The Crimson Dagger - Vatican Knights Series 23 (2020) by Rick Jones (romantic novels to read txt) π
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THE CRIMSON DAGGER
By
Rick Jones
Β© 2020 Rick Jones. All rights reserved.
This is a property of EmpirePRESS & EmpireENTERTAINMENT, LLC
The Vatican Knights is a TRADEMARK property β’
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and should not be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For more information e-mail all inquiries to:
ALSO, BY RICK JONES:
Vatican Knights Series
The Vatican Knights
Shepherd One
The Iscariot Agenda
Pandora's Ark
The Bridge of Bones
Crosses to Bear
The Lost Cathedral
Dark Advent
Cabal
The Golgotha Pursuit
Targeted Killing
Sinners and Saints
The Barbed Crown
The Devilβs Magician
The Nocturnal Saints
The Vatican Knightsseries continued:
The Brimstone Diaries
Juggernaut
Original Sins (a prequel)
In Between God and Devil
The Sinai Directive
The Barabbas Connection
The Eye of Moses
The Crimson Dagger
The Goliath Chamber (coming)
The Vladorian Keep (coming)
The Eden Series
The Crypts of Eden (A John Savage/Alyssa Moore Adventure)
The Thrones of Eden (A John Savage/Alyssa Moore Adventure)
City Beneath the Sea (A John Savage/Alyssa Moore Adventure)
The Sacred Vault (A John Savage/Alyssa Moore Adventure)
City Within the Clouds (A John Savage/Alyssa Moore Adventure)
City Beneath the Ice (A John Savage/Alyssa Moore Adventure)
With RICK CHESLER
First Strike
Standalone ADVENTURE:
The Menagerie (A John Savage/Alyssa Moore Adventure)
The Man Who Cast Two Shadows
The Valley (Severed Press)
Mausoleum 2069 (Severed Press and Luzifer-Verlag)
The Hunter Trilogy:
Night of the Hunter
The Black Key
Theater of Operation
A BIG thank you to Adam Hanin and Michael Schubert, whose encouraging ideas led to this story.
Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Chapter Fifty-Three
Chapter Fifty-Four
Chapter Fifty-Five
Chapter Fifty-Six
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Chapter Sixty
Chapter Sixty-One
Chapter Sixty-Two
Chapter Sixty-Three
Chapter Sixty-Four
Chapter Sixty-Five
Chapter Sixty-Six
Chapter Sixty-Seven
Chapter Sixty-Eight
Chapter Sixty-Nine
Chapter Seventy
Epilogue
PROLOGUE
Judea, Roman Empire
33 A.D.
Moments after the man from Jerusalem shed his final breath, darkness descended over Judea while celestial staircases of lightning dotted the landscape with unremitting strikes. The edge of a leading wind quickly swept in, a considerable gale, which caused the heavy rain to take on a lateral course. Boughs from olive trees that were once stout snapped like dry timber, the winds too commanding, too powerful. And through it all, a Roman centurion by the name of Longinus stood rapt with his spear firmly in his grasp as he stared into the vacant eyes of a man named Jesus.
βFather, forgive them; for they know not what they do.β These were the final words of the man who was nailed high upon a cross as He looked heavenward, with these words reaching the centurionβs heart. It was an epiphany and a spiritual awakening that began to draw Longinus from the roots of his Roman gods and towards monotheism.
As Longinus stared into the half-mast eyes of Jesus that showed slivers of white, he knew that this man had taken upon His shoulders the sins of the world. The driving rain was simply a baptism and a new beginning for mankind.
βCenturion, run your spear through!β This came from Longinusβs commander who wore the lorica muscle armor and crested helmet. With the rain, the metal plates appeared slick and wet and shined with a golden polish to them.
Longinus, however, in response, could only present his commander with a pinched and hesitative look. Then above the howl of the gale, he cried, βTruly this man was the Son of God!β
βHe speaks the tongue of a false prophet! And there is no other god who stands before the gods of Rome!β The commander swung his hand through the air with authority. βNow, run your spear through!β
Longinus looked at the face of Jesus that was kind and gentle and tremendously sad.
βCenturion!β
Looking at the point of his spear that resembled a dagger, Longinus raised the tip, balanced it between two ribs, then plunged the point deep to create the βfifthβ holy wound.
A booming clap of thunder sounded off in critical judgment as the earth trembled beneath their feet. As Longinus extracted the point of the spear from the body, blackened clouds scudded across the sky with racing madness, a surreal visual. And lightning surged with broad strokes in swordplay as the strikes ruined trees by dividing their trunks and creating fires that fully engulfed the boughs, only for the rain to do little to extinguish the flames.
Longinus looked at the tip of the spear with wonder. The blade glistened with the blood of Christ, a crimson hue. Yet the daggerlike tip would not be cleansed by the rain as His blood adhered to the spearβs tip like a fixed stain.
Raindrops continued to bead on the spearhead, only for the drops to fall as though repelled by the dagger, which remained tarnished with a crimson coating.
βThe blood,β Longinus commented, as he showed the spearβs tip to his commander. βIt does not wash from my spear.β
The Roman commander quickly crossed the gap between them and grabbed the spear just below the point where the spearhead connects with the shaft. Raindrops beaded, then appeared to boil on the spearhead before falling to the ground, the blade remaining unclean.
The commander released the shaft and fell back as lightning continued its volley of staccato flashes, while thunderclaps reached a crescendo of disharmony. The commander appeared frightened and perplexed as he appraised Jesus, a man who was more than just a man.
Longinus, however, felt an indescribable peace. βHe truly is the Son of God,β he remarked softly, as he held the tip of the spear high. In the flashes of lightning, the point continued to show off an oily hue, perhaps a lasting pigment.
As the Roman centurion held the shaft high with its point directed heavenward, and as the blood of Jesus ran from his personal wounds to flow with the rivulets at the crossβs base,
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