Book 1 - The Tyranny of the Night Read Online Free

years."
    "They haven't met the Sha-lug." That might be an interesting encounter. The
horse barbarians of the steppe were cruel, fearless, and disciplined. Their
numbers were supposed to be inexhaustible but that could not be true. They made
the best of what they had. They were, first and foremost, nomadic herdsmen.
    The Sha-lug knew no life but war and preparation for war. They purchased boy
children in slave markets everywhere, though mainly in Qasr al-Zed. Those boys
grew up with weapons in their hands. The best and strongest became Sha-lug, the
slaves who were masters of the sprawling, wealthy kingdom of Dreanger, the heart
of the Kaifate of al-Minphet.
    The Kaif of al-Minphet was Karim Kaseem al-Bakr, puppet of Gordimer the Lion,
the Supreme Marshal of All Sha-lug, before whom the Enemies of God Wet
Themselves in Terror, and so forth, and so forth.
    Unlike most Sha-lug, Else was not impressed by Gordimer. He suspected the Lion
was less noble than he pretended. Gordimer kept handing him these deadly chores,
verging on the impossible. Like Gordimer hoped Else would not return.
    In minutes the company was moving toward the coast, where friendly ships would
be sure to see them.
    Else, al-Azer, and Bone stayed behind.
    Bone asked, "You know we're looking at the Plain of Judgment?"
    Else grunted noncommittally. He knew without knowing the significance.
Everything in the Holy Lands had historical and religious meaning to someone.
Every crag, every dry wash, every wood, and most of all, every mystic well was a
thread in a vast and ancient tapestry. Bone or Az would explain. Whether Else
was interested or not.
    Bone resumed. "Battles have been fought here since before men began recording
history. Eleven major battles have been
    fought between the Well of Calamity south of us and the Well of Atonement to
our north. A distance of nine miles. There've been scores of skirmishes."
    "Indeed," al-Azer said. "The Written itself says this is where God and the
Adversary will come together in final battle. Some sages, both ancient and
modern, say that history began here and that it'll end here."
    Else was no more religious than he needed to get by. He had not connected this
place with the Plain of Judgment in the Written.
    The scattered riders in the north drew near enough now for individuals to be
discerned. They failed to notice the cloud in the east. They were near enough
for the combined effect of their hoofbeats to be sensed, more on the edge of
feeling than hearing.
    The Master of Ghosts said, "Time to leave. Those are the buddies of the guy who
got killed last night."
    Else usually listened to his Master of Ghosts. It seemed the safest way to deal
with the Tyranny of the Night. So, he was not there to witness a clash between
steppe horsemen and cavalry from the northern Kaifate. The Lucidians were led by
the famous Indala al-Sul Halaladin.
    Not much happened. Neither force got the other to do anything stupid. Arhanders
from Vantrad arrived in the afternoon. The earlier forces faded away as twilight
gathered.
    After dark supernatural forces got busy.
    The Sha-lug made camp on the seaward side of the coastal road. Their carts had
suffered badly, traveling cross country. Else doubted that the band would
survive the journey south to Dreanger.
    Bone was concerned. "What'll we do if a ship don't come?" Gordimer had vowed
that warships would patrol the coast as far norm as the roads of Vantrad until
Else and his band were safely home.
    "If no ship shows up I'll strap a mummy on your back. And - like some black crow
of an old woman, you can lug your baby around while you work."
    Bone was no more religious than Else. That was characteristic of Sha-lug. They
had seen too much to be unquestioning in their conviction of God's Mercy. The
old man made a sign
    warding the evil eye. He followed that with a gesture meant to invoke God's
favor—if He so willed.
    Bone did not like the dead. He bore a particular