Destiny's shield

He turned a bit in his chair, staring to the south.

'I do not think the Malwa will break into Babylon. Not unless they bring twice the force to bear. And as powerful as they are, the Malwa are not that powerful.'

His eyes now scanned the flooded lowlands to the west. 'It's true that you will begin suffering from disease, soon enough, especially with the marshes. But disease usually strikes the besieger worse than the besieged.'

He turned back, glancing to the east-to the enormous spread of agricultural land within the walls of Babylon- before adding, 'They will have to starve you out. And I think that would take many years. Even if you can't grow everything you need right here in Babylon, you can import the rest. The city is not surrounded, after all. We marched in from the north with no opposition. I'm quite sure you can bring barges down the river.'

Khusrau waved his hand.

'I'm not worried about Babylon, general. I will hold Babylon, of that I have no doubt. But what good will that do me if I lose the rest of Persia?'

Again, he sighed. 'They have me penned here, along with most of my army. While they send out raiding parties to ravage Mesopotamia-'

He broke off, for a moment, barking a laugh.

'One less, now-thanks to you! But, still, there are others, destroying everything they can. And what is worse-' He half-rose from his throne, stretching his arm and pointing to the northeast. 'They have that damned army marching into eastern Persia. Defeating every force I send against them!'

Belisarius cocked his eyebrow. Khusrau fell back in his throne, nodding bitterly.

'Oh, yes. They win every battle we fight.'

For a moment, he scowled. The expression was more one of puzzlement than anger.

'Odd, really. I can't say I've been very impressed by the quality of the Malwa army. Not here in Mesopotamia, that's for sure. Immense numbers and gunpowder are what make them powerful. It's certainly not the skill of their commanders. But in the east, where they have little in the way of gunpowder weapons, their forces fight supremely well.'

'I'm not surprised, Emperor. Those forces are mainly Rajput, under the command of Rana Sanga. I know him personally. The Rajputs are among the world's finest cavalry-Rana Sanga is certainly among the world's finest generals. And the Malwa who is in overall command of that army, Lord Damodara, is also said to be their best.'

'Said? By whom?'

Belisarius smiled crookedly.

'By Rana Sanga, as it happens.'

'Ah.' The Persian Emperor gripped the armrests tightly. He took a deep breath.

'That explains much. It also illustrates my quandary. I can hold the Malwa here at Babylon, but only at the expense of giving up my freedom to maneuver. If I retreat from Babylon, there is nowhere else I can make a stand to prevent the Malwa from seizing all of Mesopotamia. But if I stay-'

'The Malwa will gut everything around you. And, eventually, take Fars and the entire plateau from the east.'

Khusrau nodded. Then, noticing that the goblet which Belisarius was toying with in his hands was empty, began to gesture toward the servants standing a few yards away. But Belisarius waved down the offer.

'No more, please.' He set the goblet down firmly on the small table next to his chair.

'I will send instructions to Rome, ordering that cannons be brought to Babylon. Along with a large supply of gunpowder. That much is in my authority. I will also-' here he blew out his cheeks '-strongly urge the Empress to give me permission to train your soldiers in their use.'

Khusrau stroked his beard.

'Do you think she will agree?'

'Possibly. She will insist, of course, that the cannons and gunpowder remain under the control of Roman troops. Still, they will be here. And then-'

Khusrau's lips curled into a faint smile. 'Under the control of Roman troops,' he murmured. 'Yes, yes. That has a nice-ah, secure-sound to it.'

For a moment, a Persian Emperor and a Roman general stared at each other, in silent conspiracy.

Belisarius broke the silence with a little laugh. 'She is not naive, Emperor. Far from it! She will understand the inevitable results, once lonely young Roman troops-' He broke off, gazing into the distance. 'It's amazing,' he mused, 'how many beautiful women you Aryans seem to produce.'

Khusrau grinned. 'We are a comely folk. It cannot be denied.' The grin faded. 'But you think the Empress Regent will still agree?'

Belisarius nodded. 'It will be enough, I think, if Theodora can tell her suspicions that she didn't actually give the secrets outright. At least the damned Persians had to sweat for them.'

'In a manner of speaking,' chuckled Khusrau. He planted his hands on his knees and rose to his feet. As always, the movement was quick and energetic.

'Speaking of beautiful Persian girls,' he said, 'I have ordered a reception tonight in my pavilion. In honor of Merena's daughter, now married to one of your top commanders. She accompanied him here, I understand.'

Belisarius rose, nodding. 'Yes, she did. She insisted on it, apparently, much to Agathius' surprise.'

The Persian Emperor began leading the way toward the pavilion. He cocked his head.

'Was he angry? Did he really believe all those tales about obedient Persian wives?'

Belisarius laughed. 'Actually, he was quite pleased. He's very taken by the girl, I think. It was not simply a marriage of ambition.'

Khusrau smiled. 'Good. That bodes well for the future. Most auspicious, that wedding-I would like to see more of them.'

'So would I,' agreed Belisarius.

As they walked slowly toward the pavilion, Khusrau's smile turned a bit sly. 'That's part of the reason, of course-well, actually, it is the reason-that I commanded this little reception. Once my haughty nobles see the favor which their Emperor bestows on such marriages, they'll find a daughter or two to marry off to some promising Roman officer. Oh, be sure of it-be sure of it! We Aryans like to talk about the purity of our bloodlines, but we are by no means immune to ambition ourselves.'

He paused for a moment, struck by the sunset. Belisarius joined him in that admiration.

'It is a beautiful world, in truth, for all the evil in it. Let us never lose sight of that, Belisarius, however dark the future may seem.'

The Emperor shook his head, glancing at the pavilion. 'Speaking of dark futures-and a near one, at that-my brother Ormazd will be at the reception.' He scowled fiercely. 'I will have to be polite to him, of course. In the end, he did not-quite! — disobey me.'

Belisarius snorted. 'It was amazing, actually, how quickly he made his decision. Once Baresmanas and I showed up at his camp outside Ctesiphon, with almost twenty thousand troops and the aura of our victory at Anatha. He did not even dawdle, during the march here.'

'I should think not,' snarled the Emperor. 'He had a lot of face-saving to do.'

The Roman general's smile faded. Belisarius turned to face Khusrau, his gaze intent. He said nothing. There was no need to explain-not with this emperor.

Khusrau sighed.

'Yes, Belisarius. I agree. You have my permission to implement your plan.'

Belisarius hesitated. 'Do you understand-did Baresmanas explain it to you fully? At the end-'

Khusrau made a short, chopping gesture with his hand. 'Yes, I understand. I will have to trust you.'

'I will give you my oath, if you so desire.'

The Emperor laughed, now, quite cheerfully. 'Nonsense! I don't want your oath. I want-those two bodyguards of yours? That is their permanent duty?'

Belisarius nodded.

Khusrau took the general by the arm and resumed their progress toward the pavilion. His stride was no longer the leisurely amble of a man enjoying the sunset. It was the determined pace of a decisive man, who had made up his mind.