Red Lightning

The siege of Constantinople had temporarily entered a stalemate. Aside from the Ottoman artillery positions, which erupted from time to time each day amid plumes of smoke, all was quiet.

In the main Ottoman camp, surrounded by Janissaries, Mahmud II was receiving a wizard from Asia Minor, said to be greatly revered among the Turkoman tribes of the Black Sheep Dynasty.

The wizard looked as though one foot was already in the grave, reeking of decay. Mahmud II frowned instinctively and covered his nose. "You are Iskandar, the spellcaster whose fame has risen among the Black Sheep tribes?"

The wizard raised his head. His eyes, filled only with whites, sent a chill through the heart.

"Yes. That is my name in the West."

Suppressing the discomfort rising within him, Mahmud II asked impatiently, "Can you curse the Emperor of Greece to death?"

"Of course, Your Majesty."

A strange smile tugged at the wizard's lips, and his voice was as hoarse and unpleasant as a venomous snake's hiss. "But cursing a sovereign to death requires an extremely heavy price. Your Majesty, what price are you willing to offer for this Emperor of Greece?"

"Heh. Do not think me as easy to fool as those tribal chieftains. The Emperor of Greece rules fewer than a hundred thousand subjects. He has an empty title and is no more than a petty lord. Lord Iskandar, greed will not end well for you."

A glint of golden radiance flashed through Mahmud II's eyes. Though he was a secular ruler, he had possessed a deep understanding of the Extraordinary world since childhood. Otherwise, he would never have considered using a curse against the Emperor of Greece.

Having had his lie exposed, the wizard was not embarrassed. He merely smiled. "I need a strand of the Emperor