CHAPTER SIXTY
Nicander walked down the road to the caravanserai in a blissful haze. To have been granted by the gods the highest felicity in this life…
But his mind suddenly slammed in to the present. If he was to live in Samarkand, what was he to do? They couldn’t live off her capital indefinitely. Would it be enough to start some kind of business?
And there was the matter of the grand mission he and Marius had embarked on all those many months ago. Was it right to let his friend go on alone when he’d sworn to stand by him? He would have no regrets about letting Marius keep the secret of silk for himself, but he had to make it to Justinian first. And while the proud legionary had his strengths, this arguably needed both their talents.
Did this mean he must see it through first then return to her? Would she wait for him? Was it fair to expect her to?
But to leave her now was more than he could bear to think about.
The thoughts raced through his head and as he came up to the caravanserai cell he made a decision. He owed it to his friend to tell him about Ying Mei right away; he’d work the other things out with him afterwards.
He opened the door but before he could enter he was slammed to the floor.
‘What the…?’ he spluttered, staring up at Marius.
‘I thought it was… bugger that. Where’ve you been? You took your time saying goodbye!’
‘Well, I’ve-’
‘Save it. We’ve got big trouble.’ Marius went to the door, checked outside, then closed it quickly.
‘That clearance the caravan master had to get? The fucking Persians now know there’s someone here who’s come from China and heading through. There’s rumours of foreign devils talking to Sogdians, holy men who aren’t what they seem… Nico, they’re out looking for us. We’ve got to get away!’
‘You mean leave Samarkand?’
‘Of course I do! What’s wrong with you? This is bloody serious – we’ve got just hours before they find us.’
‘But if we can’t go by caravan then-’
‘For Christ’s sake! I’m saying now! Get out by any means as long as we’re gone from here!’
‘What about Ying Mei?’
‘Those two takes their chances, o’ course! Nico, there’s no time to argue, we’ve got to move.’
‘They have to come with us.’
‘Are you crazy? Whatever plan we come up with things’ll be rough, women’ll get in the way and we’ll be caught. No, they stay behind.’
‘Marius, we agreed to deliver them safely to the west. This is the west, but they’re not safe. I’m not leaving them here while they’re in danger.’
‘You’re not?’ Marius rapped.
‘No.’
‘So I go alone?’ he said with a steely edge of menace.
‘And break your word to Kuo?’
Marius flinched then gave a twisted smile. ‘You bastard. All right, they come. But let’s get out of here fast. We’ll hide with them while we come up with something – anything!’
Ying Mei opened the door. ‘Ah Wu! How nice to see you!’
After a quick look up and down the road, Marius pushed past her. Bewildered, she flashed a glance at Nicander who put a finger to his lips.
Wheeling about in the centre of the room, Marius demanded, ‘Where’s Tai Yi?’
‘I’m here!’ she said frostily, suddenly appearing.
Nicander caught Ying Mei’s eye and she gently shook her head. She’d kept her secret.
‘Tell ’em,’ Marius grunted, going out to check the back of the house.
It took little time to explain the situation and as soon as Marius returned it was agreed that they had to move fast. Their options were pitifully few. Any caravan would be watched, including the ones returning to Osh, so even falling back to where they had come from was not possible.
‘Creep out into the country and hide?’ hazarded Ying Mei.
‘We’ve got to look at the bigger picture, not just the short term,’ Nicander replied.
‘He’s saying we’ve got to get out o’ where the Persians are, to somewhere they’re not!’ Marius said flatly.
‘Like…?’
‘Let’s face it, Nico. We’re going back to Constantinople, whatever it takes. We’ve got to get around the Persians and I don’t know how. And that’s saying if the women are coming with us, they’re going there too.’
Nicander glanced at Ying Mei. Samarkand was to have been where the two of them were to have lived, and where she could listen for news of China. There were no such lines of communication out of Constantinople and she would therefore never know…
‘We go,’ Tai Yi said, surprising the others with the force in her voice. ‘These Persians know we were with the foreigners when they came. So, My Lady, we have to decide if we trust these two to get us somewhere where we will be safe. I do.’
Ying Mei bit her lip and avoided Nicander’s eye.
Knowing nothing of the country, the larger world, even the city outside, where would they begin to plan? It seemed hopeless.
Then she brightened. ‘Why don’t we ask Yulduz, you know, the caravan master we had? He’s sure to know if there are other ways.’
‘Damn it – she’s right!’ Marius agreed. ‘I’ll wait until dark to go and find him. Nothing we can do until then.’
Marius came back with disastrous news. ‘This is bad – no, it’s fucking terrible! I gets to him and asks him, nice and friendly like, to help us. Then he turns white, says he doesn’t know us and in any case there’s no way he’s going to help any who are wanted by the kingdom. I don’t give a single obol for our chances now!’
Tai Yi stood up. ‘We must go. Right now – into the country, find a farm or something and stay there while we think what to do.’
‘What if-’
‘Shut up! Quiet – all of you!’
Marius listened intently. ‘There!’ he whispered, pointing up to the ceiling.
The others heard nothing: but then there was a nearly inaudible scrape. And another. Marius beckoned Nicander and the two crept toward where the steps led down from the roof garden.
‘They’re here!’ Marius grated. ‘I’ll take the first, you-’
A dark figure dropped into view to a muffled scream from the women.
‘Wait!’ Marius hissed, holding up his hand, but there were no more following.
The figure threw back its hood. It was a bearded man, his eyes wary and suspicious. ‘You the four?’ he barked in broken Chinese.
‘Who are you?’
‘Mansur, son of Anjak. He say you want… get out of Samarkand.’
Quick as a cat, Marius crossed to the steps and looked about carefully, then returned. ‘How do you know this?’
‘My uncle, he say.’
The caravan master must have told him of their plight – and the opportunity for gold.
‘We have to leave right now. Can you…?’
It took some explaining but when Mansur had finished there was a deathly hush.
What was being proposed was audacious, dangerous and terrifying, but it might just work. Centuries before the Persians had clamped their hold on the caravan routes, there had been trade between Rome and China on the seasonal trails. One of these went north about the Hyrcanian Sea, what the Persians called the Caspian, and from there across to the Pontus Euxinus, the Black Sea. And then it was only a direct voyage by trading ship to the city of Byzantium itself.
There was a catch. The route had been long abandoned for fear of the Huns and Goths who had come out of the howling wilderness of the steppe lands on a path of pillage and destruction among the rich pickings of Europa. What was being suggested was that they journey into the homeland of these brutal nomads.
Mansur, however, specialised in trading with these peoples and knew them well. He was able to move freely about the more settled tribes for they liked the bright baubles of civilisation he exchanged for their furs and worked goods, and in fact he was off on a trading run now and could offer them safe passage for a price.
In terms of distance it would add little to the miles they would have had to travel by the usual route and the going across the steppe lands would be easier than the deserts and rugged lands of the south, but in terms of risk…
To stay was out of the question. It would be only a matter of time before they would be found.