Free Wrath of the White Tigress by David Alastair Hayden

Karphon's troops as well. Soon many of those will probably be sent after us. Be assured that the Grandmaster will find us."
    "So what do we do now?" Zyrella asked.
    "I must go to the Farseer of Vaalshimar because the White Tigress said she could help me."
    Ohzikar said, "The Farseer exists?"
    "So your goddess claims."
    "How will we get there, then?" Zyrella asked. The island of Vaalshimar lay at the mouth of the Gulf of Hareez.
    Jaska reined in his horse and searched the horizon as if the answer lay ahead. "We can't risk Kabulsek, that much is certain."
    "We could get ship passage from within Epros," Ohzikar said. "Put the mountains between us and the enemy."
    Zyrella pulled her hair back and bound it. "His power to scry would fade beyond the mountains, while my powers will strengthen as we near what few allies we have."
    "The only other option," Ohzikar said, "is to head due south and get passage from Eskiphaal or one of the smaller ports on the Gulf of Hareez. That would be faster but more dangerous."
    Jaska wanted to rush ahead but logic compelled him otherwise. "We won't gain enough speed to make crossing any part of Hareez worth our effort. I think we have a better chance of avoiding capture if we cross the Wedawed Mountains, enter Epros, and go to the city of Hectyra. We can easily set sail from there."

    ~~~

    Guests lined the walls of the great durbar of the Hmyr in Kabulsek. The scents of smoldering opiates, roasted meats, jasmine perfumes, and sweating bodies spread through the hall like a surge of drunken revelers. Silk fabrics imported from the East shimmered beneath hanging lanterns. Drums thundered with wild, vibrant beats that punctuated the spirited music of driving balalaikas, mandolins, trilling flutes, and wordless vocals.  
    A dozen ornately dressed guards stood beside each entrance. Two dozen protected the dais. Dancers whirled between marble columns, their bare feet pattering against the mosaic-tiled floor. Crimson and gold ribbons threaded around their supple, naked bodies. The ribbons fluttered and snaked as the dancers swirled and twisted.
    Hmyr Karphon watched without interest, his grey eyes unfocused as he slouched, bearing a resigned expression. He was in his middle years and grey had begun to speckle his tapered beard and long, unbound hair. Karphon would rather be training with his army, in the baths relaxing, or in his apartment sipping wine and reading. He hadn't even attended his harem in two years. When he wanted such pleasures, those given him by Nalsyrra, his bodyguard and astrologer, far exceeded all others.
    Nalsyrra stood nearby, with her wild, yellow eyes glinting as she scanned the crowd. She was thin and tall, taller than most men. Permanent black ink stained her entire body, and intricate silver diagrams of linked circles and triangles decorated her chest, back, and legs. A long braid of ebony hair fell down her back. A strip of leather coiled around her torso, barely covering her small breasts. A belt clung to her hips and from it an immodest thong of leather stretched between her legs.  
    A charcoal burnoose hung from her shoulders. She seemed only a shadow, except for her vibrant eyes, the tattoos, and the triangular, alizarin qavra embedded on her forehead. The orange-red stone was without doubt one of the finest qavra in existence, and how she had embedded it there was a mystery even to Salahn, who seemingly knew as much about sorcerous matters as any man alive. Nalsyrra wouldn't let them study it, and they wouldn't dare cross her. She had all the skills of a palymfar and commanded strange sorceries unknown in Hareez. She didn't fear Salahn, and Salahn apparently didn't think confronting her was worth the effort or risk involved.
    "Nalsyrra, my love."
    She faced him and knelt on one knee. "My lord?"
    Though he asked often, Karphon didn't know why she served him. He believed she loved him, though she never said so. He made no demands on her, only requests that she could fulfill