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Back Shadow of the Hawk
Chapters (96)
  1. Cover
  2. By David Gilman
  3. SHADOW OF THE HAWK
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. Contents
  7. CHARACTER LIST
  8. Map
  9. Epigraph
  10. PROLOGUE
  11. PART ONE
  12. CHAPTER ONE
  13. CHAPTER TWO
  14. CHAPTER THREE
  15. CHAPTER FOUR
  16. CHAPTER FIVE
  17. CHAPTER SIX
  18. CHAPTER SEVEN
  19. CHAPTER EIGHT
  20. CHAPTER NINE
  21. CHAPTER TEN
  22. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  23. CHAPTER TWELVE
  24. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  25. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  26. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  27. PART TWO
  28. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  29. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  30. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  31. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  35. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  36. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  37. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  38. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  39. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  40. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  41. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  42. PART THREE
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  45. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  46. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  47. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  48. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  49. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  50. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  51. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  52. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  53. CHAPTER FORTY
  54. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  55. PART FOUR
  56. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  57. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  58. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  59. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  60. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  61. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  62. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  63. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  64. CHAPTER FIFTY
  65. CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
  66. CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
  67. CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
  68. CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
  69. CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
  70. PART FIVE
  71. CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
  72. CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
  73. CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
  74. CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
  75. CHAPTER SIXTY
  76. CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
  77. CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
  78. CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
  79. CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
  80. CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
  81. CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
  82. CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
  83. CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT
  84. CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE
  85. CHAPTER SEVENTY
  86. CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE
  87. CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO
  88. CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE
  89. CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR
  90. CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE
  91. CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX
  92. CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN
  93. CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT
  94. Author’s Notes
  95. About the Author
  96. An Invitation from the Publisher

Blackstone turned away and strode across to where the men went about their work, yet as he did so he raised Arianrhod to his lips and asked the pagan Goddess of the Silver Wheel for her protection.

PART FOUR

THE DEVIL’S MISTRESS

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

The devil fell in love with Velasquita Alcón de Lugo when she was fourteen years old. The girl was everything he desired. Her heart was imbued with the love of God, her knees raw from prayer, her soul pure, her life one of devotion. She served pilgrims who stayed at her father’s inn on their way to find redemption at Santiago de Compostela where the apostle St James was buried. Ten years ago, when the devil, disguised as a pilgrim, pushed open the door of the inn, the girl’s radiance smote him. The innkeeper spoke proudly of his only child’s spirituality. It was common knowledge in the town that she was so blessed God whispered to her during her prayers.

That night the innocent girl, unable to resist the pull of the devil’s desire, took her bedside candle and made her way to the hayloft where he seduced her. When she awoke she was alone: her virginity stolen, his seed planted, her soul led into temptation, her pure heart smothered by the dark veil of passion. There was no longer the need for candlelight. Darkness became her friend. It held no fears. She breathed its blackness deeply into her.

The devout parents witnessed the change. Her mother saw it in her eyes. They flickered with fire. Her father whipped the girl and spent good money on salt, sprinkling it on the coarse wooden floor, forcing her to kneel and pray for ever longer periods. But no prayer came from her lips. When the truth of the union showed itself, the innkeeper once again spilled hard-earned coins from his purse, this time into the hand of an old crone who knew how to rid the body of an unwanted child. They purged the girl and the devil’s offspring was flushed from her body.