“I pray to the gods that Hathor’s men aren’t held up,” Gemama declared.
“I thought you didn’t believe in the gods.”
“Today, Yavtar, today I believe in all of them, even the most foolish. I’ve sworn an oath to sacrifice an entire goat to each and every one.”
“I didn’t think you had a whole herd of goats in the city.”
“I’ll buy twenty from the first goat herder who comes back to Sumer.” He took a deep breath and let it out. “May we all live through the rest of the day.”
“If we do,” Yavtar said, “I’ll sacrifice a goat, too. Only one, though.”
Chapter 34
Inside the City of Sumer. .
Sabatu had participated in two sieges in his lifetime, and in both instances the armies of Elam had overwhelmed the hapless defenders in less than ten days. He recalled the confusion behind the walls during those assaults, but that was as nothing compared to the noise and turmoil he now experienced within Sumer’s walls. Fearful men and women wandered around, crowding the lanes. Children dashed about, babies cried, and the occasional dog barked, all adding to the tension in the air.
Following his new commander, Sabatu trailed behind Jarud, the Captain of Sumer’s Guard and the man in charge of the city’s defenses. Jarud ignored the chaos, barreling his way through the throngs, shouting orders as he went. Sabatu, trying to keep pace, had nearly tumbled down the steep steps that led from the battlement to the ground, and then almost lost Jarud in the crowd. By the time they reached the main gate, Jarud had collected two subcommanders, who jogged alongside. Sabatu found himself breathing hard.
The commander of the gate, his left arm in a sling, stood on a small platform before Sumer’s main entrance. Two young boys, perhaps ten or eleven seasons, stood beside him. Both had red strips of cloth wound around an arm — official messengers.
“Bila!” Jarud shouted even before he reached the injured man’s side, “all of you! We just received word that Hathor and Naxos have defeated Chaiyanar’s cavalry and are on their way to Sumer. They’ll be here before sundown. We’ll have to hold off the Elamites when they attack until the Akkadians arrive. Then we’ll break the siege and finish off Chaiyanar!”
The cloud of gloom that hung over the men’s faces vanished at the news. Bila, the commander of the main gate’s defense, appeared stunned. “Are you sure, Captain Jarud? How did you find out?”
“Yavtar brought a boat in. This man,” Jarud jabbed his finger at Sabatu, “arrived with him. Tell them what message Yavtar carried.”
“It’s true,” Sabatu said. “The Elamite cavalry under Simaski was defeated and scattered two mornings ago, about ninety miles to the northwest. Lord Hathor and King Naxos — he killed Simaski himself — are on their way here. Yavtar and I met up with them last night. They. .”
“That’s enough, Sabatu.” Jarud had no interest in hearing the details. “You can tell them the rest later. Bila, you’ll have to hold the gate until Naxos and Hathor arrive no matter what. And I want your men prepared for a sortie. If we move fast enough, we may be able to catch Chaiyanar between our forces.”
Jarud spun on his heel and started off, then realized he’d forgotten Sabatu. “Bila, put Sabatu in charge of Jaruman’s men.” Then he was gone, vanishing into the swarm of people hanging about. A few started to cheer at the news.
“All right, get our men ready,” Bila ordered, speaking to the two subcommanders Jarud had brought with him. “Sabatu, come with me. I’ll give you your men and show you where to stand. I hope you can use that bow.”
Bila’s expression as he took in Sabatu’s hands revealed his doubts. But following orders, Bila led Sabatu up the steps beside the main gate, to the left side of the parapet. “Here’s your new commander.” Bila turned and rushed back down the steps.
Sabatu found himself facing eleven men, all of them slumped against the parapet. A few had wounds wrapped with dirty bandages spotted with blood. They looked weary, and they stared at their new commander with indifferent eyes. Sabatu took a deep breath. He recognized all the signs of lax discipline. Well, he’d dealt with that before.
“On your feet, all of you.”
No one moved. One man shrugged. “We’ll get up when the Elamites come.”
Sabatu smiled. There wasn’t much room atop the parapet, but he took a single step closer. At the same time he whipped the bow from his back, and using plenty of muscle, rammed it into the man’s stomach.
A regular bow might have snapped from such a thrust, but the hard wood and extra width of Sabatu’s weapon withstood the stroke easily.
The man, taken by surprise, gasped in pain.
“Get him up. Now!” He swept the bow through the air with a humming sound. “When I give you an order, you’ll obey it, or I’ll put a shaft into the next man that doesn’t.”
To emphasize that he meant what he said, Sabatu jerked an arrow from his quiver. With speed that would have impressed any of Akkad’s master bowmen, he nocked the arrow and launched it, seemingly without aiming.
The missile traveled less than ten paces, and buried itself into the wood of a pole that held one of Sumer’s standards.
With a rush, the startled men climbed to their feet, two of them dragging upright the one who’d felt Sabatu’s bow in his belly.
“First, I’ll tell you the good news.” Sabatu told them of Yavtar’s meeting with the Akkadians, and that their cavalry were on the way even now. The men shook off their lethargy in an instant. Cheers erupted, to join with those already arising from the mass of people below the gate, as they, too, received the news and spread the word.
“Now for the bad,” Sabatu said, after he’d given them a few moments. “Chaiyanar and his men are coming, and they’re coming with everything they’ve got. It’s our job to make sure they don’t take this gate, and a lot of us are probably going to die holding them off. But if they get over the walls, every man they don’t want as a slave will be slaughtered. Those allowed to live,” he lifted both his hands, to show them where his thumbs had been broken, “will never hold a weapon again.”
It took a moment for his words to sink in, that Sabatu had faced Elamite torture and survived, and that he’d somehow managed to become a commander and a master bowman. His arrow, still protruding from the pole, attested to his words.
“But there’s more,” Sabatu went on, striding up and down before his new charges. “As soon as the Akkadians get here, Captain of the Guard Jarud wants Bila and his men to open the gate, and attack Chaiyanar’s soldiers. Jarud wants to take them from the rear. More important, you men are going to see to it that I’m the first man through this gate. I’ve got something to settle with Grand Commander Chaiyanar, and I don’t want to miss the chance to greet him. If any of you want to follow me, I’ll make sure you receive five silver coins. And if. .”
“Make it ten, and I’ll follow you anywhere.”
Sabatu grinned at the speaker, a short, swarthy man with the long, ropy arms that made for a good bowman. “What’s your name?”
“My name is Hurin of Uruk, Commander.” He picked up his bow. “And I can shoot as good as you. Want to see?”
“Later, perhaps, Hurin from Uruk.” Sabatu couldn’t keep the smile from his face. “All right, it’s ten silver coins, even if I have to borrow them. Now shut up and listen. It’s better if you know everything.”
When Sabatu finished, smiles covered most of their faces. Every one of them had lost friends and kin during the siege. More than a few wanted a chance to revenge themselves on the hated Elamites. If there were some coins to be earned in the process, so much the better.
“Good! Now let’s make sure we’re ready for them when they come.”
Chapter 35
Grand Commander Chaiyanar, after stepping onto the back of one of his kneeling clerks, mounted his warhorse. A bronze breastplate covered his chest, and a red-plumed helmet of the same material protected his head. A short sword forged by the master sword-makers of the Indus hung from his waist.