A Priestess of Mars
by
M. E. Brines
Lilith of Gomorra is a
noble Martian priestess who sees love as nothing more than an exercise in naked
carnality. But when she discovers a higher form of love, her faith in the
ancient religion turns to doubt and she must choose between her people and the
man she loves. The fate of the Earth hangs on her choice.
In 1907 in an alternate
steampunk universe where Tesla invented a electric antigravity device that
makes steam-powered spacecraft possible, asteroid miners have discovered ruins
that pre-date human civilization. Two expeditions head to Ceres to explore
them–an American expedition funded by a wealthy senator, and a German one
organized by the occult Thule Society and led by Aleistar Crowley. But the
Martian priesthood and their supernatural allies have infiltrated both and plan
to discover the secret of the weapon that shattered the ancient world of
Pentara in order to turn it against the Earth.
Can Crowley and his
proto-Nazis find the Kaiser a world-dominating weapon? Will the Martians
achieve their apocalyptic revenge against their colonial masters? Whose side is
Lilith on? Her father’s? Crowley’s? Or does she have ambitions of her own?
Find out. Read A
Priestess of Mars!
Excerpt:
The greatest minds of
Mars had failed to destroy Earth’s civilization once. They must not – could not
– fail the Masters again.
The light from the
brazier flickered off the cold stone of the musty vault, the scent of old blood
tainting the air. A large egg-shaped table stood in the center of the room, a
bizarre mass of clockwork purring beneath the gleaming surface. Around it stood
four men in dark robes… and one woman.
She was young, half the
age of the others, and her skin was the color of ebony. Her lustrous hair
cascaded down her back and over the unworn hood of her cloak. Before her on the
table lay an inkpot, quill pen, and a sheet of parchment made of human skin.
A portly figure in a
blood-red satin robe gestured at her with a pudgy finger.
“You. Bring us wine.”
Her eyes narrowed, but
she remained silent – and motionless.
The baldheaded man to
her left had a pate that shone as if it had been polished. His robe was darkest
silk. Embroidered on its back in gold thread was the symbol of the High Priest
– an eye with flames for lashes inside a pyramid. He spoke with a voice that
belonged in a crypt.
“She isn’t a servant,
you gluttonous fool.”
A knocking interrupted.
The High Priest
bellowed, “Enter!”
Across the cavernous
room a door swung open, revealing torchlight and a pair of guards in red tunics
with polished brass helmets. Short iron swords hung from their belts, although
one had a Colt revolver tucked beside his scabbard. The High Priest scowled at
the sight, but said nothing.
The guard cleared his
throat nervously. “Uh, the Elder of the Sacrificial Brotherhood, Milord.”
Another dark-robed
figure entered, giving the guard a wide berth, and bringing the faint scent of
decay with him. An ornate wavy-bladed dagger hung from his sash. Both it and
his fingernails were crusted with some dark, unsavory substance. He glared at
the guard’s Colt as if its mere touch might contaminate him with some loathsome
disease. Gesturing at it with skeletally thin fingers, he sneered at the portly
figure in red.
“Do all your temple
guardians bear such Earther….” Sighting the woman, he paused, his lip curling
as he struggled for the proper word. “Devices?” He smirked contemptuously as he
took his place by the table. Behind, the door closed again, the guards
remaining outside.
The portly one shrugged,
an almost imperceptible gesture amid his rolls of fat. “They may be unclean,
but they’re effective. Cold steel is fine for unresisting sacrifices, but the
encroachments of the Unbelievers can only be prevented with superior force. And
that means hot lead.”
The High Priest nodded.
“Regrettable, but true. Now that we are all here.” He threw a steely glance at
the tardy Elder. “We can now, as the Earthmen say, get down to business.”
“And that business is?”
The speaker, the Keeper of Secrets, wore a black robe that hung over his sparse
frame as if decorating a scarecrow. The wisps of white hair that rimmed his
bald pate gave him an eerie look, like something a grave robber left behind.
“The destruction of
Earth.”
M.E. Brines spent the
Cold War assembling atomic artillery shells and preparing to unleash the
Apocalypse (and has a medal to prove it.) But when peace broke out, he turned
his fevered, paranoid imagination to other pursuits. He spends his spare time
scribbling another steampunk romance occult adventure novel, which despite
certain rumors absolutely DOES NOT involve time-traveling Nazi vampires!
A former member of the
British Society for Psychical Research, he is a long-time student of the occult
and a committed Christian who sees himself as a modern-day Professor Van
Helsing equipping Believers for battle against the occult Principalities and
Powers that rule a world in darkness. (Ephesians 6:12)
The author of three
dozen books, e-books, chapbooks and pamphlets on esoteric subjects such as
alien abduction, alien hybrids, astrology, the Bible, biblical prophecy,
Christian discipleship, conspiracies, esoteric Nazism, the Falun Gong, Knights
Templar, magick, and UFOs, his work has also appeared in Challenge magazine,
Weird Tales, The Outer Darkness, Tales of the Talisman, and Empirical magazine.
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