S.A. Meade: The first part of my newest release, Tournament of Shadows, is set in Central Asia, in what is now known as Uzbekistan. A great deal of the country is given over to desert and, back in the 19th century, travel from one place to the next was fraught with difficulties, ranging from the arid conditions, capricious emirs and bandits. This scene from the book gives a little glimpse into dealing with one of those hazards.
Valentin checked his rifle and set his musket on the ground beside him. I peered over the wall.
“Anything?”
“Not yet. At least we have a little time.” I passed him a canteen of water. “You’ll need this.”
He took a sip, then wiped his mouth. “I hope the bastards don’t keep us waiting. I hate the waiting.”
I rested my rifle on the wall and leaned against the warm stone. “So do I. Dare I ask if you’re a decent shot?”
He grinned. “One of the best in my regiment. You?”
“Passable.”
“That’s not very comforting.”
“I’ll get by. Shall we have a competition? The person who shoots the least has to make dinner.”
“Challenge accepted.” He held his hand out.
I shook it. Reluctant to let go. The fearful wreck seemed to have disappeared for the moment. The old Valentin had returned, eyes alight with the thrill of facing danger.
Valentin edged closer until his shoulder rested against mine. His presence quelled the churning in my gut. I suddenly felt able to take on an entire army if I had to.
“We’ll be fine.”
“If you say so.”
He brushed his lips over mine for the briefest of moments. Desire almost overcame my apprehension. I wanted to grab him and take him there and then. Valentin stepped back and turned towards the road. Several specks materialised in the distance, their presence heralded by a drift of dust.
I loaded gunpowder and a ball into the barrel, rested the rifle on the wall and waited for our visitors to come within range.
Valentin stood beside me, finger already on the trigger as he readied his aim. The bandits drew closer.
Five hundred yards.
Four hundred yards.
“Ready?” Valentin shouldered his rifle and squinted, creases fan-tailing away from the corner of his eyes.
“Yes.” I raised the gun and, when I judged the first of the horsemen to be within three hundred yards, took aim, winced at the recoil then ducked to avoid the returning gunfire.
“You missed.” Valentin pulled his trigger.
A distant yelp and a horse reeling around told me that his shot had found its mark. “Well done.”
He grinned and loaded another round while I made ready to fire my second.
This time my shot found its target. Another bandit tumbled to the dirt.
“Bugger.” Valentin’s second went wide.
Puffs of dust and the mosquito drone of bullets drove us to seek cover behind the wall. I hurriedly loaded my third as the relentless tattoo of hoof beats grew louder. “How many left?”
Valentin popped his head above our makeshift parapet then dived for cover. “Three.”
I took aim and squeezed the trigger. The recoil bit into my shoulder. I’d feel that in the morning, if we survived. My intended target screeched and tumbled from his horse. I found grim satisfaction in the moment, knowing that if the bugger had survived, I’d be the one being killed.
“Two left.” Valentin fired his third round off quickly then scrambled to the ground when one of our attackers fired back. “Persistent bastards.”
“Only two?” I peered over the wall. “There’s only one left now.” I fired at the sod. My shot went wide, feathering the dust somewhere to the right of the horseman. He hauled his animal to a sliding stop and let loose a stream of colourful curses, before wheeling around and charging past the bodies of his fallen comrades.
“Shall we let him go?” Valentin poured more powder into his barrel, tamped it down and dropped the ball in.
“So he can get help? No.”
“Right then.” He lifted the rifle, braced himself and fired. The survivor dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes, leaving his horse to chase after its comrades. “I believe it’s your turn to make dinner.”
About Tournament of Shadows
In a shadowy game where defeat can mean death, a deal with the enemy can change things forever.
In 1842, Captain Gabriel O’Riordan of the 8th King’s Royal Irish Hussars is sent on a mission to Bukhara. His task—to try to free two of his compatriots from the clutches of a mentally unstable Emir. On his way, he encounters Valentin Yakolev, an officer in the Russian Army, who is also on a mission—to persuade the Emir that an alliance with Russia would be in his best interests. Gabriel, disguised as a holy man, is not happy to be the object of Yakolev’s intense scrutiny. After all, he’s working for the opposing team in the Great Game being played between their two nations. When Gabriel realises that his mission is little more than a forlorn hope, a game he has no chance of winning, he’s desperate enough to turn to Valentin to help and offer him anything in return. What he doesn’t expect is to have his plans to return to Calcutta scuppered by events.
Instead, he and Valentin flee north, fighting off bandits, their desire for each other and the hardship of desert travel. Their travails bring them closer together until a secret from Valentin’s past tears them apart.
Can they set the past behind them and move on together?
Reader Advisory: This book contains some violence, including beheadings.
Tournament of Shadows is available here at Totally Bound for general release on March 21, 2014
About S.A. Meade
S.A. Meade now resides happily back in England after 8 years in Arizona, where she learned to love air conditioners and realised that rain wasn’t such a bad thing after all. She lives with her husband, son and two cats in one of the most beautiful villages in Wiltshire and is partial to gin and tonic with loads of ice and lemon.
You can find her on Facebook, Twitter and sometimes at her blog.
All of her books can be found here.
S.A. Meade has kindly offered to give away an eBook copy of Tournament of Shadows!
The giveaway starts now and will end next Thursday, March 27th, 2014, at 11:59 pm EST. After which the lucky winner will be randomly picked.
All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below with your email address and you’re in!
Make sure to follow the blog for the winner’s announcement post or check back next Friday, March 28th, 2014, to see if you’ve won.
You can still purchase Tournament of Shadows from Totally Bound and don’t forget to check out Heather’s review to see what she thought of it!
Good luck!
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