Damodara gave Sanga a piercing gaze. "You say you would give up your own life, King of Rajputana. For honor and country, certainly. But for the sake of a strategic masterstroke?" He waited. Sanga was silent.
Damodara shrugged. "Possibly. Possibly.But would you condemn ten thousand other men as well? "
Sanga looked away. "I didn't think so," said Damodara softly. " Neither would Belisarius."
Not a sound was heard, for perhaps half a minute. Then, Narses began to chuckle.
"What is so funny?" demanded Damodara angrily. Sanga simply glared at the eunuch.
Narses ignored Damodara. He returned Sanga's glare with a little smile, and a question.
"Whom do you trust most of all in this world, King of Rajputana? If your life depended on cutting a rope, in whose hands would you want the blade?"
"My wife," came the instant reply.
Narses grinned. A second later, the eyes of Sanga and Damodara were riveted back to the map. And, a second after that, moved off the map entirely-as if, somewhere on the floor, they could find the portion which displayed Egypt, Ethiopia, and the Erythrean Sea.
They barely registered Narses' words. Still chuckling: "Now we know-now, at last we understand. Why Belisarius put his own wife in charge of the Roman expedition to Egypt and Ethiopia. You remember? We wondered about it. Why risk her? Any one of his best officers could have commanded that expedition. But if your life depended on it-yours and ten thousand others-oh, yes. Then, yes. Then you'd want a wife, and no other."
"How can any man think that far ahead?" whispered Damodara. "And even if he could-how could they coordinate their movements?"
Sanga crossed his heavy arms, and closed his eyes. Then, speaking slowly: "As to the first, he did not have to plan everything down to the last detail. Belisarius is a brilliant tactician as well as a strategist. He would have relied on himself to create the openings, where needed. As to the other, they have their semaphore stations. And-"
All traces of anger left his face. His eyes reopened. "I have often noticed, from my own life, how closely the thoughts of a man and his wife can run together. Like the thoughts of no other person."
He took a deep breath and exhaled. "I believe Narses is right, Lord Damodara. At this very moment, I think Belisarius is destroying Charax. And-this very moment-his wife is bringing a fleet to clear away the war galleys and escort her husband and his men to safety."
The Rajput king stared at the map. "The question is-what dowe do?"
He uncrossed his arms and leaned on the table. A long, powerful finger began tracing the Tigris. "We can do nothing to help the main army in the Delta. But the one advantage we have now is that Belisarius is no longer barring our way. We can strike north, into Assyria, and-"
"No!"
Startled, Sanga stared at Narses. The old eunuch rarely intervened in purely military discussions. And then, with diffidence.
Narses arose. "I say-no." He looked to Damodara. "This army is the best army in the Malwa Empire, Lord. Within a month-two, at the outside-it will be theonly Malwa army worth talking about, west of the Indus. I urge you, Lord, not to throw that army away."
Narses pointed to the map. "If you go north to Assyria-then what? You could wreak havoc, to be sure. Possibly even march into Anatolia. But you are not strong enough, with your army alone, to conquer either Persia or Rome. And your army will suffer heavy casualties in the doing. Very heavy."
Damodara was frowning. "Then what do you suggest, Narses?"
The eunuch shrugged. "Do nothing, at the moment." He cast a glance at Sanga. The Rajput king was scowling, but there was no anger in the expression. He seemed more like a man puzzled than anything else.
"Do nothing, Lord," repeated Narses. "Until the situation is clarified. Who knows? The emperor may very well want you to return to India, as soon as possible. Not even the Malwa Empire can withstand the blow which Belisarius is about to deliver, without being shaken to its very roots. The Deccan rebellion rages hot. Others may erupt. You may be needed in India, very soon-not in Assyria. And, if so, best you should return to India-"
The last words were spoken with no inflection at all. Which only made them the more emphatic.
"-with the best army in the possession of the Malwa dynasty. Intact, and in your hands."
Damodara's eyes seemed to widen, a bit. Then, his eyelids lowered.
"Narses raises a good point, Sanga," he murmured, after a moment's thought. "I think we must give it careful consideration."
His eyes opened. The lord straightened in his chair and issued commands.
"Have the men make camp, Rana Sanga. A strong camp, on the near bank of the Tigris. Not permanent, but no route-camp either. We might be here for several weeks. And begin the preparations for a possible march back across the plateau."
His eyes closed again. "It is true, what Narses says. Who knows what the future will bring? We might, indeed, be needed back in India soon."
Sanga hesitated, for perhaps a second or two. Then, with a little shrug, he rose and left the pavilion.
When he was gone, Lord Damodara opened his eyes and gazed at Narses. The gaze of a Buddha, that was.
"I have been thinking," he said serenely, "of what Belisarius said to me. When he swore that what he wished to discuss with you in private would cause no harm. Tome, that is. As I think back, I realize it was a very carefully phrased sentence. Would you agree?"
Narses nodded immediately. His own face was as placid and expressionless as Damodara's. "Oh yes, Lord. That's the nature of oaths, you know. They are always very specific."
Damodara gazed at him in silence. Still, like a Buddha.
"So they are," he murmured. "Interesting point."
He looked away, staring at nothing. His eyes seemed quite unfocused.
"We will do nothing, at the moment," he mused softly. "Your advice is well taken, Narses. Nothing, at the moment. So that, whatever the future brings, Malwa's best army will be available for-whatever is needed."
"Nothing," agreed Narses. "At the moment."
"Yes. That is the practical course. And I am a practical man."
Chapter 34
Charax
Autumn, 532 A.D.
Belisarius peered between the shields which Anastasius and Gregory were holding up to shelter him. They themselves were crouching far enough below the battlements to be protected from the swarm of incoming arrows, but Belisarius had insisted on observing the siege personally. That meant sticking his head up, despite the unanimous disapproval of his officers.
"You were right, Gregory," he murmured. "They'll have their siege guns ready by tomorrow evening. But no sooner. As it is, they'll have to work through the night. If they try to fire them now, before they' ve laid stone platforms, the recoil will probably spill the guns."
Gregory refrained from any comment. Maurice, in his place, would have already been uttering sarcastic phrases.I told you so would have had been cheerfully tossed withWhat? I am blind? andA commanding general has to risk his neck to play scout?
But Maurice had a unique relationship with Belisarius. Gregory did not feel himself in a position to reprove his general. Even if the damned fooldid insist on taking needless risks.
Belisarius ducked below the ramparts. Gregory and Anastasius lowered their shields, sighing with relief.
"We could sally," said Gregory. "Try to spike the guns. Probably couldn't get close enough, but we might be able to fire the carriages."
Belisarius shook his head. "It'd be pure suicide. The main body of the Malwa army hasn't arrived yet, but there are at least thirty thousand men out there. Ye-tai and Kushans, most of them, along with a few Rajput cavalry contingents."
Belisarius shook his head again. The gesture was almost idle, however. Most of the general's mind seemed to be concentrated elsewhere.