Raimond
Monsters and Angels
by Anne Marie Andrus
Date of Publication: October 25th 2018
Publisher: Anne Marie Andrus Publishing
Cover Artist: Eight Little Pages
Genre: Paranormal
Tagline: The road from soldier to saint is paved with blood and magic.
BLURB
A lone soldier on night watch. A single bullet through the heart. Every light in Paris flickers—the city’s thundering silent scream.
When Commander Raimond Banitierre was assassinated, French Revolutionaries lost their gallant leader. After a villain’s offer of eternal life condemned him to slavery, Raimond rebelled again, driving his vampire comrades to freedom.
Raimond escapes to Savannah, Georgia where his dream of becoming a doctor comes true. During his trial-by-fire residency on the Civil War’s battlefields, he discovers his true calling—the power to preserve memories and dignity in the face of death. His chance meeting with a beguiling mortal nurse ignites passionate nights and a long overdue crack in the door to paradise.
Vicious flames and an unholy miscalculation deliver Raimond back to the depths of hell. Being arrested for treason makes him wish for death and the arrival of Prince Draven Norman appears to be the final nail in Raimond’s coffin.
Will the prince’s eccentric judgement grant Raimond a true reprieve? Is Draven’s invitation to join New Orleans mystical royalty an extension of his own treachery, or the next step in Raimond’s miraculous journey?
Has the legendary Crescent City found a spirit noble enough to protect her future?
Excerpt Rise The Demons
Paris, France 1852
In a derelict
neighborhood on the fringe of Paris, one burning red eye glowed through the
crumbling foundation of a formerly grand hotel. While family and friends still
struggled to put the Revolution’s gory ugliness behind them, their every move
was scrutinized by a trapped predator.
Raimond kept
watch, as he had done for decades, until his eye smoldered from distant
sunlight. Switch eyes. A smile drifted across his face while children scurried
behind their parents, shopkeepers threw open their doors and the light of hope
shone on every street except one. The worn and rutted surface of Rue Le Cross
remained cloaked in darkness.
Footsteps echoed
off the cobblestones outside Raimond’s portal and he strained to see the
trespassers. He flinched at the sight of glowing torches, retreating again into
his underground gloom.
A woman barked
orders. “Tell those youngsters to stay behind the barricade.”
“Go to school,
you little fools!” a man called out. “This is no place for kids…or anyone.”
“What are you so
afraid of husband?”
Raimond stepped
forward to hear the man’s answer. I should hope they’re scared.
“I’m not the
only one who hears the awful noises in this passage after dark and it’s always
night on this bloody street.”
“Can we just
light these lamps and get out of here?” The woman’s eyes darted around. “The
mayor paid both of us a fortune.”
Here they go
again. The gas lanterns blazed to life and Raimond drummed his fingers on the
wall.
“They’re
burning,” the woman hissed. “But why are they flickering?”
The flames
shivered and gasped, as if being blown out by invisible lips. Raimond shook his
head.
“This alley is
cursed. Every lock is broken. Nothing opens.” The man rattled handles and
knobs. He froze at the shuttered hotel’s rusty door. “Do you hear that?”
Raimond
rhythmically smashed a rock on the iron bars of his prison.
“We didn’t get
paid enough for this wife.”
A menacing growl
ricocheted off the walls and the couple dropped their torches, slammed into
each other and scrambled toward the main street.
Don’t come back.
Raimond let the rock slip from his grasp and slumped against the dusty wall.
Those doors are jammed shut for a reason.
As the final,
auburn embers of sunlight faded behind the craggy roofline, the underworld
groaned to life. Raimond turned around to the absolute black of the catacombs
and the squeal of rodents that drowned out hungry cries. He kicked a rat across
the cell and his stomach twisted at the whimpers of miserable children sleeping
in the cold. They were all victims of a monster that the mortal world above
didn’t believe existed. He didn’t have the heart to tell the little ones they
were vampires, too. He sighed. None of us will ever be warm again.
Raimond punched
walls he’d been beating on for years. A few remaining slivers of stone broke
free and he slid to the floor, clawing at his eyes.
Don’t fall apart
now, soldier. This moment has been years in the making.
As an officer,
he’d been expected to sacrifice his life.
Until a maniac
stole my soul.
That crime was
nothing compared to what the innocents who lived beneath the street with him
had endured.
Tonight, it all
changes.
In a flash
Raimond slammed into iron bars that tore the skin from his forehead. He drew a
breath of putrid air.
The villains
beat me and I plotted.
He looked at the
blackened skin of his hands.
They burned me,
and I schemed.
His escape from
the torture was a dive into the darkest corners of his mind, and each time he
let himself dream, the hallucinations became bloodier and deadlier.
Never mind
revenge; I want absolute victory.
His eyes
wandered across the dungeon full of unwilling vampires, landing first on a
fellow soldier.
Such an odd
story, a Scot fighting alongside the French.
Two younger lads
slept next to the burly man, both clinging to the ends of a tattered blanket.
Nuns, farmers and even patients from the local infirmary had been ripped from
their beds and turned into slaves by a madman. In the middle, a young nurse
huddled with the frailest children. Her voice, touch and passion to heal had
never faltered, despite the hellish conditions.
Convincing these
lost souls that they have a future worth living—that will be a challenge.
Author Info
Anne Marie has been an equestrienne, chorale singer, EMT and baseball fan.
Roaming the back roads of New Jersey with her family, she found great respect for antiques, historical locations and the stories they hold. Her current list of favorite pastimes includes coffee, bourbon and Les Misérables—which requires more bourbon. She has been known to attend sporting events just for the flyover. The boat she and her husband christened Glory Days, is her escape from the chaos of everyday life.
The inspiration for Raimond and Monsters & Angels is Anne Marie’s fascination with vampires, castles and her passion for everything New Orleans. When she isn’t writing, she can be found working nights with the critical care team in a busy trauma center.
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