Siege

now. There would be a meeting with Gennadius this very night. Not an hour later, Halil stood in a dark tunnel, fingering the jewelled handle of his sword as he waited impatiently for Gennadius to arrive. After finding the agreed meeting point, Halil had extinguished his torch, and he now stood in absolute darkness, listening keenly for any sound. He was sure that he had not been followed, but nevertheless, he was edgy. He did not like putting himself at risk like this. Still, with Isa gone to Edirne, he did not trust anyone else to meet with Gennadius. And this was a meeting that Halil could not afford to miss.

Footsteps echoed down the dark passage — the sound of sandals slapping against stone. The footsteps grew louder, and then a light came into view — a torch flickering in the distance. Halil studied the monk as he approached. Gennadius was compact and thin. His face was lined, but he walked with the erect, determined stride of a much younger man. He wore the simple black cassock of a monk, garb which matched his tonsured black hair. Gennadius slowed as he reached the meeting point. He still had not seen Halil.

'Where is the answer?' Halil asked, stepping out of the shadows and into the light cast by Gennadius's torch. Surprised, Gennadius took a step backwards, and his hand dropped to the dagger tucked into his belt.

'Who are you?' Gennadius asked. 'Where is Isa?'

'First, answer the question,' Halil insisted. 'Where is the answer?'

'Edirne.'

'Good. Edirne is also the answer to your question. Isa is there.'

'And who are you?'

'I am Halil.'

'Halil?' Gennadius asked, looking more closely at the vizier. 'Why are you here? I thought that we had agreed that the less contact there was between us, the safer we would both be.'

'Yes,' Halil agreed. 'But Isa is gone, and I do not trust anyone else. I am glad that you sent the bird; I need to speak with you. The siege is progressing faster than I had expected. We must act soon, or we will lose our chance.'

'I do not think so,' Gennadius replied. 'Moving a fleet into the Golden Horn is one thing; moving an army over the walls another. Constantinople has not stood for a thousand years only to fall easily now.'

'All the same, the time for action is now,' Halil insisted. 'I have paid you well, Gennadius. I hope for your sake that it was not money wasted.'

'Do not threaten me, Halil. You will find me decidedly harder to dispose of than one of your Turkish lackeys,' Gennadius warned, his voice low and hard. 'But we are not here to waste our breath on threats. In fact, I have information for you: an attack on the Turkish ships in the Golden Horn is planned for tomorrow night, under the darkness of the new moon.'

'Tomorrow night?' Halil's mind was racing. If the Turkish ships were destroyed, then perhaps it would buy him more time. 'What is their plan? How will they attack?'

'A fleet of small ships will sail after nightfall,' Gennadius told him. 'They plan to use Greek fire to burn the Turkish fleet.'

'You have done well, Gennadius. This is valuable information. I will see to it that the Christian fleet succeeds.'

'No, that is not why I have told you this,' Gennadius said. 'You must tell the sultan. In order for my plan to assassinate Mehmed to work, he must know that you have a contact within Constantinople, and he must see that the information from that contact is valuable.'

'I see,' Halil said. He thought he was beginning to understand Gennadius's plan, but Halil knew that the less he knew of the assassination, the safer he would be. 'You need say no more. I will do as you say. Is that all that you have to tell me?'

'That is all.'

'Very well,' Halil said. 'Do not contact me again unless it is absolutely vital. These meetings are too dangerous.'

'Dangerous?' Gennadius snorted. 'I have little enough to fear from my fellow Greeks. The people trust me more than the emperor, and those that oppose me are fools.'

'Let us hope that you are correct,' Halil said. 'Regardless, I do not wish to risk my life to prove your point. There will be no more meetings. The next time we meet, I expect that the sultan will be dead, and you will be the patriarch of a Turkish Constantinople.'

Gennadius nodded. 'So be it.'

'So be it,' Halil echoed, then he turned and walked away into the darkness. Gennadius climbed out of the dark tunnel into the church basement, which was lit by the flickering light of a single lamp set on the floor. Eugenius was waiting where Gennadius had left him — kneeling on the floor beside the lamp, his head bent in prayer. Gennadius touched Eugenius's shoulder. 'It is time to go, my friend.'

Eugenius nodded and rose. 'You were gone longer than I expected,' he said. 'Were there any difficulties?'

'Everything is proceeding according to God's plan,' Gennadius said. 'Now, let us return to the monastery before it grows dark.'

They made their way out of the small church and along the docks beyond the sea wall. The gates through the wall were shut by order of the emperor, but several of the guards at the Ispigas gate were loyal to Gennadius, and he had little trouble passing through into the city. From there, he and Eugenius wandered off the road and found the shaded path that sloped up to the cave that they would use to re-enter the monastery. Eventually, the path they were following levelled out. Ahead of them lay the dark entrance to the cave. They entered, but Gennadius had only taken a few steps when Eugenius froze. Gennadius stopped beside him, and as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he realized that something was amiss. Ahead of them, the door set into the back of the cave was open.

Eugenius bent down and inspected the ground at their feet. 'Somebody has been here,' he said, pointing to the faint outline of footprints in the dirt. He moved forward, tracing the footsteps further. 'And they have not left.' He reached for his sword, but it was too late. From the corner of his eye, Gennadius saw several shadows detach themselves from the walls and surge towards them. Eugenius rose to fight them, but he was swarmed by three men before he could draw his sword.

Gennadius turned to run, but he had taken only a few steps when another man stepped out of the shadows to block his path. Gennadius was reaching for his dagger when he felt a sharp blow to the back of his head. The world spun. He felt himself falling and then, nothing. Gennadius awoke to the splash of cold water on his face. He quickly took stock of his surroundings. His hands were tied to the arms of a heavy wooden chair and he sat in a dark, luxuriously furnished room: thick Persian carpet, fine paintings on the walls, and a broad desk in front of him. Whoever was with him was not in view. They must now be standing behind him. Gennadius tried to twist his head around, but saw no one. However, from where he sat he could see several tools of torture on the floor nearby: a whip, screws and, most disturbingly of all, a giant metal spike of the sort that traitors were sometimes made to sit on. Gennadius felt panic welling up within him. 'Who's there?' he asked. 'What do you want from me?' There was no answer. Gennadius fought down his panic, forcing himself to breathe evenly. He was still alive, and that was good. Whoever had captured him wanted something from him, or he would be dead already. Or, Gennadius reflected grimly, they wanted him to suffer before he died.

A door opened somewhere behind Gennadius, and he heard footsteps approach. 'Welcome to my home, Gennadius.' The voice was that of Notaras. He strode into view and sat down at the desk, facing Gennadius.

Gennadius managed a weak smile. He glanced significantly at the ropes tying his hands. 'Thank you for your generous hospitality.'

'The ropes are necessary,' Notaras told him. 'I have some questions to ask you. My friend here will make certain that you answer.' Notaras gestured to the man behind Gennadius, who now stepped forward into view. He was tall and dark-skinned, his face lined with scars. He held a wicked-looking curved knife, which he tapped against his hand.

Gennadius ignored the man. He had to keep his conversation with Notaras going. He had information that might save him, if only he could get Notaras to listen. 'I will be more than happy to answer any questions you have for me, Notaras. I have nothing to hide.'

'Odd that a man with nothing to hide would leave his monastery through a secret tunnel. Stranger still that he would leave the city walls.'

'I did nothing of the sort.'