Read Online Infinity Ring 05 - Cave of Wonders by Matthew J. Kirby - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Matthew J. Kirby
Ads: Link
view of the front entrance, with dozens of guards and horses, it confirmed to her that it would be impossible to get to Hulagu that way. Which was why her plan was better.
But how could she find Tusi? She figured he, as the khan’s adviser, would probably have a nice tent, and it would probably be near Hulagu’s. Sera started scouting around. There was a ring of tents around the khan’s, and they were bigger and richer than the plain ones they’d seen since entering the camp. These were embroidered and painted. But none of them had any features that came right out and said, “Astronomer and mathematician inside.”
It took quite a while, but Sera made it all the way around Hulagu’s tent, sneaking past guards and regular Mongol warriors, without finding any sign. She was frustrated and discouraged. If Tusi was inside one of the tents nearby, she had no way of knowing. If he was somewhere else in the vast war camp, she had no way of finding him at all.
She kicked at the ground in frustration, and that’s when she noticed something. There were markings in the dirt. Geometric markings with writing next to them. The writing looked like Arabic, but the markings were clearly diagrams. Specifically, two circles, one half the size and inside the other. It was the Tusi Couple. A bench leaned up against the tent right in front of the markings, and Sera could picture the whole scene:
Tusi, sitting on the bench, drawing in the dirt, working through problems. This tent had to be his. It had to be. Who else would have drawn these things?
She waited until the guards had passed, and then sneaked around to the tent entrance. With a deep breath, she stepped inside.
The inside of the tent was really comfortable. Thick rugs covered the floor in overlapping layers around a central wooden support post as thick as a small tree. Tapestries and silks hung from the sides of the tent, and tables around the room bore stacks of books and many brass instruments. In one area of the room, Sera saw a pile of cushions and pillows. When she focused on them, she realized there was someone sitting there, perfectly still, and she almost jumped.
It was Tusi. Staring at her.
“He-hello,” she said. “I didn’t see you there. Do you remember me?”
“Of course,” Tusi said. “Why and how have you come here?”
“I came with my two friends,” Sera said. “You met them. We came to convince you.”
“Convince me of what?”
“To save the House of Wisdom.”
Tusi sighed. He looked down at his lap, and Sera realized he had a book there, which he closed. Here he was with his books, stacks upon stacks of them, but he refused to do anything to save the books of Baghdad.
“Let me tell you something,” he said.
Sera put her hands on her hips. “What?”
“After making me his adviser, Hulagu Khan came to me before this military campaign against Baghdad and asked me if the stars would smile favorably upon it. Now, I had a choice to make. I knew Hulagu
wanted
to attack Baghdad. If I had told him the stars were ill-favored, he may have spared the city for a time, but he would have been upset with
me
. He may have even executed me. But if I told him what he wanted to hear, that the stars were favorable to his ambitions, then he would be pleased with me.”
“So you lied?”
“The movement of the stars is constant. However, the
interpretation
of those movements can be much more flexible.”
Sera closed her eyes and shook her head. “That still just sounds like lying to me.”
“You are young. When you are older, you will find that life is less absolute than you might wish it to be. There are few things you can truly rely upon other than the laws of the universe. And yourself.”
Sera thought about that, and it sounded like a sad way to live. “I can rely on my friends. I can rely on my . . .
family
.” As she said the word, its meaning shifted in her mind, gaining a new weight, a substance that included her parents in a way it never
But how could she find Tusi? She figured he, as the khan’s adviser, would probably have a nice tent, and it would probably be near Hulagu’s. Sera started scouting around. There was a ring of tents around the khan’s, and they were bigger and richer than the plain ones they’d seen since entering the camp. These were embroidered and painted. But none of them had any features that came right out and said, “Astronomer and mathematician inside.”
It took quite a while, but Sera made it all the way around Hulagu’s tent, sneaking past guards and regular Mongol warriors, without finding any sign. She was frustrated and discouraged. If Tusi was inside one of the tents nearby, she had no way of knowing. If he was somewhere else in the vast war camp, she had no way of finding him at all.
She kicked at the ground in frustration, and that’s when she noticed something. There were markings in the dirt. Geometric markings with writing next to them. The writing looked like Arabic, but the markings were clearly diagrams. Specifically, two circles, one half the size and inside the other. It was the Tusi Couple. A bench leaned up against the tent right in front of the markings, and Sera could picture the whole scene:
Tusi, sitting on the bench, drawing in the dirt, working through problems. This tent had to be his. It had to be. Who else would have drawn these things?
She waited until the guards had passed, and then sneaked around to the tent entrance. With a deep breath, she stepped inside.
The inside of the tent was really comfortable. Thick rugs covered the floor in overlapping layers around a central wooden support post as thick as a small tree. Tapestries and silks hung from the sides of the tent, and tables around the room bore stacks of books and many brass instruments. In one area of the room, Sera saw a pile of cushions and pillows. When she focused on them, she realized there was someone sitting there, perfectly still, and she almost jumped.
It was Tusi. Staring at her.
“He-hello,” she said. “I didn’t see you there. Do you remember me?”
“Of course,” Tusi said. “Why and how have you come here?”
“I came with my two friends,” Sera said. “You met them. We came to convince you.”
“Convince me of what?”
“To save the House of Wisdom.”
Tusi sighed. He looked down at his lap, and Sera realized he had a book there, which he closed. Here he was with his books, stacks upon stacks of them, but he refused to do anything to save the books of Baghdad.
“Let me tell you something,” he said.
Sera put her hands on her hips. “What?”
“After making me his adviser, Hulagu Khan came to me before this military campaign against Baghdad and asked me if the stars would smile favorably upon it. Now, I had a choice to make. I knew Hulagu
wanted
to attack Baghdad. If I had told him the stars were ill-favored, he may have spared the city for a time, but he would have been upset with
me
. He may have even executed me. But if I told him what he wanted to hear, that the stars were favorable to his ambitions, then he would be pleased with me.”
“So you lied?”
“The movement of the stars is constant. However, the
interpretation
of those movements can be much more flexible.”
Sera closed her eyes and shook her head. “That still just sounds like lying to me.”
“You are young. When you are older, you will find that life is less absolute than you might wish it to be. There are few things you can truly rely upon other than the laws of the universe. And yourself.”
Sera thought about that, and it sounded like a sad way to live. “I can rely on my friends. I can rely on my . . .
family
.” As she said the word, its meaning shifted in her mind, gaining a new weight, a substance that included her parents in a way it never
Similar Books
