A Mighty Fortress – Snippet 36
Under the circumstances, while Kholman’s enemies would undoubtedly seize upon any opportunity to damage his credibility with the crown with unholy glee, they’d be careful not to do it in a way which might end up with them being chosen to take his place. For that matter, Jahras’ position, despite his far less lofty birth, was even more secure. In fact, if he’d been able to think of any way to avoid it himself in the first place, he would have done so in a heartbeat. But at least the sheer distance between them and Geyer gave them a pronounced degree of autonomy, without rivals or court flunkies constantly peering over their shoulders. So the two of them were far enough away from the imperial capital, and well enough insulated against removal, to be reasonably confident of not simply surviving their monarch’s anger but retaining their current positions.
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Legions Of Fire – Snippet 27
“Of course not,” Hedia agreed, speaking calmly instead of raising her voice in response to Alphena’s shrillness. “But I’m far less sure about what his friend Nemastes is doing. Nemastes is certainly acting to his own benefit, and I would be greatly surprised if his plans would benefit anybody else. Do you agree?”
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Much Fall Of Blood — Snippet 65
Chapter 35
The knights found Bortai’s cart easily enough. The bullock had pulled its stake and it took Kari a while to find it. He was a better-than-average tracker, Erik noted. He was as useful out here as he had been difficult in more civilized parts. The knights were glad that he had found it. So was Bortai, Erik noticed. It was probably all she had in the world besides a couple of ponies. Good horseflesh, but not on a par with that owned by the Ilkhan’s escort. That was to be expected, naturally. Erik did not have Svanhild’s eye for horse-flesh, or utter passion for it. But he did like horses, and felt that he could tell a great deal about a man and his culture, from his horse. The Illyrians were not great riding people and generally the quality of the mounts of the scouts that accompanied them had not been of the best. Not that they didn’t look after their horses, or were not proud of their steeds . . . but they came across as a people who fought on foot and fled on horses. The Ilkhan’s men used and loved their horses . . . but the Golden Horde came across to Erik as men who lived in the saddle, fought in the saddle, and would probably mount a horse in order to cross the street in a town.
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Mission Of Honor – Snippet 21
“‘Rusty’,” Faraday rolled the word across his tongue, then snorted harshly. “If we use the term in the sense that a hatch sealed shut by atmospheric oxidation is ‘rusty,’ I suppose it’s appropriate.” The smile he bestowed upon Howell should have lowered the temperature in his office by at least three degrees, but then he grimaced. “Still, I take your point.”
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A Mighty Fortress – Snippet 35
February, Year of God 894
I
Duke of Kholman’s Office,
City of Iythria,
Gulf of Jahras,
Desnairian Empire
“Damnation!”
Daivyn Bairaht, the Duke of Kholman and Emperor Mahrys IV’s senior councilor for the Imperial Desnarian Navy, balled the sheet of paper into a crushed wad and hurled it at the trashcan. The improvised projectile’s aerodynamic qualities left a great deal to be desired, and it landed on his office carpet, bounced twice, and sailed under a bookcase.
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Much Fall Of Blood — Snippet 64
She rolled off him again and began to undo his breeches. He’d had strange and confused dreams involving this. She lifted her skirts and put her bare leg over him, and guided him into somewhere warm and wet and soft, and slid it down onto him.
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Mission Of Honor – Snippet 20
January, 1922, Post Diaspora
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this . . . .”
– Admiral Patricia Givens, RMN
CO, Office of Naval Intelligence
Chapter Five
Captain (JG) Ginger Lewis was not filled with confidence as she headed down the passageway aboard HMSS Weyland towards Rear Admiral Tina Yeager’s office. It wasn’t because she felt any worry over her ability to discharge her new duties. It wasn’t even because she’d started her career as enlisted, without so much as dreaming she might attain her present rank. For that matter, it wasn’t even because she’d just been assigned to the Royal Manticoran Navy’s primary R&D facility when all her actual experience had been acquired in various engineering departments aboard deployed starships.
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Legions Of Fire – Snippet 26
“Well, Balaton’s the same way, which is why I made sure he became chief of the commission’s attendants,” Priscus said. “I trust him a damned sight farther than I do some of my colleagues.”
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Much Fall Of Blood — Snippet 63
Later, when the merchant had left with his empty wagon, they broke camp. Vlad was surprised at how quickly, and with how little fuss it could all happen. He was also surprised in another way just before they set off. His new quartermaster brought him a cloak. “Black, Sire. As you like it. Made up already . . . But I had to get the girl to use some of the purple satin for a lining. There wasn’t enough to go round, Sire. And best that it go to you, without the men fighting over pieces to give to their lemans.”
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Mission Of Honor – Snippet 19
“That would be . . . discomfiting for everyone concerned, wouldn’t it?” Anisimovna observed with an almost blissful smile.
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