“It is a wise thing to study your enemy; if you like, I can help you to understand the Bible,” replied the Templar knight, as if trying to joke his way out of the topic, seeming to regret his clumsy invasion of the faithfuls’ territory.
Yussuf was about to utter a stern reply to his lighthearted talk of entering into blasphemous studies, when he was interrupted by a long drawn-out, horrifying scream. The scream turned into something that sounded like scornful laughter, rolling down toward them and echoing off the mountainsides above. All five men froze and listened; Emir Moussa immediately began rattling off the words the faithful use to conjure up the jinni of the desert. Then the scream came again, but now it sounded as if it came from several spirits of the abyss, as if they were talking to each other, as if they had discovered the little fire below and the only people in the area.
The Templar knight leaned forward and whispered a few words in Frankish to his sergeant, who nodded at once, stood up, and buckled on his sword. He drew his black mantle tighter, bowed to his unbeliever hosts, and then, without saying a word, turned on his heel and disappeared into the darkness.
“You must excuse this rudeness,” said the Templar knight. “But the fact is that we have the scent of blood and fresh meat up in our camp, and horses that must be tended to.”
He didn’t seem to think he needed to offer any further explanation, and with a bow he stretched out his mocha cup for Emir Moussa to refill it. The emir’s hand shook slightly as he poured.
“You send your sergeant into the darkness and he obeys without blinking?” said Fahkr in a voice that sounded slightly hoarse.
“Yes,” said the Templar knight. “A man must obey even if he feels fear. But I don’t think that Armand does. The darkness is more of a friend for the man who wears a black mantle than the one who wears white, and Armand’s sword is sharp and his hand steady. Wild dogs, those spotted beasts with their horrid barking, are also known for their cowardice, are they not?”
“But are you certain it was only wild dogs we heard?” asked Fahkr doubtfully.
“No,” replied the Templar knight. “There is much we do not know between heaven and hell; no one can ever be certain. But the Lord is our shepherd, and we shall not want, even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. That is doubtless what Armand is praying as he walks along in the dark right now. That is what I would pray, at any rate. If God has measured out our time and wishes to call us home, there is nothing we can do, of course. But until then we cleave the skulls of wild dogs as we do those of our enemies, and in that respect I know that you who believe in the Prophet, may peace be with him, and deny the Son of God, think exactly as we do. Am I not right, Yussuf?”
“You are right, Templar knight,” Yussuf confirmed. “But then where is the borderline between reason and belief, between fear of and trust in God? If a man must obey, as your sergeant must obey, does that make his fear any less?”
“When I was young…well, I am not yet a particularly old man,” said the Templar knight, seeming to think deeply, “I was still preoccupied with that sort of question. It is good for your mind; your thoughts grow nimble from exercising your mind. But nowadays I am afraid I grow sluggish. You obey. You conquer evil. Afterward you thank God—that is all.”
“And if you do not conquer your enemy?” asked Yussuf in a gentle voice, which those who knew him did not recognize as his normal voice.
“Then you die, at least in the case of Armand and myself,” replied the Templar knight. “And on Judgment Day you and I will be measured and weighed, and where you will then end up, I cannot say, even though I know what you yourself believe. But if I die here in Palestine, my place will be in paradise.”
“You truly believe that?” asked Yussuf in his strange, gentle voice.
“Yes, I believe that,” replied the Templar knight.
“Then tell me one thing: Is that promise actually in your Bible?”
“No, not exactly; it does not say that exactly.”
“But you are still quite certain?”
“Yes, the Holy Father in Rome has promised…”
“But he is only a man! What man can promise you a place in paradise, Templar knight?”
“But Muhammed too was merely a man! And youbelieve in his promise, forgive me, may peace be to his name.”
“Muhammed, may peace be with him, was God’s messenger, and God said: ‘But the messenger and those who follow him in faith and strive for the sake of God, offering up their property and lives, shall be rewarded with goodness in this life and in the next, and everything they touch will prosper.’Those words are very clear, are they not? And it goes on…”
“Yes! In the next verse of the ninth sura,” the Templar knight interjected brusquely. “‘ God has prepared for them gardens of pleasure, watered by streams, where they shall remain for all eternity. This is the great and glorious victory!’So, we understand each other, I presume? None of this is foreign to you, Yussuf. And by the way, the difference between us is that I have no possessions, I have put myself in God’s hands, and when He decides, I will die for His sake. Your own beliefs do not contradict what I say.”
“Your knowledge of God’s word is truly great, Templar knight,” said Yussuf, but at the same time he was pleased that he had caught his enemy in a trap, and his companions could see this.
“Yes, as I said, you should know your enemy,” said the Templar knight, for the first time a little uncertain, as if he too realized that Yussuf had backed him into a corner.
“But if you speak in this way, you are not my enemy,” said Yussuf. “You quote from the Holy Koran, which is God’s word. What you say does apply to me, but not to you for the time being. For the faithful, all of this is as clear as water, but what is it for you? In truth, I know as much about Jesus as you know about the Prophet, may peace be with him. But what did Jesus say about the Holy War? Did Jesus speak a single word about you entering paradise if you killed me?”
“Let us not quarrel about this,” said the Templar knight with a confident wave of his hand, as if everything had suddenly become petty, although they could all see his uncertainty. “Our beliefs are not the same, even though they have many similarities. But we have to live in the same land, fighting each other in the worse case, making treaties and conducting business in the best case. Now let us speak of other matters. It is my wish, as your guest.”
They were all aware how Yussuf had driven his opponent into a corner where he had no more defenses. Jesus had clearly never said anything about it being pleasing to God to kill Saracens. But when pressed harder, the Templar knight had still managed to wriggle out of the difficult situation by referring to the faithfuls’ own unwritten laws of hospitality. And so his wish had to be granted; he was the guest, after all.
“In truth, you do know a great deal about your enemy, Templar knight,” said Yussuf. Both his voice and expression showed that he was very pleased at having won the discussion.
“As we agreed, it is necessary to know your enemy,” replied the Templar knight in a low voice, his eyes downcast.
They sat in silence for a while, gazing into their mocha cups, since it seemed difficult to start up the conversation in a natural way after Yussuf’s victory. But then the silence was again shattered by the sound of beasts. This time they all knew it was animals and not some devilish creature, and it sounded as if they were attacking someone or something, and then as if they were fleeing, with howls of pain and death.
“Armand’s sword is sharp, as I said,” murmured the Templar knight.
“Why in the name of peace did you take your corpses with you?” asked Fahkr, who was thinking the same thing as his brothers of the faith.