John pulled the door open and strode from the room, pushing past the guards at the door. He had not gone far when he heard Baldwin calling for his guards. They caught up with John in the cold room and dragged him back to face the king.
‘I cannot let you go,’ Baldwin told him when the guards had left. ‘No one must know the truth.’
‘What then? Will you kill me like you killed your father?’
Baldwin winced. ‘I pray not. Sit, John.’ The king patted the bench beside him. John did not move. ‘Sit!’ Baldwin said more forcefully, and John reluctantly crossed the chamber to sit beside the king. ‘I know what I did was wrong, John. I do not expect you to forgive me. But you of all people should understand. You, too, committed a crime against your family.’
John flinched. How did Baldwin know that John had killed his brother?
‘It is not our past that defines us, John,’ Baldwin continued, ‘but what we do in the present. My father was a mighty warrior, but he was also a drunkard and a womanizer. His judgement was often clouded by passion. And he feared and despised the Saracens. He was willing to make peace with them, but only because he had to. Thanks to you, I know our enemy as he never did. I speak their tongue. I respect their faith. I believe we can live in peace with them. But I need your help, John. There are few at court who share my vision, and even fewer who I can trust. Agnes knows my secret, and she will reveal it if I do not do as she demands. That is why I rely on her counsel, why I have distanced myself from Raymond and William.’
John shook his head. ‘You do not have to obey her, sire. She cannot accuse you without compromising herself.’
‘No. With the poison dealer dead, there is nothing to link my father’s death to Agnes. She has the power to destroy me.’
‘But you are her son!’
‘I once believed that mattered.’ Baldwin’s laugh was hollow. ‘Agnes is not afraid to sacrifice those she loves for power. You of all people should know that, John. Sibylla will be married soon, and if she gives birth to a son, I will be dispensable. In fact, it might better suit my mother’s purposes were I to die. Sibylla’s child would then be king, and a regent would rule for years. Agnes would select that regent.’
‘Reynald.’
Baldwin nodded. ‘Or another of her puppets, should Reynald prove insufficiently pliable. So you see, I cannot oppose my mother directly. But I do intend to fight her. I need allies I can trust.’ Baldwin met John’s eyes. ‘I will have you executed if I must, John, but I would rather have your service. Will you help me?’
After a moment’s hesitation, John nodded. ‘But only because I believe that despite your crime, you are a good man, sire. I pray you do not prove me wrong.’
‘I will not, John. You have my word.’
Chapter 22
AUGUST 1176: MASYAF
‘Allah yasalmak,’ Yusuf said to the pimple-faced mamluk before him. He kissed the young man on both cheeks. The mamluk mounted his horse, saluted, and rode away.
‘Poor bastard,’ Qaraqush murmured.
‘He volunteered to deliver the message.’
‘Poor dumb bastard.’
They watched as the mamluk rode through the tents that dotted the field where the army was camped. He passed the sentries and rode through a breach that Yusuf’s men had opened in the low wall that encircled the base of the rocky hill atop which stood the Hashashin fortress of Masyaf. It was a forbidding sight. Two massive keeps stood behind high limestone walls that rose directly from the rock of the hillside.
The mamluk messenger stopped before the gatehouse and began to read from a sheet of paper. His words did not reach Yusuf, but he knew what the messenger was saying, for he had written the message himself.
Hear the words of Saladin, ruler of Egypt and Syria, defender of the faith. For too long you have sown seeds of chaos amongst the children of Allah. You have played kingdoms against one another. You have murdered our leaders. You tried to murder me. There must be an end to it. I will kill your men, tear down your walls, burn your homes, enslave your women. Even your memory will be wiped from the face of the earth. You have only one hope. Surrender now. If you do-
The messenger had reached approximately this point when an arrow struck him in the chest. Three more arrows hit home and he slumped from the saddle.
‘So much for diplomacy,’ Qaraqush said.
Yusuf frowned. He had not believed the Hashashin would surrender, but he had hoped they would spare the messenger. He looked to Al-Mashtub. ‘What have you discovered from the townspeople?’
The huge mamluk shrugged. ‘The Hashashin have put the fear of God into them. Most refuse to say a single word, even after I threaten to rip off their ears. I have found one man who has been inside the citadel and is willing to talk, but he has conditions.’
Yusuf raised an eyebrow. ‘What are they?’
‘He wants five hundred dinar.’
‘Done.’
‘There is more. Until the siege is over he wishes to stay with our army in a tent guarded at all times by four men. Lime and ashes are to be spread for twenty paces in all directions around the tent, to detect footsteps. No one is to set foot in this space without his permission. When the siege is done, he will travel with the army to Cairo, where he will be given two permanent guards.’
The requests were odd, but they would not be difficult to fulfil. ‘Show him to my tent. Qaraqush, you will interview him with me.’
Yusuf entered his sprawling red tent and poured water for himself and Qaraqush. A moment later Al-Mashtub led in a thin man with a patchy beard and a pronounced overbite. The man knelt on the thick carpet and prostrated himself.
‘What is your name?’ Yusuf asked.
‘Sabir, Malik.’
‘Get up, Sabir. Tell me what you know, and you shall have your gold. But I warn you: if you speak false, I will have your head.’
The man rose. ‘I will tell you everything, Malik, but you must guarantee my safety. The Ismaili will kill me if I tell you what I know.’
‘You need not fear them. You will be safe enough in my camp.’
‘No man is safe from the Ismaili. There are ways out of the fortress; tunnels in the rock. They will send men to assassinate me. You, too! You must take precautions, as I have done.’
‘I will consider it. Tell me of Masyaf.’
‘You cannot starve them out. They have ample food and cisterns dug into the rock that provide water for months. And the castle is all but impossible to take by force.’
‘All castles can be taken.’
‘Perhaps. I have visited Masyaf many times, and I have never seen a stronger fortress. Each step you take in conquering it will be bought with much bloodshed. Your army of thousands will be reduced to nothing.’
Yusuf set his water aside. ‘You have told me precious little of use. If you have no information, then our deal is off.’
Sabir’s eyes widened. ‘I have information, Malik. I swear it!’
‘Tell me what my men will face when they breach the gate.’
‘The gate you see is but the first of many. Beyond it, you enter a vaulted, U-shaped hall. It is a deathtrap. Slits in the walls allow men in the castle to fire arrows and stab with spears. They will pour boiling oil and hot sand down on you through grates in the ceiling. If you can fight your way to the end of the hall, you will then be faced with a narrow staircase that ends at a mighty gate framed by enormous guard towers. Your men will have to hack through with axes. All this time, the defenders will rain arrows and burning sand down upon you.’
‘Go on.’
‘Past the gate, your men will find themselves in a chamber with doors on three sides. The doors to the left and right lead to towers. Each level of the towers must be taken in turn, for if they are not, then your men will be vulnerable to attack from behind. The far door leads further into the citadel. A murder hole in the ceiling over the door allows the defenders to pour yet more hot sand on your men. Beyond that door is a similar room. A door to the right leads into the citadel proper. Once there, your fight will have only just begun. There are two keeps you will have to take. The first sits at the southern end of the complex and defends the eastern approach to the main citadel. Once you take it, you will have to fight your way through a series of courtyards and halls to the main citadel’s eastern gate.’