Beneath the Twisted Trees Read online

  Also by Bradley P. Beaulieu:

  The Song of the Shattered Sands

  TWELVE KINGS IN SHARAKHAI

  WITH BLOOD UPON THE SAND

  A VEIL OF SPEARS

  BENEATH THE TWISTED TREES

  * * *

  OF SAND AND MALICE MADE

  Copyright © 2019 by Bradley P. Beaulieu.

  All Rights Reserved.

  Jacket art by Micah Epstein.

  Jacket design by Adam Auerbach.

  Chapter header images by Adam Paquette.

  Maps by Maxime Plasse.

  Book design by The Barbarienne’s Den.

  Edited by Betsy Wollheim.

  DAW Book Collectors No. 1829.

  Published by DAW Books, Inc.

  1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious.

  Any resemblance to persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal, and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  Ebook ISBN: 9780756414610

  DAW TRADEMARK REGISTERED

  U.S. PAT. AND TM. OFF. AND FOREIGN COUNTRIES

  —MARCA REGISTRADA

  HECHO EN U.S.A.

  PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

  Version_2

  For Rick.

  Rest in peace, friend.

  You left us too soon.

  Thanks for all the laughs, the good times, and above all, the donuts and grape soda.

  Contents

  Also by Bradley P. Beaulieu

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  The Story So Far

  Maps

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Chapter 62

  Chapter 63

  Chapter 64

  Chapter 65

  Chapter 66

  Chapter 67

  Chapter 68

  Chapter 69

  Glossary

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  The Story So Far

  The Song of the Shattered Sands is a vast and complex tale. I consider that a good thing, and if you’re reading this, you likely do too, but it can present a problem. It’s easy to forget what happened in the earlier volumes. I do my best to catch readers up with little reminders along the way, but even so, I recognize the need for a refresher.

  It is with this in mind that I provide the following synopses.

  As always, thank you for joining me in this grand tale. I hope you enjoy your return to the Great Shangazi.

  —Bradley P. Beaulieu

  * * *

  The Song of the Shattered Sands

  The Song of the Shattered Sands is an epic fantasy series in the vein of One Thousand and One Nights. The story centers on Çeda, a young woman who lives in the slums of the great desert city of Sharakhai and fights in the pits for money. In the eyes of the city’s wealthy, she is nothing. She is one step above slavery, a fate that constantly nips at her heels. Through clues in a book left to her by her mother, Çeda realizes she is also one of the thirteenth tribe, a legendary group of nomads who were nearly eradicated by the Twelve Kings of Sharakhai four hundred years before.

  In the decades that followed those dark days, Sharakhai became the single, unquestioned power in the desert, but in recent years the iron grip of the city has weakened. The asirim, strange and powerful creatures of the desert, have always protected Sharakhai, but they have become fewer, their power more feeble. Sensing weakness, the kingdoms bordering the Great Shangazi close in like jackals, hoping to snatch this jewel they’ve so long coveted, but it may be the wandering people of the desert, insulted by the very presence of Sharakhai, who in the end destroy the city so that no one—especially outsiders—can control it.

  Though Çeda doesn’t know it, her heritage and the book her mother left her put her in a unique position. The asirim were once people of the thirteenth tribe. After a grand bargain with the gods of the desert, they were betrayed by the Twelve Kings of Sharakhai and transformed into the wicked creatures they are now. Fearing retribution, the Kings sent the asirim to hunt their kinsmen, to kill every man, woman, and child who had blood of the thirteenth tribe running through their veins. The asirim wept, but they had no choice. They were bound as surely as the sun shines on the desert. Çeda’s book is one of the last remaining clues to that secret history.

  Of Sand and Malice Made

  Çeda is the youngest pit fighter in the history of Sharakhai. She’s made her name in the arena as the fearsome White Wolf. None but her closest friends and allies know her true identity, but that changes when she crosses the path of Hidi and Makuo, twin demigods who were summoned by a vengeful woman named Kesaea.

  Kesaea wishes to bring about the downfall of her own sister, who has taken her place as the favored plaything of Rümayesh, an ehrekh, a sadistic creature forged aeons ago by Goezhen, the god of chaos. The ehrekh are desert dwellers, often hiding from the view of man, but this one lurks in the dark corners of Sharakhai, toying with and preying on humans. For centuries, Rümayesh has combed the populace of Sharakhai, looking for baubles among them, bright
jewels that might interest her for a time. She chooses some few to stand by her side until she tires of them. Others she abducts to examine more closely, leaving them ruined, worn-out husks.

  At Kesaea’s bidding, the twins manipulate Çeda into meeting Rümayesh in hopes that the ehrekh would become entranced with her and toss Ashwandi aside. To Çeda’s horror, it works.

  Çeda tries to hide, but Rümayesh is not so easily deterred; the chase makes her covet the vibrant young pit fighter all the more. She uses her many resources to discover Çeda’s secret identity. She learns who Çeda holds dearest. And the more restless she grows, the more violent she becomes. But the danger grows infinitely worse when Rümayesh turns her attention to Çeda’s friends. Çeda is horrified that the people she loves have been placed in harm’s way. She’s seen firsthand the blood and suffering left in Rümayesh’s wake as she hunts for those she craves.

  Çeda is captured but manages to escape, and in so doing delivers Rümayesh into the hands of Hidi and Makuo, who torture her endlessly. But the ehrekh is still able to reach out to Çeda, forcing her to relive the torture as well. Knowing that she can never be free unless she liberates Rümayesh from the godling twins, Çeda recruits the help of a gifted young thief named Brama. With Brama’s help, Çeda steals into Rümayesh’s hidden desert fortress in hopes of freeing her through the use of a sacred ritual.

  Çeda succeeds, but at the cost of Brama becoming enslaved instead of her. Knowing she can’t leave Brama to the cruelties of an ehrekh, Çeda searches for and finds a different, more ancient ritual that prepares a magical gemstone, a sapphire, to capture Rümayesh. In a climactic battle, Çeda manages to trap Rümayesh within the stone and free Brama. In the end, Çeda knows that Brama is perhaps the one person who would be most careful with the sapphire, and so leaves it with him.

  Twelve Kings in Sharakhai

  Çeda uncovers secret poems hidden in a book left to her by her mother. Through clues in the poems, she learns more about Beht Ihman, the fateful night when the people of the thirteenth tribe were enslaved and turned into the asirim. She also learns that she is herself a descendant of the thirteenth tribe, which gives her some clue as to what her mother was doing in Sharakhai. She later discovers, to her shock and revulsion, that she may be the daughter of one of the Kings, and that this too was part of her mother’s plan.

  Refusing to let the mystery go unresolved, Çeda goes into the desert to the blooming fields, where the adichara trees shelter the asirim. The Kings are immune to the adichara’s poison, and their children are resistant. To all others the poison is deadly. To prove to herself once and for all that she is the daughter of one of the Kings, Çeda poisons herself, and later is brought to the house of the Blade Maidens, the place where the warrior-daughters of the Kings live and train. There, with the help of an ally to the thirteenth tribe, Çeda survives and is allowed entry into the House of Maidens.

  As she recuperates and trains with the Blade Maidens, Çeda investigates the clues left in her mother’s book, her one treasured possession. Her mother died trying to unlock the secrets of a fabled poem that promises to unlock the secrets of the past and show Çeda the keys to the Kings’ power and the way in which they can be defeated.

  Meanwhile, the Moonless Host, a resistance group that hopes to end the reign of the Kings of Sharakhai, hatches a plan to break into the palace of King Külaşan, the Wandering King. Hidden in its depths is his son Hamzakiir, a blood mage and a man the Moonless Host hopes to use for their own purposes. It won’t be so simple, however. The Kings stand ready to stop them, and their resources are vast.

  There is also Ramahd Amansir, a lord from the neighboring kingdom of Qaimir, and Princess Meryam, who travels with him. They have plans for Hamzakiir as well. Ramahd came to Sharakhai in hopes of gaining revenge for the loss of his wife and child at the hands of Macide, the leader of the Moonless Host. He stumbles across Çeda in the fighting pits, and the two of them come to know one another.

  They might even have become involved romantically, but Çeda has more to worry about than love, and Meryam has other plans for Ramahd. Meryam knows that allowing Hamzakiir to fall into the hands of the Moonless Host would be terrible for her cause, so she makes plans to steal Hamzakiir from under their very noses.

  At the end of the book, Çeda manages to unlock the first of the poem’s riddles. Along with her best friend, Emre, who against Çeda’s wishes has joined the ranks of the Moonless Host, she infiltrates King Külaşan’s desert palace and kills him. Emre and the Moonless Host, meanwhile, manage to raise Hamzakiir from his near-dead state and steal him away from the palace. Before they can reach safety, however, Meryam and Ramahd intercept them and take Hamzakiir.

  With Blood Upon the Sand

  Çeda has become a Blade Maiden, an elite warrior in service to the Kings of Sharakhai. She’s learning their secrets even as they send her on covert missions to further their rule. She’s already uncovered the dark history of the asirim, but it’s only when she bonds with them, chaining them to her will, that she feels their pain as her own. They hunger for release, they demand it, but their chains were forged by the gods themselves and are proving unbreakable.

  Çeda could become the champion the enslaved asirim have been waiting for, but the need to tread carefully has never been greater. The Kings, hungry for blood, scour the city in a ruthless quest for revenge. Emre and his new allies in the Moonless Host, meanwhile, lay plans to take advantage of the unrest in Sharakhai. They hope to strike a major blow against the Kings and their god-given powers.

  Hamzakiir has escaped the attentions of Queen Meryam and Ramahd, and has insinuated himself into the ranks of the Moonless Host. Through manipulation and sometimes force, he is slowly taking the reins of power from Macide and his father, Ishaq. His plan for Sharakhai is bold. The many scarabs of the Moonless Host, who itch for more progress, buy into Hamzakiir’s plans.

  Those plans are nearly upended when Davud, a young collegia scholar, is captured along with many others from his graduating class. Hamzakiir’s spells trigger Davud’s awakening as a blood mage. It is that very awakening that gives Davud power, nearly stopping Hamzakiir and his dark agenda. Davud fails, however, and burns his fellow classmate, Anila, in a cold fire, almost killing her.

  The Moonless Host fractures in two, many following Hamzakiir, others following Macide, who is revealed to be Çeda’s uncle. In a devastating betrayal, Hamzakiir kills many of the old guard in the Moonless Host, giving him near-complete control of the group. With them at his beck and call, he attacks Sharakhai, planning to take for his own the fabled elixirs that grant the Kings long life.

  Emre and Macide, however, want the elixirs destroyed so that neither Hamzakiir nor the Kings can have them. Meryam is sympathetic, and commands Ramahd to help Emre.

  An attack on Sharakhai unfolds, where the abducted collegia students, now grotesque monsters, are used to clear the way to King’s Harbor. As the battle rages, both Hamzakiir and his faction, and Macide and his, infiltrate the palaces in search of the caches where the fabled elixirs are stored. Two of the three primary caches are destroyed. The third falls into Hamzakiir’s hands.

  Çeda, meanwhile, caught up in the battle in the harbor, tries to kill Cahil the Confessor King and King Mesut. The Kings are not so easily destroyed, however. They discover Çeda’s purpose and turn the tables, nearly killing her. Sehid-Alaz, the King of the Thirteenth Tribe, is so fearful of Çeda’s death that he manages to throw off the shackles of his curse and protect Çeda long enough for her to release the wights, the trapped souls of the asirim, from King Mesut’s legendary bracelet. Thus freed, the wights come for their revenge and kill King Mesut.

  Having been revealed, Çeda flees into the desert.

  A Veil of Spears

  The Night of Endless Swords was a bloody battle that nearly saw Sharakhai’s destruction. The Kings know they won a narrow victory that night, and since then, their elite B
lade Maidens and the soldiers of the Silver Spears have been pressing relentlessly on the Moonless Host. Hundreds have been murdered or given to Cahil the Confessor King for questioning. Knowing their movement is nearing the point of collapse, the scarabs of the Moonless Host flee the city.

  Çeda, who has already fled the city, is captured by Onur, the King of Sloth. Onur has returned to the desert and is raising an army of his own to challenge the other Kings’ right to rule. After escaping Onur, Çeda finds the scattered remains of the Moonless Host, who are now calling themselves the thirteenth tribe. Her people are reforming, but the nascent tribe is quickly being caught in a struggle between Onur’s growing influence and the considerable might of the Kings who, with Sharakhai now firmly back under their rule, are turning their attention to the desert once more.

  In Sharakhai, meanwhile, a deadly game is being played. Davud and Anila are being kept by Sukru the Reaping King. They’re being groomed for their powers, Davud as a budding blood mage, Anila as a rare necromancer. A mysterious mage known as the Sparrow, however, is trying to lure Davud away from King Sukru for his own dark purposes. As Davud and Anila both grow in power, they fight for their very lives against the machinations of the Sparrow.

  In the desert, Emre comes into his own as a prominent member of the thirteenth tribe. More are looking to him as a leader, including Macide. Emre helps to navigate the tribe toward safety, but the threat of King Onur grows by the day. Even with Emre’s help in securing allies among the other tribes, it may not be enough. Things grow worse when the Kings of Sharakhai sail to the desert to confront Onur. They hatch a deal with Onur: crush the thirteenth tribe first, and they can deal with one another later.

  Çeda knows that the thirteenth tribe will be destroyed unless she can free the powerful asirim from their bondage. She vows to lift the curse the gods placed on them, and soon returns to Sharakhai and its deadly blooming fields to do just that.

  The Kings have not been idle, however. Nor are they fools. They know the asirim are the key to maintaining power. Making matters worse, their greatest tactician, the Kings of Swords himself, has made it his personal mission to bring Çeda to justice for her many crimes. Queen Meryam has also decided to throw in her lot with them. She’s even managed to steal away the sapphire that contains the soul of the ehrekh, Rümayesh.