Copper Cauldron
Penelope Manchester, a good witch with one green
and one blue eye, awaits her destiny: a warrior of God with the face of an
angel, the heart of a saint, and eyes which match her own. St. Michael the
Archangel flies into her life and sweeps her off her feet. Meanwhile, an evil
sorcerer captures witches, steals their powers and most of their nine lives,
and shrinks them to the size of a doll--a Nürnberg, doll. But when he turns two of the Manchester witches into dolls, the
Manchester clan fights back with St. Michael and divine intervention. Armed
with the legendary copper cauldron, a fire breathing dragon, and an arsenal of
spells, good battles evil.
Excerpt from Copper Cauldron
By: Terri Talley Venters
“Ah, here it is.” Violet’s frail fingers touched the ancient book in
the Manchester library. She tried to retrieve it from the bottom of the
twelve-foot book shelf, but the weight stopped her.
“Here, let me help you.” Penelope pulled the enormous text out with
ease.
Violet sat in one of the two wing-backed chairs in front of the
fireplace, looking exhausted by her efforts.
Penelope carried the book to her great-grandmother. The scene reminded
her of her childhood. She recalled hearing tales of her ancestors in front of
the fireplace under the portrait of St. Michael the Archangel. She gazed up at
the portrait of her family’s patron saint and smiled. He looked like the man
she saw at St. Michael’s in Munich.
Violet opened the ancient book as the other four witches perched
around the chair looking on. Dust flew as she delicately turned the thick
parchment paper. The vibrant colors of the drawings leapt from the pages.
Meticulous, handwritten words filled the pages opposite the pictures.
“How old is this book, Violet?” Cat asked.
“It’s over one thousand years old. But many of the legends were added
as the centuries passed.” Violet still turned the pages towards the back of the
book.
“Ah, here it is, the legend of the Nürnberg Dolls,” Violet read.
Penelope stared at the pictures in the book. It showed the dolls of
shrunken, comatose witches whose powers and lives were stolen. She recognized
the drawing of Nürnberg Castle, the Hexenhäusle, and the interior of Marcus’s
coven.
Violet read the meticulously scribed text from the book.
Once upon a time, an evil sorcerer lived in Nürnberg. Marcus wanted to
be the most powerful sorcerer in the world and live forever. He lured
unsuspecting witches and wizards into his lair beneath Nürnberg Castle and then
charmed them with his eyes and promised them rare potion ingredients for the
price of a mere kiss. After he seduced them, he cast a spell to steal their
powers. Once the witches lost their powers, he used the gilded-silver double
cups to cast the antispell of the Copper Cauldron’s life-saving one. Instead of
saving a witch’s life, the antispell transferred the witch’s remaining lives to
the invoker of the spell. But just before the last life left the witch’s body,
the evil sorcerer stopped the spell, leaving the witch with only a fraction of
one life. With only a fraction of life remaining, the witch shrank to a
fraction of her size--the size of a doll. The evil sorcerer, Marcus, collected
the dolls as the centuries passed. His most prized dolls carried the one blue,
one green eye trait.
Terri Talley Venters,
Author of Carbon
Copy, Tin Roof, Body Of Gold, and Copper Cauldron
Terri received
her Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Master’s degree in Taxation from the
University of Florida. She is a licensed CPA and a Second Degree Black Belt in
Taekwondo. She lives in St. Augustine, Florida, with her husband, Garrison, and
their two sons.
Carbon Copy, currently available from Wild
Child Publishing, is the 1st
thrilling novel in the Elements of Mystery Series. The title of each
novel will contain an element from the Periodic Table of Elements. Tin Roof, the sequel to Carbon Copy, coming soon from Wild Child
Publishing. And Terri’s romantic/suspense
novel, Body of Gold, is coming soon from Freya’s Bower. Terri just
finished writing, Silver Lining, the
final book in the Carbon Copy
trilogy. For more about Terri’s upcoming releases, please visit her website http://www.elementsofmystery.com/ Terri is the daughter of Leslie S. Talley, author of Make Old Bones which is also available
from Wild Child Publishing.
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