The Midnight Sea (The Fourth Element #1) (25 page)
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Authors: Kat Ross
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Blood of the Prophet
The Fourth Element, Book Two
Visionary. Alchemist. Savior. Saint
.
The Prophet Zarathustra
has been called many things. Now he spends his time drawing pictures of weird-looking goats. That’s what happens when you’ve been stuck in a prison cell for two hundred years. But the man who might be mad, and is definitely supposed to be dead, has suddenly become very valuable again…
It’s only been a few weeks since Nazafareen escaped the King’s dungeons with her daēva, Darius. She hoped never to set foot in the empire again, but the search for the Prophet has led them to the ancient city of Karnopolis. They have to find him before Alexander of Macydon burns Persepolae, and Darius’s mother with it. But they’re not the only ones looking.
The necromancer Balthazar has his own plans for the Prophet, and so does the sinister spymaster of the Numerators. As Nazafareen is drawn into a dangerous game of cat and mouse, her newfound powers take a decidedly dark turn. Only the Prophet understands the secret of her gift, but the price of that knowledge may turn out to be more than Nazafareen is willing to pay…
Letter to the Reader
If you made it this far, I guess you read to the end, so first, I want to say thank you for giving me several hours of your life. But since this book is a mix of totally made-up lies with a few true things thrown in, I thought I’d take two more minutes to explain.
This story began with the daēvas. In the Zoroastrian religion, they’re evil spirits that embody every imaginable sin. But it wasn’t always so. They started out as gods that were later considered false. They were demonized, in other words, which I found fascinating. And I loved the word daēva. It seemed beautiful and mysterious. And I began to imagine how such a downfall might come about.
To be clear, The Midnight Sea is not at all an alternate history, although it is set in a specific time period: the collapse of the Achaemenid Empire, around 330 B.C. Alexander the Great defeated the Persian King, Darius III, in two decisive battles and went on to take the capitals of Persepolis and Susa. I couldn’t resist weaving a (very twisted) version of those events into my story.
But the wicked king in The Midnight Sea bears little resemblance to Darius III, who may have been a mediocre general but didn’t seem like a bad guy. In fact, the empire he ruled was pretty benevolent as empires go. Although Zoroastrianism was the official religion, other practices and customs were respected, gay people weren’t persecuted, and women had property rights and could be economically independent. The Persians had the world’s first charter of human rights (and the first postal system), among many other achievements.
They invented polo, which they called chaugan, and the letter from the king to Alexander taunting him with a mallet and ball was real. Other real things: The Hall of a Hundred Columns (where my Darius was sentenced), the general description of the palace complex at Persepolae, and the ass-kicking Pantea, who had command of the Immortals during the reign of Cyrus the Great and was sort of the sheriff of Babylon.
Alexander did hurl a spear into the ground and claim the Persian Empire for his own, although it was after he crossed the Hellespont. One of the best stories I read about the Hellespont involves the Achaemenid King Xerxes, who got so mad when a storm destroyed the bridge he’d made (in an attempt to invade the Greek mainland) that he ordered his soldiers to administer three hundred lashes to the strait and throw manacles in the water. That’ll teach it!
Most of my place names are made up, but correlate roughly to a map of the empire at that time. The Midnight Sea is the Black Sea, the Salenian Sea is the Caspian, and the Middle Sea is, of course, the Mediterranean. The Great Salt Plain is Iran’s central plateau, known today as the Dasht-e Kavir, or Great Salt Desert.
I also want to stress that my version of Zoroastrianism is only superficially related to the real religion, which many people still practice around the world. This is obviously a work of fiction, and the real magi did not oppress any supernatural beings, although they did worship fire and preach good thoughts, good words and good deeds, which I think sounds nice.
Dogs had a special place in Zoroastrianism. Weirdly enough, the holiest of them all, Water Dogs, were actually otters and were believed to hold the reincarnated souls of a thousand former actual dogs. Still with me? Well, killing one was just about the worst thing you could do, and was reportedly a capital offense.
What else? Zarathustra is the Greek name for Zoroaster. He died in 551 BC, at the founding of the Achaemenid Empire. He preached the importance of being good and kind and honest in this life, which I agree with wholeheartedly.
The word Druj comes from the ancient Avestan language, and means the embodiment of evil and sin.
The Char Khala range is the Caucasus. As far I know, Bactria was never infested with Undead demons. But I will be returning to my Bactria, the lair of Queen Neblis, and so will Nazafareen and Darius. I hope you’ll come with us.
Cheers, Kat
Acknowledgements
To Simon and Deirdre, for being my first and last line of defense on typos, grammar and gaping plot holes. And just for…everything.
To Jessica Therrien, for all your invaluable insights and constant encouragement. Your feedback made this book about a hundred times better.
To Holly Kammier, for all your great advice on the publishing process and for inviting me to your wonderful imprint. I’m honored to be part of such a talented group of authors.
T
o Kat Howard, for asking all the right questions and helping me truly bring these characters to life.
To Damonza, for designing a cover that was everything I hoped for and more.
And most of all, to Nika, for inspiring me to write about fierce girls. You are the original Nazafareen. Thank you for always putting a smile on my face. I definitely see a #1 New York Times bestselling author title in your future.
About the Author
Kat Ross worked as a journalist at the United Nations for ten years before happily falling back into what she likes best: making stuff up. She lives in Westchester with her kid and a few sleepy cats. Kat is also the author of the dystopian thriller Some Fine Day (Skyscape, 2014), about a world where the sea levels have risen sixty meters. She loves magic, monsters and doomsday scenarios. Preferably with mutants.
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Also by Kat Ross
Some Fine Day
A generation ago, continent-sized storms called hypercanes caused the Earth to flood. The survivors were forced to retreat deep underground and build a new society.
This is the story that sixteen-year-old Jansin Nordqvist has heard all of her life.
Jansin grew up in a civilization far below the Earth’s surface. She’s spent the last eight years in military intelligence training. So when her parents surprise her with a coveted yet treacherous trip above ground, she’s prepared for anything. She’s especially thrilled to feel the fresh air, see the sun, and view the wide-open skies and the ocean for herself.
But when raiders attack Jansin’s camp and take her prisoner, she is forced to question everything she’s been taught. What do her captors want? How will she get back underground? And if she ever does, will she want to stay after learning the truth?
