made by a carpenter in Nazareth some two-thousand years before, he seeks to have the object authenticated. Though the results are inconclusive, he is pressured by his skeptical, yet greedy, brother to capitalize on the situation, which leads to an interview with a local Los Angeles TV station. He finds himself the object of media attention and subsequent sexual desire, as the artifact also brings out the darker, primal urges of anger, jealousy and lust. When the artifact is stolen, he is panicked and driven to the brink of murder to recover what he believes is his only chance to be healed. Through the ordeal, he will wrestle with the issue of faith, the brevity of life, and what he truly believes about both.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steven D. Bennett
• Release date: May 18, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458000583

Steven D. Bennett

I was born in Boston and grew up in Connecticut and San Diego, which gave me a good background in both history and tanning. I have four children and six grand-children, remarkable in that I am only 35. The fact that I have been married for almost 36 years is the result of an in-utero wedding and honeymoon.I have published many short stories, poems, songs, and recently wrote and directed a musical melodrama that was performed in the San Diego area. With six books under my belt (THE PATH OF DAYS, TRACE THE DEAD EYE, HUMOR OF THE GOSPELS, HUMOR OF THE GOSPELS Daily Study, THRONE and THE CHUCK-IT LIST) I am looking for a bigger belt to stuff the seventh, which hopefully will be completed in time for the Christmas season. It is about a writer who finds to his horror that a mistake he made on page 47 completely invalidates the plot, forcing him to thus track down and kill anyone who has bought the book lest they spread the truth about his miniscule talent. It is titled DON'T READ THIS! and looks to be a best-seller, unless people take the title literally. Fortunately, nothing I write can be taken literally. It is also fortunate I did not stay with the working title: DON'T BUY THIS! Personally, I don't buy a word of it.I also have a blog, I Wandered Off the Tour: A Journey In Self-Publishing, which contains my thoughts and experiences through the tormenting process of creation.Other than writing, I like listening to the same dozen albums and re-runs of the same dozen TV shows I've heard and seen hundreds of times, to the endless delight of my wife.

Book preview

Throne

by

Steven D. Bennett

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2010 by Steven D. Bennett

EPISODE 1

DELIVERY

Scene 1

His brother had told him he’d meet him at the airport, and true to his word Terry spotted him as he rode down the escalator. He was hard to miss. He was holding a rectangular cardboard sign in front of his chest which spelled out in red, white and blue letters: Welcome to America.

Nice touch, Ray, he said with a smile. They hugged awkwardly.

How was the flight? his brother asked as they began walking.

Endless. I had my pick of twelve movies to watch. All horrible, by the way. And this book.

He held up a paperback, a current New York Times bestseller by a well-known author, which now looked more like an overstuffed wallet. Terry had a habit of tearing out pages he thought badly written and leaving them in the book as a reminder to himself or a caution to the next reader. The book looked to be mostly ripped pages. Which way to the luggage?

Ray pointed and Terry started off in that direction, not breaking stride as he dropped the book into the nearest trash receptacle. Ray folded the sign twice and stuffed it in with the book, then jogged to catch up. What’s the rush?

Huh? The response was automatic. Then Terry looked at him, hesitating before he spoke. I...bought something. I’m having it sent to the house. It should be there by now. I want to make sure it arrived in one piece.

What is it?

Terry hesitated again. Just something I found.

Antique.

Yes.

Worth a lot?

Maybe.

Artwork?

In a way.

They moved through the crowd waiting for their luggage, stopping at the conveyer.

I’m glad you’re back, Terry. Mom was worried, you being so far away. We all were.

They have hospitals in Israel.

True. But you never know. How are you feeling?

Terry took a deep breath and smiled. You know, I’ve never felt better.

Good. Sometimes the best thing you can do is get away for a while, put it completely out of your mind.

His brother looked at him for a moment before speaking. It’s more than that. I think I’m healed.

Scene 2

When they got to the house there was a note on the door from Mr. Plotkin, his neighbor. Terry had long ago given the man a set of keys to the house in case of emergency. That foresight had come in handy in ways he couldn’t have foreseen when he had left for his trip, and the note confirmed as much. A package had arrived the day before and Plotkin had put it inside in accordance with Terry’s phone call.

Hurry up, Ray, he said, opening the door.

His brother was struggling with two large suitcases, trying to surmount the porch steps. I should never have agreed to bring these in.

Just leave ‘em there, Terry said from inside.

The package was a three by three by four foot box sitting in the middle of the living room. Terry emptied his pockets on the kitchen counter while Ray examined the package. Looks too small to be a mail-order bride. Of course, there are some advantages in a dwarf wife. He gave it a few knocks. Anybody in there?

Careful with that. Terry walked into the kitchen and took a butcher knife from a wooden block on the counter. Here. He tossed it flatly to his brother. You can open it...if you’re careful.

You know me, he said, attacking the box. He opened the top and Styrofoam packing popped out. He tipped it, pouring more onto the floor.

Careful. Hold the box and I’ll lift it out.

Ray bear-hugged the box as Terry lifted the object surrounded with bubble wrap. He put it gently on