into the inner courtyard.
Luroc, sitting comfortably on a shady bench, took one look at Akkad’s Captain of the Guard, and reached for his sword.
“Don’t do anything foolish, Luroc,” Bantor said, holding up his hands. “The house is surrounded, and there are men on the rooftops. We know all about your plan for tonight, so it’s not like you have to betray any secrets.”
Bantor spoke quickly. He wanted Luroc to know the situation before he attempted anything foolish.
“My men could have taken you prisoner any time in the last few days, even last night after you gave your men their final instructions and left their hideout. Or I could have entered the house with a dozen men and rushed you before you knew we were there. Instead, I’ve come to offer you an arrangement. Lady Trella wishes to speak with you. I’m to bring you to her.”
“Who betrayed me?” The gruff voice held more disgust than anger.
Bantor leaned carefully against the courtyard’s entrance. He didn’t intend to get any closer to a desperate man with a sword in his hand. “I really don’t know. Does it matter?”
Luroc, the sword in his hand, shook his head.
Bantor saw the man preparing himself for a death fight. “If you want to live, I suggest you come quietly and listen to what Lady Trella has to say. You’ll find she can be quite generous. Otherwise… best fall on your own sword.”
Before Luroc could decide what to do, the Captain of the Guard turned and left the room, leaving Luroc standing there still holding his naked blade.
Luroc took only moments to make up his mind, perhaps assisted by the sight of two armed men who appeared on the roof of the house, peering down into the inner courtyard. One man carried a bow with a shaft already nocked to the string.
Stepping out of Ramal-sul’s front doorway a few moments later, Luroc found Bantor and two guards waiting there. The Sumerian’s sword rested in its scabbard. The soldiers looked competent, and Bantor was known to be a powerful fighter.
“No need to worry, Luroc,” Bantor said. “Walk beside me, as two old friends would do.”
Together they walked the lanes of Akkad, crossing half the city before they reached Eskkar’s house. At Bantor’s approach, the guards opened the gate and the little group passed inside.
Annok-sur waited just outside the entrance to the house. “Please give Bantor your sword, Luroc. Only the Hawk Clan is permitted to carry weapons in Lady Trella’s presence.
For a moment, Bantor thought the man would try something stupid. But Luroc kept control of his emotions. He reached for his blade, and Bantor’s two men moved in closer, just in case Luroc decide to start hacking at everyone. Using his fingers, he drew the sword from its scabbard and handed it to Bantor.
Annok-sur led Luroc into the house and up the stairs, to where Trella waited for them at the big table in the workroom. Another guard stood beside her, in case the Sumerian decided to leap across the table. Bantor remained just behind their guest.
“Please sit down, Luroc,” Lady Trella began. “I imagine you could use some wine. Or ale if you prefer.”
Annok-sur moved around the table to stand beside Trella. Annok-sur reached down and filled a cup with watered wine, which she handed to Luroc.
The man took it with both hands, as he slid into the seat across the wide table. By now the shock of his capture had started to sink in, and he looked like a man who knew he would soon be dead.
“As Bantor may have told you,” Trella said, “we know of your plot to help the barbarians slip into the city. Since that will not succeed, you may want to consider another option. How much gold did King Shulgi promise you?”
Lady Trella’s pleasant voice contrasted sharply with the harder tones of Queen Kushanna. Nevertheless, both women expected to be obeyed when they spoke.
“Twenty gold coins to prepare the men.” He took another gulp from the wine cup. “Fifty more if the attack succeeded.”
“The king of Sumeria is generous, but I am willing to exceed that price. I will give you safe passage to one of the northern cities and seventy-five Akkadian gold coins if you are willing to help us. With that much gold, you should be able to find a place of safety far from this war.”
Luroc’s eyes widened at the sum, and he decided the wild stories of Akkad’s gold mine at Nuzi were true. With that much gold, he would never need to work again. “How can I help you?”
“By making sure the barbarians enter the city, of course. The city’s guard is even now collecting your men. They’ll be sentenced to the labor gangs for the rest of their lives. Bantor’s men will replace them and you will be on the wall at Tanner’s Lane tonight to bring the barbarians into the city.”
“You want the barbarians to cross over your walls?”
“Yes. Our men will be waiting for them, of course.”
“They’ll capture your city. Even if they don’t, they’ll kill so many of your soldiers you won’t be able to resist Shulgi’s army when it gets here.”
“Perhaps. But that will not concern you. You will have your gold and be on a boat going north. Unless you prefer the alternative.”
Luroc glanced behind him. Bantor still stood there, but now his right hand rested on the hilt of his sword. The guard standing just beside Lady Trella had not taken his eyes off Luroc for a moment.
Luroc wet his lips, then realized he still held the wine cup. Another mouthful seemed to ease his choice.
“How do I know you will keep your part of the bargain?”
“The word of Lady Trella has never been broken,” Annok-sur said. “If you do as we ask, you will not be harmed. You and the gold will be free to leave at sunup. Several boats will be departing to the north. Or you can even return to Sumeria, if you wish.”
Returning to Queen Kushanna’s presence without the destruction of Akkad to report didn’t appeal to Luroc.
Trella gave him a moment to work things through. Then she nodded. “I give you my word you will not be harmed.”
Luroc drained the wine cup, and pushed it toward the center of the table. Like any good gambler, he knew when he was beaten. “I don’t think I’ll be going back to Sumer. What do you want me to do?”
T he long day had finally given way to dusk, then darkness. Since Luroc decided to change his allegiance, if indeed the mercenary ever had any, Trella had remained with Bantor most of the day. She and Annok-sur questioned the spy at length, obtaining the names of all his men, and ascertaining that no other Sumerian agents remained in Akkad. Bantor had dispatched Wakannh, who had been present at last night’s meeting, to gather up all eight Sumerians, and they now languished in a single room at the barracks, guarded by a dozen men.
Trella insisted that Bantor go over every part of the plan. She knew the way her husband’s mind worked, and she’d watched him in enough planning sessions over the last five years to know how he would proceed. Every step, every part, had to be discussed, responsibility assigned, every commander and his second in command had to fully grasp and understand the role he would play.
The carpenters had to be summoned and given their instructions. The rest of the city had to remain guarded as well throughout the night, as the barbarians might have more than one plot. No soldiers would be sleeping tonight. Those not involved at Tanner’s Lane would be manning Akkad’s walls, alert for any attack.
At the barracks, behind its closed gates, the soldiers prepared torches and poles, readied shields and spears, while archers tested their bows and changed to new bowstrings. The handful of spearmen remaining in the city prepared themselves for this new way of fighting. Even food and water had to be readied, to make sure that no one lacked for anything.
All this needed to be accomplished before sundown. Tonight, Trella wanted everything in Akkad to appear as normal as the night before. Only when the city lay cloaked in darkness were the men and equipment quietly assembled, brought together in small groups, and taken to their stations.
The waiting began. Trella leaned against a wall a hundred paces from Tanner’s Lane. Annok-sur had wanted her to remain in the Compound, but Trella insisted on being there. Bantor protested as well, but gave way when he saw her determination.
“I must be there,” she said. “I know how Eskkar would think and act. Tonight you will think of me as you would of him.”
