The Flagellant

Did you find yourself rooting for the villain in a horror movie? Maybe it's because horror films represent the victims as cowering lambs ready to throw their own mother in the jaws of death to save themselves. The usual pack of unsuspecting teenagers, through their own stupidity, serves themselves up as fodder.

These are not people you feel sorry for. These are the same self-centered slobs plodding around society, aggravating everyone around them. That victim is that smart-mouthed prick who screwed up your order at the Waffle Hut, or that bimbo who had her boyfriend beat you up, or that guy from payroll who shorted you and told you it's somehow your fault. It's that jet-set, life handed to him, Ivy League boss who defended that prick from payroll, because it's good for the company's overhead.

If a victim's death in a horror movie seems cathartic, it's because the directors and writers know we'll pack theaters for that very reason. We'd love to see that boss, that accountant, that bimbo and her pinhead boyfriend, and that little prick at the Waffle Hut, get what's coming to them.

But my book is not about the victims. My book is about you. Yes, you. The bloodthirsty, thinks they should run the world, him or her hoping the slave gets fed to the lions. The Flagellant is about why we love to watch the victims get theirs and what that says about us.

The Flagellant focuses around our protagonist, Mahdoc, as he attempts to infiltrate unholy nests of evil. This is no normal task, and Mahdoc is no normal man. He's a special soldier of the Inquisition known as a flagellant. His very soul is owned by the Inquisition. Mahdoc's was pulled from hell, and if he wants to stay here on earth, he'll fight for the Inquisition, without question, for one thousand years.

The task of a flagellant is unrelentingly brutal. Each nest of evil is unique and protects itself by concealing its root cause. To get at the roots, each flagellant must allow themselves to become the victim. Like many before him, Mahdoc must succumb to the horror and madness so he can be delivered to the root of the nest. Only then can he kill it and guarantee it will never come back.