The Oathbreaker's Shadow **SAMPLE COMPLETE**

Part 6 - Chapter 3.2

The cloud-shadow was in front of the man now, hovering over one of the Khan’s intricately woven prayer rugs. Raim couldn’t understand it. If it had been any normal shadow, they all would have been instantly repulsed. Instead, it had managed to approach the crowd while their attention was focused on Altan.

Khareh let out a sharp cry of astonishment and the eyes of the entire room snapped back to the old man. A collective gasp escaped the audience as the corners of the prayer rug in front of him began to lift in unison, each muddy yellow fibre along the fringe quivering, though there was no breeze inside the yurt. Raim and Khareh jostled for position but Khareh pushed in front; Raim craned his neck over his friend’s shoulder, trying to get a better look. The old man was staring intently at the rug and stretched his hands out over it, the palms facing downwards. His beard trembled as he chanted an incantation.

The rest of the richly woven carpet rose up slowly until it tickled the underside of the man’s nose. Then his eyes opened, and the rug flew over the heads of the guests. It did a circle, a loop and a turn in front of the Khan before landing gracefully in front of the man. With a flick of his hand, the rug rolled up into a tight cylinder. He picked it up and brought it over to the feet of Batar-Khan. He bowed low but after a moment he lifted his hooded eyes to meet the Khan’s. Raim was shocked by his brazenness.

What followed was a wall of silence. Sages were people of legend – at least, that was what Raim had been taught and he never had reason to doubt it. The old stories, passed down by the elders, told of a time when the strongest Khans were the ones with a sage at their right hand, performing magic that gave them the edge on the battlefield. But that was long before even the oldest elder had been born, and for as long as any memory could reach every trace of sage magic had disappeared, lost for ever – or so it had seemed. But now, here was a real sage, one who could make carpets fly. Now that caught Raim’s attention, and Khareh’s too, by the hungry look on his face.

But Batar-Khan didn’t look impressed. No; from Raim’s point of view he looked almost nervous, the tendons popping out of the back of his hands as he gripped the edge of his throne.

‘Arrest him.’ The Khan waved his guards over and they grabbed the man brusquely under the arms. ‘This man has a scar and he is haunted. He is clearly an oathbreaker. He was found heading away from Lazar, in clear violation of his exile.’ He spat after the name, before settling his gaze back on the cowering man. ‘His sentence now is death.’

‘No . . . please, no!’ The old sage struggled, but despite his magic, he was weak and frail and had no strength to rival that of the Khan’s guards.

‘Stop! What are you doing?’ Khareh sprung forward and grabbed one of the guards. He turned to Batar-Khan, still gripping a fist full of the guard’s tunic. ‘Uncle, don’t you understand what a gift this is? We could learn something from this sage.’

‘Khareh, step away.’

‘I will not. By arresting this man you are making a mistake.’

‘Are you daring to question my judgment?’ Batar-Khan stood up and pulled himself to his full height, well over six feet. His enormous bulk only added to the impression of power he made as he strode over to where Khareh stood; compared to the slender Khareh he seemed a giant. ‘You may be the Prince but be careful with your words.’

‘I think you are a fool if you do this.’

Batar-Khan responded by hitting Khareh hard over the face. ‘You would disrespect me so?’ he roared. ‘I told you to take him away!’ he said to the guards.

Then he turned on the rest of the crowd. ‘Everything that has passed in this room today will remain secret. You will all knot for this. Now.’

They could not refuse the Khan. Raim watched as every person in the room, every guard and adviser, and even Khareh, removed long pieces of thread from their belts and chanted in unison after Batar-Khan: ‘Our eyes today have seen nothing. Our lips will let pass no information of what has happened here. For this you have our solemn vow. This promise shall be fulfilled after three full circles of Naran.’ Then each rushed forward and knotted their vow to the Khan’s long cloak, joining the thousands of promises that already fringed his royal robe.

Raim was shaking. Although he too had been a witness, he was too young to make a vow of any kind. He had not yet reached Honour Age and so could not make a true promise to anyone. He was scared enough though not to let any knowledge of what he had seen slip from the room. He sneaked a glance at Batar-Khan, and saw an emotion on the Khan’s face he didn’t expect to see: fear.

But then he caught sight of Khareh’s face: dark and glowering, black eyes narrowed in anger. Khareh was ready for revenge. Raim wouldn’t exchange being in the Khan’s boots for all the riches of Darhan.

Only Khareh would dare challenge the Khan like that. But no one would dare challenge Khareh without living to regret it.

Thank you for reading this exclusive extract from THE OATHBREAKER'S SHADOW. I'll be posting more every Tuesday and Friday in the runup to the publication of the paperback on May 22, 2014. You can already buy the book now in ebook and hardback editions - check the introductions for details.

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