Chapter 1.
My two week winter break was over.
I’d spent my holidays in the best possible way. Stuffed myself full of Mom’s food, bought new clothes for the icy nights at the Academy, and caught up with my friends.
Holly had moved in with us, practically, and didn’t leave until I shoved her out the door.
We’d had the best time, going out for coffee and shopping at the mall.
Holly had attended a local community college for the semester, so we got to compare notes about the guys at our new schools.
Holly, of course, being bubbly and blonde—my polar opposite— had won the admiration of more than one guy. And several girls, too.
And for once, I had some stuff to tell her as well.
I’d left out lots of details about my new school, of course.
The Slayer Academy was still a complete secret to all humans. But I’d had enough “normal” experiences to be able to discuss them with my best friend. The tales of my run-ins with Brutice were a prime example. He was the bully I’d been attracted to, against my better judgement. I’d somehow managed to fall into bed with him at one point, then got dumped at the end of the semester.
Mostly because I wasn’t going along with the party line that all Fae were monsters. Not that I could tell Holly that.
I’d exaggerated everything about Brutice, of course. Drama was Holly’s specialty and I played it up. I had to make it seem like he was the only guy for me and that I was totally heartbroken that things had ended.
Holly gave me enormous amounts of guidance about how to get him back. Most of it was great advice that I would not be taking. But it was great to bond with her over such things.
What I didn’t tell her, was that instead of pining over losing whatever thing I had with Brutice, I’d spent most of the Christmas break dreaming of Fiore.
Sigh.
After craving my family, my home for so many weeks while I was away, there was a large part of me that wanted to get back to the Academy.
Though it was hard to admit, that school, somehow, had become the place I was most at home. Comfortable in a way I’d never been, even with my parents and grandmother.
Not that I could complain about my holidays. My folks had been great, buying me awesome winter clothes for Christmas and letting me sleep as much as I liked.
But it was time to head back to school and my skin tingled with the impending excitement.
“Thanks for the best winter break ever, Mom.”
I wrapped my arms around my mother and hugged her neck tightly. She squeezed me back and I closed my eyes. After managing to survive my first semester of Slayer Academy, it was time for round two.
“I love you, sweetheart.”
Mom pulled back and glanced at my freshly packed suitcase, full of all my winter clothes. Getting it zipped was no easy feat.
“You sure you’ve got everything?”
I didn’t know how all my new thingswere going to fit in the communal closet, but I wasn’t averse to having clothes tucked under my bed if necessary.
I laughed as she gestured to my luggage. “Ah, I think so. More thermals, two jackets and lots of warm training clothes for those practical classes I suck at.”
Mom ignored my jibe about my less than impressive fighting skills and opened the trunk of the car for us with a push of a button.
I hugged my dad. “Bye, Dad.”
He squeezed back. “Bye, sweetheart. Give ‘em hell.”
I smiled and swallowed the lump that rose. They had so much confidence in me. It was lovely, but completely misplaced.
“Yeah, I’ll try.”
I hadn’t told my parents about my battle with the two Fae Princes. Or about my suspicions that they weren’t the heartless
monsters everyone believed them to be.
“Let’s go, sweetie.”
I knew my mom was itching to get going because she drummed her fingernails along the roof of the car.
I hugged my dad once more, opened the passenger door and climbed in, a bubble of excitement making my throat catch.
“Ready?” Mom asked, as she threw the car into gear.
I nodded as I struggled to keep the strange squeal from escaping.
“Yep.”
Mom put her foot down and we took off towards the Academy, my stomach tightening in anticipation of the moment I’d been both dreading and looking forward to since Christmas.
“So, are you excited about your second semester?” Mom asked, her voice more upbeat than I felt.
“Um... sort of.”
I could imagine now what my mother would have been like when she went to college. Fierce, courageous, excited.
“But sort of... not?” Mom glanced over at me and I shrugged.
“It’s just...” What direction should I take with this one? I only had a few hours to talk to Mom and then it would be five months until I saw her again.
“You never told me that you were some sort of legend. One of the guys calls me ‘Legacy.’ Well they allsay I ama legacy, but he refuses to use my real name.”
Mom chuckled a little. “So?”
I sighed. She didn’t get it. “I just don’t live up to the name. I feel like I’m going to disappoint everyone, because I’m not like you. I’m not some badass fighter.”
Mom laughed this time and I saw her cheeks brighten with a blush of red.
I rolled my eyes. She looked way too flattered for my liking.
“Mom.”
She couldn’t possibly make this about her, could she? She was supposed to be sympathetic to my plight, not mock me.
She reached over and patted my thigh. “Oh, sweetie, I left that life behind a long time ago. I may have been good at all the fighting and physical elements, but being a Slayer in real life was much harder than I ever thought it would be. I was actually relieved when I had you and I could step away from all that.”
I twisted in my seat to stare at her. “Then why make me go?”
She went still and silent for a moment, then swallowed.
“Because it’s your birthright. It would be wrong of me to influence you or prevent you from going, especially when you showed signs early of being skillful in the magical arts. Besides, for all I knew, you’d love the Academy as much as your grandmother did.”
Now I was confused.
“Hang on a second. Grandma said that you flourished at the Academy, that you were amazing. And she must have been right, because now everyone at school thinks I should be amazing too. One, because I’m your daughter, and two, because I’m third generation.”
Mom grinned. “You’re actually a fifth generation, but don’t tell anyone that.”
I groaned and folded my arms over my chest.
OhmyGod,itjustgotworse.
“Seriously?”
If the kids at school found out...
“Megara, look. This is your legacy, your life. To attend the school and see who you become. I’ve known since the moment I gave birth to you that I’d be driving you to the Academy once you matured. It doesn’t mean you have to become a Slayer once you graduate, but I wanted you to have the choice.”
That sounded like good, common sense. Which was one of things I loved about my mom.
I bit my lip and relaxed my arms.
“Why were you so good then?”
Mom only grinned this time. “I studied hard and had some natural physical abilities taught to me by my father.”
I grunted. “Sounds like you’re being modest now. If you knew how much they compare me to you, you wouldn’t think it was funny.”
She reached over and squeezed my hand. “Megara, you are far smarter than me, more loyal, more determined. I know that you’re feeling overwhelmed, but... well, this is your destiny. I promise you. I’ve seen it.”
That got my attention.
“What have you seen?”
I didn’t know my mother had scrying abilities. I hadn’t even begun to develop mine.
Mom withdrew her hand to grip the wheel once again. “I’ve seen you change everything.”
She didn’t look at me, but the hairs on my neck tingled and stood on end.
A sure sign of bad things to come.
“Mom, maybe I shouldn’t go back. I know you think I should but...”
I didn’t know how to finish that sentence. I wanted to go back, I did. But the feeling I was getting from this new year was something akin to what my mom was saying.
Things were going to change. Big things.
“But what?” Mom pressed when I didn’t continue.
I sighed. We only had a little bit of the drive to go now, I may as well tell her the truth.
“But, I’m not sure I belong there. I don’t believe them when they tell me all Fae are... well... evil.”
My mom’s narrowed gaze shot to me and I rushed to recover the conversation.
“I know you’re going to disagree with me, because I know you fought the Fae for a long time, but I...”
I swallowed the lump that lodged itself in my throat. How did I tell her about Fiore? About him claiming me? And in doing so, saving me?
“Megara, you see more, and feel more, than anyone I know. In my experience, the Fae are our enemy. But if you’re questioning the
very foundation on which the Academy is built, then you need to dig deeper. Find out what the real truth is. Don’t give up until you uncover everything, if your instincts are telling you to push on. You know they haven’t failed you before.”
My mom was right. They hadn’t been wrong before. And they were telling me keep looking for an answer.
If I were honest with myself, I wanted to return to the Academy. Even with its bullies and pressure and weird classes.
I knew that if I looked deeply enough, I’d find out what they were hiding from me.
Sure, I was scared, and worried. And that was okay. These were unchartered territories. But beneath it all, I was also excited. Excited to find out more about these people that all humans feared.
“Thanks, Mom.”
We drove the rest of the way in virtual silence, comfortable and lost in our own worlds. I could sense my mother’s worry, but also her confidence in me. And that made me secure on a deep level.
When we arrived at the Academy and drove through the massive gates that guarded the property, I slid forward on my seat and craned my neck to look out the windshield.
“I hope I’m not the last one to arrive again.”
When I’d started here last term, I’d felt ridiculously unprepared. Now, not so much.
Mom said, “Hmmm, I wouldn’t think so. Classes start in a day and a half, so I’d think there would still be some people arriving tomorrow.”
My mom pulled the car up outside the main building. I looked out at the bushes, the memories of which had tormented me for weeks after my first run-in with Brutice and his crew.
I sighed loudly. “You know, last time you dropped me off, I got attacked by a group of students.”
Mom gasped. “You were what? Why?”
Mom’s surprise and horror were genuine as her maternal anger filled the car interior around me.
I shrugged. “The Dean said it was a test, to see how sharp my skills were. As you can imagine, I failed miserably.”
The memory still grated on my nerves. I should have been better prepared and I still thought it was unfair that my parents thought the “throw her in the deep end and see if she can swim” approach was best.
My mother’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my God. What happened?”
I glanced out the window, remembering that fateful afternoon with Brutice and the girl who’d made my first day a true nightmare.
“They knocked me around a bit, but I was okay.”
Looking back, I was much more terrified than anything else. I’d gotten more bruises from a training session.
“Do you think they’re there again?” Mom asked, looking out the window with eyes narrowed.
I shrugged. There was no reason for a second initiation. “I doubt it. They know how bad I am at hand-to-hand combat now.”
Mom grabbed me and pulled me in for a hug across the center console. “I believe in you, sweetheart. Your powers are only beginning to develop. Please have faith in them.”
I closed my eyes and nodded. I hadn’t seen much of it myself, but there had to be some genetic abilities, right?
“Okay, Mom.”
What else could I say?
When she finally let go of me, I exited the car and the magic of the Academy wrapped around me like a cold cloak. I shivered, and yet found myself smiling.
I was home.
Why I felt like this here, I didn’t know. But I wasn’t fighting it.
I walked around to the trunk, pulled my suitcase out and plonked it on the gravel.
I had a weapon in my bag, one my Grandma had given me for Christmas. A jeweled dagger that looked like it belonged on a Shakespearean stage.
Should I get it out?
The likelihood of being attacked again was low. Mostly because there was no need to test me. I wasn’t a new arrival.
There was no logical reason to test me. But there was also the side issue that Brutice and I had sex last semester. He wouldn’t attack me after that, surely?
But what did I know?
He hadn’t been too happy with me when I’d told him that all Fae weren’t evil. He’d taken it as a personal slight, for some reason, and ended our fledgling relationship before it had even gotten off the ground.
I exhaled a big sigh and grabbed my jacket, then the handle of my suitcase.
“Okay, Mom. I’ll see you in five months!”
Five months until Summer break.
And how much would I know by then?
“I love you, sweetie.”
Mom drove off, waving happily this time as I trudged up the stairs to the entrance.
Luckily, the not-so-welcoming party was missing this time.
I glanced up at the stained glass windows decorating the front of the Slayer Academy.
I’d been dreading this moment since I’d gone home two weeks ago. But now that it was here, I was opening the door and about to unpack again, a bubble of excitement made my stomach quiver.
I’d never shied away from a challenge before, and this school afforded me the biggest challenge of my life.
Physically, emotionally and academically.
I dragged my suitcase inside, the warmth of the hallway wrapping me up and making my cold face tingle.
“Brrr....” I shivered and tugged my suitcase down the hall.
I passed two other girls I didn’t know, but the place didn’t seem to be too busy yet.
When I arrived at my suite, I reached for the door handle and turned, stepping into my room.
A deep sense of relief washed over me.
“Megara!”
I turned around and smiled at my suite mates. Tabby and Katie were already here, their side of the room set up with new things and
both of them reading.
Well, Tabby was flicking through a magazine, but what else was new?
“Hey, guys!”
I threw my coat on my bed and dropped the suitcase to the floor.
“The Legacy has returned,” Tabby said with a huge, mocking grin on her face as she ran forward to hug me.
I scowled at her as she wrapped her arms around me. She knew I hated that name.
I couldn’t stay mad at her, of course, especially since she was deliberately baiting me. So I hugged her back and went along with the joke.
“You know nothing would keep me away from this place now. I’m a star!”
Katie walked over quietly, her gentle smile lighting up her face.
“Yes, you are.” She gave me a quick hug and I was suddenly fighting back tears.
Why?
I sniffed. For some reason, I was feeling oddly emotional about being back, being among friends, and actually welcome.
“Um...” I cleared my throat that was clogged. “Is Steph coming tomorrow? Or...”
Tabby readjusted her ponytail and shrugged. “Nah, she’s already here.”
I glanced towards her empty bed. “Okay, is she still living here?”
Tabby shook her head. “No, she’s moved into another room.”
“Oh.”
I let that settle over me.
Was it my fault that she’d moved? Or was it something else? Either way, it was probably better to have more space around us. One less person to worry about. And she’d been my least favorite person in the room.
“Oh... okay. Did you guys have a good Christmas?”
I hung my coat up in the closet and began to unpack my new clothes.
“Nothing special,” Tabby said.
I looked towards my bookworm friend.
Katie smiled. “Um, yes. Christmas was lovely. My parents and I went to London for a week to visit relatives.”
I stared at her. Was she serious? Was that like, a normal thing for her family to do?
Katie mustn’t have noticed my look, or if she did, she was ignoring me, because she was curling back onto her bed like a cat and pushing her glasses up her nose so she could focus back on the book she’d been reading.
I glanced over at Tabby, who rolled her eyes.
I had to ask. “Have I missed something?”
Tabby laughed. “Not unless you didn’t know that Katie’s parents were like, super wealthy.”
I looked back over at my friend and checked for the signs of wealth that I’d come to expect.
There were no Louis Vuitton suitcases or Prada handbags here. “Um... I didn’t know that.”
Katie shrugged and turned a page in her book. “Doesn’t mean anything.”
Brutice popped into my head. He’d told me that the rich tended to have special privileges at the Academy, so I was confused.
“But, why do you sleep in a four-person suite if your parents could afford a more private one?”
Surely a bookworm like Katie would have preferred something quieter? Smaller? More private.
Katie turned another page of her book and didn’t glance up this time.
“My parents wanted me to have the full college experience.”
And I assumed that meant the whole deal. Too many roommates, sharing a bathroom, and girls that would keep her up all night talking.
Tabby sat up on her bed. “What do you mean, a private room?”
Oh, shit.
So, I wasn’t the only one not to know those rooms existed. I could feel the telling heat flooding into my face, so I turned away to push my suitcase under my bed. I hadn’t told them about
Brutice and me, and I wasn’t sure I should.
“I heard there’s a few private rooms in this place. But they’re expensive.”
How I knew that, I wasn’t saying.
“I don’t know anyone who has a private room,” Tabby said, looking towards Katie for further explanation.
Katie ignored her and I bit my tongue. I didn’t want to open that can of worms, not on my first day. Time to change the subject.
“Anyway. What’s the plan for tomorrow, then? Everyone getting ready for school?”
Would there be a mass of people running around buying up everything from the shops and invading the library? Or would everyone just sleep the day away?
Tabby grinned at me. “Yep, relaxing and sleeping, and eating. Have you been to the cafeteria yet?”
“No, why?”
“They’ve replaced a lot of the old tables and chairs. Looks heaps nicer now.”
We fell into a relaxed conversation and I laughed along with Tabby’s stories of what her parents and her siblings had done over Christmas break.
I’d missed my new friends, which was a pleasant surprise. As an introvert who could count my true friends on one hand, all of them had served at least a decade as my friend to earn my trust. Tabby and Katie had earned the love much faster.
TABBY HAD BEEN RIGHT. The next day we all ate too much, laughed and slept. I even had an afternoon nap after a huge lunch.
We were back, and we were comfortable.
I’d seen Brutice at lunch and our gazes met. He nodded once, then turned away.
I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I had the feeling we were in a truce of some sort. An unsteady one.
But at least I wasn’t being humiliated. Yet.
Classes started the next day and we quickly fell back into the semester schedule. I didn’t get lost anymore, and the librarian and I got back on a first-name basis very quickly.
My favorite spot in the whole school was the barrel-style furniture lounge in the back of the library. There was something about that place that felt like home.
My soul was happy, my heart was at peace. And I couldn’t give anyone a rational reason why.
I would have eaten, slept and studied in that one spot if I’d been allowed to. And that was where I continued my secret research. I was determined to find out everything I could about the history of the Fae.
I didn’t tell anyone what I was doing. Not even Katie or Tabby. They were my friends, and I trusted them to a certain degree, but they both believed everything the school told us about the Fae, never questioning it.
Classes were the same. Weapons practicals. History lectures. Science, the one subject I was good at.
I threw myself into them all and absorbed everything I could. Though I still struggled with my hand-to-hand combat skills. I just wasn’t a natural fighter. Not with my hands, anyway.
I was told by one of the lecturers that in year two and three, I’d learn how to use my mind for power.
Now thatwas something I was looking forward to.
All my spare time away from study, classes and meals was either spent at the library or in the gym.
I needed to be fitter and stronger, so I ran every day. I even began lifting weights to bulk up a little.
Tabby joined me some days. She was awesomely strong and a great workout partner because she pushed me past my comfort zone.
One night, when I was up late in the library doing some research, I felt something strange. A tingle on my skin. Something akin to a warning.
I looked up, searching for a figure, a person, who would be sending out that sort of energy.
“Hello?” I called out.
Who would be around this time of night?
The librarian finished her shift around seven pm but allowed me to stay until ten o’clock most nights. I just pulled the door shut to lock it behind me on my way out.
There were surveillance cameras everywhere and she knew I wasn’t going to do anything wrong or vandalize the property in any way.
There was no response to my call, yet the hairs on my forearms stood on end.
Shit.
I rubbed my arms with my hands and set the book down next to me.
“Is someone there?”
I stood up and pulled a small, decorative knife from my backpack. My grandmother’s present to me.
I went nowhere unarmed. Not anymore.
I knew my limitations, of course, and didn’t fool myself into thinking that I’d win a fight if challenged. I’d still get beaten by pretty much everyone in the school, but I’d put up a good fight if someone came at me now.
Then a light flickered in the window, catching my gaze.
There was someone outside? On a night like this?
I went to the window that faced the North Quad and looked through the glass pane, towards the Grizzled Forest. There, as though by pure magic, was a white light.
A ring of pale fire, swirling through the air.
I gasped and my heart began to pound. Was I imagining that? Or was it real?
Then there were... people. Emerging, as though from thin air.
A man, then a woman, then another man. All standing outside like they had nothing better to do but hang around our school.
Our Slayer Academy. Didn’t they understand what we were?
“What are they doing here?”
I glanced at the swirling white light again and suddenly realized what it was.
A portal of some kind.
But who had created it, and why?
And what we were all these people doing here?
I grabbed my backpack, slid the knife back inside and pulled my jacket on.
I was going to check it out.
Chapter 2.
Ihurried out of the library’s only entry and exit, the front door. I pulled the heavy door shut, therefore locking it behind me.
The rest of the school was quiet, deathly so.
It was time for bed, I knew that. There was a ten o’clock curfew placed on students, though goodness knows why, considering there was nowhere to go around this place.
I didn’t know what time it was, but I was pretty sure it was getting close to ten, if it wasn’t already past.
My skin tingled with excitement and worry.
I couldn’t just go back to my room after what I’d seen. I needed to know what was going on near the Grizzled Forest.
Decision made, I increased my stride as I walked along the corridor and found the exit into the West Quad. It was the safest way to get around to the north without being seen. I could hide behind the main building and spy on the intruders.
Assuming they were intruders, of course. For all I knew, they could be parents of students, or the Fae.
Or anyone in between.
I was still such a novice in this world. I couldn’t pick a human from a non-human at a glance.
I pushed open the heavy exit door, which clicked loudly. I froze. Why did everything sound so much louder when you were doing the wrong thing?
Adrenaline now zinged along my veins as I snuck outside, my shoulders shivering in the brisk night air.
“Shiiittt.” I pulled my thin, hooded sweater tighter around me and zipped it up, wishing for my outside jacket.
I should have brought gloves too. Not that I’d known I’d be venturing outside tonight.
Nevermindnow.
I stuck close to the blue stone wall as I shimmied around the outside of the building, the weight of my backpack giving me some
security. I had a small weapon with me if I needed one.
But my heart obviously didn’t know I was feeling safer as it raced and thumped inside my chest like I was running a marathon.
I took some steadying breaths as I pressed up against the stone wall, the cold night air against my face.
Staycalm.Staycalm.
I took another few steps, my ears straining for any sounds that could alert me to what they were doing.
Or who they were.
I kept moving on increasingly trembling legs, until I reached the north edge of the main building.
Then the thought struck me. WouldIseeFiore?
My stomach tightened and my breath caught in my throat at the mental question.
A large part of me hoped I would. I’d missed him over the past month.
Even at home with Christmas going on, and my parents and friends all around, I’d missed him. His presence inside my mind and the dreams that had tormented me through last semester were gone, and they’d left a gaping hole in my psyche. In my life.
I stopped, knowing that the portal I’d seen was directly behind the section of wall where I stood.
My stomach tightened and my palms began to sweat, even in the cold.
I pressed my hands against the stone building, then turned around so I was facing the wall. Only twenty feet away was the portal.
If they saw me, what would happen?
I leaned my forehead against the stone wall and made myself choose between courage and fear.
But I knew one thing.
I couldn’t just stand here and do nothing.
I either needed to go back to my warm bedroom and snuggly bed, or I had to look around this corner and deal with the consequences, and whatever the future had in store for me.
I peeked around the corner. How could I not?
There was no one there.
Nothing.
What?
Not a single person. Nor a glimmer of light.
“What the hell...?”
I stepped around the corner of the building and walked towards the Grizzled Forest’s edge.
My heart pounded and my skin tingled with unease.
Still nothing.
I glanced around the North Quad.
There wasn’t a whiff of perfume or cologne on the wind. Not a spark of warmth or humanity. Or a Fae.
Nothing.
Where had they gone?
Surely, I hadn’t dreamt it?
I groaned. Oh God, that wasn’t the answer, was it?
I couldn’t have fallen asleep while studying and imagined the whole thing, could I?
No. I couldn’t be that stupid.
I looked out towards the woods, the forbidden Grizzled Forest. I knew I wasn’t supposed to go anywhere near the edge, but part of me desperately wanted to follow the instinct to do just that.
To venture inside that realm once again. To feel the warmth of the woods on my face, and to visit that part of the Academy that was truly magical.
But the last time I’d done it, I’d almost gotten myself killed. So it probably wasn’t the best idea now.
I waited for another minute, hoping that someone would show .
Prove to me that I’d actually seen what I thought I’d seen, but there was nothing.
No sign of the realm from which the people had come.
No portal.
No people, even.
I thrust my hands into my pockets and turned back towards the Academy.
How stupid could I be, coming out into the cold on a night like tonight? To a place that was off limits.
“Hey!” a man yelled out and I was suddenly thrown to the ground.
I rolled and fell, my hands grappling with the gravel. I curled into a ball to protect myself. Then I stopped falling and grabbed for my backpack. Where the hell was my knife?
“Who are you?” I demanded of the man standing above me.
I unzipped my backpack and pulled the knife from the inside. The ivory handle slid into my hand like it was made for me, and it settled my mind.
But my heart continued to pound, and it was for feelings other than fear.
The man before me was to-die-for beautiful. I could practically feel my ovaries do a happy dance.
OhmyGod.
Why did all the Fae have to be so incredibly HOT?
And for some reason, this one was vaguely familiar, but how was that possible?
His lips were full and red, I could practically feel them on mine already. His skin was flawless and glowed with good health.
But it was so much more than what I could see. The purely masculine energy that pulsed from his huge shoulders and square jaw made my stomach tighten.
My belly quiver. My nipples ache.
I gripped the hilt of the knife even harder and grabbed a hold of my sanity with two hands. I cleared my throat loudly and repeated my question. I had to be ready to fight, because I was pretty sure, he was.
“You heard what I said. Who are you?”
The man, who I was pretty sure was a Fae, because of the same unparalleled beauty and point to his ears that Fiore had, didn’t answer. Instead, he lifted his hands, ready for a fight.
“Fine.”
I rushed forward, going on the offensive for once and swung my daggered arm at him.
He ducked and wove around my punches easily, his smile turning into a frown as he dodged first one thrust from my knife, then another.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said, the warning clear in his voice.
I didn’t dare take my eyes off him, but I wanted to gesture to the school yard, the North Quad, Academy land.
“Neither should you.”
He ran at me and swung a punch.
I ducked, but he connected with the side of my face, and pain split through my ear.
Ow.
I stumbled away, adjusted the knife, and pulled forward all the knowledge I’d accumulated over the past eight months.
Icandothis.Ican.
I adjusted my stance and bounced a little on the spot, aiming for lightness as he came at me again.
He had no weapon, thank God. He obviously hadn’t expected a fight tonight.
He charged and I swung at him, going for his belly, but he grabbed my arm and twisted hard.
I cried out as my wrist wrenched into an un-natural position.
“Drop it.”
I didn’t want to, but I had no choice. I dropped the knife.
I couldn’t physically hold on to it. Not with lighting pain shooting up my arm.
Tears sprang to my eyes as he pressed my elbow to hyperextension.
“Stop!” I tried to yell, but he didn’t stop.
He was going to break my arm, or worse.
I kicked out at him, desperate now. I got him in the side of the knee, hard.
He let my arm go and I pulled the sprained joint into my body, the relief from the pain staggering.
“Stop,” I repeated. “You don’t have to do this.”
He came at me again, this time managing to grab my sweater and rolling with me to the ground.
“Fuck.” I groaned as I fought him off with only my hands, pushing at his shoulders, lifting my legs to try and knee him off me, but he put his hands around my throat and squeezed.
Every hair on my body stood on end, the quiver of fear in their message, terrifying. And so certain, I was going to die.
I grabbed for his hands and tried to pry his fingers off my windpipe. I was wheezing for breath now.
“No... Please.”
I could barely see, the blackness of unconsciousness clouding my vision.
No.Ican’t...
Our eyes locked and there was a spark in his eyes. One of recognition.
Then he was pulling away, letting go of my neck, and sitting next to me on the gravel.
I gasped for air, my ragged breathing making my chest heave. Fuck, that had been intense. But why had he stopped?
I slowly sat up, rubbing at my throat and counting my lucky stars.
Then the magic cloud that had surrounded him lifted, and I saw the face of one of the Fae that had tried to kill me at the end of last semester.
“It’s you.”
He nodded once. I didn’t remember his name, but he’d pursued me with much less intensity than his counterpart.
Hopefully that Prince wasn’t lurking about somewhere.
“Thank... you,” I managed to get out, though my vocal chords felt bruised.
I’d been told countless times that the Fae were merciless, cruel, and vindictive fighters, who would win at any cost.
And yet this one, once again, had shown me mercy.
“You are Megara,” he said and rose to his feet.
“Ah... yeah. You remembered.”
All of us humans probably looked the same to him.
He offered me a hand and I allowed him to pull me to my feet.
I rubbed my throat and looked at him.
Why were his blue eyes as clear and sparkling as the Caribbean Sea?
“It is you who I have come to find. Fiore is in trouble.”
I stared at him, shock paralyzing my vocal chords.
Of all the sentences I’d expected to come out of his mouth, that hadn’t been one of them.
I blinked, then blinked again. The Fae Prince continued to look at me like I was some sort of apparition.
Didn’t he realize that hewas the one out of place here? Not me.
“Ah... what do you mean? What’s happened to him?”
Was there another reason why he’d stopped communicating with me? I thought he’d given up on me.
The beautiful Fae Prince shook his head. “I can’t say.”
Excuseme?
I frowned at him, a large amount of anger building in my chest. He’d come all this way to find me, almost killed me, now he couldn’t say?
FreakingFae!
“You can’t say? Or you won’t?”
Why had he come to see me if he couldn’t, or wouldn’t, tell me the truth?
“And who are you, exactly? I can’t remember your name from last time. You were a Prince, weren’t you?”
What was a Prince doing this far from home? Shouldn’t he have sent a servant or something?
I waited, but he didn’t answer me.
So I crossed my arms of my chest and tapped my foot.
He knew my name. It was only fair that he returned the favor.
“Oh, my apologies, Megara,” he said, clicking his heels together and half bowing, as though he was both in the military and the royal family. Or something.
“I’m Nyeer, I believe Everly introduced us in the woods the first time we met. But that was under much more stressful circumstances.”
He smiled and I rolled my eyes
“Yes. Both times you’ve met me, you’ve tried to kill me. Let’s try and not make it three, hmmm?”
The edges of his lips quirked up and I could see he was fighting not to laugh.
“I want to tell you about Fiore, Megara. That is why I’ve come to find you. But it’s too risky to talk here.”
I stepped closer to him, feeling the warmth of his breath against my face and shivering in reaction, not because of the cold, but because a strange part of me recognized him. Was aroused by him. Which was disconcerting to say the least.
“Well, then, when canyou tell me?”
I met his gaze and my breath caught in my throat. A muscle in his jaw flickered as he clenched his teeth. Was he struggling with the same intense feelings I was?
In a way, I hoped so. There was nothing worse than a one-sided attraction.
“We’ll meet later. Three days from now. I promise, I’ll tell you everything.”
I glanced back at the Academy. Surely no one could see us?
“Why can’t you tell me now?”
He shook his head. “No. I can’t. It’s not safe.”
I could see he wasn’t going to budge.
I nodded but a sadness washed over me. Fiore was in trouble, and I couldn’t do a thing to help him.
Nyeer reached out suddenly and touched my chin, lifting my gaze back to his.
Sparks sizzled between us, making my stomach tighten and my sex burn.
“For now, you need to do something for me.”
“What can I do?”
If it helped Fiore, I would do anything.
“Research Calico.”
Huh? “Calico? What’s Calico?”
Was it a place? A city? A kingdom?
“Not what, Megara. Who.”
Nyeer glanced behind him and began to back away, moving back towards the Veil to the Fae realm.
The loss of his touch on my skin made tears prickle in my eyes and I blinked rapidly, pushing them away.
What was wrong with me?
“I have to go. I’m sorry.” He stepped further away, towards the Forest.
I watched him turn from me, then he froze and turned back.
He met my eyes and my chest tightened once again.
“Fiore never mentioned how strikingly beautiful you are.”
Then he disappeared like he’d never been.
Like someone had snapped their fingers and he’d been whisked to another world. And technically, he had.
He’d stepped into another realm, and I had to stay here. Alone.
The coldness of the air around me descended and I wrapped my arms around myself.
“Shit.”
I needed to get back inside the Academy before I was attacked again. And next time, I might not be so lucky. The only thing that saved me each time I met a Fae, was my tenuous connection to Fiore.
I grabbed my backpack that still lay on the ground and ran back to the relative safety of the Academy. I opened the outside door and stepped into the hallway.
“Fuck, it’s cold!”
I rushed down the hallway, running on my toes to make as little noise as possible. I reached the hallway to the girl’s wing and ran straight into Selena.
“Shit! Sorry!”
I toppled to the ground and dropped my backpack, my scraped hands from my grappling with the gravel stinging further as I skidded along the carpet.
“Ow.”
Selena was luckier than me and just ended up being knocked against the wall.
Another random document with no related content on Scribd:
Kabul 2½ ” 5 ”
Under Abdur Rahman some little relief from the oppressive and arbitrary payments, which were extorted alike from the unfortunate merchant and the luckless cultivator, was secured; and, as he instilled a measure of reform into the practices of government, certain sources of taxation were dropped and the burden resting upon industry and agriculture proportionately lightened. The principal means of income to the State now emanated from taxes which were levied upon cultivated lands and fruit-trees, export and import trade, customs, registration and postage fees (contracts, passport fees, marriage settlements, etc.), penalties under law, revenue from Government lands and shops, Government monopolies and manufactures, mines and minerals (salt, rubies, gold, lapis lazuli, coal) and the annual subsidy of eighteen lakhs of rupees—these several branches of the State revenue gradually defining the limits of its present prosperity, which has been somewhat further assisted by the benevolent, economic policy of the present Amir. Abuses in the collection of octroi have been remedied, certain taxes abolished, many mines developed, while to give an impetus to trade in Afghanistan, Habib Ullah has announced that, in future, traders may receive advances from the Kabul Treasury on proper security. This concession is greatly appreciated by the commercial community, as it will enable them to escape the payment of interest to the Hindu bankers from whom they have been in the habit of borrowing. Moreover, it is expected that if full effect is given to the Amir’s wishes trade between India and Afghanistan will soon improve. The loans will be repayable by easy instalments, this novel scheme establishing a very important departure.
’ 1878-1880
[31] “The Life of Amir Abdur Rahman.” Sultan Mahomed Khan.
[32] “Laws and Constitution of Afghanistan ” Sultan Mahomed Khan.
[33] 1 jindek = 4d.; 3 jindeks = 1 rupee Kandahar; 2 rupees Kandahar = 1 Kabul rupee; 1 Kabul rupee = 2s
CHAPTER XII
TRADE: INDUSTRIES AND PRODUCTS
F many years prior to the reign of Abdur Rahman, trade with Afghanistan itself or in transit to regions beyond the frontiers had to contend against two difficulties, the one arising from the heavy imposts upon goods intended for local consumption, and the other from the excessive charges levied upon merchandise destined for markets beyond the Oxus. Under the Khans commerce struggled ineffectually against exactions which, if comprehensible during a period when the country was parcelled out among a number of reigning families, were directly inimical to its better interests so soon
as the several territories became incorporated within one central administration.
At this juncture the trade of Afghanistan followed these routes, none of which were practicable for wheeled traffic:
(1) From Persia, viâ Teheran and Meshed to Herat.
(2) From Khiva, viâ Bokhara, Merv and the Murghab valley to Herat.
(3) From Bokhara, viâ Karshi, Balkh and Khulm to Kabul.
(4) From Chinese Turkestan, viâ Chitral to Jelalabad.
(5) From India, viâ the Khyber and the Ghwalari passes, to Kabul and the Oxus.
(6) From India, viâ the Bolan and the Gomul passes, for Kandahar and Herat.
In connection with these routes the following duties were levied at the different points upon passing caravans.
From India, viâ the Khyber and Ghwalari passes, for Kabul, in addition to a 2½ per cent. ad valorem:
At Peshawar: 1 rupee per horse or camel.
At Jelalabad: 2 rupees per horse or camel.
At Butkhak: no duty was levied at this point, but a customs officer inspected the goods and sent a detailed list of them to Kabul.
At Kabul: 2 rupees 8 annas per horse or camel, or 1/40 ad valorem, on entering Kabul and 13 or 14 annas per 100 rupees’ worth on leaving, by which payment through caravans were exempted from further duties until beyond Bamian.
Between the Kabul and Balkh territories local caravans, carrying goods within the boundaries of either khanate, had, in their passage of the Hindu Kush, viâ the Kushan pass, to pay:
One pony-load (3 maunds) of indigo, silk or asbury, 1 rupee 2 shahis.
One camel-load (5 maunds) of indigo, silk or asbury, 2 rupees 1½ shahis.
One ass-load of indigo, silk or asbury, 7 shahis.
One camel-load of salt, 7 shahis.
One camel-load of almonds, 1 rupee 2 shahis.
One camel-load of pistacia nuts, 1½ rupees.
Horses and mares, 5½ rupees for Bamian and beyond Kushan; 1 rupee 2 shahis for Kushan.
Foot passengers, 1 rupee.
Beyond Bamian caravans destined for the Oxus had to meet charges:
At Rui, of 4 annas per load, camel or horse.
At Kamard, of 4 annas per load, camel or horse.
At Balkh, of 2 rupees per load, camel or horse.
Merchandise from Eastern Turkestan paid at Jelalabad, in addition to 2½ per cent. ad valorem, as follows:
Upon trade coming into Herat and the north-western districts of Afghanistan from regions beyond the Oxus, in addition to a 5 per cent. ad valorem, duties were paid at:
Tungeh,[35] per bale. Tungeh, per camel. Tungeh, per horse. Tungeh, per ass. Tungeh, per slave.
From India, viâ the Gomul and the Bolan, for Kandahar and Herat, in addition to 2½ per cent. ad valorem, tolls were levied at:
A
Ghazni 2 0 per load of camel or horse
Examination of these imposts goes to prove that, under the rule of the khans and in the reign of Shir Ali, trade received no encouragement; while, if Abdur Rahman were the father of his people, there is no doubt that judged by his domestic policy he revealed a lack of foresight in fulfilling his parental obligations. If overweening vanity and ignorance contributed to the failure of Abdur Rahman’s attempt to make Afghanistan a self-supporting State, it can be pleaded for him, nevertheless, that it was his intention to help trade and industries which were indigenous to the country. To effect this, he abolished inter-provincial tolls, maintained the scale of rates which was levied upon caravans in transit to trans-Oxus markets, increased the frontier duties in proportion to the loss which he sustained by withdrawing charges hitherto imposed within his dominions, and began various industrial works in the capital.
Enamoured of his idea, he unfortunately omitted from consideration, besides a certain inadequacy of revenue, the overwhelming intolerance of his subjects to every form of labour There was thus in Afghanistan itself when, six years after his accession to the throne, the Amir embarked upon a campaign of commercial expansion, no reserve of capital behind the Government and no fund of energy in the people. In spite of the number of miscellaneous industries which he attempted in Kabul no continuity of success was preserved, while reaction against his penalties upon Indian trade resulted in the opening up of the Quetta-NushkiNasratabad road as a commercial route. Direct loss of revenue, therefore, befel Abdur Rahman through his encouragement of a policy
which was prejudicial to his own interests, as it was hostile to the trade of India and Russia. So far from profitable was the issue, indeed, that the position of the State at the close of his reign was in anything but a condition of comfortable prosperity.
The movement of the principal imports and exports in the closing years of his reign is given on pp. 292, 293.
Under pressure of financial difficulties arising from debts contracted by his father for the supply of military stores and equipment, the development of public works and a host of minor obligations, Habib Ullah was compelled to reconsider his economic position. Accepting the situation on its merits, during the first year of his reign he remitted certain duties and lowered the transit charges on “through” caravans, in respect of indigo and tea, to the equivalent of 2½ per cent. ad valorem duty. This impost upon tea works out at the rate of 7 pies per pound, but the tax on tea intended for the markets of Afghanistan is much higher. This is returned at 125 rupees per camel-load of 360 pounds, thereby levying a charge of 5 annas against each pound which, although an exceedingly high rate, compares not unfavourably with the crushing Customs dues on the Russian frontier and the tax in England. A revival of the demand in Afghanistan for tea grown in India has shown itself during the past year or two; and, undoubtedly, if the import duty were lowered the Afghans would become better customers, especially for the green variety, which they most favour. If the Amir could be convinced that a smaller duty would involve no loss of revenue, owing to larger imports, a reduction of the tariff might possibly be sanctioned.
TABLE SHOWING PRINCIPAL IMPORTS AND EXPORTS IN CLOSING YEARS OF THE REIGN OF ABDUR RAHMAN 189293. 189394. 189495. 189596. 189697. 189798. 1898-99. 18991900.
Imports Rupees. Rupees. Rupees. Rupees. Rupees. Rupees. Not specified Not specified Horses, ponies, mules 16,200
and medicines
Fruits, etc
TABLE SHOWING IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OF NORTHERN AND EASTERN AFGHANISTAN FOR THE YEARS 1892-1900
Imports Exports Combined values
1892-93. Rupees 220,850 610,501 831,351
1893-94 Rupees 188,831 405,215 594,046
1894-95. Rupees 160,400 267,365 427,765
1895-96 Rupees 165,003 306,233 471,236
1896-97. Rupees 151,538 290,163 441,701
1897-98 Rupees 129,110 274,638 403,748 1898-99. Rupees 217,325 294,605 511,840
1899-1900 Rupees not specified 442,087
TABLE SHOWING IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OF SOUTHERN AND WESTERN AFGHANISTAN FOR THE YEARS 1892-1900
Imports Exports Combined values
1892-93. Rupees 234,428 297,657 532,085 1893-94 Rupees 335,849 328,172 644,021 1894-95. Rupees 299,090 309,762 608,852 1895-96 Rupees 410,541 257,002 667,543
1896-97. Rupees 418,405 227,375 645,781
1897-98 Rupees 309,299 163,758 473,084 1898-99. Rupees 329,917 263,884 503,801 1899-1900 Rupees. not specified 714,318
On the whole the fiscal policy of the present Amir encourages the belief that, in time, many of the existing obstacles to free commercial intercourse with India will be removed. The small benefits already offered to Indian merchants have produced immediate response and the prospect of further concessions is widely appreciated. Trade exports from Kabul during 1904-05 alone increased by 25 lakhs of rupees, the volume of trade proceeding from Kandahar showing an improvement no less emphatic. The total value of exports and imports combined, since indications of a more liberal fiscal policy first were manifested, in lakhs of rupees, is shown in the following table:
1900-01 1901-02 1902-03 1903-04 1904-05 Lakhs. Lakhs. Lakhs. Lakhs. Lakhs.
The values of the principal imports from Kabul during 1904-05 were fruits and nuts, 7.9 lakhs; animals (horses, sheep, and goats), 4.4 lakhs; hides (including skins) and ghee, each about 2½ lakhs, the total being 26 lakhs as in the previous year. Exports during 1904-05 improved by 25 lakhs to 69⅓ lakhs. Cattle, sheep, and goats accounted for 8 ⅘ lakhs of this increase. Cotton fabrics, valued at 38⅓ lakhs (more than two-thirds being of foreign manufacture), increased by 12½ lakhs. The other principal articles were cotton yarn (mostly foreign), 3.2 lakhs, and leather, 2.5 lakhs. The exports of tea (nearly all green tea) were 397,265 pounds Indian, value 1.5 lakhs, 300,384 pounds foreign, value 3.1 lakhs. Among imports from Kandahar during 1904-05, valued at 40⅕ lakhs, were raw wool, 18.8 lakhs; fruits and nuts, 12.2 lakhs; and ghee, 2.6 lakhs, in all of which there has been a larger trade. The exports during 1904-05 reached 36⅓ lakhs, the two principal articles—Indian cottons, 14.7 lakhs, and foreign piece-goods, 10 lakhs—both showing an improvement.
The general character of the trade conducted between Afghanistan and India is indicated by the appended list of the principal imports and exports with their values during the last three years in lakhs of rupees:
Exports from Afghanistan 1902-03.1903-04.1904-05. Lakhs Lakhs Lakhs Cattle 31.31 23.61 33.29
Other animals 36 66 24 41 38 38
Drugs and medicines, including charas 24.01 23.98 20.72
Fruits, vegetables and nuts 37 69 28 59 31 01
Grain and pulse (largely rice) 1.37.73 1.36.64 1.49.78
Hides, skins, and horns 26.70 26.49 35.41
Provisions: ghee 82 78 53 09 64 05
Pickled tea 15.02 17.62 22.06
Seeds (chiefly linseed and rapeseed) 53 28 39 97 34 80 Silk 25.69 20.10 17.44
Spices 13 86 20 25 17 17
Wood and timber, chiefly teak
Imports into Afghanistan
If India conducts with Afghanistan a trade which, although subject to fluctuations, enjoys considerable prosperity, the flow of commerce from the Trans-Oxus region towards the same markets is by no means contemptible. Indeed, articles imported into Afghanistan from Moscow, Merv, Bokhara and Samarkand figure in every bazaar in the Herat and Afghan Turkestan provinces. This trade passes through the customs stations of Kelif, Chushka Gusar, 40 miles to the east of Kelif, and Termes, 34 miles to the east of Chushka Gusar, the former of which is the principal seat of Russian Customs on the middle Oxus. Trade between Afghanistan and Russia has never been altogether prohibited by the Kabul authorities, Abdur Rahman permitting kafilas to travel by the routes on which he had established customs posts. On goods purchased in Russian territory by Afghan traders a rebate equal to the tax levied by the Amir’s officials is granted. Further,
customs dues on goods imported from Afghanistan have been reduced by 50 per cent. Russian trade is therefore making rapid progress. The value of the goods which passed through the RussoAfghan posts was £450,000 in 1902. To-day it probably exceeds half a million sterling. The import into Central Asia of goods from India has been strangled by the high Customs’ tariff of the Russians, plus the heavy transit dues in Afghanistan itself. The agents of Russian firms at Kelif and Chushka Guzar state that they can now compete successfully with British Indian trade in Northern Afghanistan owing to the comparative cheapness of transport from Europe, which means that the Trans-Caspian and Orenburg-Tashkent lines of railway are carrying Russian merchandise at specially low rates. None the less, the Russian traders complain of the Afghan transit dues, as their imposition causes delay on all the principal caravan routes and adds enormously to the transport charges. With the advantages which Russia now possesses, unless a determined effort is made to save the situation for the benefit of Indian trade, we may presently expect her to renew her efforts to open up direct relations with Kabul in order to obtain greater facilities for commerce. It may be, too, that it will be in this manner rather than by active aggression that she will seek to lessen British influence in Afghanistan, and even to raise complications with the Amir.
The principal Russian commodities are:
Article
Broad-cloth.
Fine linens and calicoes.
Silk goods
Velvet.
Chintzes.
Sewing thread and silk
Gold and silver lace.
Gold and silver thread.
Needles
Steel and copper wire.
Russia leather.
Paper
China-ware.
Glass-ware.
Cutlery
Loaf sugar
Pig iron.
Steel ingots
Tin in plates
Copper in plates.
Brass
Quicksilver
Cochineal.
Tea
Honey Wax, white and yellow.
In silk, linen and cotton goods the Russian fabrics are quite equal to those articles of Anglo-Indian manufacture which find their way into the country. Russian chintzes are more durable and of coarser texture than the Anglo-Indian article; although less elegant in appearance and of colours that are not so fast, they meet with a ready sale among the poorer classes. The silk goods imported from Bokhara are of Russian manufacture, but they might well be superseded by better and cheaper importations from India. Silk handkerchiefs of various colours, and even black ones, are in great demand. Foreign silks do not sell so readily as certain lines in cotton and linen fabrics, since Kandahar, Herat and Kabul possess their own silk looms, each loom paying an annual tax of 23 rupees to the State. The articles manufactured by the native looms are plain silks, called kanavaz; red, yellow and purple durahee of slighter texture, less width and of the same colours; suga khanmee of large and small widths, with perpendicular white lines on a red ground; dushmals or handkerchiefs, black and red, with white spots, bound by females around their heads; and broonghees hummam, for the bath. To meet the demands of the Kabul market, raw and spun silks are imported from Bokhara, Kandahar and Herat, but the great bulk of either variety required by the Kabul looms comes from districts in the Kabul province. Velvets and satins are imported from both sides of the frontier; but wherever Indian or British goods meet the products of the Russian market in Afghanistan, the bounty-fed trade of Russia in Central Asia enjoys a conspicuous advantage.
Certain imports from Russia and India suffer from competition with the Kabul made product. In this respect the trade in gold and silver lace from Bokhara and India has fallen away very noticeably, although the quantity despatched from Bokhara still exceeds that imported from India. The trade in leather has also suffered by the development of local tanneries, but importations of the raw material are still necessary on account of the demands of the factory where the military equipment is made.
The trade in paper comes almost solely from the Russian market and quantities are imported from across the Oxus. The paper is of foolscap size, of stout, inferior quality and white or blue in colour. There are two assortments: glazed and unglazed. The blue glazed variety is preferred, the unglazed kind usually being sized at Kabul. A busy trade in this commodity passes between Kabul and Kandahar, the Russian product having captured the market to the practical exclusion of all other brands. The paper needs to be stout to allow facility of erasure; on this account, and with reference to the nature of the ink employed, glazed paper is most satisfactory.
The attention of the people is directed to the land rather than to trade and a very large proportion of the population takes naturally to cultivation. Farming is divided between the production of fruit and the growth of cereals. The Afghans are a fruit-loving people; in certain districts fruit, both in its fresh and preserved condition, forms the staple diet of a large section of the population throughout the year. A rapidly growing export in fresh and dried fruits exists with India. Indeed, so important has this industry become that, in the country round Kandahar, a marked increase in the number of orchards and fruit gardens has taken place within the last five years, the presence of the railway at New Chaman and its extension to Nushki making the exportation of fresh fruit not only practicable but profitable. Fruit farming is divided between orchard fruits, with which vegetable farming is usually combined and those fruits which may be grown in fields on a large scale. In the one class are apples, pears, almonds, peaches, apricots, plums, cherries, grapes, figs, quinces, pomegranates and mulberries, in addition to walnut, pistacia, the edible pine and rhubarb, which grow wild in the northern and eastern highlands. Vegetable produce, which holds a high position in the
export trade, includes most domestic vegetables; while, of the uncultivated vegetable products, the castor-oil plant, the mustard, sesame and assafœtida grow in great abundance. The fruit fields also produce several varieties of melons, including musk, water and scented melons, cucumbers and pumpkins.
In the direction of cereal production there are two harvests. One, reaped in summer, is the result of an autumn sowing and includes wheat, barley and certain varieties of peas and beans. The second harvest is gathered in autumn from a spring sowing, and embraces crops, rice, Indian corn, millet, arzun and jowari, besides other grains of less importance. In addition to these cereals, crops of madder, tobacco, cotton, opium, hemp, clover and lucerne are very generally cultivated. Clover and lucerne are produced for fodder, hemp for its intoxicating properties and madder, tobacco, cotton and opium for export. In relation to the other crops, wheat is the food of the people, barley and jowari are given to horses, and arzun and Indian corn are grown for culinary purposes.
In greater detail the distribution of the vegetation is as follows:
On the main range of the Safed Koh there are—
Photo, Olufsen
Cedrus deodara, the Deodar
Abies excelsa, Norway Spruce
Pinus longifolia, Turpentine Pine.
P pinaster, Cluster Pine
P pinea, the Edible Pine
Larix communis, Larch.
Citrus limonum, Lemon
Yew, Taxus baccata
Hazel, Corylus avellana. Juniper, Juniperus communis
Walnut, Juglans regia
Wild peach, Amygdalus persica.
Almond, Amygdalus communis
Wild vine, Vitis vinifera
Protected by these there flourish several varieties of—
Rose, Rosa canina.
Honeysuckle, Lonicera (caprifolium).
Currant, Ribes rubrum
Gooseberry, Ribes grossularia
Hawthorn, Cratægus oxyacantha.
Rhododendron, Rhododendron arboreum
Between the main crests of the summit and the secondary heights are found—
Walnut, Juglans regia.
Alder, Alnus glutinosa
Ash, Fraxinus excelsior
Khinjak.
Dwarf laburnum, Cytisus laburnum
Quercus, Oak
Arbor-vitæ, Thuja.
Juniperus communis, Juniper
Astragalus, Gum Tragacanth
Indigo feræ, Commercial Indigo.
At a lower altitude and descending to 3000 ft. there are—
Wild Olive, Olea europæa.
Rock-rose, Cistus
Wild privet, Ligustrum vulgare
Acacia, Acacia.
Mimosa,Albizia
Barberry, Berberis vulgaris
Edible fruit, Zizyphus.
Chamtærops humilis, Wild palm
Bignonia, Trumpet flower
Dalbergia sissoo, Sissu.
Salvadora persica, Mustard tree of Scripture
Verbena, Lemon plant
Acanthus.
Ferns and mosses are confined to the higher ranges, while the lowest terminal ridges are scantily clothed with an almost wholly herbal vegetation.
The following plants, thorny in character, are to be found scattered over less elevated valley bottoms:
Hedysarum Alhagi, Camel-thorn.
Astragalus, Milk Vitch.
Ononis spinosa mimoseæ, Spiny rest-harrow
Mimosa pudica, Sensitive mimosa.
Lipad (plant of the Rue family), Rutaceæ.
Common wormwood, Artemisia absinthium
Rue, Ruta graveolens.
Rose bay, Nerium Oleander. Wild laburnum, Cytisus laburnum
Commercial Indigo, Indigo feræ.
The following trees have been introduced into the cultivated districts, and they are now native to the country:
Mulberry, Morus nigra
Willow, Salix.
Poplar, Populus.
Ash, Fraxinus excelsior class="noindx"Plane, Platanus.
The important uncultivated products are:
Gum-resin, Narthex assafœtida(grown chiefly on the plains between Kandahar and Herat).
Walnut, Juglans regia
Pine-nut, Pinus pinea. Rhubarb (edible, chiefly grown in the highlands of Kabul).
Elæagnus orientalis Sanjit
Pistacia khinjak, Gul-i-pista
Fraxinus ornus, Ash.
Mushrooms, Agaricus campestris
As regards vertebrate zoology Afghanistan lies on the frontier of three regions—the Eurasian, the Ethiopian and the Indo-Malayan. In the main the species are Eurasian.
The following wild animals are to be found:
⎧ Felis catus Wild cat
Felidæ
Canidæ
Mustelidæ
Ruminants
Talpidæ
⎪ F. chaus Jungle cat.
⎨ F caracal Kara-kul
⎪ Cynælurus jubatus Cheetah.
⎪ F pardus Common leopard
⎩ F. tigris Tiger.
⎧ Caries aureus Jackal.
⎪ C bengalensis Wolf
⎨ Hyæna striata Hyæna.
⎪ Vulpes bengalensis Wild dog
⎩ V. flavescens Small Indian fox.
⎧ Herpestes Mongoose.
⎪ Mustela erminea Stoat
⎨ M. flavigula Marten.
⎪ Ursus torquatus Black bear
⎩ Ursus isabellinus Yellow bear.
⎧ Capra ægagrus Ibex.
⎪ C megaceros Markhoor
⎪ Ovis vignei Wild sheep.
⎪ Gazella subgutturosa Persian gazelle
⎨ Gazella dorcas Common gazelle.
⎪ Cervus wallichii Indian barasingha
⎪ Sus scrofa Wild hog.
⎩ Equus onager Wild ass
⎧ Talpha europæa Mole
⎪ Sorex indicus Indian shrew.
⎪ Erinaceus collaris Collared hedgehog
⎪ E. auritus Long-eared hedgehog.
Rodentia
⎨ Phyllorhinus cineraceus ⎫
⎪ Scotophilus bellii ⎪
⎪ Vespertilio auritus ⎬ Bats
⎩ V. barbastellus ⎭
⎧ Sciurus syriacus Squirrel.
⎪ Dipus telum Jerboa
⎪ Alactaga bactriana Bactria Jerboa.
⎨ Gerbillus indicus Gerbit
⎪ G. erythrinus Gerbit.
⎪ Lagomys nepalensis Pica, or Tailless Hare
⎩ Lepus ruficaudatus Hare.
Birds.—There are 124 species of Afghan birds, comprised as follows:
95 Eurasian;
17 Indian;
10 both Eurasian and Indian;
1 Eurasian, Ethiopian and Indian;
1 Carpodacus (Bucanetes) crassirostris, peculiar to the country.
Reptiles:
Pseudopus gracilis Glass “snake ”
Argyrophis horsfieldii ⎫
Salea horsfieldii ⎪
Calotes maria ⎪
C versicolor ⎬
C. minor ⎪
Lizards All Indian forms, without distinctive English names
C emma ⎪
Phrynocephalus tickelii ⎭
T. horsfieldii A tortoise peculiar to Kabul.
Domestic Animals:
Camels: Bactrian and Dromedary Horses
Cows, humped.
Sheep white and black, fat-tailed
Goats—black, parti-coloured
Dogs pointers, greyhounds, khandi (sporting dog).
The mineral wealth of Afghanistan is at present almost entirely undeveloped, the late Amir, Abdur Rahman, being possessed by an instinctive animus against company promoters and concession hunters. Habib Ullah, too, has not yet made any sign of permitting the evident resources of the country to be exploited. The localities, in which deposits are known to exist, are shown in the accompanying table:
Mineral. Locality.
Gold
Silver
Iron ore
Copper ore
Lead
Laghman and adjoining districts.
Panjshir Valley.
Bajaur; Permuli district and Hindu Kush
Various districts.
Upper Bangash, Shinwari country, Kakar country, and in neighbourhood of Herat.
Lead with antimony At Argandab; in the Wardak hills; Ghorband valley; Afridi country.
Antimony
Shah-Maksud
Silicate of zinc Zhob valley.
Sulphur
Herat; Hazara country; Pirkisri
Sal-ammoniac Pirkisri.
Gypsum Plain of Kandahar
Coal
Nitre
Zurmat; near Ghazni; Afghan Turkestan
South-western Afghanistan.
Among the industries of Afghanistan, exclusive of the agricultural activities of a large section of the people, the production of silks, the manufacture of felts, postins and rosaries, the cultivation of turmeric and ginger, and horse-breeding occupy important positions.
Silk is produced in considerable quantity at Kandahar, which is also the centre of other arts and crafts that afford occupation and support to numerous families. The quality of silk Kandahar is capable of much improvement. The cocoons are small, of unequal size and of different colours—yellow, white and grey. The majority of the worms are reared in neighbouring villages, but principally in those along the Argand-ab, where also the mulberry-trees are most abundant. The
