Destiny's shield

'Without the supply fleet, we cannot take Babylon.'

He glanced toward the Euphrates. The sunset was almost gone, but the river was still well-illuminated by the multitude of burning ships.

'Under the best of circumstances, we have been set back-'

He hesitated, quailing, before summoning his courage. Link, he knew, would punish dishonesty faster than anything. In this, at least, the divine spirit was utterly unlike Jivita. Mindless rages were not Link's way. Simply-cold, cold, cold.

He cleared his throat.

'Until next year,' he concluded.

A human would have cocked an eye, or-something. Link simply stared at Achyuta through those empty, old woman's eyes.

'So long?'

Again, he cleared his throat.

'Yes, Great Lady Holi. Until we can replace the destroyed ships, we will only have sufficient supplies to maintain the siege. There will be no chance of pressing home any attacks. And we have-'

He waved his hand helplessly, gesturing toward the invisible barrenness of the region.

'— we have no way to build ships here. They will have to be built in India, and brought here during the monsoon next year.'

Great Lady Holi-Link-was silent. The old woman's eyes were still empty, but Achyuta could sense the lightning-quick calculations behind those orbs.

'Yes. You are correct. But that is not the worst of it.'

The last sentence had something of the sense of a question about it. Achyuta nodded vigorously.

'No, Great Lady Holi, it isn't. There will be no point in bringing a new fleet of supply ships if the river-'

Again, that helpless gesture. Great Lady Holi filled the silence.

'We must restore the river. They have dammed it upstream. An expedition must be sent-at once-to destroy the dam and the force which built it.'

'At once!' agreed Achyuta. 'I will assemble the force tomorrow! I will lead it myself!'

Great Lady Holi levered herself upright.

'No, Lord Achyuta, you will not lead it. You will remain here, in charge of the siege. Appoint one of your subordinates to command the expedition.'

Achyuta did not even think to argue the matter. He nodded his head vigorously. Asked, in a tone which was almost fawning:

'Which one, Great Lady Holi? Do you have a preference?'

The divine spirit glanced around the platform, estimating the officers standing there rigidly. It was a quick, quick glance.

'It does not matter. I will accompany the expedition personally. Whoever it is will obey me.'

Achyuta's eyes widened.

'You? You yourself? But-'

He fell silent under the inhuman stare.

'I can trust no one else, Achyuta. This was Belisarius' work. His-and the one who goes with him.'

She turned away.

'I know my enemy now. I will destroy it myself.'

Moments later, assisted by the hands of several officers, the figure of the old woman disappeared down the ladder. Achyuta was relieved to see her go. So relieved, in fact, that he did not wonder for more than an instant why Great Lady Holi had referred to the man Belisarius as 'it.'

Personal peeve, he assumed. Not thinking that the divine spirit named Link was never motivated by such petty concerns.

The next morning, from his perch atop the hill which had once been the Tower of Babel, Emperor Khusrau watched the Malwa expeditionary force begin their march to Peroz-Shapur and the Nehar Malka.

The sight was impressive. There were at least sixty thousand soldiers in that army across the Euphrates. At the moment, from what he could see, Khusrau thought the enemy force was infantry-heavy. But he had no doubt that they would be joined along the march by the mounted raiding parties which the Malwa had kept in the field, ravaging Mesopotamia. By the time that army reached its destination, he estimated, its numbers would have swelled by at least another ten thousand.

Most of the Malwa army's supplies were being carried on camelback, but the expedition was also accompanied by small oared warships which were being laboriously portaged past Babylon. Those vessels would have a shallow enough draft to negotiate the Euphrates upstream. The water level of the river had dropped drastically, but it was still a respectable stream.

He could see no siege guns. He would have been surprised to have done so. Weeks earlier, Belisarius had explained to him that heavy guns, even sectioned, require carts-or better, barges-for transport. Barges would be too heavy for the shrunken river, and, as for carts-how to haul them? Camels make poor draft animals, and horses could not manage a long and heavy-loaded march through the desert. There was no way to haul carts alongside the river itself, of course. The terrain directly adjoining the Euphrates was much too marshy-even more so now that the water level had dropped.

No, he thought with satisfaction, it is just as Belisarius predicted. They will be restricted to rockets and grenades-weapons which they can carry on camelback.

Without taking his eyes from the Malwa army, the Persian Emperor cocked his head toward the man standing at his side.

'You are certain, Maurice? It is still not too late. I can order a sally against that force.'

Maurice shook his head.

'That would be unwise, Your Majesty.' With only the slightest trace of apology: 'If you forgive me saying so.'

Maurice pointed to the south. Even at the distance, it was obvious that the main force of the enemy was mobilized and ready.

'They're hoping for that. They'll be prepared, today. They've erected their own pontoon bridges across the river. If you make another sally, they'll overwhelm you.'

Khusrau did not pursue the matter further. In truth, he agreed with Maurice. He had made the offer simply out of a sense of obligation. He owed much to the Romans, and he was a man who detested being in debt.

Inwardly, he sighed. He would not be able to repay that debt for some time. If ever. Once again, circumstances forced him to allow his allies to fight for him. The great Malwa expeditionary force would have no Persians to contend with, other than Kurush's ten thousand men. And those troops would be needed to defend Peroz-Shapur, which the Malwa expedition would bypass on its way to the Nehar Malka. Kurush and his men would tie up at least their own number of enemy troops, true. But they would be unavailable to help in the defense of the dam itself.

Once again, Belisarius would fight for him. Almost unaided.

A sour thought came.

Except, of course, for the aid of a traitor.

Khusrau squared his shoulders. The foul deed needed to be done. He would not postpone it.

He turned to one of his aides. 'Send for Ormazd,' he commanded.

As the officer trotted away, Khusrau grimaced. Then, seeing the slight smile on Maurice's face, he grimaced even more.

'And this, Maurice? Are you also certain of this?'

The Roman chiliarch shrugged. 'If you want my personal opinion, Your Majesty-no. I am not certain. I suspect that Belisarius is being too clever for his own good.' Scowl. 'As usual.'

The scowl faded.

'But-I have thought so before. And, though I'd never admit it to his face, been proven wrong before.' Again,