Siege

'Patience, my young friend,' Qayi said. 'Allah willing, the city will fall to us tomorrow night, and you will fill your purse with the wealth of Constantinople. And then,' he added with a smile, 'you can lose it to us again at dice.'

'Agreed,' Longo said. 'After all, luck never lasts forever.'

Qayi chuckled, and then the smile dropped from his face. He scooped up the dice and stood suddenly. The other janissaries followed suit, as did Longo. Walking towards them, not twenty feet away, was Ulu. He had not yet seen Longo. The men saluted as Ulu approached, and Longo took the opportunity to slip quietly away from the fire and into the darkness. As he crept away, he could hear Ulu's deep voice behind him. 'Qayi, you and your men should get some rest. Your regiment will have the honour of leading the charge on the stockade tomorrow night.'

If Ulu saw him, he was lost. Longo crept away. He had more business outside the walls before the sun rose. While Longo was entering the Turkish camp, Sofia returned to her room through the secret passage from the kitchen. She did not trust anyone but herself to deliver the message to William and Tristo. She threw on a long, hooded cloak and buckled a sword around her waist. Then she quietly opened the door to her apartments and slipped out into the dark hallway. She froze instantly, her hand on her sword. A man was standing in the corridor outside her room. He stepped out of the shadows. It was Notaras.

'Megadux, what are you doing here?' Sofia asked.

'I might well ask the same of you, Princess,' Notaras replied. 'I heard a nasty rumour that Signor Giustiniani had entered your apartments and not left.' He looked past her into her apartments. 'I am relieved to see that it does not appear to be true.'

'Of course not!' Sofia said, feigning outrage. She was glad that the shadows hid her scarlet cheeks.

'Still, you will not mind if I take a quick look about your apartments?' Notaras asked.

'There is no man in my quarters,' Sofia replied. 'I should hope that my word will be enough, but you may do as you wish, Megadux.'

'Your word will be quite enough, of course,' Notaras said, although he took one last glance into her room before Sofia shut the door. 'Still, leaving the palace in the early morning hours is hardly proper behaviour for a princess.'

'And is that what you wish for me to be, Notaras? Proper?'

'No, Sofia,' Notaras said. 'But I do wish for you to be careful. You are my betrothed, and my reputation is just as much at stake as yours.'

'Surely you do not suspect me of carrying on some sordid affair by night. You know me better than that.'

'Yes, Princess, I know you very well indeed,' Notaras said. Sofia felt his sharp gaze burrow into her and looked away. 'But not all the citizens of Constantinople know you as well as I do. You must be careful, Sofia. Come, at least let me escort you to wherever you are going.'

'Thank you, Notaras, but I can find my own way. I have business that does not concern you.'

'At this hour? What kind of business could that be?'

'I have an important message to deliver. Trust me, Notaras. The safety of Constantinople depends on it.'

'I do trust you, Sofia,' Notaras replied. 'But you must trust me in turn. Have I ever betrayed your trust? Tell me what you are doing, and I will help as I can.'

Sofia gave Notaras a long look. Perhaps he was right; perhaps she was wrong not to trust him. He was arrogant and prideful, but he would fight to the death for his city.

'Very well, Notaras,' she said. 'I have discovered a tunnel that leads from beneath the palace to beyond the walls. I have told no one but Signor Giustiniani. As the head of the defence, I thought he should be the first to know. He is outside the walls even now, spying in the Turkish camp. I am going to tell his men so that they may prepare to destroy the tunnel.'

'And Signor Giustiniani did not see fit to inform me of this?' Notaras demanded.

'He has just learned of it himself, Notaras. And I advised him to keep quiet. You of all people should know how difficult it is to keep a secret in this city.'

'You are right. Thank you for telling me, Sofia. You will see that your trust is well placed. Allow me to deliver this message for you. The city streets are no place for a woman at this time of night.'

'I will deliver the message, Notaras, but you may escort me,' Sofia said. 'After all, it appears that I could not stop you from following me even if I wished to.'

'I watch over you only to protect you, Sofia.'

'I can protect myself, Notaras,' Sofia replied, placing her hand on the hilt of her sword. 'Now come. Dawn is close. We must hurry.' As Longo reached the Turkish ramparts he could hear a mounting commotion coming from the camp behind him. On his way through the camp he had stolen a brand from an untended fire and set a dozen of the gunners' tents ablaze. The fire was spreading quickly amongst the closely pitched tents. All along the ramparts the gun crews had ceased firing and had turned to watch. Some were already leaving their posts to try to put out the flames. Longo stepped up on to the platform where the Dragon stood. The cannon was huge: over twenty feet long and taller than he was. A dozen crewmen stood motionless beside it, gazing at the distant blaze. 'Well, what are you waiting for?' Longo snapped at them. 'Those are your tents on fire, men. Get down there and save them!'

The gunners responded immediately, rushing to save their possessions. Longo watched them go, then he stepped closer to the Dragon, looking for a way to disable it. He ran his hand down the long barrel to the mouth, where the cannonballs were loaded. Perhaps he could plug it, but with what? He turned and went to the back of the cannon. The powder chamber – a smaller barrel some three feet across that was connected to the rest of the barrel by a hinge – was swung open. If he could find some way to damage or remove the powder chamber, then the cannon would be useless. But again, how?

He stepped back and leaned against a wooden barrel, looking about him for something to use. He saw nothing promising: a shovel, several huge cannonballs, the winch for loading them, a bucket with a slow match burning in it, and these barrels. Wait – not just barrels, barrels of gunpowder. Longo had an idea.

Back in the camp, the gunners had begun to pull the intact tents away from the blaze, creating an empty space around the fire. It would burn out soon enough, and then they would return. Longo put his back against one of the heavy barrels of gunpowder and pushed with his legs, toppling it. He rolled the barrel forward until it rested against the side of the Dragon. He rolled another barrel over to the dragon, and then another. He looked back to the camp. The fire was dwindling and men were headed his way. Longo took up the shovel and prised the lid off one of the barrels, spilling black gunpowder on to the ground. He scooped up a double-handful and poured out a trail of gunpowder, leading several feet away. Longo took up the slow match and was just about to light the gunpowder trail when he heard a voice behind him: 'Hey, you! What're you doing?'

Longo turned to find a short, squat man facing him. He was clearly not Turkish. The man's eyes went from the slow match in Longo's hand to the trail of gunpowder leading to the three barrels. His eyes were wide by the time they came to rest on Longo's face. 'Don't you dare,' he growled. 'I'll crucify you.'

Longo did not reply. He touched the slow match to the powder and sprinted down from the rampart and back towards the Turkish camp. The man hesitated for a second and then hurled himself after Longo. Longo had only made it a few steps from the rampart when the gunpowder blew. The deafening explosion knocked him flat on his face, while dirt and spent powder rained down around him.

Longo picked himself up and dusted himself off. Behind him, the frame that had held up the Dragon had been blown to pieces. The cannon lay on the ground, its barrel bent inward in the middle. The powder chamber was nowhere to be seen. It had been blown clean off. The Dragon would roar no more.