The Crusading Wizard

CHAPTER 19

They saw the spires of Damascus on the horizon, but they saw the army marching toward them first.

Saul stared. “Armor and Percherons? That’s our people! They’re going the wrong way!”

“We must discover the reason,” Jimena called above the wind. “Princess, can you set us down behind a hill, so that we not afright their horses?”

“Or their infantry,” Saul muttered.

“Is this delay necessary?” Lakshmi demanded.

“I fear it is,” Jimena replied. “Alisande would not be returning if Arjasp and his wizards had not wrought some new deviousness. We must learn what.”

“I suppose we must,” the djinna grumbled, and sank downward toward a brush-covered hill. Just before its top cut off sight, Saul could make out men pointing toward them and horses rearing.

His boots touched earth; he took a shaky step or two, caught his balance, and breathed a sigh of relief. “This may take a little longer than we thought, Princess. They saw you, and some of them panicked.”

Lakshmi instantly shrank down to human size. “Will not Matthew reassure them?”

“Yes, but it takes a while to reassure a skittish horse.” Saul didn’t mention the horsemen.

They strolled out from behind the hill to the road and waited. In ten minutes they saw the cloud of dust; in fifteen they could see lances and pennons rising before it. Fifteen minutes after that, Alisande saw them and reined in, raising her hand to stop her troops. Sergeants bawled orders and the army came to a halt.

By that time Alisande was down from her horse and embracing Jimena, with Matt grinning only a step behind. “Milady! How wonderful to see you! But how came you hither?”

“By Djinna Air.” Saul nodded toward Lakshmi. Thinking how to break the bad news gently, he went on, “You and Princess Lakshmi have something in common, Your Majesty.”

But before he could continue, Matt said, “A messenger told us about Kaprin and Alice.”

“My dears, I am so sorry,” said Jimena, tears welling in her eyes, “and I can only beg your forgiveness for my lack of vigilance.”

“Lack of superpowers!” Saul snorted. “They were kidnapped while we were fighting off an attack on the castle, Your Majesty.”

“How’d it happen?” Matt demanded, face grim.

“An inside job,” Saul told him. “The real kidnapper bribed the youngest and most frustrated of the noble nurses to bring the kids to the postern gate during the battle.” His mouth tightened with self-disgust. “Sorry, man. We should have seen it was a diversion.”

“Why?” Matt asked. “I wouldn’t have.”

But Alisande picked up on what Saul had said. “In common?” She turned to Lakshmi. “Is your husband missing?”

“He, too,” Lakshmi said, “but at least I know where he is.”

“How often have I wished I knew as much about Matthew!” Alisande said with as much sympathy as she could muster.

Matt tried a sheepish grin.

“My dear,” Jimena said gently, “the problem is greater than a wayward husband.”

Matt jumped to the conclusion faster than Alisande; after all, he’d had more practice. “Her children, too?” He turned to Lakshmi. “You didn’t send us a birth announcement!”

Lakshmi looked disconcerted. “I had not thought … our lives had diverged …”

“Well, they just joined again!”

Alisande turned to them with a stony visage carved into lines of incipient mayhem. “How may we find where they have gone?”

“We’re on the trail now,” Saul said.

“The nurse’s tracks led to a man robed in dark blue who took the children and rode into the night,” Jimena said.

“Then we traced my children magically, through my son’s slipper,” Lakshmi said. “Their trail led Saul and your mother to fight a magus in a land of mist between worlds.”

“Magus?” Matt jumped on it. “Any connection to Arjasp?”

“One of his junior priests,” Saul confirmed, “attended by an acolyte. We seem to be dealing with a home-grown brand of demon worship here. Arljasp made the whole thing up.”

“But the demon may be nonetheless real for all of that,” Lakshmi said.

“Yeah, I know.” Matt forced himself to the question he dreaded. “Why the kidnapping? Any other ransom demands yet?”

Saul frowned. “That’s why you’re riding west, is it? It was a ransom demand.”

“We’re complying, for the time being,” Matt said.

Lakshmi stared in horror. “You will not imperil the children!”

“I won’t, but Arjasp will. At best, after this war is over, he’ll keep them hostages all their lives.”

“And at worst?” Lakshmi asked with foreboding.

“I think we all know that.”

The little group was silent awhile, looking at one another helplessly.

Matt spoke first. “After all, the messenger didn’t say I couldn’t try to find the kids.”

“Sure,” Saul said with a mirthless grin. “Easiest way to set a trap for you.”

“I might return the favor. After all, did your magus and his helper say anything about my not trying to track down Arjasp?”

“Nothing,” Jimena confirmed. “But did not the Caliph take offense at your leaving?”

“He understood our dilemma instantly,” Matt said, “and was all sympathy—nervous at the thought of facing the horde without our help, but since we had hung around long enough for Tafas to catch up, he wasn’t exactly left in the lurch.”

“Therefore we left the city together,” Alisande said, “but did not plan to remain so.”

“We hadn’t planned to split up quite so soon,” Matt said, “but since you folk are here, we might as well.”

Alisande nodded. “I shall ride west with my army.”

“But nobody said she had to hurry,” Matt pointed out. “Armies march notoriously slowly, and here in strange territory, European soldiers might come down with all sorts of minor ailments that wouldn’t do them any real harm but would force them to go at a snail’s pace.”

That coaxed a tiny smile from Alisande. “Verily, it is so. Why, even a knight might be prey to such illnesses. I would not be surprised if, in a week’s time, a quarter of my force had to be hauled in horse-drawn wagons.”

“Ox-drawn,” Matt offered. “Oxen go more slowly. Gee, and it’ll take forever to find wagons and teams to buy when you’re already on the road.”

“Hey, I wouldn’t play games with these guys,” Saul said nervously.

“Oh, I think we have some leeway.” Jimena smiled, amused. “After all, our enemies will rejoice in our ill fortune, will they not?”

Matt was sure they would—which left him wondering why Arjasp hadn’t demanded that he stop tracking him, especially since the renegade magus had already tried to trap him twice, and failed. Was Arjasp really that sure of the next snare?

They made the arrangements quickly and prepared to set off again.

“I appreciate your staying with Alisande,” Matt told his mother as he helped Saul into his own doublet. “Thank you, too, Saul, for wearing my outfit.”

“Nobody said I couldn’t,” Saul returned, “any more than they said your going home was part of the ransom. So what if I decide to wear your dress-up clothes for a while? It’s not as though I were carrying your shield with your coat of arms.”

“And if Arjasp and his boys have the mistaken impression that I’m with Alisande for the next week, is that our fault?”

“Definitely not!” Saul said. “Of course, the trick won’t work any longer than the first magical probe, or scrying by a spy who knows your face.”

“Sure, but why should they take that close a look?” Matt countered. “They’ll probably scry the whole army, maybe zoom in for a close-up of the head of the column, but when they see a woman with long blond hair under her crown, and someone my size and build in a doublet and hose beside her, why should they check the details?”

“I suppose a brief glance might make Arjasp and his boys overconfident,” Saul allowed, “maybe enough so they won’t check to make sure it’s really you riding at her right hand.”

“Can’t hurt to try.” But Matt felt his stomach sink and tried not to think what Arjasp might do in a rage. He consoled himself with the idea that the sorcerer would try to parley first, send a message telling him to turn back. “At any rate, it might buy us some time.”

“Even an hour or two would help at this point.” But Saul eyed Matt doubtfully. “You sure you know what you’re getting into, man?”

“As much as I ever did.”

“That’s what I meant.”

“Hey, there shouldn’t be more than a few thousand guards left behind to protect Arjasp,” Matt told him. “I’ve got that much going for me.”

“Sure, what’s a thousand or three against one?” Saul said airily, and shuddered. “Did I ever talk to you about your sense of proportion?”

“Only during that art history class. After all, the vast majority of the horde will be out conquering. They’ll probably have left the walking wounded as home guard.”

“Hey, man, from what they say about these people, I’m not even sure I’d want to tangle with an octogenarian.”

“Yeah, but these don’t have tentacles.”

“Look,” Saul said, “I know you want to make sure Alisande is safe, but she feels the same way about you. Couldn’t you maybe take one of us with you just as a sort of good-luck charm?”

“Or a chaperone.” Jimena eyed Lakshmi with misgiving.

“There is certainly no need for your concern,” the djinna said huffily. “He is nothing compared to my Marudin.”

“Your husband is a most handsome male,” Jimena agreed. “Not as handsome as my Ramon, of course …”

Lakshmi started to argue, but Matt said quickly, “Isn’t that the way every spouse should think about a mate? Besides, folks, I’m scarcely going without protection.”

“Sure, a djinna who’s distracted about her children and her husband,” Saul said with skepticism, “and a little white cat. That’s real great odds against a few thousand bloodthirsty nomads, yeah.”

“But they’re octogenarians,” Matt reminded, “and my little cat is fairly bursting with the enthusiasm of youth.”

“Hidden talents, huh?” Saul shook his head, but gave a sigh and slapped Matt on the shoulder. “Good luck, man.” He cocked an eye at Lakshmi. “Don’t drop him, okay, Highness?”

“Drop you!” Lakshmi seethed. “What sort of fumble-fingered nanny does he think I am?”

“Saul just worries too much.” Matt gave an uneasy glance at the landscape far below, so far below that it seemed to be moving slowly. Balkis watched it wide-eyed, peering out from the collar of Matt’s shirt—even more secure than a seat belt, and secure she seemed indeed, without a worry in the world. In fact, she even closed her eyes and, purring, dropped off to sleep.

Matt envied the cat’s nonchalance—one flight, and she took it as routine. Not that he had anything to worry about, being snuggled tightly against a firm and beautifully curved bosom. Once again he wondered why it stirred not the slightest trace of desire in him—possibly because it was bigger than he was. “By the way, Highness, where are we heading? In particular, I mean, not just east.”

“To Baghdad,” Lakshmi answered. “If the gossip of the Muslim army is true, the horde still holds that city. Surely they will have my Marudin at the front of battle!”

“And you‘re hoping I can free him from their compulsion-spell.”

“At the very least, you should be able to shield me from falling victim to the same spell myself,” Lakshmi replied. “I could not venture so close as to aid him before, but with a mortal wizard to ward me, I can chance it. Besides, you can free him, can you not?”

“Unless they’ve come up with a spell that’s completely different from anything I’ve ever dealt with, yes,” Matt said slowly. “But surely they know that!”

Lakshmi frowned, and her huge voice echoed about him. “You think they will not have him at the front, then?”

“I wouldn’t,” Matt said, “especially since they’re planning several different fronts. It would make more sense to station Marudin’s current master at the frontier of China or India, where they’ve never even heard of djinn.”

Far above him, Lakshmi’s face darkened. “Let us hope you are wrong.”

“I’ll try to keep a freedom spell ready.” Matt looked away from the brewing anger in her face, and saw far below him a long curve of dots facing a sort of M-shape of other dots. “Princess! Can we go down for a closer look?”

Lakshmi lowered her gaze. “I can see quite well from here. It is the Caliph’s picket line retreating from a vanguard of the horde.”

“The Muslim army’s retreating? I thought that with Tafas’ army to back them up, they might actually be able to drive the barbarians back.”

“I had hoped as much myself.” Lakshmi studied the battle.

“Could this be some mere stratagem?”

“Of course!” Matt clapped with delight. “Arjasp’s generals expect to be able to start winning again, now that Alisande and her army are retreating. The Caliph doesn’t want to disappoint them.”

Lakshmi frowned. “You mean that he bade his men retreat to raise false hopes in the barbarians?”

“Exactly! Let them think they’re winning, then hit them with the reserves from both flanks.” Uneasily, Matt remembered that Genghis Khan had pioneered the tactic—but Genghis wasn’t here, maybe never would be born in this universe. “Even so, it makes you want to go down there and help out.”

“No!” Lakshmi thundered. “We go to Baghdad and must not be baited into delay! After all, if we can free Marudin from barbarian bondage, we will weaken Arjasp and strengthen the Caliph in a single stroke!”

From the air Baghdad was a veritable anthill, with double lines of dots streaming through all its gates—merchants, other travelers, and farmers trooping in to sell produce and filing back out with empty carts and full pockets.

“Shouldn’t be any trouble getting in,” Matt said. “All we have to do is join one of those lines and walk past the guards.”

“Easy enough for you,” Lakshmi said, frowning, “for you are dressed in traveling clothes—but mine are far too fine for the road.”

“All you need is a veil.” Matt pointed downward. “See? All the women are wrapped from head to toe in one big piece of dark fabric, with only the eyes showing.”

Lakshmi looked down, frowning. “It is so. And in the bazaar … let me see … We shall land.”

Matt couldn’t help a shout of alarm as his body shot downward and his stomach tried to stay up. Balkis woke up, sensed the motion, and dug in her claws with a yowl. “Ease off!” Matt shouted, to both djinna and cat. “We don’t need to get down there that fast!”

The acceleration did ease off. Lakshmi snapped, “Your pardon. I am impatient.”

“We’re going to have to walk the last quarter mile anyway,” Matt protested.

They landed in a grove. Lakshmi set Matt down and started shrinking. In minutes she was human-sized again. “Give me a coin!” she demanded.

Matt handed her a piece of silver. “Not a bad rate, considering that air fare is going up.”

Lakshmi took the coin and made several passes over it with her other hand, fingers writhing in symbolic gestures as she chanted, frowning down at it with great concentration. Matt started to ask what she was doing, then caught himself—if she needed concentration for this spell, the last thing he should do was interrupt.

The coin winked in her palm, reflecting sunlight—then was gone. A second later a length of dark fabric fell out of thin air across Lakshmi’s hand. A small flask followed it, then a swathe of brown fabric, a smaller square of white cloth, and, finally, a sort of rope headband.

Matt stared, then gave himself a shake. “Y’know, if that catches on, it’s going to revolutionize shopping!”

“It is even as you say,” Lakshmi confirmed. “These garments have disappeared from a booth in the bazaar, and your coin has appeared in their place.” She inspected her purchases, then added, “The merchant had far the best of the bargain.”

“I’m not arguing.” Matt held up the brown garment and found a lighter ivory-colored tunic of cotton within it. He started dressing. “What’s in the bottle?”

“Walnut juice,” Lakshmi said, “to stain your face and hands.”

Matt sighed and remembered his days in college theatricals.

Fifteen minutes later a man in Arab dress stepped onto the roadway between another traveler and a farm-cart. A woman stepped out beside him, decently veiled, presumably his wife. Long-lashed eyes looked out from the veil, taking in her surroundings in quick glances. Lakshmi muttered through the cloth, “I marvel that your mortal women allow this!”

“Not my women,” Matt protested. “We Europeans like to see each other’s faces—but I don’t think the women here have much choice about it. After all, they don’t have your magic spells, and it’s a violent world.”

The eyes above the veil narrowed. “Perhaps I should do something about that.”

“Perhaps you should,” Matt agreed, “after we get your children and your husband back. For now, let’s just get inside that city and see if we can find any trace of them.”

The guards were collecting an entry fee at the gate. Fortunately, Matt had made a little money in India, so they didn’t have Alisande’s likeness to upset them. They strolled on through, and Matt promptly forgot about his mission, looking about him, enthralled by the graceful minarets, the ivory palace in the distance, and the squalor by the roadside. “Baghdad! The city of the Arabian Nights! Haroun-al-Raschid, Omar Khayyam, Haji the poet!”

“It is a place of stenches and sin.” Lakshmi wrinkled her nose. “I shall never cease to be amazed that your kind choose to coop themselves up in places such as this when they could have the freedom of open skies and the cleanliness of the desert.”

“It has something to do with making a living,” Matt said, “and with having something to do in your free time.”

Lakshmi looked about her, fairly radiating nervousness. “How shall we begin to discover Marudin’s whereabouts?”

“Well, there’s a good place.” Matt stopped and nodded toward an alley they were passing. At its far end was a little courtyard with women gathered about the low wall of a well, chatting and laughing. “Mingle with those women, get into the conversation, and try and tum it toward things magical, especially ones that come out of lamps and bottles.”

“I?” Lakshmi turned to glare at him. “Why not yourself?”

“Not a member of the club,” Matt explained. “Wrong gender. Sure, I could go in there, but I’d be even more of an outsider than you, and the women would clam up in a second. Besides, in this part of the world, women don’t talk to strange men.”

“A good rule anywhere, I should think.” Lakshmi’s tone was tart, and her glance directed the comment unquestionably toward Matt himself.

Matt smiled and took it philosophically—after all, by the standards of this world, he was indeed strange. Maybe his own universe’s, too.

Lakshmi gave a sound of disgust, then held out her hand. “Another coin!”

Matt handed it over without asking, reminding himself that the trip was still amazingly cheap.

Lakshmi stared at the coin, muttering and gesturing over it. It flashed and disappeared; an instant later she held a water jug. “I shall learn what I can.” She turned away toward the well.

Matt watched her go, admiring the sway of her walk that no veil could hide, and envying the ease with which she could use magic for casual ends. If he tried that, magical alarms would clamor all over the city wherever there was a sorcerer or a priest of Ahriman. Lakshmi, though, was a magical creature, and spells were as natural to her as walking was to him. The sorcerers might note the presence of one of the djinn, but no more. In fact, they would probably assume it was one of their own.

Matt turned back to the stalls and rugs of the peddlers that lined the street, reminding him of New York even though none of them featured young men making three cards dance like the thimbles in a shell game. He fingered fabrics, hefted rugs, and squeezed fruit, not replying to the vendors’ hard-sell spiels but getting a feel for the local dialect. He found the booth from which Lakshmi had conjured her veil—he could tell by the silver coin lying between two other lengths of fabric—and bought one of them just to call the merchant’s attention to the transformation. At first the merchant scowled at discovering one of his wares missing, then positively beamed when he saw the price it had fetched.

The veil slung over his shoulder like a serape, Matt strolled along the line of booths, enjoying a brief moment of relaxation. The shopkeepers might be enmeshed in the toils of commerce, but he felt a holiday air about the bazaar, as though he were a tourist on vacation. He glanced over at a display of carvings—and felt a jolt that froze his head in place.