Dark Dreams

Once the palace of a thousand chambers had overwhelmed Imoshen, now she strode its corridors as the uncrowned Empress. But her position was as precarious as General Tulkhan's. He and his Ghebite army were the minority overlords of a conquered people who remained loyal to the old empire. Every day the palace servants deferred to Imoshen, when in reality she was the General's captive. Every day the Ghebites flaunted their barbarian splendor, carelessly insulting her people. Imoshen smiled grimly; she would not be ground down. Though she had been forced to surrender her family's Stronghold to the Ghebites, and had seen her island conquered, General Tulkhan had claimed her for his own which gave her great tactical strength. Much had been achieved in the twelve weeks since Harvest Feast. Only last night Tulkhan had signed the document recognizing Fair Isle Church Law, returning to her all she had lost and more. For on their bonding day she would stand before her people as co-ruler, the first pure T'En woman to take a bond-partner in six hundred years. At the screech of metal on metal Imoshen froze, wary as a hunted woodland creature. She had become intimately acquainted with fear, and the knowledge that her life hung by a thread shadowed her every move. Heart hammering, she followed the razor-sharp sounds to a balcony where half a dozen servants were avidly watching a confrontation in the courtyard below. One glance told her the General and his men were at sword practice. Relief flooded her. "Get back to work, the lot of you!" she hissed, dismayed to see the Ghebite fascination for violence infecting her servants. They made guilty apologies and hurried away. In the confines of the courtyard the swords' song resonated harshly. As Imoshen remained in the balcony's shadows, watching unseen, she could not but admire the Ghebite's skill, though she deplored their love of violence. Once past boyhood, a Ghebite warrior practiced with battle-ready weapons, scorning the use of blunt swords. They were feared for their ferocity across the known lands, and Tulkhan embodied the Ghebite Ideal. For at only nineteen he had assumed command of the Ghebite army, leading it south, creeping inexorably across the mainland. In eleven years no kingdom had managed to withstand the General's onslaught, and it had appeared he would conquer the known world. But instead of attacking the last of the southern kingdoms he had turned his eye on Fair Isle, making a surprise assault. Betrayed by her allies, unprepared for war on her own shores, Fair Isle had crumpled in the space of one spring-summer campaign. General Tulkhan was renowned for his tactical skill and physical bravery. Given that, why was he taking on three swordsmen while his Elite Guard watched? What was he trying to prove? Suddenly Imoshen understood; once her position as co-ruler of Fair Isle became known, his men would believe she had emasculated their General. They might even suspect he had been ensorcelled by his captive. Some of them still refused to meet her eyes, believing the rumors of treacherous T'En powers. No wonder Tulkhan wielded his sword with such intensity that his trusted commanders could barely defend themselves. Metal grated, setting Imoshen's teeth on edge. She gasped as one man gave a guttural cry, dropping to his knee. At the last moment Tulkhan turned his sword, striking with the flat of the blade. The Ghebite sprawled on the slippery stone. No one moved. Imoshen took a step closer, drawn by the charged atmosphere. She could taste their intoxicating blood lust in the air. The sound of the men's ragged breathing was magnified, trapped in the snow-bound inner courtyard. It was not unknown for Ghebites to take a fatal wound in practice. In the brilliant early morning lDaniells, Cory is the author of 'Dark Dreams' with ISBN 9780553581003 and ISBN 0553581007.