Swords of Arabia: Betrayal (56 page)

“You
sound
frightened,
sister,”
said
Nasir,
surprised
at
seeing
what
he
took
for
weakness
in
his
formidable
young
sister-in-law.

“Frightened,
Nasir?”
she
responded,
in
genuine
surprise.
“No,
not
frightened;
I
merely
assess
what
we
may
have
to
face.
But
with
you
by
my
son’s
side,
and
our
friends
around
us,”
she
added,
raising
her
voice
a
little
and
smiling
at
Mish’al
and
Daoud,
“how
can
I
fear?
But
we
would
all
be
well
advised
to
be
very
aware
of
just
how
great
the
obstacles
to
our
survival
are
–
and
be
well
prepared
to
face
them!”
Whether
they
come
from
without
–
or
within,
she
thought,
her
black
eyes
unreadable,
as
her
gaze
lingered
briefly
on
Nasir.
She
took
in
his
easy
air
of
command,
and
saw
him
clearly
as
the
man
he’d
now
become,
the
rock
on
which
Fouad’s
line
survived
or
fell.
All
callow
youthfulness
had
been
burned
away
and
in
its
place
was
a
powerful,
self-confident
warrior,
with
a
towering
presence
and
a
reputation
which
was
growing
well
beyond
the
borders
of
Narash
itself.
He
reminded
her
very
much
now
of
Fouad,
his
dead
brother.
Threats
to
her
son
came
from
many
sources,
sometimes
from
the
least
expected
quarter,
she
thought.
It
didn’t
matter,
all
would
be
watched
and
struck
down
if
they
became
too
great
a
risk
–
where-ever
they
came
from
and
whoever
they
were.

Her
thoughts
were
clear
and
her
contingency
plans
already
carefully
laid,
so
she
was
content
as
she
and
the
rest
of
the
small
group
turned
from
the
ramparts
and
went
down
to
supervise
the
clearing
of
the
Great
Chamber
to
have
it
prepared
for
the
brief,
muted,
welcoming
ceremony.
They’d
survived
what
had
turned
out
to
be
the
most
violent
and
unpredictable
events
during
the
past
year
–
but
all
were
aware
that
their
fight,
their
real
fight,
was
only
just
beginning.

Author’s Note

No published novel is the product of a single person and Swords of Arabia: Betrayal is no exception. I have a long list of those whose input helped shaped the final work, but I’ll mention only two: Jan MacLardy, whose insightful comments helped sharpen up many aspects of the plotline, and Nick Elliott whose unfailing eye for the missed full stop or the illicit use of a comma was invaluable. Should you need similar help he can be reached on
[email protected]
.