It’s stinking hot, and the crowd is beginning to lose interest in the last few gladiators still fighting for survival in the arena. Only the Emperor Claudius is still riveted, determined to stick it out until the death rattle of the last fighter announces the end of the day’s frivolities. Life is just as ferocious outside the arena. Everyone wants the power; everyone is willing to kill to get it…
For Agrippina, Claudius’ second wife, her dear husband has served his purpose. Now that he has acknowledged her son, Nero, as his heir, it’s high time he disappeared. But Agrippina has time against her: there’s talk of Claudius wanting to renounce her in favor of the woman he loves, Lolia Paulina. Needless to say, it doesn’t end well for poor Lolia…
In the second volume of this four-part story arc, we learn more details about how the secret society “Shi” was formed by two women sworn to vengeance against the men and institutions that oppress and violate them. In a present-day storyline, we learn more about the the investigation into the terrorist attack against the family of the CEO of the arms company S.V.P.P.B and about Lakshmi Shankar, the MI5 inspector who shows up promising to stop the network of “avenging mothers” before they strike again.
1471. Leading a band of faithful crossbowmen, Juan de Olid leaves Castile in secret, bound for adventure and the unknown lands of Sub-Saharan Africa. The expedition’s objective is to bring back a unicorn horn as quickly as possible—the future of the kingdom depends on it. On the advice of the most pre-eminent experts of their day, Juan de Olid and his companions take along with them the one thing that can help them in their quest: a virgin. For the scent of unsullied maidens has the power to tame the most formidable of unicorns. Meanwhile, the apothecaries of King Henry IV of Castile, nicknamed “the Impotent,” impatiently await this legendary horn, as it is said it can cure the King and ensure the continuation of the royal line…
When XIII washed up on the beach that fateful day, with a head wound that robbed him of his memory, he was rescued by Abe and Sally Smith. The old couple took him in and nursed him back to health out of kindness, but also because he reminded them of their son Alan, killed on duty in Vietnam. As it turns out, Alan’s own story wasn’t so simple, and his fate was closely tied to that of XIII…
This is the first episode of a whole new cycle that chronologically takes place between the Ottoman and African cycles. This time we’re swept off to colonial India. Jade, accompanied by Lord and Lady Nelson, arrives at the Palace of Eschinapur, having been summoned by the Rani, mother of the Maharajah. The Rani wishes for Jade to initiate the future bride of the young Maharajah, the daughter of the rebel Radjah Sing, to the art of love. This is in the hopes that the young bride will be able to wield this power to influence her son’s politics, which are currently in favor of British rule. But there appears to be a strange presence in the palace. That presence turns out to be a child, who shows herself to no one but… the Djinn…
Vince is a member of the Roman Catholic’s intelligence service. He’s recently discovered that a powerful organization, ‘The New Temple,’ is trying to infiltrate the curia. But why? The handsome Vince is on the trail of the assassins who stole the computer of a priest photographer who was a little too curious for his own good – the computer that will allow them to hack into ‘Cognitio,’ the powerful search engine used by Vatican intelligence agencies…
A Muslim mayor has just been elected in Granada. He’s a Democrat through and through. But a group of Christian extremists is ready to go to any lengths to get him to resign. And after kidnapping his daughter, they’re preparing to air the most horrific reality show in the history of television!
Somewhere on the circumpolar tri-continental expressway, the highway covering Eurasia, Africa and America, you’ll find Al Desir, the jewel of the socialist republic of Turdistan. And that’s where Gypsy’s heading. He’s got a rendezvous with his little sister, Bibi, who is there for research purposes to write a book on The White Wing (a sect that’s been forbidden since the revolution) and Sissiah the sorceress, who was recruited by the sect when she was just 10 years old because of her power to change faces…
We’ve seen Joe Telenko, we’ve seen Martha, and now we’re plunged into the day to day existence of Dillon, a Native American and father of the boy that Telenko killed in a tragic car accident. Dillon is now in a living hell. He’s lost everything. He’s miles from his homeland, pushed to the margins of an inhospitable society. And he’ll do anything to eliminate Joe Telenko, the source of all his woes.
Martha could have chosen another man. In that dump where she grew up, they were all falling at her feet. Because of her legs, actually – dancer’s legs. But she loved Joe Telenko, a guy who drank too much and drove too fast. And ever since the accident, it’s over. Just like life. These days, Martha chews over her hatred in a wheelchair. While Joe slogs around New York’s shadiest neighborhoods in his taxi, she creeps around the house, rummaging through his things and reading his journal, just to get an idea of what his life is like. Nothing particularly surprising: some girl he hooks up with when he’s got enough cash to get her drunk, visits to Arthur the medic, a tachycardia problem and a few notes like “I’m going to kill her.” That’s right. Joe wants Martha’s head on a platter, and Martha herself would like to see Joe croak. The only reason they don’t separate is because each of them hopes to one day gaze down on the corpse of the other…
