‘Shame,’ commented Harokas. ‘Good-looking woman.’
‘We must do something,’ said Kiall, pushing himself to his feet. Chareos grabbed his belt, hauling him back.
‘Good idea,’ agreed Beltzer. ‘Why don’t we saddle up and charge all three hundred of them? Grow up, Kiall. She’s finished.’
‘Kiall is right,’ said Okas softly.
Beltzer turned to him, his jaw dropping. ‘You think we should charge them?’
‘No, my friend. But she is part of this . . . this quest. I know it. I feel it.’
‘We’re here to rescue a farm girl,’ said Beltzer.
‘Not any more,’ said Okas.
‘What do you mean?’ asked Chareos.
Okas rubbed his tired eyes. ‘It is coming together now, my friends. All the threads. And I can see them. The girl Ravenna was sold to Jungir Khan. He has bedded her, and it is she who now carries his child. He has made her the Kian of Wolves, the Queen. You are seeking to steal the Nadir Queen.’
Beltzer began to laugh. ‘Better and better. In that case we should charge them. It’ll be good practice for when we take on the entire Nadir army!’
‘The woman down there is Tenaka Khan’s daughter, Jungir’s sister. She will know the palace. She will be of great help to us,’ Okas said.
‘Help?’ said Chareos. ‘We can’t go on with this. It is madness now to even consider it.”
‘There is more to this quest than you realise, Chareos Blademaster,’ Okas continued. ‘Far more. Can you not see it? The dream of Bel-azar, the ghost of Tenaka Khan? It is all part of a great whole.’
‘What part?’ asked Finn, kneeling by the Tattooed Man.
‘The child,’ answered Okas. ‘He will be born early . . . twelve weeks from now. The stars show that he will be great king, perhaps greatest who ever lived. He will be blood-line of Ulric and Tenaka Khan, and of Regnak, Earl of Bronze. He will be warrior and statesman. As Nadir Khan, he will take his armies across the world.’
‘Are you saying we should kill the babe?’ Beltzer asked.
‘No. I am saying you should continue with this quest – and see where it leads.’
‘It will lead to death – for all of us,’ declared Chareos. ‘We are no longer talking of buying or stealing back a farm girl. We are talking about the Nadir Queen!’
‘Let me speak,’ said Kiall softly. ‘You are right, Chareos, it is all too … too overpowering. May I then suggest we take one step at a time? Let us first think of a way to rescue Tanaki. After that we can decide what to do.’
Chareos sighed and shook his head. ‘We are six men in an alien land. And you want us to consider a plan to steal a prisoner from three hundred of the fiercest warriors in the Nadir nation? Well, why not? How many ways can a man die?’
‘You don’t even want to consider that question,’ said Harokas. ‘In Nadir hands a prisoner could be killed slowly over a score of days, with each painful day worse than the last.’
‘What a sack of comforts you are,’ snapped Beltzer.
‘The sun is going down,’ said Finn. ‘If we are going to get the girl, then tonight will be our best chance. Especially if the main force camps outside the walls. Then all we have to do is get down there, sneak past them, climb the walls, kill anyone inside and carry the girl out.’
‘Oh, that’s all?’ Beltzer sneered. ‘And I know who gets to carry the bitch? It’s me, isn’t it?’
‘Correct,’ admitted Finn.
‘I’ll come with you,’ said Harokas. ‘I rather like the woman. You don’t mind if I stick close to you, do you, Chareos?’
‘Not at all. But stay in front of me, Harokas.’
*
Chareos knelt on the hillside as the sun faded into dusk. The Nadir warriors had dragged the girl out into the open and dropped her naked body in the dust of the square. She was limp as a doll. Two of the men then hauled her up, lifting her on to the auction platform and bending her over the block. Chareos averted his eyes and switched his gaze to the riders beyond the town. They had settled down in the open, setting camp-fires. The general and four of his men had entered the long hall, which left seventeen men inside the town.