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‘Save your advice for the men you command.’
Roger scuffed noisily out of the firelight, and Marc closed his eyes. God in heaven, he did not deserve such a friend. Not after Acre. Richard had ordered the massacre, but on that awful, bloody day a part of Marc began to die. The heads of two thousand hostages, women and children, as well as defenders, rolled in the blood-soaked sand outside the city. Richard had betrayed them, and then slaughtered them all.
A rustle whispered into his consciousness. Not a footfall, something else. Without thought, he felt for his sword.
The sound came again, closer. Behind him. ‘Who goes there?’
The silence stretched, so profound it seemed to scream. One of Richard’s heavy-booted minions? A servant?
An assassin?
Marc lifted the simmering pot off the fire, rose and grasped the hilt of his sword. He had just started to buckle the leather belt around his hips when a movement beyond the flames caught his attention. He stiffened, straining his eyes into the thick night.
Sensing a motion at his back, he spun, sword raised, just as a dark-swathed figure hurtled toward him. Instinctively Marc took a single step forward, and his blade caught the intruder in the throat. A cry, then the man pitched onto the ground at Marc’s feet and lay still.
Blood poured from the man’s wound, soaking the turban and the silk tunic, oozing over the dark fingers clutching at the torn throat. A Saracen. Probably a spy, this close to the Frankish camp.
A gurgling sound, then nothing. Marc bent closer. Almighty God, what had he done! The man was unarmed.
He turned away in self-loathing, covered his face with his hand. For a moment he thought he would vomit. A warrior’s slaughter in battle was his duty as a Christian knight, but striking an unarmed man, even a Saracen, was against the law of God. A whisper of sound brought his head up, every nerve on edge. Something—instinct or training, or perhaps the voice of God—made him twist back toward the dead Arab. A small form flitted out of the shadows and threw itself over the body, sobbing like a girl. So, the man had a loyal servant.
Again Marc turned away. The words of regret that sprang to his lips died the instant he opened his mouth. He need not apologise to a Saracen, much less to a Saracen’s servant.
He turned away, toward the fire, and suddenly a warm weight dropped onto his back. One thin arm crooked about his neck and the blade of a dagger pressed into his throat.
‘Qaatil!’ shouted a thin voice, choked with hatred. Before Marc could throw him off, the knife nicked his skin; a dribble of warm liquid ran down the neck of his tunic.
‘Taraka.’ He spoke in Arabic, but the boy did not let go. Instead he clung to Marc’s back, the hand gripping the dagger flailing to find a vulnerable spot. He grabbed the servant’s upper arm and twisted, hard.
With a yelp, the slight figure tumbled off and sprawled on the ground. The dagger skittered out of his fingers. A skinny hand grabbed for it, but Marc stomped his boot onto the blade, pinning it to the hard ground.
‘Go.’ He gestured toward the shadowy edge of his camp. ‘I will not harm you.’ Without thinking, he spoke the words in the Frankish tongue.
‘I will kill you.’ The low voice replied with a tremor. ‘I will take revenge if it is the last thing I do on this earth. God knows I speak truly.’
A servant boy who spoke Norman French? ‘Who are you?’ Marc demanded.
The boy darted a glance at the dagger caught under Marc’s foot, flicked his gaze to the body of the dead Saracen and dropped into a crouch, his forearm still imprisoned in Marc’s grip. Tears streaked the lad’s dirty face.
Marc bent and scooped up the knife. The hilt was silver, beautifully incised, with a single jewel embedded into the metal. A ruby, big as a sparrow’s egg.
‘Where did you get this?’
The hunched figure twitched but said nothing.
‘Answer me!’ He slid his fingers down to the boy’s wrist and squeezed. ‘Where did you get this blade?’
The trembling servant glanced down at the dead Arab. ‘It belongs to me.’
‘And I am the prince of Samarkand. Speak the truth!’
‘I am no thief.’
‘So you say, boy. Where did you get this blade?’
‘It is mine, now.’ He glanced again at the body.
So, the Arab had been armed. A spy? It mattered not, since death now sat on the man’s chest.
But the boy mattered. The boy might be only half-grown, but the wiry young Arab had tried to attack him, kill him, even. Marc reached down, caught the neck of the youth’s dust-smeared tunic and yanked him upright.
‘Who are you?’ He expected the boy to cringe, but he straightened and looked boldly into Marc’s face.
‘I am… Soray.’
‘And who is that man on the ground?’
‘That is my lord. His name is Khalil al-Din.’
Marc tightened his grip on the tunic. ‘A servant? You are his servant?’
‘I am his servant.’
Marc released him. It made no sense. Was a Saracen servant so devoted to his master that he would commit murder on his behalf?
‘You are lying.’
The boy tensed. ‘No, lord. I do not lie.’
Marc shook his head. He knew a lie when he heard one. Still, he could not linger; the king awaited him.
‘Leave this camp, boy. I will see to the body of your master.’ He tramped out of the circle of firelight, the dagger still clenched in his fist, to the tent where Richard waited.
Soraya crossed her arms over her waist and watched the tall knight stride off into the dark. He had a cold, hard look about him, a darkness in his face that frightened her. Not one word of regret, not even a prayer for the man he had struck down with his thoughtless blow.
Shaking with sobs, she knelt at Khalil’s side and bowed her head. ‘Uncle, I swear to you I will avenge your death. And I will also complete your mission— I will make sure that Saladin’s written message is delivered to King Richard. But for both these tasks I must get your dagger back. God willing, I will do it this very night.’ She reached out and pressed her fingers over his eyelids. Choking back a cry of anguish, she straightened Khalil’s limbs and kissed both his cold cheeks.
I cannot bear for the Frankish barbarian to touch you. I cannot allow him to lay you in the ground without the proper words.
She stood up, her hands clenched at her sides. Tearing her gaze from her uncle’s body, she surveyed the camp. The barbarian had no tent, only a meager fire and one cooking pot. She peered inside the vessel. Surely a man so large must eat more than that little bit of noxious-looking paste!
An iron helmet and a chain mail shirt were partially stuffed into a filthy hemp bag. Beside it lay a rolled-up blanket, secured with a leather belt blackened with age. Ugh. These Franks were worse than pigs.
She lifted her head, listening. The knight would return soon. When he did, she would be ready. She must snatch the dagger away from him and strike before he could react. She would not give up until the miserable Frank lay lifeless beside her uncle.
And as to her other quest, the message she needed to deliver? All in good time. She would see to that once she had retrieved her dagger and dealt with the man who had killed her beloved uncle. It would be difficult to demand her weapon back from the Frank without saying why she needed it—but she was to tell no one of the message except the king. She added more dung to the fire, carefully positioned the blanket before it and lifted it away in a prearranged signal.
Marc made his way past a dozen campfires, noting how the knights he met backed away from him, neither looking him in the face nor speaking. Richard’s men had always been uneasy in his company; now they seemed to fear him, as well. Did his fury show that much?
When he came to Richard’s large, crimson tent, he stuffed the dagger into his belt and reached for the silk flap.
‘Ah,’ an oily voice murmured at his back. ‘Marc de Valery. At last. I wager you will regret making the king wait.’
Marc said nothing. He shoved past the surly knight, entered Richard’s tent and went down on one knee beside the cot.
‘Get up,’ the king rasped. The ruddy face, crowned with frizzy red-gold hair, was sweaty and flushed. Below the bushy moustache, the dry, chapped lips opened. ‘Come closer.’ It seemed to take all Richard’s strength to utter those few words.
Marc edged forward on his knees. The still air inside the tent smelled of sour bedding. ‘My lord?’
‘Listen to me, de Valery,’ the king wheezed. ‘My strength fails me.’
‘Aye, lord?’
Richard’s eyelids closed. ‘Tell no one what I say. Swear it.’
Marc stared at the ailing monarch. ‘I swear.’
‘Lean down.’
Marc bent his head, turning his ear close to Richard’s open lips. The king murmured a single sentence. ‘I must return to England.’ He raised one unsteady hand to rest on Marc’s shoulder. The heat from the man’s fingers seared through his linen tunic like a hot iron.
‘My brother John has made alliance with the French king. Philip wants Normandy— John wants my crown. I must go home. I need you to accompany me on the journey.’
‘If I do what you ask, my lord, you will die.’
‘I will not die, de Valery. You will see to that.’
Marc sucked in air. He could not refuse. No one refused Richard of England unless he ceased to value his own life.
‘Very well, sire. I will do what you ask.’
‘Good,’ Richard uttered on a sigh. ‘Très bien.’
‘One question only,’ Marc murmured. ‘Why me?’
The king gave a hoarse laugh. ‘Because,’ Richard said, ‘I trust you, even if you are half-Scot. You are a good man, de Valery.’
Marc dropped his head to acknowledge the backhanded compliment. He would not bother to confess he was not the good knight Richard thought him. Not even close.
He made to rise, but Richard’s limp hand stayed him. ‘One more thing.’
Marc waited for the king’s breathing to steady.
‘Stay away from Leopold of Austria. He is blinded by his anger.’
‘Yes, my lord. I have known this. You should not have desecrated his banner as you did.’
‘You should have told me before now.’
Marc said nothing. No Scot would dare accuse a German baron of perfidy. Richard knew that.
It was past moonrise when Marc finished his preparations on the king’s behalf and returned to his small camp. The fire had burned down to embers. The cooking pot was stone-cold. He wasn’t hungry anyway, thinking of tomorrow and all the things that could go awry. Richard was shrewd, even calculating. But at times he acted on impulse rather than with the cool rationality of his father, Henry Plantagenet. It was worse with a fevered brain.
He glanced toward the spot where the dead Saracen should have been and recoiled. The body was gone! He bent over the spot and found it swept clean.
A shiver went up his spine. No blood stained the ground. No hoofmarks, or footprints. Did a Saracen ascend to Paradise so easily?
Or had the Arab boy dragged his master away?
He crossed himself in short, jerky motions. Perhaps the corpse had been spirited away by djinns. He fingered the jeweled dagger he’d stuffed under his belt. He had told no one of the slaying, not even Richard of England. The act made him sick to think on. But now he must look to the future and prepare to leave the camp tomorrow morning and journey back to England with Richard.
The hair at his neck prickled. Marc half turned, straining to listen. Outside the circle of firelight he could hear someone breathing.
He drew his blade and plunged toward the sound.
Chapter Two
Marc closed his fingers around a smooth, silk-covered arm and yanked the Saracen boy out of the shadows. ‘What are you doing here? I told you to go.’
‘Do not touch me!’ a high, angry voice yelled. ‘Release me at once!’
‘Answer me!’ Marc gritted through clenched teeth.
The small turbaned head came up. ‘I kept watch over my uncle.’
‘And where is your uncle now?’ He gave the boy a single hard shake. ‘Perhaps he rose up and walked to Paradise?’
A slap stung his cheek. ‘Do not insult him. No one walks to Paradise.’
God, the little brat had struck him!
‘Where is he, then?’
‘I signaled my kinsmen, using your firelight. They came in secret for the body, took him away on a horse.’
‘Why did you not go with them?’
The youth dropped his head, flicked a glance at the jeweled dagger in Marc’s hand, then stared at his leather sandals. Marc tightened his grip on the slim arm. ‘Why?’
The boy set his mouth in a tight line and did not respond. Then, quick as a cat, he wrenched his arm free and his small hand made a grab for the dagger. The blade sliced into the boy’s thumb, and he cried out.
Marc collared him, dragged him over to the fire and pushed him down beside it. ‘Here.’ He tossed down a bit of linen he kept under his tunic. The boy wrapped it around his hand but said nothing.
Marc nodded. ‘I see.’ He squatted a few feet away and hid the knife behind his belt. ‘You stayed behind to attack me.’
No answer. The boy stared into the glowing embers.
‘You have courage, I will say that.’ Still no response.
