The Kush

35 AD and Centurion Marcus Magnus has brought a semblance of peace to the always volatile Roman province of Judea. Elevated to deputy prefect, Marcus marries his longtime warrior colleague Adongo, a Nubian princess and sister to the queen of the Kush. Two daylight attempts on Adongo's life by Nubian assassins in Jerusalem and Joppa quicken the realization that the government in the Kush may be unstable. Marcus decides to help his sister-in-law, protect the interests of the Roman Empire, and make good on his marriage promise to let Adongo visit the land of her birth. It is a journey of some 2,000 miles through some of the most inhospitable terrain in the world. Crocodiles, hippos, heat, poisonous snakes, and the ubiquitous scorpions along the Nile make the journey extremely challenging. Add roving bandit gangs, rebel assassins, and slavers to the mix, and the trip to the Kush capital of Meroë is downright hazardous. Once there, Marcus is ill prepared for the deep-rooted rebellion he finds in Meroë. The queen has four ministers, a high priest, and two generals of two separate armies but no one to trust. Worse yet, no one has a clue who is really running the rebellion. Marcus has just three more years until retirement from the legions of Rome. Now he wonders if he and his new wife will live to enjoy it.