C. Palov - Templar's Quest

Ducking his head, Cædmon slid into the back seat of the taxi. ‘Ronald Reagan National Airport, please.’

As the cab pulled away from the kerb, he peered out of the window, casting his gaze towards the western horizon. The sun’s fiery last light had softened into a burgundy blush, making for a breathtakingly beautiful sight. He stared, awestruck.

‘’Tis not too late to seek a new world.’

Smiling at the thought, he folded his arms across his chest.

Eat. Sleep. Live to fight another day. But it was the moments that took one’s breath away that made it all worth while.

And the fact that it did, gave him hope.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Jeanne Chitty and Peter Scheer for assisting with the book illustrations.

PENGUIN BOOKS

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 2Y3 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd)

Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia

(a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd)

Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi – 110 017, India

Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632, New Zealand

(a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd)

Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196,

South Africa

Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

www.penguin.com

First published 2011

Copyright © C. M. Palov, 2011

Photography by © Richard Peach / Alamy

Design by www.edwardbettison.com

All rights reserved

The moral right of the author has been asserted

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

ISBN: 978-0-14-196066-1