“Rayshabu! Don’t do this,” Saibit said between chattering teeth as she knelt before the flesh merchant. Before the girl could respond, Heguir bent down to gloat in Sabit’s face. He held her silver hawk clutched tight, its leather thong pulled taut around his neck, delighting to see the spear woman flinch as he came close. … Read more

“One rebellious slave does not spoil the lot, your grace,” said Heguir, head lowered before the plump older man. The bandage on his chin sported a broad, red spot at its center. Nearby stood cowering Rayshabu, two bandaged bodyguards, and Heguir’s daughter. The girl looked small in a woman’s dress, her large, dark eyes taking … Read more

“You must beat her within an finger width of her life,” Heguir said, handing a switch of rattan to Qaansoole. “You have the skill to keep her alive but make her wish she were dead.” “I will, of course, do as you ask, Heguir,” answered Qaansoole, taking the switch from his hand. “I only wonder … Read more

Sabit found the house of Rayshabu’s father easily enough. Even though she did not recall the steps, it was the grandest, most detailed building in the city. The rest of the city stood like bland and indistinct like fragments of half-remembered dreams. Two guards flanked the gate, drawing their swords as she approached. Sabit had … Read more

“My dear friend,” Allamu said, “how I have missed you!” Sabit knew he was not real, just a ghost of memory like every other person she had seen. But the wisp of beard upon his chin and the apples of his brown cheeks were too perfect. She could not leave him unanswered. “Missed me?” answered … Read more

Sabit awoke. She lay on her soft couch of cedar wood. The wind whispered in the trees, carrying the sound of the morning exercises of the army of Ghabar. Her army. Sabit was home. Rising, she overlooked the courtyard where dozens of troops practiced drill, just as she had taught them. At their head was … Read more

The flesh-merchant sat on the ground, half-covered in human waste. The whites of his eyes, wide with terror, shown through the brown, stinking filth. Blood flowed from a cut on his forehead into his left eye.  He rifled through the polished baubles around his neck. As Sabit approached, he snatched forth the talisman of a … Read more

Sabit hauled the large clay pot filled with stinking human waste out from under the stone commode. She replaced it with a clean pot and wrapped a loop of rope around the flared lip of the full vessel. The rope trailed from a long, wooden pole with another matching, stinking pot at the other end. … Read more