It is too important an opportunity to pass up, Aide. If Irene is right—
She’s guessing! Nobody knows what that cryptic message means!
Belisarius made the mental equivalent of a shrug. She’s a very good guesser, you know. And I think she’s right. The thing has all the earmarks of a Narses maneuver.
He’s a traitor.
No, Aide. He was a traitor. Now he is in the service of another. And, unless I miss my own guess, I suspect that he is serving Damodara very faithfully indeed. Not—there came a momentary silent chuckle—that I think Damodara has any idea what his chief of espionage is doing.
Aide said nothing for a moment, though his uneasiness was still evident. Then: But why Valentinian and Anastasius? He complained. They aren’t spies and intriguers. They—
—are the deadliest soldiers in my army, Belisarius completed the thought. And they both speak the language—well enough, at least—and they are both familiar with India. I don’t think Narses wants spies, Aide. He has plenty of his own. I think—
You’re guessing!
Belisarius sighed. Yes, I am. And I am also a good guesser. And can I finish my thought without interruptions?
He could sense the “jewel” sulking. But Aide kept his peace.
As I was saying, Belisarius continued, I suspect that what Narses needs are people who can get someone out of India in a very big hurry. Or protect them. And who better for that than Valentinian and Anastasius and Kujulo?
Aide was silent, but Belisarius could sense the unspoken disagreement.
Oh, stop sulking! Say what you were going to say.
The thoughts came in a rush. And that’s another thing—those three are well known to the Malwa! They will be spotted!
By whom? The only ones who would recognize them are Chandragupta’s imperial entourage—which there’s no chance at all of encountering, as tightly sequestered as Skandagupta keeps himself—and—
The Rajputs! Rana Sanga fought Valentinian in single combat for hours! You think—
Belisarius drove over the protest. And Damodara’s Rajputs—who, by all accounts, have been stationed in Bihar and Bengal since they returned to India. Half a continent away from where Valentinian and—
Things change, pouted Aide. You say that yourself, all the time.
Again, Belisarius made that mental shrug. Yes, they do—and probably will again. Judging from what Irene told us of the Maratha rebellion’s progress, I imagine that Damodara and Rana Sanga will soon be ordered into the Great Country. Which—
He could sense Aide’s growing surly pout, and had to fight down another smile. Which is also half a continent away.
Belisarius broke off the exchange. In his usual terse and efficient manner, Agathius was completing his logistics report. Belisarius braced himself for another round of bellowing and bickering.
Kurush was already on his feet. “What is this nonsense?” he roared. “Not more than four servants—even for Aryan nobility? Absurd! Impossible!”
Belisarius gave Sittas a quick, sharp glance. The Roman general’s returning glare faded instantly into a look of suppressed glee and cunning.
Sittas shoved his great powerful form out of his chair. “Nonsense,” he rumbled. “Any Roman cataphract can make do with two servants, easily. But if the noble sahrdaran thinks maintaining a lean baggage train is a problem, perhaps we could reconsider the assignment—”
Bellow, roar, rumble. Sound and fury.
Ah, the joy of command, thought Belisarius sourly.
You will keep Isaac and Priscus? Came Aide’s timid, fearful thought.
Yes. No point in sending them into the Malwa maw. He began to add some jocular remark, but then, sensing the genuine anguish lurking in Aide’s mind, he shifted immediately.
They are almost as good as Valentinian and Anastasius, Aide. I will be safe enough.
There came a crystalline equivalent of a sigh. Then: It is just— I love you dearly.
* * *
The roar and bellow of outraged and bickering dehgans and cataphracts continued to fill the chamber, as a gigantic army continued to take form and shape. But the commander of that army himself was oblivious to it all, for a time, as he communed with the strangest form and shape which had ever come into the world. And if others might have found something strange in the love and affection which passed between man and crystal, neither the man himself nor the crystal gave it a moment’s thought.