The Way of the Blade

The gypsies are nomads who travel from place to place because others cannot understand their way of life. Some attack the gypsies, killing them and burning down their wagons. The males carry a blade on each arm, and the females carry a single blade on either arm. There are two blades—one with an elk handle that the Oracle guards. The Evil One, Samuel, gives the three-gem blade to Kauloben, who uses the blade to kill others. Esmeralda carries the elk handle blade and goes from camp to camp, assisting the gypsies and their children. When a killer attacks a gypsy camp, the only survivor hides in the woods. An assassin named Kauloben, who carries the three-gem blade, finds the boy, takes him to his cabin, names him Chava, and raises him. Chava and Esmerelda's stories are only beginning, as their two blades lead them on journeys that will forge kingdoms through blood and tears.

Esmeralda is a gypsy doctor who travels from gypsy camp to camp. She has an Elk handle blade, forged a century ago, and uses it to assist others who need help. The second blade contains three gems embedded in the handle and is used to kill. Those who possess either blade cannot be harmed by steel. As Esmeralda is delivering her granddaughter, a tempest of rain explodes. Esmeralda holds the baby and tells her daughter she will have extraordinary power, naming her Tempest. Esmeralda takes Tempest to see the all-knowing Oracle. Along the journey to the Oracle, Tempest uses her power to assist Esmeralda. The Oracle increases Tempest's power and aura before sending her to see the Blade Mistress, who will teach her to master the blade, her aura, serenity, and Quietude. Tempest has a baby girl with a white man, which is taboo in gypsy law. The child is named Nona and has two different colored eyes as well as the power to see the past and future. The white people believe she is a devil and must die. To protect Nona, Tempest and her mother hide one of her eyes with an eye patch. A gypsy boy witnesses his family get slaughtered by an assassin with a limp on his right leg. The next day, a different killer named Kauloben saves the gypsy boy from wolves. After which, he takes the boy, names him Chava, and teaches him to be a killer. Chava finds himself with the three-gem blade that the devil, Samuel, desires. After Chava becomes an assassin, he meets a prostitute named Rose. Together, they devise a plan to take over Richard's castle and Upright Man's power.

The author was born in Malden, Massachusetts on Saint Patrick's Day in 1949. No, he's not Irish. Three brothers followed him, making him number one (but it's not what you think). When the Vietnam War came, he joined the Air Force, married, and had three daughters. He was fortunate not to go to Vietnam. He started to read after his daughters were born, and he now has nine grandchildren. Seven years ago, his youngest daughter passed, and he wrote this book in memory of her.