Destiny's shield

use! Stone balls, for siege work. And the same-broken stones, for the sake of God! — do for their cannister.' He pursed his lips, as if to spit. Restrained himself. 'I won't have it! Proper cannister can make all the difference, breaking a charge. But for that, you need good lead.'

He fixed the soldiers with an eagle eye. 'You found no lead, I take it?'

The soldiers stared at him, for a moment. Then one of them squeaked: 'No, sir! No, sir!'

Another, bobbing his head: 'We looked, sir. Indeed we did. Scoured the place! But-'

A third: 'Only lead's in the water pipes.' His face grew lugubrious. 'Have to tear the walls apart to get at 'em.'

A fourth, shaking his head solemnly: 'Didn't want to do that, of course. A royal palace, and all.'

Every infantryman's face assumed a grave expression. Well-nigh funereal. Heads bobbed in unison.

'Be a terrible desecration,' muttered one.

''Orrible,' groaned another.

Belisarius stepped forward and looked down into the cauldron, hands clasped behind his back. The general's gaze was stern, fastidious, determined-much like that of a farmer examining night-soil.

'Gold!' he snorted. Then, shrugging heavily: 'Well, I suppose it'll have to do.'

He turned away, took Baresmanas by the arm-the sahrdaran was still standing stiff and rigid-and began leading him toward the entrance.

'A cruel business, war,' he muttered.

Baresmanas moved with him, but the Persian's head swiveled, staring back over his shoulder. His eyes never left the cauldron until they were out of the smithy altogether.

Then, suddenly, he burst into laughter. No light-hearted chuckling, either. No, this was shoulder-shaking, belly-heaving, convulsive laughter. He leaned weakly against a nearby wall.

'This was Emperor Kavad's favorite hunting park,' he choked. 'Spent half his time here, before age overcame him.'

Another round of uproarious laughter. Then:

'He told me once-ho! ho! — that he was quite sure his son Khusrau was conceived on that bed! Ho! Ho! So proud he was! He had slain a lion, that day, and thought it was an omen for his son's future.'

Belisarius grinned at him. 'Poetic justice, then! A thing for legend! Even at his conception, Khusrau Anushirvan was destined to rend the Malwa!'

Baresmanas pushed himself away from the wall. Now it was he who took Belisarius by the arm, and began leading the way back to the central villa.

Still laughing, he murmured: 'Perhaps we should keep that legend to ourselves, my friend. Myths are so easy to misinterpret.'

They walked a few steps. The sahrdaran gave Belisarius a sly glance. 'What will you tell Emperor Khusrau about his hunting villa-if there's no battle, I mean?'

Belisarius smiled crookedly.

'I was just wondering that myself.'

He blew out his cheeks.

'Pray for an earthquake, I suppose.'

Chapter 17

'It's a good thing you sent the Persian troops to us last night,' remarked Maurice, after dismounting from his horse. 'We're not the only ones who figured out that those woods are the best hiding place in the area. All the servants fled the villa when they saw the Syrians coming and they wound up with us. If it hadn't been for Kurush and his men, who settled them down, they'd be scampering all over the landscape squawking like chickens. The Malwa would have been bound to capture a few.'

Belisarius winced.

'I hadn't thought of that,' he muttered. The general glanced back at the villa behind him. 'When we arrived, the place was empty. I should have realized there must have been a little army of servants living here, even when the Emperor's not in residence.'

'Little army? You should see that mob!'

Belisarius cocked an eye. 'Will it be a problem?'

Maurice shook his head. 'I don't imagine. The Persians quieted them down and then moved them farther back into the woods. They instructed the servants to remain there, but Kurush told me he made sure to explain which direction was what. He thinks at least half the servants will start running as soon as the Persians take their battle positions, but at least they'll be running deeper into the woods, away from the Malwa. If the enemy catches any of them, it'll be too late for the information to do them any good.'

Maurice looked toward the villa.

'What's the situation here?' he asked. The chiliarch examined the villa and the area surrounding it.

The imperial villa was not a single structure, but an interconnected series of buildings. The buildings formed an oblong whose long axis was oriented north-to-south. The center of the oblong was open, forming an interior garden. The buildings were enclosed within a brick wall which formed the outer grounds of the villa. The outer wall was low, and not massive. The buildings were nestled near the northeast corner of the wall. To the west, the wall extended outward for hundreds of yards before looping back around. The western grounds of the villa were well- tended and open, except for small copses of trees scattered about.

North and west of the villa, just beyond the wall, began the small forest which formed the actual hunting park. Those woods were dense, and covered many square miles of territory. Maurice's troops were hidden away in a part of that forest, about two miles northeast of the villa. To the south, the villa was separated from the Euphrates by a much thinner stretch of woods. The river was less than a mile away.

Examining the scene, Maurice could see that the forest and the river would act as a funnel, channeling the Malwa directly toward the villa. The area to the east of the villa was the only terrain on which a large army could move. No general would even consider trying to maneuver through the forest. Maurice had been able to get his cataphracts into those woods, true. But he was just setting an ambush, hiding his troops behind the first screen of trees. Even then, the task had been difficult.

He studied the open terrain east of the villa more closely. That would be the battleground. Units of the Constantinople garrison were visible, here and there, eating their morning meal. To the southwest, nestled on the edge of the woods lining the river, Maurice could see portions of the barns, horsepens, and corrals where the imperial livestock were fed and sheltered.

Then, more carefully, Maurice examined the wall which enclosed the compound itself-the villa proper, with its adjoining buildings and the gardens. Finally, very closely, he studied the gateway in which he and Belisarius were standing.

He did not seem exactly thrilled by what he saw.

'A lame mule could kick that wall apart,' he grumbled. 'And as for this ridiculous so-called gate-I'd pit a half- grown puppy against it. Give three-to-one odds on the mutt.'

Belisarius glanced at the objects of Maurice's disfavor. The general smiled. 'Pretty though, aren't they?'

He patted Maurice on the shoulder.

'Relax, you morose old bastard. This is a hunting villa, not a fortress. The outer wall's purely decorative, I admit. But the villa itself was built for an Emperor. It's solid enough, even where the separate buildings connect with each other. Besides, Bouzes' boys did wonders last night, beefing it up. They'll hold-long enough, at least.'

Maurice said nothing, but the sour expression on his face never faded.

The general's smile broadened. 'Like I said-morose old bastard.'

'I'm not morose,' countered Maurice. 'I'm a pessimist. What if your trap doesn't work?'

Belisarius shrugged. 'If it doesn't work, we'll just have to fight it out, that's all.' He waved at the villa. 'Sure, it isn't much-but it's better than anything the Malwa have.'

Before Maurice could reply, a cheery hail cut him off. Turning, he and Belisarius saw that Coutzes had arrived.