I spent a couple of days rewriting what will be Chapter 1 of Death and Dishonor (working title), a novella originally woven into the psychological thriller Eagle Bay as a backstory. I’ll need to expand it from 22,000 words to about 75,000, which I hope sounds more daunting than it actually will be! Here is a Rev 1 excerpt of the rewritten first chapter.
Chapter 1
Granada, Spain
Después de Cristo 1520
Two officers stood at attention as crows cawed from the trees in the palace courtyard, their sounds piercing the chamber. King Charles I of Spain, Holy Roman Emperor, stroked his beard and approached thoughtfully, his stiff garments rustling with each step. Capitán Juan Francisco Montoya worried that his anxious breathing was too loud, causing the gold cross on his chest to rise and fall visibly. King Charles’s sharp, calculating gaze shifted between Capitán Montoya and the more senior and renowned Capitán Pablo Ernesto Cruz. Deliberately and slowly, King Charles circled the two officers, fixating on the younger Montoya’s face and thick black beard and brows.
Capitán Cruz assumed His Majesty doubted Capitán Montoya’s experience and ability to serve as second-in-command of the greatest galleon Spain ever built, the Santa Sofia. He stood proudly, confidently, and certain that, among the two men before their King, only he had the experience to lead the mysterious expedition King Charles I was rumored to be planning.
Years of battles and explorations as a conquistador serving King and country had worn and creased Capitán Cruz’s forty-two-year-old face. He was a renowned figure within the Spanish navy, two decades older than Capitán Montoya. Afternoon light streamed through the windows, casting shadowy silhouettes of the two conquistadors across the room and onto a wall. Silk tapestries depicting battle, conquest, and devotion to God hung from rods surrounding the Council Chamber inside his Majesty’s palace within the Alhambra complex in Granada, Spain. Neither man dared say the words, but they wondered how their careers and destinies might change this day.
Tension and intrigue thickened the air. Both capitáns desperately wanted to be part of whatever history was unfolding before their eyes. Capitán Montoya only hoped to prove himself worthy of serving as second-in-command aboard the Santa Sofia, knowing Capitán Cruz was clearly more qualified and deserving of leading the secretive expedition. Since Montoya had just turned twenty-five, being chosen as the second capitán on Spain’s greatest galleon would be an unprecedented display of confidence.
Every battlefield and expedition advisor to the King seemed captivated by the two men standing before them, whose demeanors matched their reputations. Capitán Cruz stood upright with a flowing mane atop a stout body shaped by land battles and tough years at sea. Montoya loomed tall over the crowd, meeting their eyes with commanding confidence. His shoulders were broad, and his black hair and piercing brown eyes complemented his rugged face.
No one voiced the obvious, but after observing the conquistadors for two days, they all reached the same conclusion: Greatness was standing right in front of them. The two warriors were the men that the Royal Council, the King’s key advisors, secretly wished they could be.
Cheers from the Sonoran Desert,
Ken
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