Greek Fire
Page 31
The moon climbed higher, a thin crescent which bathed the countryside in a faint silvery glow that reflected off the white rocks, but scudding clouds were beginning to move across the sky. The only sound was the muted thump and click of their horses’ hooves on the stony road. At one point they were startled by a dark bundle on the side of the road that moved and a voice croaked in Greek.
“Mercy, God have mercy on my soul. Water! Water!”
Talon hurriedly dismounted and took the water skin over to give some relief to the wounded man.
“God bless you, whoever you are for your kindness,” the man babbled; then he stiffened and fell back. Talon noted a fresh wound in the soldier’s side. This meant that the Turks must have followed the army right up the road while they were resting. He immediately became even more alert. he ran back to remount his own horse and whispered to his companions, “The Turks have been on the road. This man was wounded only a matter of hours ago. I am surprised that they did not kill him.”
They moved on, trying to put distance between themselves and the dead man, but now there was the added tension of knowing that they had to get past the Turks, some of whom were sure to be ahead of them now.
Two hours later the moon and the stars were gone, replaced by racing clouds as the storm swept over the top of the hills. It became very dark and the spatter of rain heralded a huge flash of lightning that lit up the surrounding hills and woods, followed by a crash of thunder. The jagged edge of the fork was so close everyone flinched and the horses began to fidget fearfully. Talon nudged his mount closer to that of Alexios. He did not want a runaway at this point.
The crash of thunder was almost overhead but still there was no more than a spatter of rain. Then with a suddenness that surprised Talon they heard a roar behind them and a wall of rain swept over them. In seconds they were drenched to the bone. Horse and man were engulfed in water and a buffeting wind that tore at their clothing and made it hard to breathe. It lasted for only a few minutes and then was gone, leaving them dazed and soaked. But soon after it began to rain in a steady downpour that chilled them right through.
“We must keep going!” Max shouted. “There is no shelter except in that big wood ahead. Do you remember it?” The bandage around his head had slipped half off giving him a rakish look; his hair was plastered to his face.
Talon did not respond other than to urge his mount to move on as fast as it could. He checked the bindings that held Alexios, who was conscious but leaning over the pommel of his saddle in too much pain to care what was happening.
They had gone another mile when the dog that was trotting alongside Max’s horse stopped and stared forward into the dark. Max nudged Talon and leaned close.
“Something has alarmed him.”
Talon glanced at the dog’s indistinct form and then peered ahead. To his dismay he saw a flicker of light. Someone despite the rain was keeping a fire alight, which meant more than one and quite possibly many of the enemy right in their path. He decided to move in closer. The rain had subsided by now and there was a light mist coming out of the cleft of hills about them. He dismounted and threw the reins to Max and then, holding his bow with an arrow knocked, he crept forward along the trail. As he suspected there was a party of men ahead, their dark forms clustered about a fire which they had lit about forty paces off to the right of the road under the cover of some stunted trees. Their horses were a dark mass of animals behind them up the slope. There did not appear to be any sentries that Talon could see. He wondered about the horses. A stealthy, closer examination revealed that they were tied to the low branches of nearby trees and a man who should have been looking out for them was huddling against the roots of a tree that afforded some shelter.
Talon hastened back to Max and the others and explained to them what he had seen. “The only way we can do this is if I can chase the horses off and you can ride by. I do not know how else we can slip past them. If they have horses they will catch us for sure.”
Max gave a tired mutter in the darkness and said, “How will you manage to catch up with us?”
“Take my horse and get past the camp, but go quietly and do not rush. With some luck they will be chasing after their horses in the forest, and I hope to be able to meet up with you several hundred paces from here. Stop and wait for me, but if you hear horses on the road you must flee.”
He did not wait for Max to answer. There was no other way for them. None of the others were capable of a fight and certainly not in the dark. He slipped out of sight to make his way with great care back to the horses of the enemy. They stood in a forlorn group with their heads down close together, trying to keep warm as the rain continued to fall and drip off the trees onto their soaked backs.
He counted twelve horses and then made his way silently down the slope to observe the group huddled around the glowing embers. From time to time a man would get up and throw another wet piece of wood onto the fire, making it smoke and hiss with steam before catching, then the flames would briefly light up the dark mustached faces of the Turks under their hoods. No one spoke and most of them seemed to be asleep where they sat cross-legged on the ground, huddled under their cloaks and oblivious of their surroundings. One of the men threw another log on the fire that briefly flared, illuminating his face. Talon was startled as it looked familiar, then he realized that this was the warrior who had almost managed to get to the Emperor during the savage skirmish earlier that day! Again a superstitious chill went through him. They seemed destined to meet again and again.
He moved back from the region of the campfire, heading silently for the sleeping form of the sentry. The man barely struggled as his lifeblood flowed away. Talon eased him back against the tree and then proceeded to untie the horses. They appeared to wake up as he worked at the ropes, but he whispered encouragement and they settled down into an apathetic quiet and allowed him to begin to lead them away through the trees. He wondered when someone would notice the absence of the horses, but it was not until they were a good thirty paces away and well out of sight of the fire that he heard a yell and he knew that the sentry had been discovered.
There was no time to waste. He gave a great shout and laid about him with the flat of his sword on the rumps of the horses, yelling and striking them in the dark. The now terrified animals bolted in all directions but to his satisfaction not towards the road. They crashed into the forest thickets and could be heard galloping off among the trees. He now heard the men yelling in anger and fear as they discovered their dead companion and then heard the neighs of the fleeing horses.
It was time to leave the area and rejoin his companions. Talon fled up the slope for a few hundred paces until the sounds of the agitated Turks receded and then struck off to find the roadway, hoping he had not over-shot his companions As it happened he crossed the road further along and had to make his way back to meet them. The dog greeted him with a whine, and then Max muttered an exclamation of surprise as Talon appeared right under his nose before taking the reins of his horse from him. The other two men were almost unaware of what had just happened.
“If we move off at a reasonable pace they’ll not hear us and we can make some distance before they realize what has happened,” Talon said.
A flash of lightning illuminated the now deserted track well ahead of them, followed by a more distant crack of thunder. The wind blew their way and after a few moments and it began to rain again in earnest, which while adding to their discomfort at least allowed them to force the horses into a trot and gain some distance from the enemy who were still trying to retrieve their terrified animals.
*****
Morning found them at the base of the range of hills. The sky was grey with low scudding clouds and it was still raining, but not as hard as before. They moved slowly along the trail through an obscuring mist that hung over the woods along the road, which had been transformed into a track of oozing mud. Their horses splashed through the ruts and pot holes full of water.
Talon was very
concerned about Alexios, who muttered feverishly to himself. Cuthberht rode ahead of them acting as a scout, while both Talon and Max spent a lot of time watching their back trail for any sign that would herald the appearance of riders. Indeed, just as the sun began to rise into the sky they saw what appeared to be movement down the long straight road behind them.
Talon gave a low shout to Cuthberht, warning him to get off the road, then drove his horse into the bushes with the other two. They just had time to get into the trees and hide before a group of Turks splashed by, heading along the path in the direction of the fleeing army. They watched the riders go by and once again Talon noted the leader. It was the same man with the scar who had been back at the fire. They would not be treated well if they were caught, but the Turks were too intent upon the way ahead to notice there had been others on the road recently. The warriors galloped by in a spray of water that hung in the misty air after they had passed.
*****
Yiğit rode like a man possessed. He had discovered his man dead at the base of the tree shortly after he had decided to check on him. In the darkness it had been hard to tell at first and he had kicked the inert body, thinking his man was asleep, and was about to administer rough punishment when the body fell over exposing a slit throat dark with blood all over the front. After staring at the body of his sentry for a brief shocked moment Yiğit had drawn his sword and roared out the alarm. Then he noticed the horses were gone.
Almost as he did so there was a bloodcurdling scream from the woods above. Then he heard the whinny of one of the horses and the galloping of the mounts as they panicked and fled into the denser trees away from him.
His men came running up from the fire, their blades out, to stop and stare at the bundle on the ground at his feet and then to peer into the trees above listening to their horses galloping away.
“Go after them!” Yiğit shouted. “Find the horses!” He had wondered briefly if it might have been some men from a rival clan who had committed the killing, but now he was sure it was a band of Greeks. He would hunt them down instead of heading back to the Sultan’s army. With any luck he might be able to intercept them before they made the shelter of the fortress a few hours away to the west.
His men sheathed their swords and ran off into the darkness and the rain. It took hours for them to find even half the horses but as soon as he had eight of the twelve Yiğit decided that he had enough to take up the chase for whoever had visited them in the night.
Driving their horses brutally, they rode like madmen along the road on the chance that whoever did the killing would be fleeing towards the army of the Byzantines. They rode into the dawn and the mists that partially obscured the woods on either side of the muddy track they were following—and completely missed the men hidden among the trees.
*****
“I fear we’re in trouble,” Talon muttered to Max. “Are they not the same men we passed earlier last night?”
“God alone knows. I wonder if the army has made it to safety or there is more fighting to come,” Max said.
Talon edged his mount next to Alexios. “Alexios, wake up. We are not far from the border.”
“What? Where are we?” Alexios called out as he woke up.
Talon put a hand on his shoulder to calm him. “We think we are not far from the border but we are not sure. Do you know this place?”
Alexios looked about him, his eyes bleary and unfocussed. He shook his head. “This is the large wood about five or so miles from the border town of Dorylaeum,” he said. “I think it is anyway.” He began to shiver and to mutter prayers to himself.
Talon and Max looked at one another. Five miles was good news, but anywhere along that road the Turks could be scavenging and they could ride right into them.
Talon shrugged. “We have no choice, Max. We must go on as fast as we can. My guess is that the Turks are almost done with the army and are going home too.”
“I hope you are right, Talon,” Max rasped. “But if so, those men were going in the wrong direction.”
Cuthberht reemerged from his hiding place and waved silently to them, then rode cautiously forward. Talon was very glad of his presence. They might well need his help in the coming hours. Their horses were streaked with sweat and in a poor way. Talon glanced down at himself and realized that he looked as bad as his companions. He felt cold, hungry and nervous, for they now had a gauntlet to run and Alexios appeared to be in no condition to ride on his own.
They tried to trot the horses to make up lost time but the movement was so painful to Alexios that he began to pass out. They were forced to slow down and resume their walk. The small group emerged from the woods after three long hours, glad of the sight ahead.
Ahead of them was the fortified town of Dorylaeum with its high walls. Talon could see that most of the army had already entered into the town, with the rear guard just about to do so. They had made very good time despite their enforced delay.
Talon glanced around him. The terrain was open grassland at this point with the town placed on a high mound right in the middle of the plain. There were several groups of riders, clearly not of the Byzantine army, off to the right and left that were moving away from the town. He watched the nearest of these groups with a wary eye to see what they were going to do, and to his dismay they began to turn in their direction with the aim of using the road. He urged his horse along the trail.
“They do not know who we are just yet but sooner or later we are going to have to make a run for it, Max. Is Alex tied firmly in place?”
They continued at their former pace, and it was clear that the Turks had become curious and were coming to investigate.
“It is time to run. God save us, but we have to go now!” Talon croaked; his mouth was dry. He did not think much of their chances.
“Yes,” Max replied. “I see what you mean. We must get ahead of them before they reach the road. Cuthberht, come with me and help with Alex.” His tone was sharp and tense.
With Cuthberht and Max on either side of Alexios the horses were readied for a gallop.
“Gallop hard, Max. No matter the pain to him. Are you ready?” Talon shouted. He prayed that his bowstring was not too wet.
Both men put spurs to their horses, Max dragging on the reins of Alexios’ mount. “Come on, boy!” Max shouted to the dog, which needed little persuasion to follow hard on their heels. Talon slapped the animal Alexios rode hard on its rump with the flat of his sword; it snorted, bucked, and then began to gallop hard along with the other two men. Alexios swayed loosely in his saddle and Cuthberht clung to his for dear life, looking very unstable on his own animal. At any other time it would have been comical to see, but Talon was not watching; he was drawing his bow. It was going to be a race to the death.
They galloped along the muddy trail as fast as their tired horses could manage down the gentle slopes towards the town which was still a good two miles off. Their animal’s hooves threw up a spray of mud. Much of it splattered Talon, as he was the one in the rear. Then Talon saw the Turks were coming after them at a hard gallop. They had realized that these were stragglers and were determined to catch them. Soon he could hear their yells as they urged their horses on.
He pulled out an arrow and checked the distance. It was narrowing slowly as the fresher horses of the Turks gained ground.
“Go on, Max, run! I shall do what I can to delay them!” he called.
The men in front needed no urging and pounded their horses’ sides with their heels, hunched over their mounts’ necks while pulling hard on the horse in the middle. Alexios had regained his senses; he too was pounding on his horse with his right heel and beating on it with a strap of the reins. The animal needed little persuasion with Talon bringing up the rear and screaming after them. They fled for the safety of the town but the Turks, by their yells of excitement, were sure of their prey and gaining by the second.
Talon turned to face back along the road, his bow taut, an arrow knocked. He loosed an arrow
that flew high into the air and then vanished as it descended. There was no reaction from the Turks so he quickly set another and took very careful aim, judging the distance and the speed of their advance. This time the arrow flew true and a man toppled off his horse with a cry.
Talon loosed another arrow and a rider clutched at his shoulder. This time the Turks slowed down in evident surprise as they were still well out of range for their own bows. But they only hesitated a moment before coming on again. However, this tiny respite had gained many yards for Alexios and his two escorts and now they were within a few hundred yards of the town walls, and people on the battlements were beginning to take notice of what was happening on the plain. Talon threw a glance forward and saw the gates begin to open and men running along the battlements above.
He took another arrow out of the quiver and was startled to find that there were only three left. They all had to count or he was finished. The seven Turks remaining began to let loose their own arrows, having once again shortened the distance. Arrows began to whisper past and clatter onto the road nearby. He fired another two and had the satisfaction of seeing one more man go down. But the Turks were undeterred and howled their rage while thrashing their horses even harder in an attempt to close with him.
There was a sudden whoosh in the air above him and the next thing he knew the ground in front of the Turks erupted in a spray of mud and flying stones. His horse bolted then and he had to turn and pay attention to where he was going. Fortunately he was very close to the town gates, which were flung wide and crowded with men shouting at him and waving their arms.