Assassination in Al Qahira

by James Boschert

  The rest of the men at arms who would comprise the main fighting unit tramped aboard, leading some chained prisoners. These former crewmen were escorted below and secured to their benches amid much wailing and loud protestations.

  Malek was taking no chances. He had spent much time talking to Panhsj and Talon about their experiences in Cairo, trying to gauge his enemy, and he wanted to ensure that his men were ready, their bows strung and spears prepared for attack from land or water.

  Aside from the selected crewmen who now worked with Henry, the remaining freedmen went below and manned the oars. The difference was that other than the few men who were the former crew, they were not shackled to their benches and had weapons to hand should they need them. Despite all the scrubbing and cleaning of the middle deck, some of the odor still lingered. Now, however, the men were well rested and had lost much of their former emaciated look.

  It was time to cast off. Talon looked back towards the shore and waved at Khaldun, who stood with the Emir on the top of the high bank above them, watching the activity on the ship as it pulled away. Khaldun had decided to stay in Aswan with the Emir. They had much in common, and the old man had asked him to remain, saying he was lonely and needed a friend to share the books of his extensive library. Lady Khalidah had urged Khaldun to do so, saying that the future was very uncertain and that she would feel better if he was safely in the Emir’s protection. Talon had agreed, but he still felt a keen sense of loss as he looked up at the old man. He wondered if he would ever see him again. Their parting had been emotional; Khaldun had looked into Talon’s eyes and said, “I know not what fate has in store for you, my Suleiman, but remember we are always here as your friends. Allah protect you.”

  Talon could only nod in silence and had embraced the old man hard. “I shall pray that Allah will protect you, Hajji. I shall miss you sorely.” He turned away, pretending not to see the tears running down Khaldun’s old cheeks.

  The two old men waved back and stood watching as the ship was rowed out into mid-stream, whereupon Henry, who was now the unofficial captain of the boat, called for the oars to be shipped and the two sails to be set by his new crew. The men ran willingly to do his bidding, and before long the sleek vessel of war was being driven swiftly downstream with a wind almost on its tail. No one remarked that the ship was now being crewed by a mixed group of blonde, blue-eyed men from the Northern lands and black men from the deep south of the country.

  The two old men standing on the top of the bank receded quickly into the distance, and Talon turned his attention to the activity on the vessel. Malek and Panhsj were on the high rear deck talking quietly together, leaving him space, while Max was up at the front with some of the soldiers keeping a sharp eye open for any sign of danger. They were sailing into an unknown situation and everyone was tense.

  His thoughts went back to Aswan and their existence there. He had continued to enjoy working with the children because it also ensured that he kept his own mind sharp. He realized that he was sounding less like an elder brother to them, more of an uncle perhaps, and with that came the realization again that well over a year had passed since he had left the country of Langue d’Oc.

  While in Aswan, Khaldun had often joined him by an old fountain in the gardens of the Emir and they had talked of many things. He would miss the old man’s wisdom. Khaldun had talked about the country of Al Andalusia, with its fabulous cities of Cordova and Toledo. Talon resolved to go there one day. It would be within reach of the country of the Langue d’Oc, on the other side of the mountains called the Pyrenees. He might even be able to see his parents again one day. His thoughts wheeled through an arc and settled on the distant city of Isfahan. For some reason he felt that if Rav’an were alive she would find her way back to that city. Her relationship with Fariba was that of the younger sister she had never had. He sighed; his journey was taking far longer than he had thought it would to get back to the kingdom of Jerusalem, but perhaps this time they were finally on their way.

  Two days later, around mid-day, Malek and others of his men began to recognize landmarks. Everyone became more alert. He sent word down to Lady Khalidah, warning her that they were nearing the landing of Beneade, that this was possibly the most dangerous point and to stay with her children below.

  Malek’s men, with bows at the ready, manned the sides of the ship. Kazim, who had been ordered below to join the women, flatly refused, claiming that he was now a man and could not be humiliated by being forced to do so. He was allowed to stay. Malek looked helplessly at Panhsj, who promptly volunteered to guard the boy.

  “I shall guard him with my life, Malek. My lord, you must stay by me at all times,” he admonished the excited boy, who nodded his head vigorously and then brandished his long dagger in the air. Panhsj found him the smallest shield on the boat and then pronounced him a warrior. The boy almost burst with pride.

  “You are my guard, Panhsj, I will fight alongside you!” he squeaked in his excitement. Max and Talon were hard put to suppress their grins of appreciation at the boy’s behavior. But both kept their faces solemn when they bowed to him respectfully.

  Malek, with one fierce look at them, ignored the boy from that moment onward, standing close to Henry, with whom he had developed a kind of rapport. “Hold it in the middle of the river, Frans,” he ordered.

  Henry, who could understand some basic words, nodded and made a small adjustment. But Malek was not done yet. He called to Talon.

  “Suleiman, do you see that large felucca ahead of us?” He pointed to a large boat that was sailing to the fore of them. Talon nodded.

  “I want to sail on its right side and remain next to it as we pass Beneade. Can you explain this to the Frans?”

  Talon pointed out the slow moving felucca to Henry and explained what was needed.

  Henry laughed and laid his forefinger alongside his nose as he looked at Malek with renewed respect.

  “That is a wily man, Suleiman.”

  “Indeed, I think he is, Henry, but hurry, we might need the cover soon.”

  Henry hastened to instruct the steersmen; he shouted commands to the crew, who ran to do his bidding. In a short time they were almost alongside the felucca and the crew of that ship stared in surprise at the heavily armed galley as it kept pace with them, almost within oar’s distance. They shouted some questions, but the men in the waist of the galley shrugged and said nothing. This seemed to unnerve the crew of the felucca, who kept away from the side of their ship as they continued downriver. Malek and his companions ignored them and stared ahead, intent on the left hand side of the river.

  They soon saw the small buildings and the silhouette of the fort of Beneade appear to their left. Everyone focused on the cluster of ships anchored near the town and alongside the quay. The entire ship was silent as they watched the receding river bank for any signs of danger.

  “Allah willing, if there is anyone there watching for us, they will not see us until we are well past,” Malek said in a low tone.

  Talon agreed with Malek. The precaution was a good idea, especially as they did not know their enemy.

  Then they saw a long, sleek form of a galley similar to theirs. It was moored to the pier, but even at this distance they could see intense activity on and around the ship. Men seemed to be running along the pier to jump aboard even as others were casting off. Soon they could see the oars rising and falling in the water as the ship was backed out. Its two sails fell untidily but were hauled in rapidly and bellied as the ship almost spun on its keel to face downstream and follow them.

  The men on the afterdeck stared apprehensively at the ship as it glided into midstream behind them. They had already left Beneade far behind, but it was as though they were moving slowly compared to the galley now giving chase.

  “At least they did not see us as we were approaching, so perhaps we still have a chance,” Panhsj muttered.

  “It was a good ruse,” Talon said. “It might have given us enough time. We shall have to se
e, Insha’Allah. It is still a day’s journey to the city.”

  His heart was beating hard as he contemplated a battle to come.

  Malek turned and shouted to the men in the waist. “Get the rowers back into place! We must reach Cairo before they catch us.”

  Men ran below to the too familiar and hated places where they had lived and where comrades had died before. This time, however, it was willingly, as they faced certain death if captured by this hunter now in hot pursuit. The oars were pushed out and the monotonous drum beat began. Men rocked forward and then dropped the oars in the water and heaved themselves back in one well practiced swaying motion.

  Talon and Max went down into the waist of the ship; they first checked on the restless horses and ensured that they were well secured. Talon glanced across the river to the eastern side. The banks of the great river here were not as high as those in the Aswan area, being dressed with dense thickets of papyrus and cane and having little inlets that had brown beaches. The log-like forms of the crocodiles could be seen basking in the sun; little white specs that Bilal had told him were birds that picked their teeth hopped about their inert forms.

  Ahead of them he could see one particularly large island of thick weeds that had been left behind by the floods of the last month. It had drifted onto the side of the eastern bank and was now caught up by the tangled roots and the shallow bank. In places it was flat and almost at the same level as the water, while in others it was thick with reeds that stood higher than a man; but Talon now knew from what Malek had told him that, while it was a tight cluster of weeds floating as would an island, it was treacherous for anyone to try to walk across. They approached it cautiously, Henry helping the other steersmen to guide the ship well away from its dangerous tangle of roots.

  Then one of the men standing on the starboard side of the boat in the bows shouted in alarm and pointed downstream. They stared towards where he was pointing. Half a mile ahead of them, a long sleek shape, driven by many oars, was sliding out from behind the cover of the weed island. Sure enough, it was another galley which was pulling out into midstream and was in the process of turning to point up stream. It was identical to the one behind.

  The clearest thing Talon noticed was the long bronze plated ram attached to the bows that gleamed briefly in the sunlight. Its menacing point left a small bow wave as it dug into the swift moving waters of the river. The oars of that ship were moving up and down very fast as it maneuvered into position ahead of them to block their way down stream.

  There was a collective murmur of apprehension from the men on the ship.

  “We are trapped; they must have been waiting for us,” Malek said in a tense voice to the others nearby, but then he strode forward and looked down upon the men.

  “Silence!” he bellowed at the agitated, chattering men. “Hear me now. We must fight! Every man should make his peace with Allah and then prepare to fight. We will prevail if you listen to your commanders and put your faith in Allah.”

  “Suleiman, please inform our Lady of the situation. I intend to ram past that ship. Perhaps we can slide around it and make our escape; we have the current in our favor. Insha’Allah we will succeed.” But he did not sound very hopeful. Talon could see sweat on Malek’s brow below his pointed helmet as he considered the situation they now faced.

  Talon ducked below the low beam and moved into the dim light of the rear cabin. It was stuffy here in the sparsely furnished cabin that was the width of the ship. He bowed low to Khalidah, who was standing facing him. Her women were in another compartment of the cabin. She indicated the ship that could be seen in the rear windows.

  “We are hunted again, Suleiman?”

  “My Lady, there are two ships, one ahead and one behind. Someone knew we would be coming this way and was waiting for us. There is danger, but we hope to break though and continue to the city.”

  “Are you sure they are our enemies?” she asked reasonably.

  “No, my Lady, but it is not likely that the sultan would try to ambush us with two galleys in this manner. I think it is Al Muntaqim and his men.”

  There was silence for a moment, broken by a small whimper of fear from Jasmine, who tried to stifle it with her scarf, covering her mouth. Khalidah knelt by her daughter and put her arms around her.

  “Be brave, my little one. Allah will protect us as he has in the past. Malek, Panhsj and Suleiman will not allow us to be taken.” She looked up at him, directly into his eyes, and he saw certainty, but also he saw how she mustered her courage for the sake of this child by the defiance forming on her features.

  “We are going to fight our way through, my Lady. You are safer here than on the deck. There will be guards for your protection,” Talon said firmly.

  She nodded with calm acceptance of the situation. “Protect my son for me, Suleiman.”

  “We shall, my Lady. Panhsj is with him every minute.” He bowed his way out and walked back up on deck.

  To and fro in danger you’ll reel

  Then suddenly plunge

  Into the frightening depths

  With no one near to avenge your blood.

  From abyss to abyss you’ll descend,

  Whirled within the sea’s deep springs,

  And not a soul with cry out then –

  ‘Save him’

  — Yedaya Hapenini

  Chapter 28

  Battle on the Nile

  Malek held a hurried conference with the others.

  “We must somehow drive past that ship in front of us. We dare not become entangled, so I want to try to destroy it by ramming it, but we will have to be very quick. Suleiman, will ‘Enry be able to guide this ship to accomplish this?”

  “Why don’t we just try to shatter the oars of one side and avoid being rammed ourselves?” Max asked.

  “It may come to that, Max,” Malek said grimly. “But how do we keep our own from going the same way?”

  “I can stand at the opening and just as we are about to strike them, we can haul in our oars on that side. There will be very little time, but it is worth a try,” Max said, his tone anxious.

  “The ship is drawing near!” Panhsj gestured urgently.

  Indeed they were moving on a rapid collision course. Talon cast a hasty look behind him and saw that despite the exertions of their rowers, the other ship was now only several hundred yards behind them and appeared to be gaining. When he again faced forward he could see that the impact was imminent. He felt a familiar tightening in his chest and stomach.

  “I shall go and warn the rowers!” Max called as he ran down the ladders to the rowers’ deck, where he bellowed at the sweating, straining men.

  “Listen, when I shout, you must pull in your oars on this side of the ship.” He pointed to his left. “And be ready to come on deck to fight if needs be!” he yelled into the gloom.

  Men called back they understood, and Max braced himself for the collision. Talon watched the scene unfold from the upper deck, while Max in turn watched for the signal.

  “Watch me!” Malek shouted. Max waved his hand in acknowledgement.

  Malek raised his right hand in the air, ready to drop it when they were committed. The ships raced towards one another, both bronze rams aimed directly at the other, and as they did, men on both sides raised their bows and began to shoot arrows at their opponents. Some arrows struck with a thud into the wood nearby. Kazim gave a yelp of surprise, but then recovered his dignity and edged closer to Panhsj, who towered over him protectively.

  Watching the sleek vessel hurling towards them was unnerving, for there was every chance that one or both ships would drive their bronze rams so deep into the other’s bows they could not extricate themselves, and then they would both sink.

  Almost in slow motion the moment arrived. They were nearly bow to bow when Malek dropped his arm and Max screamed at the men inside the oars deck. Henry and the steersmen on deck hauled on the steering oar, and their ship glided away from a direct collision. The men below deck
s frantically hauled in their oars, assisting one another, since they were not chained to their seats any more. The oars came in just in time, but the other ship was not so lucky. Both ships lurched and there was a rending crash. The sharp bows of their own galley sliced through the oars of the enemy ship. A loud, repetitive crashing and splintering sound tore at the air. Parts of oars were thrown up to splash alongside or even fly over their own deck, forcing men on both sides to duck out of the way.

  As the sharp prow of their vessel cut through the oars of the enemy boat, the screams of the men being mangled below on its oar deck could be heard. Kazim flinched, but Panhsj patted him on the shoulder and said, “Be strong, little master, this is how war is fought. Keep your shield high, as they will shoot arrows at us now.”

  The boy gulped and lifted his small metal shield to cover his chest and stayed close to the huge man, whose own large shield would have covered them both. There was no time to heed the screams of the pitiable slaves, as more immediate concerns were upon them. Grapples were flung and the men on the other ship continued to shoot arrows at them. Talon’s men returned with their own barrage of arrows, and he joined in. A man perched on the front of the ship with a sword in hand, ready to jump aboard, fell backwards—pierced through his chest by one of Talon’s well aimed arrows. Others fell with screams, but they were replaced by more howling men who clustered in groups waiting for the ships to close so they could jump across.

  Henry and his steersmen hauled with all their might on the steering oar to guide the ship away, but their efforts were hampered by their reduced motion from the sails alone. They were driving through the last of the oars, leaving a shattered chaos in their wake, and that is when Henry saw his opportunity.

  “Max! Oars, we must have oars!” he yelled over the increasing din of the men.

  Max heard him and yelled at the men below push their oars out again. The oars began to reemerge as the men hastened to do his bidding.