following. In a few moments, they had started a small fire and sat down around it.
“Do you think he’ll do it?” Esk kar asked Trella in a whisper as he slipped his arm around her.
“Oh, yes. He will have no choice. The women will see to it. They know that if the tribe does not grow, they’ll all be dead or captured soon enough.
And they want the goods Orak can provide to make life easier for them.”
Trella rested her head on his shoulder.
“I was angry when I heard you had left Orak,” Esk kar murmured. “But now I’m glad that you came. I tried to convince Subutai myself but I couldn’t think of a way. But I did manage to change his mind about riding ahead and making you his captive.”
He smiled at the look of confusion that crossed her face. “Never mind.
I’ll tell you all about it when we return to Orak. Now rest. We march for Orak and our own great battle in an hour.”
Two hours after midnight, Esk kar and Trella stepped off the ferry and onto the east bank of the Tigris. They’d scarcely left the flat — bottomed craft before the gang of ferrymen and soldiers began heaving on the ropes, sending the unwieldy craft slowly back across the river, their grunts of effort seeming to boom across the river, which amplified the slightest sound.
They couldn’t do anything about the noise, and it would take another four trips to move everyone, including the horses, back to Orak, so the men would be at risk for another few hours.
Sisuthros waited anxiously for them at dockside, his face filled with relief at their safe return. Once inside the village, Esk kar, Trella, and Sisuthros walked quickly back to their house. They went directly to Esk kar’s workroom, where Corio and Nicar awaited them. Cold food, water, and wine were on the table, while two lamps provided light.
“By Ishtar, we’re glad to see you back,” Sisuthros began excitedly. “The villagers were nearly in a panic with you both gone. Another day, and half of them would be trying to get across the river to join up with you.”
“The barbarians are here?” Esk kar asked as he picked up a cold chicken leg and took a bite.
“Yes, the big band that’s been pillaging to the south arrived two days ago. Our scouts had to run for the gate. Now they’re camped about two miles away at the farm belonging to old Gudea and his sons. He and his family are as mad as hornets that their house was chosen by the barbarians.
We could see about a hundred men from the walls, but there are probably at least twice that number.”
“And the main party? Any news?”
“Nothing in the last few days, but they can’t be too far away now. We’re locked in here now, and there have been no patrols to the north since you left. It’s likely the main force will be making camp a few miles away from here in two or three days.” The tension sounded in his voice. “Your own battle went well?”
“Very well. We lost only eight men during the battle, though one of the wounded died on the return trip. But all seventy — three barbarians were killed, and their horses, those that survived, were given to the Ur Nammu.
It will be at least a week, probably longer, before the Alur Meriki begin to wonder what happened to those they sent across the Tigris.”
Esk kar smiled grimly at that thought. “At any rate, we now have ninety more veterans to put on the wall, men who know the barbarians can be beaten.”
“And the Ur Nammu?” Corio asked. “Will they help us in our fight?”
Esk kar shrugged. “I’m not sure. Their chief was killed in the battle, and his son now decides for the tribe. But Trella did her best to persuade him. They may yet give us some small help.”
“We didn’t want Lady Trella to go,” Nicar said, looking at Trella as he spoke. “We knew you would be angry. But she insisted, and there was nothing we could say to prevent her.”
“It matters little, now that you’re both safely back,” Corio remarked.
“It is time to get ready for the first attack. When do you think they will attack?”
“Just as soon as their ruler arrives,” Esk kar answered. “He’ll want to see the first attack, and he will probably bring his own warriors ahead of the main party. But he may not want to leave the main camp unguarded and too far to the rear. So tomorrow or the next day should bring the fi rst assault.”
Nicar stood. “We should let them get some sleep. They’re tired and need their rest.”
The others nodded, said their goodnights, and departed for their own beds and a few hours’ sleep. Esk kar escorted them downstairs. When they were gone, he returned to the workroom to find Trella seated at the table.
She had extinguished one of the lamps to save oil.
“You’re not tired, Trella?” He sat down next to her. “Is there something you want to talk about?”
“Everything is starting now.” Her voice was low and her eyes stared at the table. “I mean, all the planning and building and training… everything is finished. Now the battle begins.”
It took him a moment to understand her words. “Yes, this is the way of war. All the preliminaries are over, and luck or the gods decide your fate.
We’ve prepared as best we could. Now swords and arrows will determine if we live or die. All our decisions and choices will be held up to the light for all to see.”
She turned toward him. “You don’t fear tomorrow! Why am I suddenly filled with fear? I wasn’t afraid until now.”
“All men are afraid of their first battle, Trella. When we waited for the Alur Meriki up in the valley, the men’s fear was so thick I was sure the Alur Meriki could smell it three hundred paces away. Men’s teeth were chattering, their bowels loosening, and their hands shaking. But once the battle starts, there’s no time for fear. This is your first battle. Don’t be concerned about these thoughts.”
The night before battle, every man had to face his fear, some men of sword thrusts, others of arrows or lances, and most worried about their own bravery. He realized a woman could be as afraid. “Anyway, we have nowhere to run.”
“And death? We could both be dead by tomorrow night!”
That was more likely than she realized. He pulled her from her chair onto his lap, holding her close as her arms went around his neck and she squeezed him with all her strength.
“All men fear death, but I’ve been fi ghting all my life, and should have been dead many times. Now I only fear losing you.” He kissed her hair and neck, then turned her head toward him.
“When you sat at the fire across from Subutai, you looked and spoke like a goddess come down from the heavens. Every man in camp envied me when you lay down beside me to rest, and I’m sure many wished themselves in my place, with their hands upon you.”
He kissed her again and this time she kissed him back, though the tears were starting now and her body shook with the effort to hold them back.
“I’m just a frightened girl, pretending to be all — wise, because that’s what the people need. Now all I want is for you to take me away, someplace where five thousand barbarians won’t be trying to kill us.”
He smiled. “No, it’s too late now. Once, perhaps, I could have done that. But that’s not enough for me any longer. You are wise and you care about many people, and you deserve something better than a hard life as a soldier’s wife. Here you are… will be… a queen in Orak, and all men will know your wisdom and beauty.”
She wriggled on his lap as she tried to hold him closer, and suddenly he felt excited by her touch, or the heat from her body, or maybe by the threat of dying on the morrow.
Lifting her in his arms, he carried her into the dark bedroom. “Now I need you to love me, to give me strength for the days ahead.”
He sat her down on the bed and helped her remove her dress, as she seemed too weak to do it by herself, then pushed her back gently. When he slid under the blanket, she moved into his arms and buried her face in his neck and he barely heard her words.
“Give me your strength, Esk kar, and I’ll be strong for you forever.”
22
Esk kar awoke with a start, alone in bed, with the morning sun making bright patterns of light on the blanket
