Coventry House

By Alan Loewen

Molly Ladanyi has just been hired as the new caretaker for Coventry House. There she meets five guests that must be kept safe as well as in secret. But one guest who fled many years ago has returned and the fate of Coventry House as well as the world hangs in the balance.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alan Loewen
• Release date: Aug 6, 2011
• ISBN: 9781466064287

Alan Loewen

Alan Loewen lives with his wife and three sons in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania sharing their home with a Sheltie named Socrates, a rabbit, a demented parrot lovingly dubbed, The Death Chicken," and far too many cats. You can always find him at CapClave and Anthrocon or else hiding in his office. "Alan Loewen believes in magic, and I'm not talking about the dark, Gothic stuff that gets spelled with a "k" at the end. I mean he believes in real magic, the kind that makes us look at the world and feel that sense of wonder we had when we were young. You can call it magic, fantasy, or myth, but it's based on the very cornerstone of his work: hope. Alan Loewen is handing out hope, and we're all the better for it if we grab some." - Donald Francis, author of Advent "Alan Loewen transports his readers into new worlds oddly familiar, yet full of surprises. Loewen is a magician with words. His stories always entertain and, when you least expect, take you by surprise." ~ Lynne Nave, Executive Editor; Stony Run Publishing Company "Alan Loewen's characters are unique and so are the twists each one takes in these stories. A good read!" ~ Emily Chase, author of Help! My Family's Messed Up! Wow, just wow! Loewen’s writing transports one to other worlds, worlds intricately woven of word and phrase, and leaves you wanting to explore further. ~ Teresa Ford, editor of Ethereal Tales "Captures the imagination, then sends it flying ... will sometimes stop you in your tracks, yet other times will cause you to step out to follow the tracks of others through time and realm alike." ~ Cynthia A. Conley, Independent Research & Freelance Writing Services

Book preview

COVENTRY HOUSE

by

Alan Loewen

SMASHWORDS EDITION

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Published by Alan Loewen on Smashwords

Coventry House

Copyright © 2011 by Alan Loewen

Smashwords Edition License Notes

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The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them: the same were the mighty men that were of old, the men of renown. - Genesis 6:4

Egypt, 1938

The rising sun made the air shimmer over the ancient sands of Egypt. In the distance, the Nile glistened like a ribbon of light.

Bast left her cave and headed toward the river for her morning drink. She was old—as old as the Sphinx—yet she moved gracefully, blending the movements of cat and woman, for Bast was the perfect distillation of feline and maiden.

Her morning ritual had continued uninterrupted for over two thousand years, but this morning human eyes observed her every move. Ernst Steinke watched the Nephil through his field binoculars. Behind him, twenty-five German troops stood silently alert.

As Bast approached the reeds that grew along the riverbank, a deafening roar broke the stillness. Five buried canisters exploded, propelling heavy weights up into the air and over the creature. Tied to them were strong hemp ropes connected to one massive net that dropped over her. At Steinke’s signal, his troops ran over the dunes toward the figure struggling in the net.

It took four minutes to have his prize trussed and secured to a stretcher, the price being two men injured from claws and teeth. Steinke grinned down at the creature hissing and spitting at him in what Steinke assumed was ancient Egyptian. "Guten Tag, gnädige Frau, he said, not caring whether Bast could understand him, My Fuehrer has need of your services." With that, four soldiers picked up the stretcher and walked to the waiting caravan a mile away.

Three days later, Steinke observed his men loading the crate holding the sedated Bast onto an airplane. Soon she’d be bound for Berlin where she would receive a personal invitation from Adolph Hitler himself. Since his agent’s discovery of the Nephilim, Hitler was very eager to add the ancient hybrids to his arsenal of weapons.

The loading door was raised and locked. The airplane engine went from idle to full throttle and the plane began to move into position on the runway. Slowly, the craft gathered speed.

Suddenly, Steinke’s attention was diverted to a commotion from the airplane hangar. His men spilled out on the tarmac from the hanger, wildly gesticulating toward the departing plane. To his horror, some had even drawn guns and were shooting at the aircraft with its precious cargo.

Roaring in his anger, he raced down to the hanger, where he found his shame-faced men standing over the unconscious bodies of the pilot and co-pilot.

What? Steinke sputtered. What are these men doing here? Who is flying that plane?

Any answer disappeared with the aircraft as it flew west over the horizon.

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England, 2001

John Grant talked animatedly as he drove the car carelessly over the small country roads. Molly Ladanyi held on tightly, wondering why the Director of the Department of Antiquities himself was driving her to her new assignment. She looked through the passenger window to focus her attention away from the Director’s driving habits.

Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of herself in the passenger side’s mirror. Like a mouse standing before a cobra, she stared at the scarred face staring back at her. Molly hated mirrors. No matter how