Book + Trailer (2006): The Priest of Blood (Vampyricon), by Douglas Clegg

(@DouglasClegg) Can you love a vampire? Do they even exist, or is this a legend?

Explore the vampires of The Priest of Blood, the book that delves into the origins of the creatures of the night during the Crusades.

From Douglas Clegg, award-winning author of Afterlife and The Hour Before Dark, comes his first-ever fantasy novel, dealing with the dark edge of a fantastic medieval world. The Priest of Blood is the first novel of The Vampyricon, a saga of sword and sorcery -- and vampyres.

Born the son of a woman thought to be a witch, Aleric does not know who fathered him. From his grandfather he learned the skill that will change his life. With that training -- and his own ability to communicate with the great predator birds of the forest -- Aleric is taken into service by the Baron and put in charge of his falcons.

Now called Falconer, he rises fast and far. Still, to those at court, he remains the bastard son of a peasant whore. And when his forbidden love for the Baron's daughter is discovered, his punishment is swift and severe. Beaten and brutalized, he is forcibly conscripted as a soldier and banished to the Holy Land to fight the Saracen infidels. Amidst the horror and chaos of the ongoing struggle, he becomes a mighty warrior -- and a man without faith or conscience.

Then, in an ancient ruined city, he finds a new love. She calls herself Pythia -- and in her passionate, bloody embrace, he also finds his destiny...

Set in a medieval world of ancient forests and buried kingdoms, of gods and monsters, of love that crosses centuries, and vengeance beyond lifetimes, The Priest of Blood is the tale of Aleric, Falconer, of his quest for his beloved, and for the legendary priest-king within whose tomb the secrets of the ancient, immortal race of vampyres reside.

Visit http://www.DouglasClegg.com for free ebooks, screensavers & more. The Priest of Blood by Douglas Clegg is the first book of The Vampyricon.

"Clegg's Vampyricon offers a bold epic of a shadowy medieval world and a dark tale of swords, sorcery and vampires in The Priest of Blood."
Christine Feehan
New York Times bestselling author of Dark Curse and Turbulent Sea.

"Astonishing. Douglas Clegg writes of...nightmares with such clarity and passion you don't end up reading his books; you end up drinking them in. The Priest of Blood is a bloody gem."
Christopher Rice
Author of the New York Times bestsellers A Density of Souls and Light Before Day.

"A master of the genre. Absolutely thrilling! Douglas Clegg is the future of dark fantasy."
Sherrilyn Kenyon
New York Times bestselling author of the Dark-Hunters.

"The Priest of Blood is a richly layered, beautifully rendered foray into a past filled with sorcery and mystery -- and a rousing good story."
Kelley Armstrong
Bestselling author of Haunted.
(From the YouTube description)