One Thousand and One Dark Nights
Once upon a time, in the future…
I was a student fascinated with stories and learning.
I studied philosophy, poetry, history, the occult, and
the art and science of love and magic. I had a vast
library at my father’s home and collected thousands
of volumes of fantastic tales.
I learned all about ancient races and bygone
times. About myths and legends and dreams of all
people through the millennium. And the more I read
the stronger my imagination grew until I discovered
that I was able to travel into the stories... to actually
become part of them.
I wish I could say that I listened to my teacher
and respected my gift, as I ought to have. If I had, I
would not be telling you this tale now.
But I was foolhardy and confused, showing off
with bravery.
One afternoon, curious about the myth of the
Arabian Nights, I traveled back to ancient Persia to
see for myself if it was true that every day Shahryar
(Persian: شهريار, “king”) married a new virgin, and then
sent yesterday's wife to be beheaded. It was written
and I had read that by the time he met Scheherazade,
the vizier's daughter, he’d killed one thousand
women.
Something went wrong with my efforts. I arrived
in the midst of the story and somehow exchanged
places with Scheherazade – a phenomena that had
never occurred before and that still to this day, I
cannot explain.
Now I am trapped in that ancient past. I have
taken on Scheherazade’s life and the only way I can
protect myself and stay alive is to do what she did to
protect herself and stay alive.
Every night the King calls for me and listens as I spin tales.
And when the evening ends and dawn breaks, I stop at a
point that leaves him breathless and yearning for more.
And so the King spares my life for one more day, so that
he might hear the rest of my dark tale.
As soon as I finish a story... I begin a new
one... like the one that you, dear reader, have before
you now.
Chapter One
The scream tore through her head, jerking her awake immediately. Her gut clenched with dread as fear pooled in her belly. Before she could fully register the first one, a second scream filled her mind, the echo making her clutch her head as her lungs seized.
Not again.
Tamlyn didn’t hesitate to jump to her feet and make her way through the winding hallways until she burst outside. She tripped, caught herself, and ran as fast as she could, letting her connection guide her up the canyon wall and across the field to Ferdon Woods.
The killings have to stop.
Tamlyn wasn’t sure that day would ever come, but she couldn’t think about that now. She had to focus all her energy on the connection. A sound above caused her to glance up. For just a second, she thought it was a dragon, though dragons never crossed onto their land. She tripped and stumbled again but managed to right herself before she went down. She didn’t dare look up again. If a dragon found her, so be it. She had more important matters to worry about tonight.
Her lungs burned as she pumped her arms and legs, forcing herself to keep going when all she wanted to do was collapse. Time wasn’t on her side. It never was, but there was a particular urgency in the scream that night. She didn’t allow herself to think what would happen if she didn’t get there in time.
The forest was just ahead. She knew Ferdon Woods all too well. It would hide her approach, but it held many dangers—some traps and…other things she would rather not think about.
Yet, she didn’t have time to go around. If she was going to succeed, then she had to go through the woods. She pursed her lips and continued. The quarter moon offered little light. Not that Tamlyn needed it. She had used this path so many times she could walk it blindfolded.
At the last moment, she diverted her course. Something within urged her to use a different route, even as a rational part of her warned that it was suicide to walk through the brush.
Once inside the forest, the thick canopy of trees refused to permit any light to slip through their foliage. Tamlyn halted, her breaths harsh as her lungs sought to fill with air. Her gaze scanned the area with trepidation for the things that lurked in the night.
The trees were massive. Not just in height but also girth. Her gaze swung to the right. Dense growth that hid most of the gnarled tree roots covered the ground. One wrong step would be all it would take for her to find herself wounded…or worse. A look to the left gave her a glimpse of the road. It was likely safer, but not by much. Especially if someone were waiting for her. Forward was more of the same impenetrable brush.
Tamlyn swallowed and squared her shoulders as she started forward. She wanted to run through the woods. Instead, she would have to carefully pick and choose her path. Her boots gave her traction to keep from sliding over the roots. Twice, her ankle rolled, but her boots were thick and sturdy, keeping her from becoming severely injured.
Her palm scraped against the bark of a tree when she reached out to right herself. She kept her attention on where she placed her feet, but she made sure to look around often. It would be foolish to forget what lived within the forest.
She jumped when she heard a sound to her right. Tamlyn froze, listening. After several tense minutes, she spotted the wings of an owl flying away. She hated that she had to traipse through these woods, hated what forced her to put herself in danger time and again. She couldn’t let herself linger on those thoughts, though. She had tried to ignore the call, attempted to ignore who she was.
That hadn’t turned out so well. She still carried that guilt, and she probably always would. She had to be in these woods just as the owl had to hunt. It was her destiny, no matter how much she wished otherwise.
The longer it took her to get through the forest, the more anxious she became. Time wasn’t on her side. Just as she was about to throw caution to the wind, she heard it. The whisper. Tamlyn hurried to the next tree and hunkered down as she tried to determine which direction it had come from. Her lips flattened when she heard two human males talking. She had to lean to the side to find them, but then she spotted the soldiers hidden near the main path through the forest. Was this what her intuition had warned her about? It wasn’t normal for anyone to be out in the woods, especially not soldiers.
They didn’t know who she was, but that didn’t matter. They knew they were after someone who’d escaped the city. That meant they would capture anyone they saw and sort out the details later. Bastards. Every damn one of them.
The snap of a twig behind her made her heart jump into her throat. She heard the heavy breathing. Tamlyn began to shake. Every fiber of her being told her to turn and see where the beast was so she could get away. The breathing was a dead giveaway that it was a brineling. The four-legged beasts were twice the height of a human, covered with thick, green skin, and had two curved horns jutting from their foreheads. The animals were huge, but they moved with a speed that defied their size.
If the brineling had seen her, it would’ve already attacked. Her only hope was to not draw its attention. If she avoided that, she might survive the night. It took all her willpower to remain still when she wanted to run and hide. Sweat dripped from her forehead and into her eye. She blinked against the sting, but she didn’t move.