Battle For Empire (The Eskkar Saga)
Page 33
Jennat’s sword, ripped from its scabbard in a blur of bronze, came down in the same motion. The blade struck the horse just to the right of Jennat across the forehead. At the same time, Jennat’s mount crashed into the nearest bowman. The archer went down knocked backwards by Jennat’s horse.
Khnan managed to get his jeweled sword out, but by then Jennat had whirled his blade around, and managed to slash Khnan’s left arm before Jennat’s horse burst past.
Sargon’s horse understood the war cry far faster and better than its master. It, too, surged forward, almost without Sargon’s urging, knocking down the second bowman and brushing past the mounted man on Khnan’s right. The man’s sword flashed just behind Sargon as he went by. Another instant and Sargon would have taken the blow.
By then Jennat had wheeled his horse around, and Sargon managed to do the same. Both of their horses were at a full gallop in a handful of strides, Jennat urging them on with another full war cry.
The rider Sargon had bumped against gave chase, but by the time he got his horse moving, Sargon and Jennat had covered twenty paces, and both horses were running flat out. Sargon glanced behind him, and saw that the rider would never catch them. But the bowmen had regained their feet. Both had strung their bows, and the first arrow flashed over Sargon’s head.
“Separate!” Jennat guided his own horse to the side, so that the archers wouldn’t have an easy target.
Sargon’s horse caught the excitement, and they raced for the distant hilltop where Chinua had been. Sargon, clinging low to his horse’s neck, kept urging the animal onward even as he guided the beast over the shortest distance. Meanwhile, he expected an arrow in his back at every stride. Looking ahead, he saw that the rest of the Ur Nammu warriors had charged forward, moving to provide help.
More arrows hissed by, and Sargon risked a glance to his rear. The horseman had given up, not wanting to be in line with the shafts that searched for the fast moving riders. Another arrow brushed past Sargon’s arm, and hissed past his horse’s neck. It served only to spur the animal to a faster pace, and by now Sargon had drawn ahead of Jennat.
Sargon realized Jennat had a shaft protruding from his left arm. However the distance had grown too great for the bows to be shot accurately, though Sargon knew a lucky arrow could still find them. He and Jennat charged into the gulley and urged the horses up the steep side. Sargon nearly lost his seat, and had to cling to the horse’s neck for a handful of strides before he recovered.
A few more arrows landed around them, but then the mounts had regained their gallop and moved out of range. In moments they joined up with Chinua’s men.
Pulling hard on the halter, Sargon managed to halt his horse before it raced past Chinua. By the time he dragged the animal around, Jennat had started reporting. Chinua listened, but his eyes remained to the west.
Jennat finished relating what had passed, and Sargon heard his name mentioned more than once. Chinua merely nodded. Whatever had been said really meant nothing now. “Here come the rest of them.”
Sargon, his heart still beating rapidly, looked back toward the enemy. Two large bands of horsemen, at least forty or fifty men in each, had appeared over the farthest ridge. They weren’t riding straight at Chinua’s position, but angling off to the left and right. The ten horsemen with Khnan’s group started toward them as well, coming straight for the Ur Nammu.
“They’ll try and cut us off,” Jennat said.
A warrior who acted as a healer reached Jennat’s side. With a quick twist, he snapped the shaft in two, and jerked the pointed end from Jennat’s arm. The wounded man flinched, but no sound escaped his lips. The healer, with another swift move, tugged a rag from his belt, passed it around Jennat’s arm, and knotted it fast. Even before he finished the knot, blotches of blood seeped through the rag.
“We ride to the northeast,” Chinua said, raising his voice so that everyone could hear. “Once we get out ahead of them, Jennat will take the horse boys and head straight for our camp, to tell Subutai what has happened and give him time to prepare.”
“And what will we be doing?” Skala looked toward the two war parties closing in on them. Khnan’s small force of horsemen was only a few hundred paces away.
“We are going to teach these invaders not to enter the lands of the Ur Nammu. Now, let’s ride!”
The warriors burst into motion. Once again, Sargon found himself in the rear, and had to struggle to catch up with Timmu.
Sargon glanced over his shoulder. The northernmost band of enemy riders had already drawn within half a mile, and the course Chinua had set would soon shorten that distance. It would be close.
Sargon, riding as he’d never ridden before, suddenly realized that these men chasing after him would kill him if they could. It wouldn’t matter to them that his father was Eskkar of Akkad. All it would take was one false step from his horse, a fall, even a lucky arrow shot high in the air, and Sargon would be dead or wounded. Chinua would leave him behind, just as he would leave any of his men behind who couldn’t keep up.
“I don’t want to go back to camp,” Timmu shouted, as he rode at Sargon’s side. “We should stay with the warriors.”
“Keep quiet and ride!” Sargon focused his attention on guiding his horse, the only thing now keeping an arrow from finding his back.
They rode hard, pushing the horses to stay ahead of their pursuers. Once the distance between them shrank to less than a quarter mile. But by the time darkness approached, the superior horses of the Ur Nammu had lengthened the lead to nearly two miles. Sargon, still riding at the rear of Chinua’s men, kept glancing behind, and he was the first to see that the enemy had finally given up.
“Chinua! They’ve stopped!”
The Ur Nammu commander gave the order to rest, and he turned his mount around so that he sat beside Sargon, facing west. He stared for a long time at the tiny figures, more visible by the shadows they cast as the sun set.
“They had to ride hard to reach . . . what was the man’s name?”
“Khnan. He said his name was Khnan from the city of Carchemish.”
Jennat and Skala moved their horses beside their leader.
“I’ve never heard of such a place.” Chinua sounded dubious.
“I have,” Sargon answered. “It is a city at the end of the northern most trade routes, so far away that many do not even believe it exists. But the traders in Akkad assured my parents that it is indeed real.”
“It is real enough now,” Chinua said. “Jennat, how is your arm?”
“Just a scratch. I can still fight.”
“Good. Take Sargon, Timmu, and Rutba with you when you ride for our camp. Sargon can help explain to Subutai . . .”
“No. I’m staying with you.” Sargon resented the idea that Makko could stay with the warriors while he could not.
Skala muttered something under his breath. Sargon caught the words ‘horse boy’ but little else. The warrior clearly didn’t approve of Sargon taking part in any discussions of the scouting party’s leaders.
“You do not need to risk your life,” Chinua said. “This is not your fight. And you can help Jennat explain what these invaders said.”
“It is my fight,” Sargon said. “They tried to kill me.” He might have changed his mind and gone along with Chinua’s order, but the frown on Skala’s face only made Sargon more stubborn. “I mentioned Akkad to Khnan, and he said that my father’s lands would also be destroyed. So now it is my fight as much as yours.”
“Much as I would like him with me,” Jennat said, “perhaps you should keep him with you. He may be of help, and he’s young and foolish enough to be brave in the face of his enemies. He did well enough against Khnan.”
All Sargon had done was cling to his horse’s back. The animal deserved the credit for knocking the second bowman down. He’d forgotten all about his knife.
Chinua took a deep breath, and let it out. “You can stay. But now we ride. We still have plenty of ground to cover.”
The fall of night brought little relief. Chinua halted briefly to feed the horses, ordering that the last of the grain be given to them now. The warriors, too, wolfed down their food, eating as much as they could hold. The less they had to carry, the faster they could travel.
That attended to, the warriors huddled in a close packed circle. Chinua had ordered the horse boys to keep watch and guard the horses, but told Sargon to stay.
“Tell me everything that was said,” Chinua said. “Everything.”
Sargon went through the long talk, explaining how he translated the words, and adding what he thought of Khnan’s reaction. A few raised their eyebrows when Sargon told of Akkad, but Chinua nodded. “That was good. Let them think that we are strong. The closer they come to the lands of Akkad, the more fearful they will become.”
When Sargon finished, a few asked questions, but then everyone looked to Chinua.
“We will walk our horses through most of the night. In the morning, we will continue northeast. The enemy will send riders after us, at least for another day, or until they are satisfied that we are far away and running back to our camps. As soon as that happens, Jennat and the horse boys will break off and return as soon as possible to Subutai. We will swing to the north, and attack their camp tomorrow night. A raid on their horses should teach them a lesson.”
Sargon had counted at least seventy or eighty riders in the party that pursued them, and wondered how Chinua could dare to attack so many. Or how they expected to get away if they did manage a successful attack. But none of the warriors showed the least concern. All of them had taken the insult when Sargon repeated Khnan’s words. None wanted to return to Subutai’s camp without striking some kind of blow.
“Then it is settled,” Chinua said, glancing around the circle. “We will start walking now, and keep it up until at least midnight.”
The warriors rose to fetch their horses.
“Sargon, stay.” Chinua moved beside him. With the others gone, they could speak in private. “If you wish to return to the camp tomorrow with Jennat, no one will think less of you. And I’m sure that after this, Subutai will release you from the remaining days of your training. You would be free to go home, or anywhere that you choose.”
“I understand.”
He did. Chinua was right. None of the warriors would think less of him. They took it as a fact that no dirt eater could show as much bravery, or ride and fight as well as they could. Sargon remembered Skala’s eyes on him, and the memory hardened Sargon’s resolve. He intended to show that big ox that the men of Akkad could fight as well as any barbarian.
23
The middle of the night arrived before Chinua called a halt. Glancing around, Sargon saw nothing but the same terrain he’d seen all day – rocks and sand, with scattered clumps of grass. Presumably Chinua wanted to stop where the horses could graze. They hadn’t come across any water, so the troop faced another dry camp.
By then Sargon felt almost weary enough to change his mind and ask Chinua to let him ride for Subutai’s camp. Despite all his recent weapons training and horse riding, nothing had prepared him for a long walk through the darkness while leading a horse. Traveling on foot, it seemed, was one skill that held little interest for the Ur Nammu, especially when it required them to walk their horses through half the night.
Nevertheless, it had to be done. And while Sargon knew the others felt as worn out, none of the warriors complained. The walking was exhausting enough, but each man had to walk ahead of his horse and lead the animal, which meant that you had to keep your eyes moving and watch every step.
The moon had risen early, but dark clouds obscured what little light it cast. Luckily, none of the horses stepped into a hole or bruised a knee, though half the warriors went down more than once, cursing the darkness or the occasional slippery smoothness of some stone underfoot.
Even after they stopped for the night, Sargon still had to care for his horse, and keep the animal safe and close at hand. Sentries took turns guarding their position until dawn, and Sargon breathed a sigh of relief when that duty fell to others. He wrapped himself in the sweaty horse blanket and fell asleep beneath the chilly stars.
When the morning sun lifted above the horizon, a footsore and weary band of warriors took stock of their situation. But nothing showed on the horizon, and Sargon guessed that the soldiers of Carchemish remained far behind.
That could change at any moment, so Chinua gave the orders and they started walking and leading the horses once again. Only when the sun pushed itself well above the horizon, and the muscles of both man and beast had stretched themselves out, did they mount and start riding, always going to the northeast. Between riding and walking, they covered over twenty miles before midday.
By then the warriors’ sandals were in ruins from the hard ground or loose shale underfoot, and despite frequent attempts at repair, at least half the men were barefoot. Sargons’s sandals, still fairly new, were in better condition, but even he had to retie broken laces twice. While the horses looked in better shape than their riders, Sargon saw his own mount’s head start to sag.
“We’ll stop here,” Chinua called out, glancing up at the sun.
They’d reached the top of a long incline, and had a good view of the land behind them. Sargon studied the terrain they’d traversed, but saw no signs of life, only grass, juniper and hawthorn bushes, rocks, and the occasional tree. Birds flew across the blue sky, and a red-tailed hawk circled lazily above, but Sargon saw no game or animals of any kind. Chinua ordered Garal and another warrior to scan the horizon and search for signs of pursuit from the west.
The rest of the warriors tied their horses to some low juniper bushes that dotted the slope, and stretched out on the ground. More than a few started snoring within moments. For men who spent most of their lives on the back of a horse, walking such distances meant a real hardship. The youngest warriors, like Garal and even Sargon, were in better shape.
Chinua told the others to rest, and Sargon stretched out on the hard ground and fell asleep. It seemed he’d scarcely closed his eyes before Chinua’s voice roused him. Still, Sargon saw the sun had moved a few hands width across the sky, so he’d gotten more rest than he’d expected.
“Everyone, wake up and gather around.” Chinua ignored the yawns of his men. He waited until he had every man’s attention.
“Even if the enemy doesn’t pursue us in force, they will send scouts to see which way we’ve gone. We must lead them on a false trail to the northeast. Meanwhile, Jennat will leave us soon. I can see a hard patch of ground about a half a mile ahead. Jennat, Timmu, and Rutba will turn off there and head for home. The passage of a few horses and men on foot should be easy to hide from any following our trail. The rest of us will continue northeast for another few miles. Hopefully, they will think our camp is in that direction.”
One of the younger warriors spoke up. “We could ambush any one tracking us.”
Chinua shook his head at the suggestion. “There is not much cover, and they will be wary. They’re not likely to just stumble into any trap we can set. And what if there are ten or even twenty of them? We might end up fighting for our lives with nothing to gain.”
When Sargon first heard the youth’s suggestion, Sargon thought it sounded like a good idea. Now it sounded foolish. Which was why Chinua was leading them, and not any of the others.
“Sargon thinks there might have been a larger group of men to the north of those we met yesterday. I believe Sargon is right.”
Chinua waited a moment, in case anyone wanted to challenge the assumption. “The men who came to aid Khnan’s force came from that direction. If there is such a fo
rce, and it moves in this direction, we should now be even with it, or a little farther north. Soon we’ll swing due north, toward the mountains, before we double back along the foothills.”
Chinua grinned. “We’ll be moving toward each other, but if we stay close to the foothills, we are not likely to encounter any of their scouts. They will have all their eyes searching east and south. With luck we can close within striking distance of their next camp before dawn.”
Sargon wanted to ask what would happen if the enemy stumbled onto them, but no one else raised the question, so he kept silent. Besides, he’d had his chance to return to Subutai’s camp with Jennat and the others. Sargon’s determination to show as much courage as Chinua and his men hadn’t wavered. Where these men could go, Sargon would follow, even if they all ended up dead.
Chinua waited to make sure no one had any questions. “Good. Sargon, Makko, each of you fill a sack with fresh horse dung. Bring them with us. Let’s get moving.”
Makko looked as confused at the order as Sargon, but neither dared to question a direct order.
Empty food sacks were quickly filled with horse droppings, and Sargon could not help asking. “Do you know what this is for?”
It was the first time he’d spoken to Skala’s son in days.
“No. But it must be important. We’ll know soon enough.”
They mounted their horses and rode out at a slow pace, but soon enough reached a rocky escarpment that led to the southeast. Jennat and the horse boys moved to the front. They dismounted and led their horses onto the rocky ground.
Sargon watched as Jennat handed his horse off to Rutba, and the second in command made sure that the hard ground showed no trace of their branching off from the main party. Jennat gave a final wave to the others as they passed by. Sargon wondered if he would ever see Timmu or the warrior again.
Chinua kept moving. He wanted to get at least another mile past the place where Jennat turned away. Chinua had to travel much farther, however, before he found a rocky shelf that he liked. He led the horses onto it, and kept them going for another quarter mile before Chinua gave the signal to halt and told the men to dismount.