mental note to find the cook responsible for the dish and to take him when he left Aleppo. Despite the delicious food, though, his celebratory feast was a sombre affair. Yusuf had taken careful note of the dozen emirs of Aleppo who had not come. It was an act of rebellion. They were no doubt fleeing for Mosul even now. Their lands would be forfeit, and their lives, if Yusuf captured them. Salamat and the other Aleppan emirs knew as much. They had lost their city and now their friends, and that had cast a cloud over the feast.
Yusuf turned to Salamat, who had been given the seat of honour to his right. If he could win this man’s loyalty, then Yusuf was sure the other emirs would fall in line. ‘The last time I dined in this hall, it was in the presence of Nur ad-Din. He gave me my first lands: Tell Bashir.’
‘I know it, Malik.’
‘Nur ad-Din was a great man. He united Aleppo, Damascus and Mosul against the Franks, but he died before he could strike the finishing blow. I will complete his work. Once Mosul has joined me, I will turn on Jerusalem. When that day comes, I hope you will ride with me.’
The other conversations had ceased and all eyes were on Salamat. He nodded. ‘I have always dreamed of seeing the Noble City.’
‘And you shall, inshallah.’ Yusuf noticed that Imad ad-Din had entered the hall with a letter in his hand. His secretary would not disturb him were it not important. ‘Excuse me,’ Yusuf told Salamat. ‘I will return shortly.’
He joined Imad ad-Din in a side room off the hall. ‘A letter from your brother Selim,’ the secretary told him. ‘The Lord of Kerak, the one called the Wolf, has raided the Hijaz.’
Reynald. He was an old enemy. Yusuf knew him to be an oath-breaker and unspeakably cruel, but to raid the Hijaz – the stretch along the east coast of the Red Sea that included the holy cities of Mecca and Medina – was brazen, even by Reynald’s standards.
Yusuf took the letter and scanned the contents. Reynald’s men had built boats that they disassembled and carried across the desert to the Red Sea, where they reassembled them. They had burned the ports that served Medina and sacked the Nubian port of Ajidib, across the sea from Mecca. Yusuf flipped another page. Selim had sent a fleet to deal with them. They had met the Frankish ships off Al-Hawra and destroyed them. The captives had been sent to Cairo. Reynald had escaped and returned to Kerak.
Yusuf crumpled the paper in his fist. His authority rested on his claim to defend Islam against the infidels. That was his justification for unifying Syria, for moving against Aleppo and Mosul. He could not let Reynald’s raid go unpunished; to do so would make him look weak in the eyes of the Caliph and his people. ‘Send word to my brother in Cairo that the captured Franks are to be beheaded. Send four of them to Mecca to be killed at the Place of Sacrifice during the next hajj. Their deaths will be a lesson to the Franks and a message to the faithful that I will protect our holy sites. As for the Wolf, it is time he be brought to bay. Mosul can wait. As soon as Aleppo is secure, we march for the Kingdom.’
C hapter 4
September 1183: Jerusalem
‘Come, Reynald. Let us finish this.’ John dropped into a crouch and raised his imaginary sword. He skipped back a few steps and his back came up against the wall of the cell. John brought his sword up to parry, then spun away from another blow. He knocked aside a thrust and sprang forward to counter, lunging at the shadows on the wall before giving ground. He parried a dozen imagined blows. He could almost see Reynald grinning fiercely as he hacked down again and again. John’s back pressed up against the wall, and he lashed out before again spinning away. He slipped on some straw and stumbled, but it was only a feint. He sidestepped a clumsy blow and finished Reynald with a slashing blow to the neck. In his mind’s eye, he watched Reynald grasp his throat, the red blood
Yusuf turned to Salamat, who had been given the seat of honour to his right. If he could win this man’s loyalty, then Yusuf was sure the other emirs would fall in line. ‘The last time I dined in this hall, it was in the presence of Nur ad-Din. He gave me my first lands: Tell Bashir.’
‘I know it, Malik.’
‘Nur ad-Din was a great man. He united Aleppo, Damascus and Mosul against the Franks, but he died before he could strike the finishing blow. I will complete his work. Once Mosul has joined me, I will turn on Jerusalem. When that day comes, I hope you will ride with me.’
The other conversations had ceased and all eyes were on Salamat. He nodded. ‘I have always dreamed of seeing the Noble City.’
‘And you shall, inshallah.’ Yusuf noticed that Imad ad-Din had entered the hall with a letter in his hand. His secretary would not disturb him were it not important. ‘Excuse me,’ Yusuf told Salamat. ‘I will return shortly.’
He joined Imad ad-Din in a side room off the hall. ‘A letter from your brother Selim,’ the secretary told him. ‘The Lord of Kerak, the one called the Wolf, has raided the Hijaz.’
Reynald. He was an old enemy. Yusuf knew him to be an oath-breaker and unspeakably cruel, but to raid the Hijaz – the stretch along the east coast of the Red Sea that included the holy cities of Mecca and Medina – was brazen, even by Reynald’s standards.
Yusuf took the letter and scanned the contents. Reynald’s men had built boats that they disassembled and carried across the desert to the Red Sea, where they reassembled them. They had burned the ports that served Medina and sacked the Nubian port of Ajidib, across the sea from Mecca. Yusuf flipped another page. Selim had sent a fleet to deal with them. They had met the Frankish ships off Al-Hawra and destroyed them. The captives had been sent to Cairo. Reynald had escaped and returned to Kerak.
Yusuf crumpled the paper in his fist. His authority rested on his claim to defend Islam against the infidels. That was his justification for unifying Syria, for moving against Aleppo and Mosul. He could not let Reynald’s raid go unpunished; to do so would make him look weak in the eyes of the Caliph and his people. ‘Send word to my brother in Cairo that the captured Franks are to be beheaded. Send four of them to Mecca to be killed at the Place of Sacrifice during the next hajj. Their deaths will be a lesson to the Franks and a message to the faithful that I will protect our holy sites. As for the Wolf, it is time he be brought to bay. Mosul can wait. As soon as Aleppo is secure, we march for the Kingdom.’
C hapter 4
September 1183: Jerusalem
‘Come, Reynald. Let us finish this.’ John dropped into a crouch and raised his imaginary sword. He skipped back a few steps and his back came up against the wall of the cell. John brought his sword up to parry, then spun away from another blow. He knocked aside a thrust and sprang forward to counter, lunging at the shadows on the wall before giving ground. He parried a dozen imagined blows. He could almost see Reynald grinning fiercely as he hacked down again and again. John’s back pressed up against the wall, and he lashed out before again spinning away. He slipped on some straw and stumbled, but it was only a feint. He sidestepped a clumsy blow and finished Reynald with a slashing blow to the neck. In his mind’s eye, he watched Reynald grasp his throat, the red blood
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