had broken my skin. Eventually the cuts were so deep that the top layer had been destroyed and I lay doubled over, heavy with sickness from the loss of blood as the Duke continued to shout his tirades of commands overhead. I was too damaged to care what he said, so pained that death seemed a welcome change from life.
The Glassman appeared in the mirrored tiles of the Duke’s drinks cabinet, near the bottom at the level of my eyes. I could barely see him for the pain and tears in my gaze, but he looked upon me with such sympathy that I felt a pang for denying him his will. He was right about the Duke, was he not? Would he not be a more merciful master to obey than the best above me?
*
And so I come to be standing above the Duke now. The deep slits in my back are bound and bandaged, but I can still feel crusted blood cracking as I raise my blade. The hapless beast who gave me these injuries is passed out drunk beneath me, spit and stench bubbling at his open lips. He snorts like a pig amid his snoring. And now I will be his butcher.
In my last moment of hesitance, the calm seconds before I take the blade to the edge of his neck, a faint light glows from the mirrored tiles once more. I smile, happy that the djinn is there to witness my deed. No sooner than it is done, he will deliver me. Those are his words.
“I am Aberash,” I whisper to the slumbering beast. “I am your end.”
It requires more force to gut his throat than I imagined, but I am strong enough for the task. Though my stomach wretches and my hands are shaking when I drop the blade to the ground, I stand in awe of the act itself, shocked at the impossibility that I could have created the bloody mess that now sits in the armchair before me.
“Well,” I demand aloud, my voice aquiver. “I am ready for Africa.”
“It is ready for you,” the Glassman proclaims. “Come to the parlour.”
I follow the sound of his merry laughter as it echoes through the house, sneaking my way to the deserted room where the glowing ornate mirror awaits me. In its glass, the bright golden plain is already waiting. Without a second thought I approach it, climbing up onto the fireplace and lunging at the mirror as though it is an open window. My instincts haven’t led me astray, for this time there is no surface to the glass. I pass into a world of wild and unbearable heat, flying through the mirror and landing on the dusty ground.
As I choke and splutter, I snap my head back to the direction I came from, but there is no other side to the mirror I passed through, only an empty wooden frame clattering into the dirt. It breaks apart on impact, shards of splintered wood springing towards me and aggravating the dust. I rise slowly to my feet and look around at the beautiful trees and azure sky. This is my paradise, my freedom. I raise my hands to the heavens, checking the horizon. Panic grips my chest as I realise there are nothing but trees as far as my eyes will reach.
“Where do I go?” I shout to the sky. “Glassman! Djinn! Which is the way?”
The thought comes to me too late that I should have asked for a better deliverance than this. I start to walk in the damning heat towards a patch of long brown grass, startled when it suddenly moves. A fur-clad figure, golden and lithe, pads from the grass, its eyes black as coal and its sharp teeth bared. The lioness emits a growl that shakes me to my core. She scrapes her claws against the dirt as I stare on, dumbfounded. In the reflection of her calculating eyes, I see a glimmer of bright blue light.
“Beware your wish come true, Aberash,” a rich voice whispers on the warm wind. “She likes the look of the blood on your hands.”
The Glassman’s wild and manic laughter consumes me as I turn and run.
The S Word
An exclusive chapter one preview, full novel coming in 2015
“Be completely still or it’ll blind you.”
I waited, eyes wide open. The exposed flesh dried out as I
The Glassman appeared in the mirrored tiles of the Duke’s drinks cabinet, near the bottom at the level of my eyes. I could barely see him for the pain and tears in my gaze, but he looked upon me with such sympathy that I felt a pang for denying him his will. He was right about the Duke, was he not? Would he not be a more merciful master to obey than the best above me?
*
And so I come to be standing above the Duke now. The deep slits in my back are bound and bandaged, but I can still feel crusted blood cracking as I raise my blade. The hapless beast who gave me these injuries is passed out drunk beneath me, spit and stench bubbling at his open lips. He snorts like a pig amid his snoring. And now I will be his butcher.
In my last moment of hesitance, the calm seconds before I take the blade to the edge of his neck, a faint light glows from the mirrored tiles once more. I smile, happy that the djinn is there to witness my deed. No sooner than it is done, he will deliver me. Those are his words.
“I am Aberash,” I whisper to the slumbering beast. “I am your end.”
It requires more force to gut his throat than I imagined, but I am strong enough for the task. Though my stomach wretches and my hands are shaking when I drop the blade to the ground, I stand in awe of the act itself, shocked at the impossibility that I could have created the bloody mess that now sits in the armchair before me.
“Well,” I demand aloud, my voice aquiver. “I am ready for Africa.”
“It is ready for you,” the Glassman proclaims. “Come to the parlour.”
I follow the sound of his merry laughter as it echoes through the house, sneaking my way to the deserted room where the glowing ornate mirror awaits me. In its glass, the bright golden plain is already waiting. Without a second thought I approach it, climbing up onto the fireplace and lunging at the mirror as though it is an open window. My instincts haven’t led me astray, for this time there is no surface to the glass. I pass into a world of wild and unbearable heat, flying through the mirror and landing on the dusty ground.
As I choke and splutter, I snap my head back to the direction I came from, but there is no other side to the mirror I passed through, only an empty wooden frame clattering into the dirt. It breaks apart on impact, shards of splintered wood springing towards me and aggravating the dust. I rise slowly to my feet and look around at the beautiful trees and azure sky. This is my paradise, my freedom. I raise my hands to the heavens, checking the horizon. Panic grips my chest as I realise there are nothing but trees as far as my eyes will reach.
“Where do I go?” I shout to the sky. “Glassman! Djinn! Which is the way?”
The thought comes to me too late that I should have asked for a better deliverance than this. I start to walk in the damning heat towards a patch of long brown grass, startled when it suddenly moves. A fur-clad figure, golden and lithe, pads from the grass, its eyes black as coal and its sharp teeth bared. The lioness emits a growl that shakes me to my core. She scrapes her claws against the dirt as I stare on, dumbfounded. In the reflection of her calculating eyes, I see a glimmer of bright blue light.
“Beware your wish come true, Aberash,” a rich voice whispers on the warm wind. “She likes the look of the blood on your hands.”
The Glassman’s wild and manic laughter consumes me as I turn and run.
The S Word
An exclusive chapter one preview, full novel coming in 2015
“Be completely still or it’ll blind you.”
I waited, eyes wide open. The exposed flesh dried out as I
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