The Flames of Shadam Khoreh (The Lays of Anuskaya) Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Also by Bradley P. Beaulieu

  Praise for Bradley P. Beaulieu

  Dedication

  Map of The Grand Duchy of Anuskaya

  Map of The Duchy of Khalakovo

  Map of The Duchy of Vostroma

  Map of Galahesh

  Map of The Empire of Yrstanla

  Summary of The Winds of Khalakovo

  Summary of The Straits of Galahesh

  Dramatis Personae

  Prologue

  Part I

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Part II

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Chapter Fifty-Six

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  Chapter Fifty-Nine

  Chapter Sixty

  Chapter Sixty-One

  Chapter Sixty-Two

  Chapter Sixty-Three

  Chapter Sixty-Four

  Chapter Sixty-Five

  Chapter Sixty-Six

  Chapter Sixty-Seven

  Chapter Sixty-Eight

  Chapter Sixty-Nine

  Chapter Seventy

  Epilogue

  Glossary

  Afterword

  Acknowledgements

  Kickstarter Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  The Winds of Khalakovo

  The Straits of Galahesh

  Lest Our Passage Be Forgotten

  Strata

  The Flames of Shadam Khoreh © 2013 by Bradley P. Beaulieu

  Cover art by Aaron J. Riley © 2013

  Cover design by Bradley P. Beaulieu

  Interior art by Evgeni Maloshenkov © 2013

  Maps by William McAusland

  Author photo by Joanne M. Beaulieu

  Edited by Ross E. Lockhart

  All rights reserved.

  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.

  First Edition

  ISBN: 978-1-93964-906-5 (pbk.)

  ISBN: 978-1-93964-907-2 (epub)

  ISBN: 978-1-93964-908-9 (Kindle)

  Visit the author on the web at

  http://www.quillings.com

  Also by Bradley P. Beaulieu

  The Lays of Anuskaya

  The Winds of Khalakovo

  The Straits of Galahesh

  The Flames of Shadam Khoreh

  Short Story Collections

  Lest Our Passage Be Forgotten & Other Stories

  Novellas

  Strata (with Stephen Gaskell)

  Forthcoming in 2014 from DAW Books

  The Song of the Shattered Sands

  Twelve Kings in Sharakhai

  The Inverted Thorn

  The Thirteenth Tribe

  Praise for The Winds of Khalakovo

  “Well worth exploring… Beaulieu [depicts] a strange culture [with] a remarkable fantasy/magical reality feel.”

  —Glen Cook, bestselling author of The Black Company

  “Overlaid with the rich feel of Cyrillic culture, Beaulieu’s debut introduces a fascinating world of archipelagic realms and shamanic magic worked primarily by women. Verdict: Strong characters and a plot filled with tension and difficult choices make this a good option for fantasy fans.”

  —Library Journal

  “Sailing ships of the sky! Bradley P. Beaulieu’s The Winds of Khalakovo is an energetic, swashbuckling novel with a distinctive flavor, a lush setting, and a plot filled with adventure, interesting characters, and intrigue. Exactly the kind of fantasy I like to read.”

  —Kevin J. Anderson, New York Times bestselling author of The Saga of Seven Suns

  “Elegantly crafted, refreshingly creative, The Winds of Khalakovo offers a compelling tale of men and women fighting to protect their world. Politics, faith, betrayal, sacrifice, and of course supernatural mystery—it’s all there, seamlessly combined in a tale driven by intelligent and passionate characters whose relationships and goals a reader can really care about. A great read!”

  —C. S. Friedman, bestselling author of the Coldfire and Magister trilogies

  “A page-turner with twists, turns and palpable danger...”

  —Paul Genesse, author of The Golden Cord

  “In The Winds of Khalakovo Beaulieu navigates through a web of complex characters... dukes, duchesses, lovers, and more, while building a rich and intricate world thick with intrigue. He plots the course of Nikandr Iaroslov Khalakovo, a prince laden with disease and courtly responsibilities, and deftly brings the tale to a satisfying end that leaves the reader hungry for the next installment. Beaulieu is a writer that bears watching. I look forward to his next novel.”

  —Jean Rabe, USA Today bestselling fantasy author

  “Bradley P. Beaulieu is a welcome addition to the roster of new fantasy novelists. The Winds of Khalakovo is a sharp and original fantasy full of action, intrigue, romance, politics, mystery and magick, tons of magick. The boldly imagined new world and sharply drawn characters will pull you into The Winds of Khalakovo and won’t let you go until the last page.”

  —Michael A. Stackpole, bestselling author of I, Jedi and At the Queen’s Command

  Praise for The Straits of Galahesh

  “Dark, ambitious, complex, populated with a great cast of characters that leap off the pages, The Straits of Galahesh is just what the doctor ordered if you are looking for a quality read that’s different from everything else on the market today. The Winds of Khalakovo turned out to be one of the very best SFF works of 2011. Somehow, Bradley
P. Beaulieu has raised the bar even higher for this sequel, making The Straits of Galahesh a ‘must read’ speculative fiction title for 2012.”

  —Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist

  “If you’re the kind of reader who enjoys Steven Erikson’s approach of throwing readers into a setting without too much guidance and letting the story do the job of explaining the details as it progresses, you should have a great time getting to know this fantasy universe. While that happens, you’ll be treated to healthy doses of feudal and international politics, strong characters, unique magic, romance, spectacular battles on land and in the air, and a story that continues to broaden in scope. The Lays of Anuskaya is shaping up to be a fine fantasy trilogy.”

  —Tor.com

  “Beaulieu presents a [...] vividly realized tale of heroes torn between duty and love.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “In the title to this review, I called The Straits of Galahesh a Russian Bear of a novel. Like The Winds of Khalakovo, this is a thick, dense secondary world fantasy that requires a full engagement from the reader to really get the best enjoyment out of. And yes, given the stakes, and the scope of the novel, this is definitely epic fantasy.”

  —The Functional Nerds

  “If you read The Winds of Khalakovo, then you will want to read The Straits of Galahesh. If you haven’t, then buy and read them both. This one is full of excitement, suspense, and betrayal. Lots of betrayal, some intentional, some not. I’ve read a great deal of fantasy in the last year, and almost all of it was good to great. The Straits of Galahesh was one of the best.”

  —Adventures Fantastic

  “Reading Bradley P. Beaulieu’s The Lays of Anuskaya series is like traveling through grand undiscovered country, being in a place that is familiar enough to understand and different enough to amaze. [...] The Straits of Galahesh continues the breakneck pace of a fight for an entire world, touched by passion, love, and loyalty. As a reader, almost every chapter added to my sense of wonder and realization. I can’t recommend this fabulous fantasy series highly enough. Read it.”

  —Brenda Cooper, author of The Creative Fire and Mayan December

  “With The Straits of Galahesh, Beaulieu returns to the vibrant fantasy he introduced in The Winds of Khalakovo. A gritty book packed with big ideas and Byzantine politics, and inhabited by compellingly flawed heroes, Straits is the sort of fully realized epic one can sink into for days. It sings with action, magic, and heart—the perfect second act in a brilliant series.”

  —Rob Ziegler, author of Seed

  For Rhys, my dear son.

  Through you, I relive my own childhood,

  and this is a gift I can never repay.

  A Summary of The Winds of Khalakovo,

  Book One of The Lays of Anuskaya

  As the story opens, the islands of the Grand Duchy are under siege from a blight to their crops and a deadly wasting disease that strikes royalty and peasants alike. A prince of the islands, Nikandr Khalakovo, is set to be married to Atiana Vostroma, a princess from a neighboring duchy. A pall is cast against the nuptials, however, when a fire spirit attacks and murders the Grand Duke.

  The gathered royalty demand justice, and Nikandr is sent to investigate. All signs point to a young autistic savant named Nasim, and it is this boy’s mysterious past that Nikandr becomes entangled with. Nikandr believes Nasim is not to blame for the attack. He believes instead that he was used as a tool by the Maharraht, a ruthless sect of the peace-loving Aramahn that want nothing less than the destruction of the Grand Duchy. As escalations rise over the murder of the Grand Duke, Nikandr and Nasim escape to the island of Ghayavand, a place that holds many secrets from Nasim’s past.

  Meanwhile, Atiana is pressed into service as a Matra, a woman who submerges herself in ice-cold water and enters the astral realm of the aether, where she can project herself to tend to the defense of the Grand Duchy and to communicate with other Matri. While doing so, Atiana comes face to face with Rehada, Nikandr’s Aramahn lover. Atiana later learns that Rehada has only been posing as Nikandr’s lover, and that in reality she is a spy for the Maharraht. Not only has she been feeding the Maharraht information about the Grand Duchy for years, she’s been in league with Soroush, a sworn enemy of the Grand Duchy who hopes to open a rift that hangs over Khalakovo. Tearing open the rift would cause untold destruction to Khalakovo and the other islands of the Grand Duchy, but Soroush cannot do this alone. He must use Nasim and his unique abilities to tear the rift open. Rehada’s loyalties, however, are not so resolute as they seem at first. She has come to doubt the path of violence that Soroush and the Maharraht are following, and it is through this doubt that she begins to question her place in the Maharraht.

  Nikandr learns more of Nasim’s past and returns with him to Khalakovo, hoping to heal the rift, but before he can do so, Soroush steals Nasim away. Nikandr is forced to return home to Khalakovo without him, and he finds that tensions among the nine dukes of the Grand Duchy have reached the boiling point.

  A battle between the duchies ensues, providing the perfect cover for Soroush, who takes Nasim to a small keep on the nearby island of Duzol. There he plans to perform the ritual he’s been planning for years. Using Nasim as a conduit, he will summon five elder spirits, and when all five have been summoned, the rift will be torn wide.

  Soroush doesn’t count on Rehada, however, who turns away from the path of violence. She warns Nikandr of what Soroush is planning, and together, Nikandr, Atiana, and Rehada move against Soroush and the Maharraht. Soroush completes his ritual, but Nikandr has come to understand his bond with Nasim intimately. He and Atiana use this knowledge to draw Nasim fully into the material world, an act that heals not only the blight, but Nasim as well. Nasim is now as whole as he has ever been in his life, and he may finally find it possible to learn and grow. The cost, however, is heavy. Nikandr’s father is captured by the Traitor Dukes.

  As the story closes, the Khalakovo family cedes control of their duchy to the new Grand Duke, and Nasim is taken away by his people for his own safety. Nikandr, however, knows that the rifts are not permanently closed, and he vows to find Nasim and complete what they have begun.

  A Summary of The Straits of Galahesh,

  Book Two of The Lays of Anuskaya

  Five years have passed since Nikandr and Atiana saved Khalakovo from widespread destruction, and Nasim has fully awoken. He has been taught the ways of the world on Mirashadal, the floating village of the Aramahn, and gained new purpose. The sundering, a ritual performed long ago by three powerful Aramahn known as the Al-Aqim, was the very thing that caused the rifts and the wasting disease that are now spreading throughout the islands, and Nasim feels that he must heal the damage. He knows he cannot do it alone, however. He doesn’t know why, but his powers have been stunted since his awakening, so he recruits two other gifted children to help him: a spirited girl named Rabiah and a reserved boy named Sukharam.

  Nikandr, on the other hand, has grown in his abilities. A wind spirit, a havahezhan, is bound to him, and he uses it as he goes to free Soroush from his imprisonment in Mirashadal. He successfully frees Soroush and takes him to Rafsuhan. Nikandr needs Soroush, for Rafsuhan is controlled by the Maharraht, the violent sect of the Aramahn people that wishes to destroy the Grand Duchy of Anuskaya. A new rift has formed there, however, and Nikandr hopes to learn more, perhaps even to heal the rift as Nasim did on Khalakovo, but to do this Soroush must vouch for him. Although Soroush is reluctant to help a man he hates, he eventually agrees, as it may help his people.

  Atiana, however, has a different opinion of what’s best for the islands. Every day she sees more of the effects from the steady advance of the wasting disease and the rampant hunger caused by the blight. Both, they now know, are caused by the slow spread of the rifts. As noble as Nikandr’s goals are, Anuskaya needs help now, so she arranges for a marriage of convenience between herself and Bahett ül Kirdhash, the Kaymakam of the island of Galahesh. Galahesh sits between the islands of the
Grand Duchy and the mainland of Yrstanla, and while it has interests in the Grand Duchy, it also holds considerable influence in the halls of Yrstanla’s capital, Alekeşir. Atiana’s marriage could bring much needed aid to not only her home of Vostroma, but to all of the duchies. Atiana travels to Galahesh, and there she begins to spy on a mysterious woman named Arvaneh, a woman that Bahett fears has grave powers. She discovers, however, that this woman is in fact Sariya, one of the Al-Aqim. She, along with another of the Al-Aqim, a man named Muqallad, are powerful indeed and have survived since the time of the sundering.

  As Atiana investigates Sariya’s plans, Nasim arrives on Ghayavand with Rabiah and Sukharam. Together they find one of the pieces of the Atalayina, the fabled stone that the Al-Aqim used during the ritual that caused the sundering. They also discover that Ashan has beaten them to the island, and that Muqallad has captured him. Nasim goes there with Rabiah’s help. Not only do they fail to recover Ashan, they lose Sukharam as well. Muqallad is holding him hostage along with Ashan until he gets another piece of the Atalayina, a piece he knows is trapped in Sariya’s white tower. Nasim preaches patience, but Rabiah, angry with Nasim that they’ve lost Sukharam, goes to the tower on her own. She underestimates the power of Sariya, however, and is killed. Nasim, devastated by this loss, finds Rabiah’s trapped soul in Sariya’s tower and frees her. He then continues on to find the stone. Sariya opposes him, but his anger fuels him, and he finds the second piece of the Atalayina. Atiana is also there—she has come through a gateway that Sariya created on Galahesh—and Nasim gives the stone to her so that Muqallad cannot have it.

  Nikandr arrives on Rafsuhan and soon discovers that Muqallad has been making plans there as well. He has an ally in Kaleh, a young girl he soon discovers is Sariya’s own daughter. Muqallad and Kaleh have been using the children of the Maharraht, people who are loyal to them, for their own gain. Muqallad takes the children and turns them into akhoz, strange, twisted creatures that hardly resemble the children they once were, then uses them in a terrible ritual to fuse two of the pieces of the Atalayina together. Only the third piece, which now rests in Atiana’s hands, will keep him from his ultimate goal: to bring about indaraqiram, an event that will destroy the world to begin it anew. With two of the three pieces of the Atalayina now in hand, Muqallad goes to Galahesh to find the third piece, and Nikandr follows.