CHAPTER ONE

The stallion’s gait was slower. Its movements jerky, breathing shallow. The weight of the two riders was taking its toll on the animal. Hours earlier, she’d seen heavy streams of saliva dripping from its mouth. She patted the top of its neck to soothe it. A fierce pain shot up her arm and spread through her rib cage. Her limbs ached, and every movement was an arrow stabbing into her spine. Her vision went blurry. Wincing, she gathered the cloak that wrapped her and her companion.

“Easy, Princess.” Bomah whispered in her ear. He hadn’t spoken a word to her since…
She shivered at the memory. They had  escaped with two stallions. One died.  She still tasted the it’s meat in her mouth. It had been her only form of sustenance in the past few days. She gulped the bile at the back of her throat. 

The  dead horse's name was Rhendur. And he had been father’s gift to her on her twelfth birthday. 
She’d become fond of the white stallion and the grace with which he’d carried her in the months following that day.
‘You deserve the best, my peach.’ Father had  said that time in the courtyard. 

A pleasant memory. 

But now, all it did was cause her anguish. She bit into her sun baked lips until she tasted blood.  But no tears came from her eyes -- the desert had dried them completely. She knew the images that would follow — the dark nightmares that tormented her since the day she’d escaped the city of Wahri. In her mind, she saw the butchered bodies of her parents lying on the floor. Once again, she forced these memories away. But they would never leave her. Though barely thirteen years of age, the young Princess knew that she would never be free of them.

 “Are you well?” Bomah asked.

Princess Amira realized she was shaking. Not from the cold, or from eating a horse just to stay alive.
No.
Her tremors grew from a deep primal rage.
Vengeance was the only thing that would give her peace.
The Knight repeated the question. 

“I am… well,” she replied feeling the Desert in her throat.

They rode in silence for a while — sand and dust stretching before them.
The wind howled in her ears. It sounded like the cries of the dying...the way her mother screamed when a sword plunged into her chest..

“Princess!” Bomah called out.
Amira sensed the hesitation in his voice. She knew what he was about to ask.
“If we go east,” she said, “We die. If we go west, we die. That’s if the Desert tribes don‘t kill us first. You know this.”

The horse stumbled through dense sand, but regained its balance again.

“A palace horse won’t survive out here.”
Bomah said. “He'll die. And so will we if we don’t find shelter.”
Amira kept her gaze on the horizon.*It had to be here.* She thought. *It had to be.*

The Knight had saved her life. He’d risked  much by coming to her aid. For that she was grateful. But it meant nothing if she failed this quest. 

“Even if we found him,” Bomah said after a time, “The warlock will kill us—”
“We have spoken of this.” She said.
“Then we should speak of it again. The night is upon us and —”
“You swore your blade,” her voice was steady.

“Does your vow mean nothing?”

He fell silent.
The horse came to a halt.
Bomah  swore and urged the beast forward.
But it refused to move.
The stallion’s head drooped and the side of its neck trembled.
Amira swallowed dryness as a chill crept into her chest.
Not again.
Bomah slid off the horse. His sudden departure let in a chill that spread across her shoulders.
Powerful arms eased her off the animal.
Without the protection of the robe, the elements tore through the tight fitting sheath dress she wore. He lifted her down.
Her white dress---now darkened from dust, was a simple garment that fell from her small breasts to her ankles. It was held up by two shoulder straps. Being a house dress, it was transparent. This meant the outline of her figure was visible in this failing light. 
The Knight wrapped her in the cloak, leaving himself exposed to the wilderness.
His muscular form towered over her petite frame. All he had on was the black chest plate with matching loin cloth and arm bracelets. In the fading light, she could see the lines on his massive forehead. A part----a tiny part of her  felt pity for the sturdy man with kind eyes. Because of her, he had broken his vow to the throne and to his Order. Now, he was a fugitive — hunted by powerful enemies who would kill him on sight.

Bomah sighed. “How much farther?” 

“Not far,” she lied.

The directions for their quest had come from the dusty pages of ancient scroll and the vague words of an old wizard. As she stared at the endless sands, it dawned on her that all of that could have been a lie. Not once in her time with the wizard did she ever ask herself, *Is he just feeding me Camel shit?*
She gathered the cloak about her.
*It had to be here.*
Bomah bowed his head, as if seeking answers within the sands. “This is suicide He said

She pushed past him. A wave of dizziness instantly hit her. But she kept moving. Her weak legs trudged through the sand. Every movement excruciating. She stumbled a few times, but didn’t turn around. She didn’t want to see what was about to happen to the horse.
She heard Bomah curse under his breath, and unsheathe his dagger.
The horse screamed. Then something heavy hit the ground.
All was quiet again — save for the wind.
“Fuck!” Bomah cried.
*No turning back now,* she thought. *I either see this through, or die.*

“Princess,wait!”

But She kept going.

It had to be here!
Then she glimpsed something. At first she thought it was a trick—.the product of sand stained eyes. But as she peered closer, she realized…
Her heart quickened. “There!”she said.
“What?” 
She ignored him and struggled through the sand.
There it was. Just as the wizard had described.

*A tree stripped of leaves and moisture.*

Its naked branches stood against faint sunlight like black lightening.
“What the fu---“
“Give me your dagger,” she ordered.
The Knight hesitated, then obeyed.
Amira staggered towards the tree, her heart pounding in her chest.

This is it!
Her feet felt as though they were made of air.

When she touched its bark, the skin of the wood was ice against her hand. But there was no moisture upon it..

Magic.
Without a second thought, she slashed through her palm with the dagger.
Bomah gasped. “Princess!”

Ignoring the pain, she placed the bleeding wound against the tree, feeling the chill run through her.

The howling of the wind died down. 
“This is a terrible idea, Amira.”
She closed her eyes. 

"Forces of light, earth and wind, hear me!” she called out. “By the strength of my essence, I summon you Master of Shadows, Lord of the night winds… Daregoh the soulless

*Did it work?* she pondered when she opened her eyes.
The winds were milder, but everything else was the same. She sensed nothing.

Had I made a mistake?
“Princess,you… don’t have to do this. We can find another way.”
“Thank you for your service, Knight. I release you from your vow.” Shhe said without turning around.
“You’re not a Majik!” He screamed. “This is madness!”

She threw her hands in the air and raised her voice. ”Hear me Forces of light, earth and wind!
By the power of my essence, I summon you, Master of Shadows, Lord of the night… Daregoh  the soulless!”

This time, the winds died down.
She was almost  certain she had heard something whisper her name.
Amira remained there, arms stretched as strength left her body.

”Only stupid folk come this far out.” A deep raspy  voice said.
The Princess and her companion turned around. 

They were dressed in rags that matched the color of the sand. Their weapons were crude axes, clubs and daggers. Their faces were covered  revealing only their eyes. One of the men stepped forward.  He was a giant of a man,with a torso the size of a tree trunk. He had arms like  the branches of an Iroko . The axe he carried was nearly as big as the Princess.

“And you two don't strike me as stupid," he said. "But then again, I've been wrong before. But that rarely happens. I'm always right. And that's because I know things. For instance, I know your names and the bounty on your heads. But what I don't know---and this may shock you, is why you're here."

"We're seeking----"
Bomah nudged Amira to be quiet.

"Our business is no concern of yours, bandit!" Bomah declared.

The man chuckled. "Everything in the desert is my concern. I'll make this simple. Throw down your weapons, give us your valuables and we might let you live once we're done with the girl."

"Over my rotten corpse." Bomah said.

The bandit shook his head."We don't need you alive to collect the bounty."
"I'll make you a counter offer,” Bomah said, “Turn around, leave and I won't kill you."
The men laughed.  The sound was like the cackle of desert hyenas.
"Perhaps you *are* stupid after all. Because smart folk can count. There's ten of us and just one of you."
Bomah drew his sword. The sight of the bronze hilt usually gave most people pause.
But not the masked man. 

“I know you’re a Bronze Knight.” The man said. "And on any other day, we'd think twice before fucking with you.  But the desert's weakened you. Otherwise your magic would’ve sensed  our approach---"
Bomah charged.
In a heartbeat, he closed the distance between them and hacked off the man’s head. Then he went for the remaining bandits. The Knight’s movements were a blur. He ducked and weaved past their attacks like a ghost in their midst. He cut down two men, then split another in half with a single blow. Three more bandits fell before they could raise their weapons. He struck two so hard, their bodies flew and bashed into the rocks of a nearby hill.

Then there was silence.

A single bandit stood amidst the blood and entrails of his comrades strewn across the sand. His breath came in gasps as he stared at the Knight...then back at the corpses again.

Then the bandit  ran. Breathing very hard, he stumbled and fell a few times but kept going as he approached a ridge. 

The Knight stared after him.

 “You’re letting him go?” Amira whispered.

The man was over twenty paces away now.
“No,” Bomah replied. Then in one swift gesture, he flung his sword. The weapon whistled through the air, covering the distance in seconds then impaled the man. The bandit’s form froze, then slumped over the ridge and out of sight.

“We must leave here,” Bomah said as  the sword flew back into his hand. “There may be others about.”

The wind howled again over the corpses.

...to be continued