Sabit burned—her throat with thirst, her lungs with effort, her limbs with fatigue, her soul with determination, her heart with hatred. Hauling herself out of the ravine, Sabit looked up at the shrine, at least twenty paces in front of her. The tidy stone steps and carved wooden pillars were still shadowed in the rosy … Read more
Sabit plunged into the darkness. The cool night air whistled past her face, as a thousand thoughts crowded her mind at once. She had borne much misery in her years. The rocky brook offered an end to that suffering. “And Sabit vanished on a her quest and was never heard of again.” That would be … Read more
The only weapon Sabit had brought with her was an iron spear tip fastened to a piece of knotty, green wood the length of her forearm. She weighed it in her hand as the serpent slithered closer behind her in the darkness, the movement of its scales barely discernible among the constant swish of the … Read more
Darkness surrounded Sabit on all sides. Somewhere above her, the stars paraded in their divine majesty across the vault of heaven, but Sabit could not see them. Tall, stiff stalks of grass towered over the warrior, pressing in on either side. Their dry edges snagged along her arms, the occasional broken stalk taking a bite … Read more
Regida charged out into the torchlit courtyard. In a shadowed alcove, she caught sight of Kehnan’s long black hair falling across his pale blue tunic, half-shadowed in the early evening gloom. His massive body was slumped in the corner of the alcove–its posture far from natural. Hurrying to his side, Regida called out, “Kehnan! My … Read more
The palace of Bahteel had stood for more than eight hundred years. In that time it had grown from farmhouse to caravansary to fortress to palace of three dynasties. Each new master reshaped the house, adding walls, expanding wings, using the once-grand apartments of their predecessors as chambers for their servants or places to shelter … Read more
“You disgraced me in front of the vizier, foolish woman!” roared Kehnan. Regida shrank back from his towering form until the stone wall of the stairway cut off her escape. “And for a petty silver bauble, too! Are you too blind to see that when the vizier’s plan bears fruit, I will be able to … Read more
Sabit quenched the still-smoldering end of her spear in the hot blood of the guard. Barely two handspans of wooden spear shaft remained intact beneath the iron spear tip that had been Sabit’s only inheritance from her father. Dragging the guard’s body into the room where red curls of smoke still lingered in the corners, … Read more
Lamine stood contentedly outside the prisoner’s cell. He had served the King of Bahteel since he could hold a sword, thirteen years now. His father had been a soldier who died in the last war with Junjai, when Lamine was just a baby. His father’s name had secured him a post as a a soldier’s … Read more
Sabit’s left foot was cold. Amidst the broiling heat of the chamber and the suffocating red smoke that had displaced ever breath of air, Sabit’s left foot felt cool and dry. Her body flushed in the heat and her chest ached from the acrid burn of sobbing smoke for hours, and her throat burned raw–having … Read more