Prologue
Outside of Jerusalem, 1180

The old woman’s blood seeped into the sandy earth, causing it to congeal in the hot desert about her quivering body. She gasped for breath, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to form words before the last sliver of her life escaped, disappearing into the twisting winds. Confusion muddled the pained expression on her face as she looked at the source of her agony. A false sense of hope entered her thoughts telling her if she could simply remove the sword from her chest, she would live. She clutched at the weapon in a futile attempt to wrench the steel blade free; however, with most of her lifeblood already soaking the ground, she lacked the strength to pull it out. The old woman shuddered once and then lay still.

The weather-beaten knight pulled his sword from the body. Without a word, he cleaned the blade on the dead woman’s cloak and then sheathed the weapon in a practiced move. He stared into the woman’s eyes for a moment, lost in a dull reflection of the moon, before kneeling down to close them with his fingertips.

The woman’s belongings lay beside her body in a tattered knapsack. The man dumped the contents out, sifting through them without care until he found a book. It was a large leather-bound book with no title. Only a simple symbol depicting a mountain adorned the cover. The writing inside was in a strange tongue, one he’d never seen before. Master Stephen, the Master of the Order of the Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon, would want to see the tome.

The body twitched, causing the knight to fall back into a defensive stance, his sword once again free from its scabbard. Watching the corpse intently, he waited to see if it would stir. After several breaths, he moved forward to get a better look, choosing his steps with caution. The old crone sat up, and her eyes snapped open. No longer did the moon reflect from those dead orbs, for they turned dark as a raven with hints of burning embers. Her body unnaturally jerked when she turned to look at the wide-eyed knight.

“Poor Knight of Christ… He watches you all,” croaked the dead woman.

“What blasphemy is this? How dare you speak of God whilst using your black magic!” the knight replied as he circled the creature.

“I speak not of your petty God; I speak of one more powerful! He watches you all; He waits for you all.”

“What demon do you speak of, witch?”

He circled behind her, but the witch’s head followed his movement. Her neck cracked and popped, twisting in such a way that no living person would have been able to endure.

“He is older than time, and He is waiting for you. He will devour your very essence!”

The dead woman’s laugh floated on the wind, her body shaking and contorting with each cackle. The knight stepped forward, swinging his sword in an attempt to finish her off. Before he could, the woman’s body twisted so that her torso faced the wrong direction, and she scurried at him on all fours. He backed away trying to gain an advantageous position.

The crone’s laughter reverberated in the night air as she scuttled about like a demented crab. Her head snapped toward the knight, focused on the kill, and she charged. The knight’s training took over. He shifted out of the way, bringing his sword down in a fluid movement, taking her head off.

He waited for several heartbeats, just in case she decided to move again. Convinced that she was truly dead, he leaned over and snatched the book.

“May God have mercy on your soul,” he whispered.

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For being loyal subscribers to the newsletter, you get to see the cover before anyone else. I'm officially revealing the cover via social media on November 18th, you get to see it in all its glory right now! Here's the cover and below you can find the full wrap. Here's a nice little bit of information as well...the mountain range pictured is actually taken from a photo of Antelope Island. I was able to capture a nice sunset one day from my backyard and we were able to use it in this cover which I think is super cool. 

“The In-between. The dark realm that resides in between the cracks and crevices of the worlds. Kind of a double edged sword; a horrible, horrible place, but necessary.” –Special Agent Doyle L. Johnson, ID: Hotel-Plumber-Lima, 3-15-3
 
The In-between is the darkness between worlds and dimensions. It’s the amorphous glue that holds the chaos together, acting as a double-edged sword in that it’s a horrible place full of danger and madness, but it’s necessary. Without the In-between, the worlds and dimensions would pull away from one another and cease to exist.

No one has yet to discover how the In-between came to be; however, the Bureau of Investigation, Observation and Defense of Extraordinary, Extraterrestrial, Demonic and Paranormal Activity has spent oodles of taxpayer money on the subject. Some agents and other entities have even tried to utilize the In-between as a shortcut to for travel, for there are many doors and paths in the In-between and if one were to choose the right doors, one could jump worlds or locations in a very short amount of time. However, the prospect is very dangerous and the chances of success are very slim, for the In-between seems to be sentient and fickle with its desires, and could trap and trick an unwary traveler with ease. Some travelers who have made it through with their sanity intact reported doors appearing out of nowhere. The doors seem to be indicative of where it could lead as was the case with one agent who decided to go through a door that looked like the front of a safe. She was trapped in a local bank’s vault overnight until the staff opened it up the next morning.

Some agents have reported time working differently within the In-between, which also makes travel through the dimension sketchy at best. There are varying degrees of time-shifts that there isn’t any rhyme or reason to it. Some agents have reported coming out of the In-between days into the future from when they left, while some have come out in the past before they ever stepped foot into the dimension, to begin with.
The environment of the In-between is not suited for humans at all. The ground is squishy and made of an unknown substance that is sponge-like in nature. Any attempt to bring back a sample has failed as it disintegrates upon leaving the dimension. It’s a greyish-red color, reminiscent of raw meat that’s been left out too long, and smells about the same. The ground is also highly corrosive to any organic matter that touches it, burning through skin like acid, which makes travel precarious at best. The air is humid much like the jungles of South America; however, there isn’t any rain.

The native creatures of the In-between are a reflection of the dimension’s dark nature. Wild critters with scaled and leathery skin live within the shadowed recesses, waiting for anyone or anything foolish enough to enter. There are reports of small creatures with bat-like wings and sharp teeth, all the way to cyclopean behemoths that shake the very ground when they move. The only things the creatures have in common are their hate for the light (which can destroy the smaller creatures, and harm the larger ones) and their hunger for interlopers.
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To date, nobody has stayed in the In-between for more than a few hours (Earth hours…) and lived to tell the tale. There are rumors that Mr. Oberon of the Bureau has spent a few days in the dimension, but those rumors are unfounded, and it’s still in question as to whether or not Mr. Oberon is actually human.