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Give him what he wants. Let s rid ourselves of him once and for all.
Nassef guessed right most of the time. But he had erred in calling in all of
El Murid s supporters. By so doing he stripped the desert of his sources of
intelligence. He and El Murid would not learn the truth about Yousif s stand
till it was too late.
Nassef selected twenty thousand men. El Murid took twenty-five hundred
Invincibles. They left a substantial force to defend the pass in their
absence.
It was a morning many days after departure. The sun hung low in the east.
They moved up on the waterhole by Wadi el Kuf.
The wadi was a shallow, broad valley a mile and a half east of the waterhole.
It was filled with bizarre natural formations. It was the wildest badland in
all Hammad al Nakir.
Nassef and El Murid raised the Lord s standard atop a low hill a mile south
of the oasis, and an equal distance from the wadi. They studied the enemy, who
was waiting on horseback.
They don t seem impressed by our numbers, Nassef observed.
What do you suggest?
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It seems straightforward. Hold the Invincibles here, in reserve. Send the
rest in one wave and overwhelm them.
This is a strange land, Nassef. It s so silent.
The stillness did seem supernatural. Thirty thousand men and nearly as many
animals faced one another, and even the flies were quiet.
El Murid glanced at the wadi. It was a shadowy forest of grotesque sandstone
formations: steeples, pylons, giant dumbbells standing on end. He shuddered as
he considered that devil s playground.
We re ready, Nassef said.
Go ahead.
Nassef turned to Karim, el-Kader and the others. On my signal.
His captains trotted their horses down to the divisions they commanded.
Nassef gave his signal.
The horde surged forward.
Yousif s men waited without moving. They had arrows ready on the strings of
their saddle bows.
Something s wrong, the Scourge of God muttered. I can feel it.
Nassef? El Murid queried in a voice gone small and tentative. Do you hear
drums?
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It s the hoofbeats. . . .
El Murid did hear drums. Nassef! His right arm stabbed out like a javelin
thrust.
The devil s garden of Wadi el Kuf had begun to disgorge a demon horde.
Oh, my God! Nassef moaned. My God, no.
King Aboud had harkened to Yousif s importunities at last. He had sent Prince
Farid to Wadi el Kuf with five thousand of the desert s finest soldiers, many
of them equipped after the fashion of western knights. With Farid, in tactical
command, was Sir Tury Hawkwind of the Mercenary s Guild. Hawkwind had brought
a thousand of his brethren. They were arrayed in western-style lances of a
heavy cavalryman, his esquire, two light and one heavy infantrymen.
Nassef had time to think, to react. Heavy cavalry could not charge at
breakneck speed across a mile of desert and up a slight hill. And Hawkwind
obviously meant to bring his shock power to bear.
What do we do? El Murid asked.
I think it s time for the amulet, Nassef replied. That s the only weapon
that will help now.
El Murid raised his arm. Without a word he showed Nassef his naked wrist.
Where the hell is it? Nassef demanded.
Softly, At Sebil el Selib. I left it. I was so excited about coming, I
forgot it. He had not worn the amulet for years, preferring to keep it safe
within the shrines.
Nassef sighed, shook his head wearily. Lord, choose a company of Invincibles
and flee. I ll buy you all the time I can.
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Flee? Are you mad?
This battle is lost, Lord. All that remains is to salvage as much as we can.
Don t stay, and deprive the movement of its reason for existing.
El Murid shook his head stubbornly. I see no defeat. Only more trouble than
we anticipated originally. We still outnumber them, Nassef. And no matter
what, I won t leave the field while men are dying for me. Not when they have
it in their hearts that I am commanding them. What would they think of my
courage?
Nassef shrugged. We can but die with honor, then. I suggest you form the
Invincibles to meet the coming charge. A moment later, after studying the
enemy banners, he murmured thoughtfully, I wonder what Hawkwind is doing
here.
Trust in the Lord, Nassef. He will deliver them unto us. We have the
numbers, and Him on our side. What more could we ask?
Nassef stifled an angry response. He helped guide the Invincibles into a new
disposition.
At the oasis, at feast, it seemed that El Murid s confidence was justified.
Yousif s force was surrounded.
Who s this Hawkwind?
A Guildsman. Perhaps their best general.
Guildsman? El Murid s ignorance of the world outside Hammad al Nakir was
immense.
A brotherhood of warriors. Not unlike the Invincibles. Called the
Mercenary s Guild. They re also a little like the Harish, and yet like nothing
we know. They own no allegiance except to one another. After Itaskia, they re
probably the greatest military power in the west, yet they have no homeland
but a castle called High Crag. When their generals frown, princes cringe. Just
their decision to fight for someone sometimes stops a war before it starts.
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How do you know? When have you ever had time to learn?
I pay people to learn things for me. I ve got spies all over the west.
Why?
Because you want to go there someday. I m preparing the way. But it s all
irrelevant if we don t get out of this alive.
Hawkwind s force was close enough to start increasing its pace.
None of the Invincibles had seen knights before. They neither understood nor
sufficiently feared what they faced. When their master gave the signal, they
charged. They trusted in the Lord and their name. Hawkwind increased his pace
again.
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