Witch Shall Be Born, A by Robert E. Howard (1906 - 1936)

The kingdom of Khauran is admittedly a small one, nestled between the vast desert and the plains, but it is blessed with an abundance of rich soil, hard working devoted inhabitants and much gold but most of all by a sweet young queen who is as wise and beneficent as she is beautiful. But then from out of nowhere, disaster strikes. A horrible witch (her evil twin sister) secretly replaces her and introduces devil worship, human sacrifice and other things too repulsive to mention. Conan, who was the captain of her guard is captured and crucified in the desert. From there the incomparable story telling skill of Robert E. Howard takes us on a spiral of exciting intrigue, battle, blood, demons, and final retribution. (summary by phil chenevert)