Eagle

by Hight, Jack

  ‘If I lose, then I will abide by your rules so long as I am your prisoner, and once I am ransomed, I swear that I will leave these lands. I will never fight the Saracens again.’

  Nur ad-Din stroked his beard as he considered the proposal. Finally he nodded. ‘I accept.’ He turned to Yusuf. ‘If you lose, then you will pay his ransom; one hundred and twenty thousand dinars.’

  ‘I do not have half that sum,’ Yusuf protested.

  ‘Then you will return Tell Bashir to me.’

  Yusuf looked to John, still slumped on the ground, then to Reynald, standing proud and defiant. He turned back to Nur ad-Din and bowed. ‘Yes, malik.’ Again, the crowd cheered.

  Yusuf went to John and knelt beside him. ‘Come, let’s get you out of here.’ Yusuf took John’s arm and helped his friend to rise.

  ‘You crazy bastard,’ John croaked. ‘You don’t have to do this for me.’

  ‘I am not doing it for you. I do it for the slave girls in Reynald’s household. This tournament was my idea. I thought Reynald would be beaten easily. Those girls do not deserve to suffer for my mistake.’

  They left the ring and entered the dim area under the stands, where Ibn Jumay was waiting to take John. The doctor helped him away, and servants came forth bearing armour for Yusuf. He stripped off his caftan and slipped on a leather jerkin and breeches, then pulled the heavy coat of chainmail over his head. He strapped on his helmet and was sliding his left arm through the straps of a small, circular shield when Shirkuh appeared, a scowl on his face.

  ‘Are you mad, nephew? If you lose, then you will have nothing.’

  Yusuf met his eyes. ‘I will not lose.’

  Shirkuh stared at him for a moment, then nodded. ‘Very well. But do not underestimate this man. He is a snake, and like a snake, he is dangerous.’ Shirkuh kissed Yusuf on the cheeks. ‘Allah protect you, young eagle. Do not fail.’

  Yusuf re-entered the ring to the applause of the crowd. He crossed to where John’s sword lay and picked up the blade of dark, curved steel. Then he turned to face his opponent.

  ‘Come to avenge your Saxon lover, infidel?’ Reynald asked.

  ‘I have come to teach you a lesson, dog,’ Yusuf replied as he adopted a fighting stance – knees bent, legs wide, sword held at an angle before him.

  Reynald raised his blade. ‘Come on then.’

  ‘Fight!’ Nur ad-Din called.

  Yusuf sprang forward immediately, lunging at Reynald’s gut. The Frank moved to parry, and Yusuf changed direction, spinning to his left and slashing down so that he caught Reynald on the side of his knee. He finished his spin and stood facing Reynald.

  ‘Jesus!’ the Frank cursed, limping slightly as he backed away. He flexed his knee, his face tight with pain as he straightened it. ‘Infidel pig!’

  ‘That is your first lesson,’ Yusuf told him.

  ‘I’ll teach you something,’ Reynald roared and charged. Yusuf retreated, moving back until the last second, when he jumped to the side. Reynald crashed into the wall of the arena, the wood splintering in the middle. Yusuf slashed across his back, and Reynald roared in pain. He spun around, his eyes wide and nostrils flared.

  ‘That is your second lesson.’

  Reynald growled and charged again, hacking down at Yusuf. Yusuf blocked with his shield, but the weight of the blow left his shield dented and his arm numb. He sidestepped the next blow and swung out, catching Reynald in the side of his helmet. The Frank stumbled back, his helmet dented and blood running down his face. Immediately, Yusuf went on the offensive, slashing at Reynald’s waist. Reynald managed to parry, but Yusuf reversed the blow and hit the Frank just under his left arm. Reynald cried out in pain and lowered his sword. Yusuf swung for his head to finish him. At the last second, Reynald raised his bare left arm and knocked the blow aside. Yusuf heard a crack as the Frank’s forearm broke. Grimacing in pain, Reynald swung up with his sword, catching Yusuf in the ribs and knocking him to the ground.

  Yusuf looked up just in time to see Reynald’s sword arcing down towards him. Yusuf blocked with his shield, but felt something snap in his arm. Reynald swung down again, but this time his sword bit into the earth as Yusuf rolled out of the way. Yusuf sprang to his feet and ducked under an attack. He parried another strike, but the strength of the blow sent his sword flying from his hand. He raised his shield and backed away until he came up against the wall of the arena. The crowd had fallen silent; Yusuf could hear the snap of pennants atop the arena.

  Reynald grinned and raised his sword. ‘Time to win my freedom.’ His eyes widened in surprise as Yusuf pushed off from the wall and charged. He ducked Reynald’s hurried blow and drove his shoulder into the Frank’s gut, knocking him backwards. Then Yusuf brought his shield up, wincing in pain as he smashed it into Reynald’s face. As the Frank stumbled back, Yusuf sprinted past and scooped up his sword. He turned to face his enemy.

  Reynald stood unsteadily, his face a mask of blood. His left arm hung useless at his side. Yusuf’s own arm ached with pain, and his ribs burned. Nevertheless, he stood straight and forced himself to smile. One of the first lessons he had learned from John was to never show pain.

  ‘Have you had enough?’ he asked. ‘Or shall I teach you a final lesson?’

  ‘You dirty son of a whore,’ Reynald growled. He limped forward, swinging his sword backhanded at Yusuf’s head. Yusuf dodged away, slashing at Reynald’s back as he passed. Reynald spun around and came after him, but again Yusuf slipped away, scoring a stinging blow on Reynald’s sword arm.

  ‘Hold still, you cunt!’ Reynald snarled. ‘Fight me.’ He swung at Yusuf, who ducked the blow and sidestepped another before backing away. ‘Fight me!’ Reynald roared and charged Yusuf. This time Yusuf stood his ground. At the last second he ducked and threw his body at Reynald’s knees. The Frank flipped over Yusuf and landed hard on his back. Yusuf jumped to his feet and kicked his adversary’s sword away. Then he placed a booted foot on Reynald’s chest and held his sword to the Frank’s face.

  ‘Do you yield?’ Yusuf yelled over the roar of the crowd. Reynald scowled and tried to rise. Yusuf stomped hard on his gut. ‘Do you yield?’

  ‘I yield,’ Reynald wheezed.

  ‘Louder!’ Yusuf commanded. ‘So they can all hear you.’

  ‘I yield!’

  Yusuf stepped away and looked about him. The crowd was cheering madly, men stomping and pounding on the wall around the arena as they chanted his name: ‘Yusuf! Yusuf ! Yusuf !’ He spotted Nur ad-Din and bowed low to his lord. Nur ad-Din rose and vaulted over the wall into the arena. He strode over to Yusuf and embraced him.

  ‘Well done, Yusuf,’ he whispered in his ear. ‘I have not been blessed with a son of my own blood, but Allah has sent me you instead.’

  Chapter 19

  JUNE 1163: ALEPPO

  John crouched atop the gatehouse of Khaldun’s home and looked down into the dark courtyard. He had only been to visit Zimat a dozen times since his return to Aleppo over a year ago; they both knew how dangerous each visit was. But tonight the sky was moonless and the streets dark. It was a night for thieves – or lovers.

  John dropped down into the courtyard and pressed himself against the wall. After a moment he crept to the side door and slipped inside. As he walked down the hallway past Ubadah’s room a board creaked beneath his foot. He froze. There was no sound of movement in the house, and he continued on to Zimat’s room. He pushed the door open. The room was dark and he could just make out Zimat asleep in bed. John entered and closed the door softly behind him. He removed his boots and breeches, then sat beside Zimat, gently pushing a strand of dark hair away from her face. She smiled in her sleep. John kissed her lightly on the lips, and her eyes opened.

  ‘You should not have come,’ she murmured, but her smile said otherwise.

  ‘I had to see you. It has been too long.’ He pulled off his caftan and started to get into the bed beside her. Zimat pushed him back.

  ‘Wait. Let me look at you a moment longer.’
John stood naked, self-conscious as he began to harden. ‘Your zib is happy to see me,’ Zimat teased. ‘Bring it here.’ She pulled the sheets back, and he slid into bed beside her. ‘I am glad you came,’ she said as she laid her head on his shoulder. With her finger, she gently traced patterns on his bare chest.

  John stroked her hair. ‘I have news,’ he whispered. ‘Yusuf says the new Frankish king, Amalric, is gathering an army. I met him once, when I first came to the Holy Land. He was only a boy and now he is a king.’

  ‘Shhh,’ she said, putting her finger to his lips. ‘I do not wish to discuss the Frankish king.’

  ‘What do you wish, my lady?’ Their eyes met, and her hand moved down his chest, past his stomach. ‘That is what I was hoping for,’ he murmured and rolled over so he was on top of her. He kissed her soft lips, her neck. She moaned softly. Then her body stiffened. Her eyes were wide with fright. John turned and saw Ubadah standing in the doorway. John had not seen him for months, and the boy was taller, his face thinner. He looked more like John than ever.

  ‘Mother, what are you doing?’ the boy demanded. ‘Who is that man?’

  ‘It is nothing, my son.’

  Ubadah’s eyes narrowed. ‘It is him,’ he spat. ‘The ifranji! I will tell Father.’ The boy disappeared from the doorway.

  ‘No, wait,’ John called. He grabbed his caftan from the floor and pulled it on as he chased after the boy. He caught Ubadah in the hallway and grabbed his arm. The boy began to scream: ‘Father! Father!’

  ‘Quiet,’ John hissed, lifting the boy from the ground with one arm and clamping his free hand over Ubadah’s mouth. He turned to move back down the hall when behind him a door opened. Khaldun stepped out.

  ‘Ubadah?’ he called sleepily.

  The boy bit the hand John held over his mouth. ‘’Sblood!’ John cursed and pulled his hand away.

  ‘Father!’ Ubadah cried. ‘Help!’

  John ran back to Zimat’s room, kicking the door shut behind him. Zimat had pulled on a robe and was sitting on her bed, her face buried in her hands. John handed Ubadah to her, and she clutched the boy to her chest. ‘We are lost,’ she cried. ‘Khaldun will kill us both.’

  John found his belt and drew his dagger. ‘I will not let him touch you,’ he promised. He moved to join her on the bed and stumbled as the floor lurched beneath him. ‘What is happening?’

  The shaking grew worse, becoming a rolling as if he stood on the deck of a ship at sea. Dust drifted down from the ceiling, and the washbasin in the corner fell over with a loud crash. Ubadah began to cry. ‘It’s an earthquake!’ Zimat shouted. ‘We must get out.’

  John took Ubadah from her, and they headed for the door. Suddenly it swung open, and Khaldun stepped into the room, sword in hand. When he saw John, his eyes went wide. ‘You!’

  Then the ceiling above Khaldun collapsed, and he disappeared amidst the debris and dust. John put his arm around Zimat and pulled her back against the wall opposite the door. The shaking was so violent now that they could barely stand. They sank down against the wall, and John pulled Zimat and Ubadah close to him, holding them in his arms.

  ‘God save us,’ he whispered. ‘Naudhubillah.’ Then there was a loud crack above them. John threw himself over Zimat and the boy just before the rest of the ceiling collapsed.

  ‘Oh, yes,’ Yusuf breathed as he lay on his back in Asimat’s bed with her on top of him, her hands on his chest and her hips moving rhythmically. She moaned in pleasure, then arched back as she began to move faster. The bed shook beneath them as they climaxed together. Asimat stopped and looked down at him, a smile on her face, but the shaking did not stop. Yusuf heard shouting and men running in the hall.

  ‘An earthquake,’ he whispered.

  ‘You must go,’ Asimat said as she rolled off of him. ‘The guards will come for me.’ Yusuf climbed from the bed and began to pull on his breeches. ‘There is no time for that,’ Asimat hissed. She took his other clothes and cast them out of the window. ‘Go!’

  Bare-chested and barefoot, Yusuf slipped out of the window just before the door to the room crashed open. ‘Khatun!’ a guard called. ‘Come with us. We must leave the palace.’

  Yusuf began to inch his way along the ledge. The trembling was growing worse, and after only a few feet he stopped to keep himself from falling, his fingers digging into the thin cracks between the stones. Still the shaking worsened. To his right, a section of the ledge, where he had stood only moments before, buckled and fell away, dropping down the sheer slope. Yusuf felt the earth roll under him, and to his left, a stretch of wall ten feet wide shook and then collapsed outwards, spilling stones and a screaming eunuch guard into the void. The man’s cry was cut short as he hit the rocks below.

  Yusuf managed to edge forwards and swing through the gap opened up in the wall. He found himself in a hallway and crossed to the far side, where he leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. Five eunuch guards rushed by, pulling two women in nightgowns after them. Not one of them even looked at Yusuf as they sprinted past and rounded a corner further down the hall. There was a deafening rumble and the corridor filled with dust as the ceiling in the hallway to the right collapsed. Yusuf pushed away from the wall and ran in the opposite direction, after the guards. He was rounding the corner when he collided with the eunuch, Gumushtagin. The two men staggered back, staring at one another in surprise.

  ‘Yusuf!’ Gumushtagin exclaimed. ‘What are you doing in the harem?’

  ‘I – I wanted to make sure that our lord was safe.’

  Gumushtagin’s eyes narrowed as he took in Yusuf’s lack of clothing. ‘You came straight from your room?’ Yusuf nodded. ‘You lie,’ the eunuch hissed. ‘The path across the palace is blocked. There is no way through.’

  Yusuf opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. Gumushtagin sneered. ‘The Honourable Emir Yusuf – our lord will be most interested to hear what you were doing in his harem.’

  Just then, the floor lurched beneath them, knocking both of them to the ground. The wall to their right collapsed outwards to reveal the night sky. The floor buckled and tilted sharply, sending them both sliding towards the gap. As his feet slid out into space, Yusuf managed to grab hold of a piece of the wall that still stood. With his other hand, he grabbed Gumushtagin’s wrist as the eunuch slid past into the void. Yusuf strained to hold on to the eunuch as he dangled over the rocks far below.

  ‘Don’t drop me!’ Gumushtagin squealed. ‘Don’t drop me!’

  The jagged stone that Yusuf held to keep from falling was cutting into his fingers, and Gumushtagin’s wrist was slowly slipping through his hand. ‘Hold on to me!’ Yusuf shouted, and the eunuch locked his free hand around Yusuf’s wrist. Gritting his teeth, Yusuf managed to pull Gumushtagin up until he could grab hold of a section of the wall. Then, slipping his fingers into the cracks in the broken floor, Yusuf crawled up to a flat section. He reached back and pulled Gumushtagin up after him. The two lay there, gasping.

  Again, the floor began to roll beneath them. Yusuf got to his feet. ‘It’s not safe here. We must get out of the palace.’ He helped Gumushtagin up, and they made their way through corridors littered with fallen stones. The stairs leading to the ground floor were still intact. They hurried down, through the rubblestrewn entrance hall and out into the night. Yusuf looked back. Jagged holes had appeared in the walls of the palace, and to the left, an entire wing had collapsed.

  He turned around. A crowd had gathered near a gap in the wall, where a section some twenty yards wide had fallen outwards. Yusuf started that way when Gumushtagin grabbed his arm. ‘You saved my life. I will not tell Nur ad-Din what I saw tonight.’ Yusuf nodded and turned to go, but Gumushtagin did not release him. He leaned close. ‘I will say nothing, but I will not forget. You ruined my plans for Tell Bashir, Yusuf. If you cross me again, then I will tell Nur ad-Din what I know.’ He released Yusuf. ‘I will be watching you.’

  ‘I understand.’ Yusuf hurried on and found Asimat on the edge of the crowd, stan
ding safe beside Nur ad-Din. ‘My lord,’ Yusuf said and bowed. ‘Praise Allah, you are safe.’

  The king had a far-off look in his eye. He did not appear to see or hear Yusuf. ‘Allah has sent us a message,’ he murmured. ‘He is angry with me. We must attack. We must attack.’

  ‘Go,’ Asimat told Yusuf. ‘Our lord is not well. I will tend to him.’

  Yusuf waded into the crowd, looking for Faridah. Everywhere, servants and mamluks from the palace were on their knees wailing. Others hurried from person to person, looking for friends or loved ones. Yusuf found Faridah sitting with her head down and her knees drawn up to her chest. She was covered in grey dust. Qaraqush knelt beside her.

  ‘Faridah!’ Yusuf cried. ‘Thank Allah you are well.’

  She looked up. The right side of her face was covered in blood. Her eyes widened in disbelief. ‘Yusuf,’ she whispered as tears came to her eyes. ‘You’re alive!’ He knelt down and embraced her. Yusuf could feel her shaking as she sobbed against his shoulder.

  ‘I found her in the rubble,’ Qaraqush told him. ‘She was lucky to survive.’

  ‘Have you seen John?’ Yusuf asked.

  Qaraqush hung his head. ‘No. No one has.’

  Yusuf nodded. He felt a pain in his chest as he clutched Faridah to him. Tears began to form in his eyes, and he released her. He would not let his men see him cry. He turned away and went to look out past the gap in the wall. The scene in the town below was hellish. Fires had spread, filling the air with black smoke and illuminating entire city blocks that had collapsed into rubble. Yusuf looked to the street where Khaldun’s house had stood. He could not see the house amidst the rubble and clouds of smoke.

  ‘Zimat,’ he whispered.

  Yusuf led Qaraqush and a dozen mamluks into the city, dodging past debris. The facade of the great mosque had collapsed outwards, spilling massive stones into the main square. A fire raged in the shattered remains of the mosque. Yusuf passed a soot-covered imam who was tearing at his grey beard and shouting repeatedly, ‘Allah has forsaken us! Allah has forsaken us!’