insulting and threatening them.’
‘What then?’ Yusuf grumbled. ‘Should I buy them drink, like Turan?’
‘Forget Turan! He is a drunkard who wants the men to love him. He will never be great. But I expect more from you, Yusuf. Today you lost control. You must never lose control before your men. They will never respect you if you do.’ Shirkuh paused and took a deep breath. ‘Nur ad-Din has asked me to send you back to Baalbek.’
Yusuf lowered his head. He had only just arrived and already he had failed. He thought of the men’s laughter as he had walked away. They seemed to be mocking Yusuf’s dreams of greatness. He clenched his jaw as he fought back tears. ‘I am sorry, Uncle.’
Shirkuh gripped his shoulder. ‘Do not be too hard on yourself, young eagle. Leaders are created, they are not born. I reminded our lord that he was no better when he was your age, and I have persuaded him to give you a second chance. He has agreed that you are to command the citadel at Tell Bashir.’
‘Tell Bashir? But that is the property of the eunuch Gumushtagin.’
‘Not any more. He has been given Bizaa as you suggested. But the men he left behind in Tell Bashir remain loyal to him. Nur ad-Din fears that they will open the city to the Seljuks. It is your task to ensure that this does not happen.’
Yusuf straightened and met Shirkuh’s eye. ‘I will not fail you, Uncle.’
‘You had best not. I gave Nur ad-Din my word that you would succeed in Tell Bashir. If you fail, you will disgrace both of us.’
‘I understand.’
‘Good. You leave tomorrow.’ Shirkuh grasped Yusuf’s shoulders with both hands. ‘Remember, Yusuf. Always remain in control. Never show weakness. Most importantly, treat your troops as men. And never forget: you must be one of them before you can lead them.’
Chapter 10
Slate-grey clouds hung low in the sky as John rode out of Aleppo through the Bab al-Yahud – the Jew’s gate. John was happy to leave the city behind; he had never felt more foreign and alone than he had in the slaves’ quarters of the citadel. Perhaps Tell Bashir would be better. At least Yusuf would be in charge there. John glanced to where his friend rode beside him, his head held high. They followed a Bedouin guide named Sa’ud, and behind them came three men leading pack-horses, then six mamluks surrounding a mule that carried an iron-bound chest. John knew that the key to the chest’s heavy lock hung around Yusuf’s neck. Back at the citadel, he had allowed John to look inside. The chest contained two thousand golden dinars, enough to buy John’s freedom many times over – surely enough to ensure the loyalty of the men at Tell Bashir.
Ahead, the road was little more than a beaten track, the wind whipping up swirling plumes of sand. John pulled down one of the folds of his turban to cover his face and keep out the dust. The trail sloped down to run parallel with the tiny Quweq River, which wound its way north through broad plains. They passed orchards, the trees heavy with oranges and limes. Beyond them were fields of harvested wheat – black earth dotted with the yellow stubs of cut stalks – and also fragrant fields of bright-yellow saffron. Past the fields, the rocky desert stretched away to the horizon, where a sheet of rain fell from the dark sky. As the storm came closer, John could see the rain sweeping down the river, disturbing its placid surface. He unwound his turban as the first cool drops hit him. A moment later, the skies opened up, soaking his tunic and turning the road to mud. John turned to Yusuf and grinned.
Yusuf shook his head. ‘The rain will slow us. You won’t be smiling if we don’t make it to the inn and have to sleep in the open.’
‘That’s why we have tents. Besides, we can’t get any wetter.’
‘It’s not getting wet that worries me; it’s the bandits. There are only twelve of us. That is enough to fight off most raiders, but the rain will dampen sound and make it hard to see. It will make us an easier target.’
John’s smile faded. He looked at the road stretching across the empty plain ahead and saw only a distant camel train. ‘Are bandits really such a danger?’
Yusuf nodded. ‘There is an old saying: the companions chosen are more important than the route taken. Only fools travel alone, and even large groups are sometimes attacked. When my mother was young, she was part of a caravan of over forty that was raided.’
‘Why doesn’t Nur ad-Din do something about it?’
‘There is little he can do. The raiders often attack far from where they live. Some are Franks from the Christian lands. Most are Bedouin. After their raids, they vanish into the great desert. None dares follow them there.’
They rode on in silence, following the course of the river. John was more alert now, scanning the road ahead for potential ambushes. When they came to a small settlement – a few single-room homes mixed with tents – he gripped the hilt of his sword as they passed, ready in case bandits burst forth. The rain slackened, then stopped, and a few rays of sun broke through the clouds. Around noon, they came to a larger settlement, built where two tributaries flowed into the Quweq from the north. The village had a mosque, and John led the horses to the river to drink while the others went inside to perform their afternoon prayers. Afterwards, they ate a simple meal of flatbread and goat’s cheese, then crossed the Quweq over a rickety wooden bridge. They left the river behind, following one of its tributaries north-west. The tributary, dry most of the year, was now full of muddy, turbulent water, which had cut a deep channel in the sandy soil. Desert grasses and wild flowers grew near the channel, but there were no crops. After a time, they left the tributary behind and rode across barren desert.
‘How does our guide know the way?’ John asked Yusuf.
‘The desert is the Bedouin’s home. They can read its signs, see things we cannot.’
They saw no trace of human life until just before sunset, when they heard the familiar, wavering cry of a muezzin calling the evening prayer. A moment later, they crested a small rise and saw a u-shaped building built around a well. It was a funduq – an inn that served caravans. Yusuf’s shoulders relaxed visibly when he saw it. ‘We made it,’ he said and spurred his horse through the gate. John followed and found himself in a courtyard lined with wooden stalls on the right. Most of them were occupied by a horse or camel. A murmur of conversation – punctuated by a woman’s loud laughter – came from a door to the left. It opened, and out stepped a dark-skinned man with a bright smile and large, gold loops in his ears.
‘As-salaamu ‘alaykum, travellers,’ he said, giving a small bow.
‘Wa ‘alaykum as-salaam,’ Yusuf replied as he dismounted. John also dismounted and took the reins of Yusuf’s horse.
‘I am Habil, and you are welcome at my funduq,’ the man said. ‘You can stable your horses here. Beds are through that door behind you. There is food and drink in the tavern.’ He waved to the door through which he had just come. ‘Three fals each for a bed and horse stall. Food and drink are extra.’
Yusuf took a dinar from the pouch at his belt and tossed it to Habil, whose eyes went wide at the sight of the gold piece. ‘That should be sufficient for me and my men.’
‘Yes, yes!’ Habil bowed again. ‘You can have all the food and wine you want.’
‘I do not desire wine. Where is the mosque?’
‘Yes, of course, the mosque. It is that way.’ Habil pointed to a door at the far end of the courtyard.
Yusuf nodded curtly. ‘You may go now.’ Habil bowed and re-entered the tavern, and Yusuf turned to John. ‘Care for my horse,’ he said, then spoke to the mamluks. ‘You will take turns guarding the gold. I want two men with that chest at all times. We will leave after morning prayers.’ Yusuf crossed the courtyard and disappeared into the mosque. Shirkuh’s men led their horses into the stalls and unsaddled them. Most of the men headed into the tavern, but two stayed behind in the fading light. They carried the chest into one of the stalls and sat on the straw-covered floor while John groomed Yusuf’s horse in the next stall along.
John took a comb, hoof pick and cloth from one of the saddlebags and then removed the saddle. He slid his hand down the horse’s right foreleg, squeezing just above the hoof, and murmured ‘fauq’ – up. The horse lifted its leg, and John carefully picked out the pebbles and grit that had gathered in the sole of its hoof. When he had
