Synopsis
An archaeological dig in the English countryside might be considered the safest of pastimes, but not for Simon Tappins. There were no witnesses to his disappearance; in fact in the eyes of everyone else, he was still there.
A discovery sends him back in to a dangerous period of British history. He is plunged in to the time when the Roman Empire is collapsing and Saxon hordes are invading, sweeping aside the last legions.
Simon is caught between the warring native tribes, the approaching Saxons and the ferocious but futile last stand of a Roman Governor who with the support of German mercenaries is intent on escaping with the wealth he has accumulated.
Simon’s new life is complicated by his growing feelings for a British warrior girl, Sen icca. Despite constant danger he manages to free her from slavery and take her back to her own people.
He plans and leads a daring raid on a heavily defended villa when more of her tribe is captured, but the escapade ends in tragedy.
In accurate and fascinating detail that never slows the fast paced story; many aspects of every day life in the period are disclosed; the unearthly powers of the priests, the struggles, perils and small triumphs of surviving in a time filled with savage conflict
Through all this runs the thread of Simon’s race to solve the mystery of a pendant, a strange device that has the power to take him back to his own time. The clues crop up regularly during his journey, they are always enigmatic, often cryptic and seemingly impossible to solve.
This unexceptional youngster has been forced to cope with a life transformed; finding a place among a people whose only brush with civilization has been to suffer under Roman domination.
Simon plays a part in the fighting and he has a narrow escape when he is a witness to a Saxon attack on a heavily fortified Roman town, a conflict which has a devastating outcome. But it is his emotional involvement which presents the greatest challenge, he must make a bitter decision to leave Sen icca and find a way back to his own world. This he achieves but the consequences are fatal and he learns that history can become real and that he has been part of it.
Sample Chapter
The heat from the inferno which had previously been the public baths was intense; the timber upper storey had collapsed along with the rear wall which had fallen in on itself, this had been responsible for his near disaster. He thought about poor Julia and Astralis in their hiding place. He doubted they would still be alive. The shops in the precinct were now a circle of fire and the gap between the end shop and the Basilica was effectively blocked by the conflagration.
Realizing their only way out was by the North gate, he led the others around the front of the baths passing the once grand entrance where the timber columns were burning like giant matchsticks. Opposite the Concillium, a group of Christian priests stopped them in their tracks. With their hands raised above their heads they broadcast their grim message.
“Only the righteous are in the hands of God,” they shouted, “Fear not them which kill the body and are not able to kill the soul.”
Simon was in no mood to be converted so he quickly side stepped, leaving them to continue their chanting.
They were moving fast along the narrow street which led through the administrative quarter to the North gate, but their going was hindered by large numbers of people who were clogging the narrow streets. Many were making the same desperate bid to reach the north entrance, but others were pushing carts laden with goods plundered from the Governor’s residence. One had a very fine marble bust of the Emperor Theodosius perched precariously on the edge of his fruit barrow, until it tipped over. He fought desperately to right it, heaving at the handles of his lopsided barrow, but half way up the Emperor rolled off and the marble head sheared from the bust then rolled down the road.
They reached the North gate but were vastly outnumbered by the crowds who had gathered there. They were told the gates were locked and despite people’s efforts to open them, they were clearly not going to budge. Even the small Judas door was refusing all attempts to lever it off its hinges. Several youngsters clambered up the ledges and braces attempting to scale the twenty foot high gates, one after the other they lost their foothold, and fell onto the crowds below.
A sudden rain of arrows descended; panic erupted as people rushed to find shelter in nearby buildings. Several were felled as they made a bid to flee. Simon nodded to the others and they raced in the direction of the tax offices. The situation here was similar; crowds of people had gathered and even more crazy attempts to escape. A dozen or more citizens had climbed on to the administration building and were attempting to jump the fifteen foot gap between the building and the town wall. Some reached the wall but bounced off the hard masonry breaking arms and legs before slithering to the ground. Further waves of arrows rained down on them.
Simon knew it was time to make a new bid to escape, there was only one direction left and that was east. With Sen icca and Iracni in tow, he retraced his steps to the market place.
Within that short period since he was last there, circumstances had changed dramatically. There were enormous spiralling flames lighting up the inside of the Basilica. The roof of the Concillium was lit up, flames shooting from the eaves. To his right the entire western section of the town was curtained off by an impenetrable inferno, heavy black smoke hung low within the town walls forming a suffocating blanket of death. People dashed in every direction galvanized by the aerial bombardment, but confused by the options left to them.
“This way, come on.” he shouted and set off at speed down the narrow lane that led behind the burning baths.
Mid way, a loud explosion boomed behind them. All three instinctively ducked, holding their hands over their heads. At that same moment, a mass of burning debris exploded out of the roof of the baths like a volcano erupting. Burning oil and sulphurous gasses ignited, sending great showers of sparks high into the sky. A second explosion and the entire rear wall of the baths blew out behind them.
They continued in earnest, flaming timbers continually falling in their path. A loud sizzling sound nearby as another tree became engulfed in flames. Then an almighty crash as a massive section of the elevated theatre auditorium collapsed onto the street immediately ahead of them. The mass of fallen superstructure instantly filled the gap between the buildings either side. Their way ahead was blocked, and the street behind was similarly impassable.
The mercenary leader watched in horror as a thousand Saxons piled through the East gate; the battlefield was becoming crowded.
Himundus’ men were surging forward in such vast numbers that Silvianus was considering falling back, a situation which he realized could be irreversible. He knew only too well that a fighting line walking backwards has several serious disadvantages.
Firstly there is a lack of balance; the fighting stance is lost when the body is not inclined forward. Secondly, when moving backwards, there is an uncertainty of what lay behind. With so many dead bodies ready to trip the unwary, there is always the tendency to take repeated glances backward, which tends to result in a lack of concentration. He was also only too aware that retreat leads to a loss of morale and can never be restored unless the situation quickly reverses.
Silvianus weighed up the options. They were trapped in a triangular battleground with their backs against the southern town wall. To his right, every thatched house along the eastern road into town was burning, presenting an impenetrable wall of fire.
In front as far as he could see, a seething mass of axes and swords glinting in the sun, Silvianus’ men were brave and he knew it, but the Saxon war machine was a terrifying foe, and far larger than anyone had thought possible.
Silvianus had but one option if he were to avoid being entrapped in the south eastern corner. He ordered his men to move forward.
Silvianus personally lead a brazen charge through the middle of the Saxon ranks. Himundus was taken aback by this act of suicide and many of his warriors were mowed down, but sheer numbers were what mattered now and he would make certain that Silvianus would not make a second charge.
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