“Do you know why he asked you to visit him?”
Vasudeva gave Belisarius a long, lingering look. A cold look, at first. Then—
The look did not warm, so much as it grew merry. In a wintry sort of way.
“Yes. We had met before, during the war against Andhra. Worked well together. When he heard that I had been selected one of the Kushan commanders for the Mesopotamian campaign, he called me to visit before his own departure.” The Kushan barked a laugh. “He wanted to warn me about a Roman general named Belisarius!”
Vasudeva’s eyes lost their focus for a moment, as he remembered the conversation.
” ‘Persians you know, of course,’ Lord Sanga told me. ‘But you have never encountered Romans. Certainly not such a Roman as Belisarius.’ ”
The Kushan commander’s eyes refocussed, fixed on Belisarius.
“He told me you were as tricky and quick as a mongoose.” Another barking laugh. ” ‘Expect only the unexpected, from that man,’ he said. ‘He adores feints and traps. If he makes an obvious threat, look for the blow to come from elsewhere. If he seems weak, be sure he is strong. Most of all—remember the fate of the arrogant cobra, faced with a mongoose.’ ”
He laughed again. All the Kushan soldiers standing around shared in that bitter laugh.
“I tried to tell Lord Kumara, when I realized we were facing Roman troops. I was almost sure you would be in command. Lord Kumara is—was—the commander of this expedition.”
“Lord Fishbait, now,” snarled one of the other Kushans. “And good riddance.”
Vasudeva scowled. “Of course, he refused to listen. Fell right into the trap.”
Belisarius took a sip from his cup. “And what else did Rana Sanga say about me?”
Again, Vasudeva gave Belisarius that long, lingering look. Still cold. Gauging, assessing. “He said that one thing only is predictable about the man Belisarius. He will be a man of honor. He, too, knows the meaning of vows.”
Belisarius waited. Vasudeva tugged the point of his goatee with his fingers. Looked away.
“It’s difficult, difficult,” he murmured.
Belisarius waited.
Vasudeva sighed. “We will not be broken up, sold as slaves to whichever bidder. We must be kept together.”
Belisarius nodded. “Agreed.”
“Any labor will be acceptable, except the work of menials. Kushan soldiers are not domestic dogs.”
Belisarius nodded. “Agreed.”
“No whippings. No beatings of any kind. Execution will be acceptable, in cases of disobedience. But it must be by the sword, or the ax. We are not criminals, to be hung or impaled.”
Belisarius nodded. “Agreed.”
“Decent food. A bit of wine, now and again.”
Belisarius shook his head. “That I cannot promise. I am on campaign, myself, and will be using you for a labor force. My own men may eat poorly, at times, and go without wine. I can only promise that you will eat no worse than they do. And enjoy some wine, if there is any to spare.”
From the little murmur which came from the surrounding soldiers, the general knew that his forthright answer had pleased them. He suspected, although he was not sure, that the last question had been Vasudeva’s own little trap. The Kushan commander was obviously a seasoned veteran. He would have known, full well, that any other answer would be either a lie or the words of a cocksure and foolhardy man.
“Agreed,” said Vasudeva.
Belisarius waited.
Finally, the word came: “Swear.”
Belisarius gave his oath. Gave it twice, in fact. Once in the name of his own Christian god. And then, to the Kushans’ great surprise, on the name of the Buddha to whom they swore in private, when there were no Mahaveda priests to hear the heresy.
That evening, late at night, Belisarius began his negotiations with the Persians—seated, now, amidst the splendid wreckage of what had once been an emperor’s favorite hunting villa.
Here, too, he found the task much easier than anticipated.
Kurush, in the event, was not baying for Kushan blood. After the young sahrdaran heard what Belisarius had to say, he simply poured himself some wine. A noble vintage, this, poured from a sahrdaran’s jug into a sahrdaran’s gorgeous goblet.
He drank half the goblet in one gulp. Then said, “All right.”