The Oathbreaker's Shadow **SAMPLE COMPLETE**

Part 5 - Chapter 3.1

Rumour and speculation buzzed in the air like a swarm of behrflies swept up from the desert. Clumps of nomads chatted noisily with one another as they began the slow descent down the mountain and all the while they wove their excitement into a tale they could pass on to the next village they visited. For a people who moved constantly, news was a valuable trading good, and stories were bartered as much as sheepskin. This story would be a juicy one to tell to anyone they met.

Raim didn’t even make it halfway down towards the glade before Khareh caught up with him, the prince’s face flushed with excitement. In fact, Raim couldn’t remember seeing his friend so happy since he had been named a prince in the first place.

‘You won’t believe this,’ he said, shifting from foot to foot, unable to stand still. ‘They’ve found a real sage.’

‘What?’ Raim spluttered, pulling Khareh off to the side so that the passing tribespeople wouldn’t hear.

‘You heard me. A real live sage! Apparently they found him on the outskirts of the Sola desert near Mauz and they’re so scared of him, they’ve brought him straight here, to the village, to be dealt with straight away! You coming?’

Khareh didn’t wait for an answer, but there was no way Raim was going to miss out on seeing a sage in action. He felt his heart catch in his throat at the thought, but he tried not to let himself get too excited. At least twice a year some crazy man or woman – most often clanless – would come forward claiming to be a sage. And each time, it was a disappointment. But Raim had almost never seen Khareh so excited. And Khareh was normally the most scathing and sceptical of all, despite his belief that real sages did exist.

As they darted in amongst the rough, dusty streets of the village, tribespeople and villagers alike stopped in their tracks to wonder just where the Prince could be running off to this time.

They arrived at the royal caravan. It was stationed outside the village – there was nowhere for it to fit within the restrictive confines of the tiny settlement. Besides, even though the caravan was portable, it was infinitely more comfortable than any of the ramshackle village houses. Sometimes Raim forgot just how opulent it must appear to those unused to seeing it. It was built up off the ground on a platform of wooden planks. It had eight wheels so it could be transported easily and pulled from village to village by four oxen. The exterior was wrapped in the pelts of snow leopards and tied together by ropes that had been dipped in gold. But the most dazzling adornments were the seven rugs that represented the pledges of fealty from seven warlords of Darhan to Batar-Khan. Mhara reminded him constantly that this was the highest number of oaths any single Khan had managed to unite under his reign.

Highly skilled clans of weavers created the carpets – and the competition for a commission from the Khan was fierce. Weavers held a prestigious position in Darhan society and men and women with nimble fingers and an eye for colour would be quick to try and join one of the most highly regarded clans. Their skills were always in demand, which made an accomplished weaver extremely valuable. When a promise knot was formed, the most respected way of honouring that promise was to weave the story of how that vow came to be into the carpet.

The carpets then represented the source of the Khan’s power: absolute loyalty.

Raim crept into the royal yurt behind Khareh. They had been friends for so long that no one took any notice of the fact that he was there. They zigzagged around members of the royal entourage lounging on pillows on the ground until they reached where Altan was standing.

Raim felt a sudden rush of cold, like an icy winter draught blowing under the felt of an unsealed yurt. It wrapped around him and made him shiver, a deep-seated shake that started in his neck and travelled all the way down his spine. But it was the height of summer, and he wasn’t shivering from cold; he was shuddering in disgust.

Amidst the rich golden ornaments, the lush silks and the sweet smelling incense, Raim’s stomach was turning, boiling over with a nausea that caused sweat to drip down his spine and the bile in his stomach rise.

He wasn’t alone. All around him, people were looking pale and physically shying away from the far corner of the room. Not Khareh though. If he was feeling any discomfort he wasn’t going to be the one to show it. Raim tried to emulate his friend’s iron-hard will, and attempted to compose his features.

There could only be one source: a shadow. And that shadow belonged to a frail, cowering old man in a tatty tunic that must have been white at some point, although now it was stained red with dust. He had a very long beard that was tied in a bizarre bow under his chin. The thick beard could not totally conceal the dark slash of a scar running from underneath his nose, across his lips to his jawline. It wasn’t bright red, like the scar from a fresh betrayal, but paler, almost flesh tone. And behind him was the swirl of a grey shadow – not black and threatening as shadows normally were – but thick, bulbous and swirling grey as a storm cloud. Out of the corner of his eye, Raim saw Mhara take a protective stance, her hand moving to her Yun sword. Raim was confused. Were this man and his shadow dangerous? He wasn’t behaving like any oathbreaker he had seen before.

Altan stepped forward from his position behind the Khan’s seat and addressed the trembling man. ‘Prisoner of Darhan. You requested an audience with the Khan and by some miracle you have been granted it. If it results that you have wasted His Royal Elegance’s time, you will suffer punishment beyond the torments of your most horrific nightmare.’

The man didn’t respond, at least not out loud. He continued to stare at the ground, not willing to make eye contact with anyone in the room, but he noticeably straightened a little, rolled back his shoulders and took a deep breath.

Thank you for reading the second part of this exclusive excerpt from THE OATHBREAKER'S SHADOW! I'll be posting more every Tuesday and Friday in the runup to the publication of the paperback on the 22nd of May. You can buy also the book now in hardback and ebook editions - check the Introduction for details.

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