I pull my camel to a stop at the top of the ridge, Nicias and Gaius beside me.
Below us, the tinder-dry brown of the hills run right up to the city walls. Where fields of poppies and sunflowers should be maturing for harvest, last year’s dry stalks dance ghost-like in the shimmering heat. Nothing else moves.
“What is it, Basil? What’s happened?” Father pulls his camel alongside mine. “It almost looks abandoned. What can you see?”
“The smoke’s too thick.” I mutter, peering at where the city should be.
“What smoke?” Father’s worry deepens in his voice.
“You can’t see it?” He shakes his head. “There’s a thick black smoke hanging heavy over the whole city.”
“The palace?”
“There is movement there.”
“What’s the matter?” Cheng Sherong and Gandophares join us.
“Something’s not right in the city,” Gaius informs them.
“Would you like me to go first, Master?” Nicias asks.
“Or perhaps I should go first?” Josias doesn’t sound thrilled at the idea.
“Father?” I hesitate. He turns his head. “I do not think sending ether of them is a good idea.”
“What, then?”
“One is too strong, one is too week. Both express fear. We are Magi. Let us return as such, as if it is our due - as it should be.”
“Madjid is dead, isn’t he?”
“Yes, Father.” Seeing the look on his face, I add, “I’m sorry.”
Father bows his head and sits still. “I didn’t know,” he whispers. “Why didn’t I know?”
“Would it have helped?” I respond, gently.
We sit in silence for several minutes.
“What do you want to do, Balthazar?” Cheng Sherong finally asks.
Father looks at each of us in turn: his son of twenty-one; his faithful servant, Josias - not young anymore; the Captain of the guard, Nicias; his second, Gauis, and his two friends, Gandophares and Cheng Sherong - perhaps the only friends he has left. He twists around to look back at the caravan toiling up the hill behind us. Faithful servants and fighting men.
I hear his thoughts. “Is it for this that I insisted on starting with such a large caravan?”
He turns back to the panorama before us. “Issaca and Rachael?”
“They are alive and strong.” I’m glad I can say something positive.
“Then we must go in.”
We retrace our steps and rejoin the caravan.
Nicias takes command, speaking first to Balthazar. “Balthazar, there’s a canyon to the east of here where we can camp tonight and not be seen from the road.”
He turns to Gauis and me. “We will prepare the Magi and ourselves and tomorrow will return to the city in full dress.”
“Captain,” Josias’ face is creased with worry. “We don’t have the ceremonial saddles. We left them behind when we left Bethlehem.”
“We’ll make do with what we have.” Nicias.
“We could send some of the servants down to Bactres and have them purchase what we need,” I suggest.
“And risk someone recognizing them?” Nicias shakes his head.
“I think,” Gandophares interjects. “The fact that we are here at all will make enough of an impression.”
Father nods, as he turn to Nicias. “Captain, we are going to fight for our city. This means we are going to fight father and son against each other, and brother against brother. Do not hold it against anyone who does not wish to fight against his own family members. That goes for servants, too, Josias. Just make sure that those who don’t stay in the camp. We don’t need them spiking the wheel. And tally those who are willing and will be faithful to us.”
Nicias salutes Father and heads back to the caravan, Gaius beside him. I lead the Magi straight to the canyon.
~~~
Once in the canyon we clear as much of the detritus as we can before the caravan arrives. When he arrives, Nicias shoos the Magi into the shade where Josias tends to them. When they are settled, Nicias begins his report.
“There was always a possibility of the need to fight, so I made sure of my troops even before we arrived. Every one of them will stand behind you, sir.”
“Very good. How many men do we have?”
“Four hundred and fifty.”
Josias joins us. “I took the liberty to do the same with the servants, including those who serve Magi Gandophares and Cheng Sherong. All one hundred and fifty will stand with us.”
“Well done!” Father turns to the maps laid out on a makeshift table. “In the morning, we will ride up to the gates as if we suspect nothing. Your best fifty fighting men will flank the Magi. The rest will stay with the caravan, which will follow at about a hundred paces. If, by chance, we are allowed to enter the gates, I want ten of the men to keep with us, while the rest stay in the Center Square. Those with the caravan are to stay with it outside the gates and protect it in case of attack.”
“Very good, my Lord.”
“What if we are refused entry?” Asks Cheng Sherong.
“I expect that we will be,” Father said. “But, at least then we can set up camp in the field without question.”
“What then? We can’t lay siege to the place,” said Gandophares. “Your Father’s aqueducts will assure plenty of water for them. Eventually their food will run out and they would starve. By then it will be winter, and I assume they will need wood to burn, so we could freeze them out.”
“And in the meantime, we’d be just as frozen out here on the plains!” Cheng Sherong exclaims.
“Father, Issaca told me about a door and a tunnel. I didn’t quite understand what she was talking about.”
“When was this?” His head comes up sharply and he studies me through narrowed eyes.
“Um, well. Just now. We’ve been talking.”
“And is clear? They haven’t found it?”
“She says they have not.”
“Very well!” Father turns to the map on the table. “Over here,” he points to the converging point of the two tributaries of the Oxus River. “The door she speaks of is here. This is where we will go in.”
We gather around the table and look where he is pointing.
“But, Father! That’s a two-hundred-foot sheer cliff and a thirty-foot wall on that side!”
“My Lord,” Nicias’ voice sound incredulous. “We don’t have climbing ropes and even if we did, my best bowman would be hard put to shoot an arrow straight up and over the wall, especially with a line attached to it.”
“How would we get the army down there without being seen?” I ask.
“We won’t need your bowman and we won’t take the army.” Father looks around at us with a twinkle in his eye. “Basilikos, we have been fishing many times along this part of the River. Right here where there are huge boulders and rubble from a cliff fall, perhaps as much as a hundred years ago.” He taps the map.
“I know where you mean,” I nod, studying the map.
“Above that mound of rubble there is a barely discernible path that winds up the cliff.”
“I’ve seen it. Nothing more than a goat track.”
“Exactly! About half way up there is a ledge, invisible from below and above, is a hidden door.”
“And is this door accessible?”
“Not from the outside. It’s locked from within. You need to explain to Issaca -”
“She will unlock the door for us.”
Father glowers at me, his frustration with his inability to talk with her himself. He continues with his instructions.
“Tomorrow, when we are refused entry - and we will be, as I said, we will move back and set up camp in the field. Issaca will come down and unlock the door for us.”
“Why does no one else know about this door?” Asks Cheng Sherong.
“Madjid and I discovered the remains of a tunnel carved out by water. We had it cleared out as far as it went and had the rest of the passages dug in stages by different crews of men. And we finished the last part ourselves. Only the three of us, Madjid, Issaca and myself, know the exact locations.”
“Father, I prided myself in knowing the palace inside out. I thought I knew every corridor, every passage, every room. I don’t remember an underground passage that led out to the River.”
“You wouldn’t, Basilikos. It is a hidden passage. The one in Issaca’s apartments comes up into the pagoda on the island in the lake.”
“Ah-hah!” I chuckle, remembering that afternoon - was it only three years ago - when Madjid had surprised Issaca, Mother and me. “So that’s how he did it!”
“Who did what?” Father’s irritation is getting the better of him.
“Oh, Grandfather appeared out of nowhere one time when I was visiting with Grandmother and Mother. He tried to pretend he knew some magic, too.”
“In a way, he did.”
“Perhaps we should we go tonight, then?” Suggests Gandophares. They all look to me for the answer.
“Issaca, they ask should we come tonight before we present ourselves -?”
“They already know you are here! You must come tonight!”
“Yes. We must go tonight,” I not.
“Very well. Captain Nicias?”
“With your permission, my Lord, there will be a slip of a moon tonight, enough for the trained watchman’s eye to discern movement if we get too close, but it will set by two o’clock. Then we can move unseen.”
“Very well. How close can we get without being seen before then?” Nicias and Father bend over the maps and continue to discuss their plans. I wander away, moving toward the hills behind which the sun had set.
“Master Basilikos,” Cheng Sherong joins me. I’m surprised at the use of the title. “You are a tribute to the school of the Magi. You seem to have a natural ability to read others. You also can see the future, as you have proven many times on this journey. Now you show signs of telepathic power. What else have you learned?”
“Magus Cheng Sherong. I am only a humble student. I hope that I have not put myself forward.”
“You have behaved at times as a novice, but that is expected.” Somehow, there is no sting to his words. “You are wise to keep your knowledge to yourself. The Magi are secretive men. It is better that others do not know the extent of your power.”
“I did not mean to withhold anything from you, Sir. You and Magus Gandophares are my father’s friends. I see no reason to fear you.”
“There is nothing to fear. And I am not implying you were. I was cautioning you. For many months we have lived in a world outside of the world. Reality is about to catch up with us.”
“Cheng Sherong,” sensing the tension easing, I drop back to the more familiar form of address. “Can you tell what a man is thinking?”
“You mean, can I read minds? To a certain extent. Most of it is just being observant. Watching how he holds himself, his expression, his movement, his reactions. Why, can you?”
“There have been times, yes. At first it was more like an image.” I stop, trying to think how to explain it.
“That makes sense,” Cheng Sherong. “We don’t think in full sentences, but in thought patterns . . . images.”
I nod. “I discovered that I could hear others when Father gave me Ruby.” I pat her under my robe. “She and I talk often. She also has warned me time and again.”
“Yes! Like she did when Mongke was approaching! I remember.”
“And I have been able to hear other’s thoughts occasionally - I think when it’s important that I do hear them.”
“Cheng Sherong, Basilikos,” Father joins us. “It would be a good for us all to try to get some sleep. Who knows when we will next be able to lie down in relative safety and sleep as the innocent. The servants will wake us in time.” Cheng Sherong excuses himself and returns to the tents. Father turns to me.
“How long have you been able to communicate with Issaca?”
“Long before you left on this journey.”
“What has she told you of the circumstances?”
“It’s been ugly. She and Mother have been sequestered in her quarters. Grandfather’s and your quarters have been taken over, as have Mother’s. There has been so much quarreling that nothing has been accomplished and it looks as though it will be a bleak winter for the whole city.”
“Nothing more? What about their health, their safety?”
“They are safe enough. And their health is relatively good.”
“What’s that mean?”
“Well, food is scarce. They are hungry. They are a little short on clothes and warm blankets. They have been praying to the Mighty One to bring us home quickly, before winter sets in.” Father nods, but he doesn’t seem convinced. There is more – something he wants to know but is afraid to ask. He glances down at the ground, up at the sky, back toward Madjid.
“Mother is all right, Father.” I saw his lips twist in a tight smile. “She sends her love and says, please, be careful.”
“This is going to be your first experience of real battle, Basilikos,” he changes the subject. “It is one thing to hunt and kill wild game. It is easy to shoot arrows at a target and to joust in the games. But it’s very different when you must choose to kill or be killed by another man. I pray the Mighty One that, if it comes to this, you will be able to do it. And I pray that the Prophet will be with us and keep us safe through this venture.”
“Boring!” I filter in facets.
