The Quest tes-4

by Wilbur Smith

  Fenn sprang down from Whirlwind and raced to Taita. She flung both her arms round his neck and sobbed brokenheartedly. 'Oh! Oh! Oh! I thought you were dead. I thought they had killed you.'

  Taita held her tightly to his chest, her body lithe and hard against his.

  The sweet smell of her filled his nostrils and made his senses swim. His heart swelled in his chest so that he was unable to speak. They held each other with a silent intensity, while the others stared at them in bewilderment.

  Hilto tried to maintain his usual phlegmatic air, but he was unsuccessful. Nakonto and Imbali were mute with the fear of witchcraft, both spitting to left and right, making the sign against evil spirits.

  'It's not him,' Meren was repeating. 'I know the magus better than any man alive. This young buck is not him.'

  After a long while Fenn drew back and held Taita at arm's length.

  She studied his face raptly, then stared into his eyes. 'My eyes tell me it

  is not you, but my heart sings that it is. Yes, it is you. It is verily you.

  But, my lord, how have you become so young and surpassingly beautiful?'

  She stood on tiptoe to kiss his lips. At this the others burst out laughing.

  Meren jumped down from the saddle and rushed to join them. He pulled Taita out of Fenn's embrace and wrapped him in a bear-hug of his own. 'I still cannot believe it! It is not possible!' He laughed. 'But I give testimony that you wield a pretty sword, Magus, else I would have run you through.' They crowded round him excitedly.

  Sidudu came to kneel before him. 'I owe you so much, Magus. I am so glad to see you safe. Before you were beautiful of spirit, but now you are beautiful in the flesh too.'

  Even Nakonto and Imbali at last conquered their superstitious dread and came to touch him in awe.

  Hilto exclaimed loudly, 'I did not doubt for a second that you would come back to us. I knew it was you the instant I laid eyes on you.' No one took any notice of this blatant falsehood.

  Meren demanded answers to twenty different questions and Fenn clung to his right arm and gazed into his face with shining eyes.

  At last Taita recalled them to stark reality: 'There will be time for this later. All you need to know now is that Eos can harm neither us nor our very Egypt again.' He whistled for Windsmoke, who rolled her eyes at him coquettishly and came to nuzzle his neck. 'You at least recognize me, my darling.' He hugged her round the neck, then looked again to Meren.

  'Where is That?'

  'Magus, he is already on the march for the Kitangule river. The Jarrians have discovered our plans. We must ride at once.'

  By the time they had left the valley and started towards the plain, the sun was setting. It was dark when they entered the forest and, once again, Sidudu was their guide. Taita checked her heading by the stars and found that her knowledge of the land and her sense of direction were infallible. He could devote all of his attention to Fenn and Meren.

  The three rode side by side with Taita in the middle, their stirrups touching, while Fenn and Meren described to him all that had transpired while they were apart.

  Then Taita told them, 'While I was in the palace I was able to eavesdrop on Aquer's battle council. He is taking command of the army himself. His scouts have reported the movement of the main body of our people along the road towards the east. He has deduced that That is trying to reach the shipyards at the head of the Kitangule river and seize the boats there, for he knows that our only escape from Jarri is down

  that river. Tell me where exactly That is now and how many are with him.”

  'He has about nine hundred people, but many of the men are sick and weak from the treatment to which they were subjected in the mines.

  He has only a few more than three hundred who can fight. The rest are women and children.'

  'Three hundred!' Taita exclaimed. 'Aquer has five thousand trained warriors. If he catches That it will go hard with him.'

  'Worse, That is short of horses. Some of the children are very young.

  With them and all the sick, he is moving slowly.'

  'He must send a small band of fighting men ahead with all speed to seize the boats. In the meantime we must delay Aquer,' Taita said grimly.

  'That hopes to give him pause at the Kitangule Gap. Fifty men can hold an army there, at least until the women and the sick are on the boats,' said Meren.

  'Don't forget that Aquer has scouts who know the country as well as Sidudu does,' Taita reminded him. 'They will certainly know of the other route to bypass the gap and reach the boatyards. Instead of waiting for him to come at us, we should strike at him before he expects it.' Meren had glanced at Sidudu as Taita mentioned her name. Even in the moonlight his expression was doting. Poor Meren, the famous philanderer, is smitten, Taita thought, and smiled inwardly, but he said, 'We will need more men than we have now if we are to hold Aquer. I will stay to watch the road for him. Meren, you must take Fenn with you and ride as fast as you can to find Tinat—'

  'I will not leave you!' Fenn cried. 'I have come so close to losing you that I will never leave you again.'

  'I am not a messenger, Magus. You owe me more respect than to treat me as one. Like Fenn, I will stay with you. Send Hilto,' Meren declared.

  Taita made a gesture of resignation. 'Will no one take an order from me without argument?' he demanded of the night sky.

  'Probably not,' Fenn answered primly, 'but you might try speaking gently to Hilto.'

  Taita capitulated and called Hilto forward. 'Ride ahead at first light as fast as your horse will carry you. Find Colonel That Ankut and say that I have sent you. Tell him that Aquer knows we are aiming for the Kitangule river, and is in hot pursuit. That must send a small detachment of fighting men ahead to seize the boats at the headwaters of the river before the Jarrians can destroy them. Tell him his plan to hold

  the Kitangule Gap until all our people have been embarked is a good one, but he must send me twenty of his best men. This is desperately urgent. Hilto, you must lead the men he gives you back along the1 east road towards Mutangi until you find us. Go now! At once!' Hilto saluted and, without another word, cantered away.

  'What we need is an ambuscade where we can wait for Aquer.' Taita turned back to Meren. 'You know precisely the kind of place we are looking for. Ask Sidudu if she knows of one.' Meren spurred forward to Sidudu, who listened intently to his request.

  'I know just such a place,' she said, as soon as he had finished speaking.

  'You are such a clever girl,' Meren told her proudly, and for a moment the two of them were lost in each other's eyes.

  'Come, then, Sidudu,' Taita called. 'Show us if you are truly as clever as Meren declares you are.'

  Sidudu led them off the track they had been following and turned towards the great starry cross in the southern sky. Within an hour's ride she had reined in at the top of a low, wooded hill and, in the moonlight, pointed down at the valley that opened before them.

  'There is the ford of the Ishasa river. You can see the glint of the water. The road that Lord Aquer must follow to reach the Kitangule Gap crosses there. The water is deep so their horses will have to swim. From the top of the cliff we can shower arrows and rocks on them once they enter the water. They will have to ride forty leagues downstream to find another ford.'

  Taita studied the crossing carefully, and nodded. 'I doubt that we will find a better place.'

  'I told you,' said Meren. 'She has a warrior's eye for good ground.'

  'You carry a bow, Sidudu.' Taita nodded at the weapon that hung over her shoulder. 'Can you use it?'

  'Fenn taught me,' Sidudu replied simply.

  'During your absence Sidudu has become an expert archer,' Meren confirmed.

  'It seems there is no end to the virtues of this young paragon,' Taita said. 'We are fortunate to have her with us.'

  They swam the horses through the ford, whose current was strong.

  Once they reached the eastern bank they saw that the path followed a narrow, rock
y defile between the cliffs. It was only wide enough for horses to pass in single file. Taita and Meren climbed it and from there surveyed the ground below.

  'Yes,' Taita said. 'This will do.'

  Before he allowed them to rest, he went over his plans for the ambush and made each in turn repeat the role he had assigned to them. Only then did he allow them to unsaddle and hobble the horses, fill their nosebags with crushed dhurra meal and turn them loose.

  It was a cold camp because Taita would not allow a fire. They ate dhurra cakes and slices of cold roast goat's meat dipped in a fiery pepper sauce. As soon as they had finished Nakonta took his spears and went to stand sentry at the ford. Imbali followed him.

  'She is now his woman,' Fenn whispered to Taita.

  'That comes as no surprise, but I trust that Nakonto will keep at least one eye on the ford,' Taita remarked drily.

  'They are in love,' said Fenn. 'Magus, you have no romance in your soul.' She went to untie her bedroll from the back of Whirlwind's saddle, selected a sleeping spot in the lee of a rocky outcrop well away from the others and spread her sleeping mat on the ground with a fur kaross.

  Then she came back to Taita. 'Come.' She took his hand and led him to the mat, helped him out of his tunic, balled it up and held it to her nose. 'It smells very strong,' she remarked. 'I will wash it as soon as I have the chance.' She knelt beside him on the mat and covered him with the kaross, then took off her own tunic. Her body was very pale and slim in the light of the moon. She slipped under the kaross beside him and pressed her body to his.

  'I am so glad that you have come back to me,' she whispered, and sighed. After a while she stirred and whispered again, 'Taita.'

  'Yes?'

  'There is a little stranger with us.'

  'You must sleep now. It will soon be morning.'

  'I will, in a moment.' She was silent again for a long while as she explored his altered body. Then she said softly, 'Taita, where did he come from? How did it happen?'

  'Miraculously. In the same way as my appearance was changed. I will explain it all later. Now we must sleep. There will be many other opportunities for you and the little stranger to become better acquainted.'

  'May I hold him, Taita?'

  'You are already doing so,' he pointed out.

  She was quiet again for a while. Then she whispered, 'He is not so little, and he is growing bigger and bigger.' A little later she added happily, 'It seems to me that he is already a friend, no longer a stranger.

  So now there are three of us. You, me and him.' Still holding him, she fell fast asleep. It took Taita much longer to do the same.

  It seemed only minutes later that Nakonto woke him. 'What is it?'

  Taita sat up.'¦ 'Cavalry on the road from the west.“

  'Have they crossed the river?'

  'No. They are bivouacked on the far side. I think that they did not want to chance a crossing in the dark.'

  'Rouse the others and saddle up, but do it quietly,' Taita ordered.

  In the faintest glimmer of dawn Taita lay on his belly on the rim of the cliff overlooking the ford. The two girls were at either side of him.

  On the far bank of the river the Jarrian bivouac was stirring, the troopers throwing wood on the watch fires. The smell of roasting meat drifted to where the three lay. Now the light was strong enough for Taita to count heads. There were about thirty men in the troop. Some were at the cooking fires, others at the horse lines tending their mounts. A few were squatting among the bushes at their private business. Soon it was light enough to make out the features of some.

  'There is Onka,' Sidudu whispered fiercely. 'Oh, how I hate that face.'

  'Truly I understand your feelings,' Fenn whispered back. 'We will seek the first chance to deal with him.'

  'I pray for it.'

  'There is Aquer, and that is Ek-Tang with him.' Taita pointed them out.

  The two oligarchs were standing a little apart from the others. They were drinking from bowls that steamed in the cool morning air. 'They have not been able to contain themselves. They have rushed ahead of their regiments.

  They will start to cross the ford soon, and when they do so they will give us an opportunity. If they don't, we will shadow them until Hilto brings up our reinforcements.'

  'I could put an arrow through Aquer from here.' Fenn narrowed her eyes.

  'The range is long and the dawn wind treacherous, my darling.' Taita laid a restraining hand on her arm. 'If we give them warning, the advantage passes to them.' They watched as Onka selected four of his men and gave them curt orders, at the same time gesticulating towards the ford. The men ran to their horses and mounted, then trotted to the river and plunged in. Taita signalled their movements to Meren.

  The four horses were swimming before they were half-way across, struggling against the current and lunging forward again as they felt ground under their hoofs. They came out with water streaming from their coats and the equipment. The scouts looked around carefully before they started up the narrow defile. Meren and his men kept hidden and

  let them through. On the far bank the rest of Onka's troops were drawn up in three ranks, standing at the heads of their mounts. They all waited.

  At last there was a clatter of hoofs and one of the scouts galloped back down the defile to the riverbank. He stopped there and waved his arms over his head. 'All is clear this side!' he shouted. Onka called out an order to his men, who mounted and began to move down towards the ford in single file. Onka remained with the rearguard, where he could better control the crossing, but Taita was surprised to see that Aquer and Ek-Tang were in the forefront. He had not expected that. He had thought they would take position in the middle of the column where they were protected by the men around them.

  'I think we have them.' His voice was tight with excitement. He signalled to Meren to be ready. At the head of the column the two oligarchs spurred their mounts into the river. Half-way across they began to swim, and the file lost its tight formation as the current pushed them downstream.

  'Get ready!' Taita warned the two girls. 'Let the oligarchs and these three riders behind them reach the bank, then shoot any others who try to follow. At least for a short while, until Onka can regroup his men we will have the oligarchs cut off from the main body and at our mercy.'

  The current was strong, and large spaces opened in the column.

  'Nock your arrows!' Taita ordered quietly. The girls reached into the quivers on their backs. Aquer's horse found the bottom and scrambled up the bank. Ek-Tang followed, with three troopers bunched behind him. Then there was a gap in the line and the rest of the column was still scattered across the river.

  'Now!' Taita shouted. 'Shoot the riders coming up behind the leaders.'

  Fenn and Sidudu sprang to their feet and drew the long recurved bows. The range was short, almost point-blank. They loosed and the two arrows flew silently downwards. Both struck home. A trooper reeled in the saddle and screamed as Sidudu's flint arrowhead buried itself in his stomach. The man behind him took Fenn's in the throat. He threw up both hands and toppled backwards into the water with a splash. Their horses turned and collided with those that followed them, throwing the rest of the column into confusion. Aquer and Ek-Tang spurred forward into the defile.

  'Oh, yes! Fine practice.' Taita applauded the girls. 'Have at them until I give the order to break and run.' He left them and ran down the pathway into the defile.

  Meren let the oligarchs enter the mouth of the defile, then he and

  the two Shilluk jumped out of the bushes behind them. Imbali ran at Ek-Tang and swung her axe. With that single stroke she severed the oligarch's left leg above the knee. Ek-Tang shouted and tried to urg'e his mount forward, but with one leg gone he lost his balance and fell sideways, clutching at the horse's mane to save himself. Bright arterial blood pumped from the stump of his leg. Imbali ran after him and swung again. Ek-Tang's head jumped off his shoulder and rolled on to the rocky pathway. His nerveless fingers clung to the hor
se's mane for a few moments longer, then fell open. He flopped sideways to the ground.

  With a yell the trooper who was following Ek'Tang rode down on Imbali. Nakonto flung his spear. It struck the trooper in the middle of his back and transfixed him. The spearhead stood out an arm's length from his chest. He dropped his sword and tumbled out of the saddle.

  Meren ran up beside the last trooper in the line. The man saw him coming and tried to free his sword from the scabbard, but before he could get the blade clear Meren had leapt up and thrust him through the ribs.

  He hit the ground with his shoulders and the back of his head. Before he could rise Meren finished him off with another thrust in the throat, then turned in pursuit of Aquer. The oligarch saw him coming, dug his spurs into his mount and tore away up the defile, with Meren and Imbali running after him, but they could not gain on him.

  From above Taita saw Aquer break away. He turned off the path and ran along the edge of the cliff above him, stopped and poised on the lip of the cliff. As Aquer's horse raced below him, he dropped on to the oligarch's back, so heavily that Aquer lost the reins and was almost thrown from the saddle. Taita whipped one arm around his neck and began to throttle him. Aquer fumbled his dagger from the sheath and tried to stab back over his shoulder into Taita's face. With his free hand, Taita seized his wrist and they wrestled for the advantage.

  Thrown off balance by the shifting weight on its back, the horse crashed into the wall of the defile and reared on its hind legs. Locked together, Taita and Aquer were thrown back over its hindquarters. Aquer was on top as they hit the ground, and his full weight slammed into Taita. The shock broke his grip on Aquer's throat and dagger hand.

  Before he could recover, Aquer had twisted round and thrust for Taita's throat with the dagger. Taita grabbed his wrist again and held him off. Aquer put his full weight behind the dagger but could make no impression. Taita now had the abundant strength of a young man and Aquer was long past his physical prime. Aquer's arm began to tremble

  with the strain and his expression turned to dismay. Taita smiled up at him. 'Eos is no more,' he said. Aquer flinched. His arm gave way and Taita rolled over on top of him.