by David Penny
“How many injured?” Thomas asked.
“Less than a dozen. Most have no need of your services, but I would like you to look at the others. Unless you have plans. You can still catch up with Isabel if you ride hard.”
“I intend to track Koparsh down and end this once and for all. What his argument is with Isabel, I do not understand, but it’s clear he wants her dead. She won’t be safe until we deal with him. That woman of his as well.” He tried not to think of his son. His other son. The grown man. But he knew Yves might have to stand before Isabel’s judgement. If he lived.
“You have no argument from me on that, but there were still over a hundred who rode from here today. Who rides with you, Thomas?”
“Jorge and Usaden.” Thomas smiled. “And my dog.”
“And me if you will have me.”
“Abu Abdullah will expect you back.”
“And Isabel will expect you, but this is more important. Did the talks go well?”
“They had barely started. They were meant to sign off on the details today, but yes, it went well enough. They have reached an agreement.”
“Does that mean I will need to seek a new master soon?”
“It does.”
Olaf gave a nod. “Good. I am growing tired of being tied to a sultan I do not respect.” He looked beyond Thomas. “Will is quiet. I expected him to come to me, but he is sitting with your dog.”
“He killed men today. Three, he claims, but I suspect it was more. He fought like a mixture of you, me and Usaden. He has to come to terms with what he has become. You know how it is. There is a before and an after, and nobody crosses that divide unchanged. When was your first time?”
“I was younger even than Will. Men attacked my village. They killed my father, but I fought and killed one of them. I was big even then, and strong. They were renegades who thought we were easy pickings. I tracked them down, every last one, and took their lives.” Olaf stared into Thomas’s eyes. “Yes, it changed me, but not so much. I had already decided to be a warrior. A Northman decides at eight years of age. I had picked up the axe, so knew I would kill one day. And you, Thomas?”
“I took the life of my father, but that was only to spare him further suffering. He was crushed under his dead horse and there was no chance he would survive. It felt bad, but not as bad as taking the life of a stranger. That came later, though not so much later. I had thirteen years.”
“A little older than me, then. Do you want me to talk to him? Northern blood runs in Will’s veins, too.”
“Perhaps, but not yet. He needs to come to terms with what he has done. Then I will talk to him, and I would like you to do so as well.” Thomas laughed, no humour in the sound. “Jorge has already had the other conversation with him.”
“Women?” said Olaf. “I saw him with the princess. She stares at him like he is some kind of idol.”
Thomas pushed fingers through his hair. “There are too many lessons to learn as we grow up, aren’t there?”
“There are, but every one is another you do not have to study a second time, not if you learn it well.” Olaf stood. He massaged the stump of his right wrist, the prosthesis discarded on the ground at his feet. “It aches, but that is to be expected. I could fight well enough today, almost as well as I used to, and I am sure with practice, I will be just as good.”
“There may be no more fighting,” Thomas said.
“I hope you are wrong about that. How many men do you want me to bring?”
“How many can you spare?”
“I am coming, so all of them if you want.”
Thomas looked across to where Martin de Alarcón was talking with one of his captains.
“It’s not a case of how many, they will still be three times our number if we take everybody, your men and Martin’s. A lot of the men went to protect Abu Abdullah and Isabel on their journey home. Better we take a small group of the best. We can’t fight them directly, but Koparsh has to be punished, as does Salma.”
“You would kill a woman?”
“This one, yes.”
“You should ask Usaden to do it.”
“You know I would never do that.”
“Then I will bring ten of my best. Go talk to Martin and ask him the same. It should be equal numbers from both sides if he agrees. Twenty can move fast without being seen. We find out where they are and decide then. If there are too many, we send men back for reinforcements while we stay to watch.”
“I think Usaden already knows where they are going. If we travel fast, we can get there before them. We each ride a horse, send those who are left back, but we take the best.” Thomas waited until Olaf nodded. “Then let us get this done before they get further away from us.”
Chapter Forty-Five
They made camp in a clearing among dense woods. Everyone was cold because there would be no fire that night and the year was sinking to its end. Snow that had clung to the high peaks a month before now crept lower each day.
As the sky lightened, Thomas gave up on any pretence at sleep and went to join Usaden on the edge of the tree-line.
“Is that it?” he asked, and Usaden nodded.
“Doesn’t look easy to get into.”
The structure was perched atop almost sheer cliffs on the side facing them. Stone built walls rose three levels to a tiled roof. This was no castle, not even a fort, but it was secure. And small.
“His men must be camped somewhere nearby,” Thomas said. “There isn’t enough room for more than a score in there.”
“Which is to our advantage. I will find out where the others are and come back with the information.”
Thomas watched Usaden walk into the open. He wondered if anyone in the distant house was watching. Kin trotted at his side, then stopped and turned back. When Thomas looked around, he saw Will standing at a distance. He approached now, the dog running to him and Will stroked his head. Thomas hadn’t wanted Will with them, but he had insisted. He remained troubled, and Thomas gave in because he didn’t want him examining his thoughts too closely alone.
“Where is Usaden going?” Will asked.
“To find out where Koparsh’s army are.”
“Why are they here, Pa?”
“You saw why. Koparsh wants Isabel dead. Fernando and Abu Abdullah too, if he can manage it, but Isabel most of all. With all three gone, it would leave the country in chaos, and the Turks are greedy for conquest. A foothold here would give them access to France and Italy, as well as North Africa.”
“You know about all this stuff, don’t you?”
“I think about it. How much I know is another matter.”
“I’m not as clever as you,” Will said. “Ami is, but not me.”
“You’re not stupid, either.”
“I’ve been thinking about what happened. About what I did. I’m glad I killed those men. I would do it again to protect Isabel or Cat.”
Thomas suppressed a smile. “And the King?”
Will shrugged.
Thomas touched his son’s shoulder and Will leaned against him, wrapping powerful arms around Thomas’s waist. Will’s acceptance was one thing, the reality would take longer to settle through him, to become a part of the man he would grow into. A man to be proud of, Thomas was sure. And then he saw something and pushed the boy away.
“Go back into the woods, there are men coming.”
“I’m not afraid, Pa, we will fight them.”
“Then fetch Olaf and the others.” Thomas pushed at Will again. “Do as I say. Do it now!” He waited until Will dropped his head and ran for the trees, Kin at his side.
When Thomas turned back, he saw a dozen men climbing towards him. He drew his sword in one hand, knife in the other, and waited.
They stopped twenty paces away, their own hands holding no weapons, so Thomas put his away.
“What do you want?” He used Arabic, assuming they were Koparsh’s men.
One of them came closer, but only by a few paces.
> “We have been told to find a man called Berrington. Do you know him?”
“Did Koparsh send you?”
“Who sent us is not your business. Do you know the man? He is tall, with long hair and pale skin, and dresses like a Moor even though he is not one.” The man looked Thomas up and down and smiled. “You are the Berrington.”
Thomas said nothing.
The man came closer still until he stood face to face with Thomas. The others stayed where they were. There were too many and Thomas was too tired. He held his arms out from his sides. At least this way, he would get to stand face to face with those he sought.
Men gripped his wrists and pulled them behind his back, and he felt the burn as a rope was jerked too tight. They looped another around his neck. One of them tugged at the rope and Thomas followed him, wondering how long they would allow him to live. At least until he saw Koparsh. What the future held after that was something he could not foresee.
Someone placed a hood over Thomas’s head, presumably so he had no idea how to find his way back to wherever he was taken in the house. Despite the stuffiness and questionable cleanliness of the hood, he took it as a good sign until he cracked his head hard on a stone lintel and his captors laughed. When they removed the hood, blood ran down his face.
Koparsh Hadryendo sat in front of him in a chair with a high back and gilded arms, designed to look as much like a throne as could be found in these parts. Salma stood at his side, her unearthly beauty turned loathsome in Thomas’s eyes.
“I am sorry my men injured you,” said Koparsh. “Would you like me to have someone bathe your wound? I am sure Salma will oblige.”
She stared at Thomas, a sultry heat emanating from her.
“Does she still beguile my son?”
Koparsh turned his head to Salma. “Is Yves still beguiled?”
“I believe he is.” She stared at Thomas. “He is a wonderful lover. Are you a wonderful lover, Thomas Berrington? Should I compare you one to the other? Perhaps both at the same time?”
“Did he accompany you willingly when you made the attempt on Isabel’s life?”
“More than willingly. He even helped in preparing the poisons. He has knowledge his mother passed down to him. He misses her very much. I can never replace her, but I have other compensations. The Queen should be dead. I know she should. Was keeping her alive your doing?”
“Theresa and Belia helped. I believe you know them both.”
“This is most pleasant,” said Koparsh, “but we have more serious matters to discuss. We are about to eat our morning meal and you are welcome to join us.”
“So she can poison me?”
“Would you do that to a guest, Salma?”
“You know I would, if asked. Are you asking?”
“I need Thomas alive.” Koparsh raised a hand to the man standing beside Thomas. “Remove the ropes. He cannot escape and cannot eat with his hands tied.”
Thomas rubbed at his wrists and neck, aware the rope had left a weal on his flesh. Koparsh rose and offered an arm to Salma, who placed her hand on it. Thomas wondered how long they would allow Yves to remain alive once their plotting ended. And end it would, either with their deaths or his. But for now, he wanted to know why they were here.
Koparsh turned and walked away with Salma at his side. Thomas watched them go, then glanced at the men beside him. He judged he could disarm them and use their weapons to attack Koparsh and Salma, but was sure there would be others close at hand.
He followed the pair into a fine room decorated with ornate tapestries. A large window offered a view across the surrounding plain, which was coming alive with the rising sun. Koparsh had already taken a chair at the head of the table with Salma to his right. A third chair was set opposite her. Nobody else was present.
Thomas took the empty chair and waited for them to choose from the bread, fruit, nuts and meat laid out. His stomach rumbled loudly and Salma smiled.
“Eat, Thomas. It is all good, I promise.”
Still he waited and her smile grew. She reached out and took a spoonful of rice mixed with fruit, identical to the dish served to Isabel. Salma slid the spoon into her mouth. Thomas waited until she swallowed, then spooned some of the mix onto the plate set before him.
“Why?” he asked, looking at Koparsh.
“Do we want Queen Isabel dead?” Koparsh raised a shoulder. “It is nothing personal, merely politics.”
“Merely?”
“I would not expect you to understand. Your Queen wants Islam expelled from Iberia. She fights a holy war as well as one of conquest. She has no wish to subjugate, only to cleanse this land of those she regards as vermin.”
“Abu Abdullah sent a request to your Emperor for help, which was dismissed.”
“It was seen to be dismissed, but why do you think he sent me?”
“And only two hundred armed men? How can you defeat Isabel or Abu Abdullah with only two hundred?”
“Who is to say I do not have more?”
“You would need twenty thousand and you cannot hide that many. Not even in this abandoned country.”
“I need no thousands when I have Salma. She possesses many esoteric skills, as you have already witnessed.”
Thomas put down the spoon of food he was about to put in his mouth and Koparsh laughed.
“She has already promised the food is not poisoned.”
“It would not be the first time she has lied to me.” He looked directly at Salma. “What hold do you have over my son?”
Salma smiled as she ate another mouthful. “Oh, I think you know the answer to that without me having to explain it to you.”
Thomas turned back to Koparsh. “Does your master wish to see a resurgence of Islam in Spain? You know even without Castile that will never happen.”
“My master would see both sides destroyed. I come to seed confusion and destruction. It is what I have done for him before and will no doubt do again once I am finished here. The Ottoman Empire has ambitions. Why stop at a continent when there is a world waiting?”
“Except you have failed. Isabel and Abu Abdullah both live, and soon this war will be over and you will have to scuttle back to where you came from. If I do not kill you first.”
Koparsh laughed. “You speak brave words for a captive man, even one as difficult to kill as you are proving to be.”
“There are only the three of us here at the moment,” Thomas said.
Koparsh stared at him, amusement still on his face. Then he clapped his hands together twice. Within moments, a dozen men swarmed into the room. Koparsh continued to stare at Thomas, all humour leaching from him. He waved a hand to dismiss the men.
“Those you speak of remain alive, but that omission can soon be remedied. Do you think I do not have people placed close to them? People in senior positions? People close to all of them?”
“I know about the cook,” Thomas said. “Have you disposed of her yet?”
Koparsh ignored the question, which Thomas considered answer enough.
“This thing I do is not something planned over months, but years. My master takes the long view and his eyes are on Spain. He has watched its growing strength, its victories and defeats, the former outweighing the latter, and he grows concerned. His ships and army await only my word and they will sail for these shores. Once Spain is ours, how long before the rest of the continent falls? Even your homeland.”
A chill ran through Thomas. Was Koparsh doing no more than boasting, or were there people close to Isabel working for him? He thought of how easy it would be to slip a knife between her ribs and wondered why poison had been chosen instead. He thought of Eleanor’s claim the French had commissioned her and knew it as a lie. He thought of Yves’ claim to have been seduced away from the light and wondered at the truth of it.
“What do you want?” he asked.
“Want? I want you to die, together with your mistress and her husband and that strutting peacock in Gharnatah.”
�
��So why am I still alive? There must be some negotiation to be made. Even you must admit the possibility you will fail. What will persuade you to leave? To give up your quest?”
“Failure is not an option.”
Thomas sensed some shadow of fear in this man he had always considered did not know the emotion. His master would not forgive failure. Koparsh had come very close to that and knew it.
“When do you intend to kill me?”
“Not here, not now. That would be uncivilised. Tomorrow, perhaps. Or perhaps not. I am minded to keep you with me until events play out to their inevitable end. That would be a more worthy punishment for your annoyance to me, to watch your beloved lands razed and built again in a new form.” Koparsh smiled. “I have a place for you tonight and Salma says she would like to join you. All you need do is ask, or even if you do not. She is a woman who seeks new experiences, like you, and she can be most entertaining. Even more so than your concubine, I suspect.”
“I want to see my son.”
“That can also be arranged.” Koparsh clapped his hands again, but this time only a single man appeared, as if everything had been choreographed. “Bring him in.”
The man disappeared. Thomas waited until he heard footsteps approach, then turned, but instead of Yves coming into view, he gasped as Will was led in, his hands tied as Thomas’s had been.
Chapter Forty-Six
“What happened?” Thomas sat beside Will, their legs drawn up, backs against the cold stone wall. They had been taken to a small unfurnished room at the top of the highest part of the building and locked in. When Thomas looked through the single unglazed window, considering an escape, he saw a sheer drop of eighty feet onto rocks and decided against any attempt.
“I should have done as you told me and gone back for Morfar,” said Will. “I thought … I don’t know what I thought, maybe I could attack them and free you. There were not so many and I know you have fought worse odds before, but they caught me. A second group came out of the woods and took me.”
“Sometimes saving yourself to fight another day is the right choice.”