#AMREADING ERIKA
RUMMEL, THE INQUISITOR’S NIECE.
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| Rummel, Inquisitor's Niece |
Yes, I’m reading the
final proofs of my forthcoming novel, The
Inquisitor’s Niece, the story of a taboo relationship between a Jew and a
Christian, set in inquisitorial
Spain. Here is a teaser:
Public executions always fetched a good
crowd. People craned their heads to see the expression on the faces of the trio
of heretics, an old Jew and two youths - his sons presumably - bareheaded and
shirtless, their backs bloodied by the lash, their hands and feet shackled.
They were transported in an open cart for all to see, to be vilified, cursed
and spit on. The crowd was in a holiday spirit, merry and boisterous. Boys were
hawking chestnuts, dried fruit and sugared almonds. A band of blind musicians
was playing their guitars. A juggler performed tricks with coloured balls. Harlots
were doing brisk business.
The crowd was jostling for the best spots
from which to watch the spectacle. There was excitement in the air when the
heretics were dragged to the pyre and tied to the stake. A joyful shout went up when the executioner
put a torch to the kindling, and for a moment the cheers and jeers drowned out
the agonized shrieks of the men at the stake. The crowd watched them writhing
as the smoke and the licking flames enveloped their bodies, and the fumes and
the pain overcame first the old man and then his companions. Their bodies
slackened, the roaring fire ate through the ropes that tied them to the stake,
and they dropped to the ground. For a while an up-drift of air made it look as
if they were waving their limbs in desperation, then the bodies turned into a
darkly glowing heap, shapeless lumps seen through a curtain of fire.
The flames had hardly died down before
souvenir-seekers started raking the hot ashes for keepsakes and carried off the
bones to grind up and hawk as magic powder. Alonso watched them in cold horror.
The spectacle made Alonso’s skin crawl. It was an evil omen. Was this the fate
that awaited his father?
You can pre-order the
book from the publisher at: http://www.bygoneerabooks.com/#!inquisitors-niece/co4k
