Swords of Arabia: Betrayal (48 page)

“Lord
Nasir!
Lady
Zahirah!”
Their
sombre
thoughts
were
broken
by
Daoud’s
voice
calling
them
urgently,
from
the
foot
of
the
stairs
leading
to
the
tower.

“The
rider!”
exclaimed
Nasir,
hurrying
down
the
narrow
steps,
stepping
carefully
on
their
uneven
and
sand-strewn
surface.
The
shock
of
the
sniper-fire
had
wiped
the
speeding
rider’s
arrival
from
their
minds.
He
hurried
over
to
where
the
man
was
laid
out
in
the
comparative
coolness
of
a
lean-to,
hard
by
the
thick
town
walls.

“Is
he
still
alive?”
he
asked
kneeling
down
beside
the
battered
and
bloody
man.

“Yes,
Lord
and
will,
I
believe,
survive,”
murmured
the
burly
chief
of
guards.
“He’s
not
yet
spoken
–
said
it
could
be
only
with
you,
yourself,
or
the
Lady
Zahirah,”
he
added.
With
a
nod
and
a
brief
smile
of
thanks
to
his
guards’
commander,
Nasir
leant
over
the
stricken
man
and
gently
shook
his
shoulder,
just
as
Zahirah
reached
his
side.
Her
eyes
widened
in
shock
as
she
recognised
the
wounded
rider
as
Obeid,
one
of
her
longest
serving
and
most
trusted
men.
The
semi-conscious
man
groaned,
at
even
Nasir’s
light
touch,
and
his
eyelids
flickered
open
in
protest.
On
recognising
Nasir,
he
struggled
up
onto
his
elbows,
urgency
written
all
over
his
face.
“Lord
Nasir,
I
am
a
courier
for
the
Lady...”
He
broke
off
as
he
saw
her
stooping
down
behind
Nasir.
“Lady!
I
have
done
as
you
bid
–
and
it’s
worse,
very
much
worse,
than
you
feared.”

Nasir
looked
up,
startled.
He
knew
his
sister-in-law
well
enough
to
know
that
she
told
most
people
very
little
of
her
motives
and
fears.
To
have
shared
even
a
small
part
with
the
man
now
lying
injured
at
their
feet
showed
how
exceptional
he
must
be.

“Tell
us,”
she
replied,
with
that
icy
calm
she
always
possessed
when
great
danger
threatened.

“The
Rashid
are
riding
with
the
Lord
Salman
and
the
merchant
Ihahi
–
and
they
will
be
here
within
two
hours!”
he
gasped,
greedily
taking
more
of
the
water
Doaud
was
letting
trickle
through
his
parched
lips.

“So
–
it
is
beginning;
the
Rashid
have
turned
against
us!”
she
said,
exchanging
a
grim
look
with
Nasir.

He
nodded,
“Yes,
and
even
more
swiftly
than
we
thought.
If
they
bring
all
their
strength,
we
cannot
hold
out
beyond
a
day
or
two
at
most.”

“Yes,
and
if
they
have
boats,
the
harbour
will
be
under
threat
also.”

“Lady,
Lord,
there’s
more
ill-news!”
said
the
messenger
urgently,
trying
to
rise
up
again.

Alarmed
they
turned
back
to
him.
“The
Rashid
don’t
come
alone
–
they
have
Ottoman
soldiers
with
them!”

Ya Allah! Why are they here – and so quickly?
Nasir
wondered,
stunned,
before
his
mind
quickly
returned
to
military
considerations.
If
they’ve
brought
big
guns
our
walls
will
fall
in
minutes,
he
thought,
stunned
by
the
speed
at
which
the
catastrophe
was
upon
them.
They
were
alone;
there’d
been
no
time
to
inform
the
British
of
their
change
of
allegiance.
Even
if
they
had,
it
was
unlikely
that
their
new
imperial
ally
could
have
arrived
in
time
to
help.
So
their
only
hope
of
succour
was
gone;
they
were
alone.

Chapter
Twenty One

“Look!
Over
there!
See
the
riders!”
shouted
a
guard
further
down
the
wall,
rather
unnecessarily,
as
the
large
dust-storm
that the
force’s
rapid
approach
wreathed
them
in
was
now
clearly
visible
to
the
worried
watchers
on
the
town’s
walls.

“
Ya Allah
!
Obeid
wasn’t
exaggerating!”
exclaimed
Zahirah,
turning
as
Nasir
came
and
stood
alongside
her,
worry
etched
deeply
into
his
face
also
as
he
observed
the
swift
approach
of
men
who,
until
very
recently,
had
been
their
closest
of
friends
and
allies.
That
the
Rashid
could
field
so
many
men
he
well
knew
but
he
also
saw
that
Obeid
hadn’t
exaggerated
the
number
of
Ottoman
troops
riding
with
them.
Why?
The
Rashid
forces
would
outnumber
any
the
Narashi
could
field
against
them,
even
with
their
own
allies.
The
speed
of
the
attack
had
precluded
any
of
the
latter
being
contacted
anyway,
so
they
were
on
their
own
–
and
heavily
out-numbered.

“It
was
ibn
Saud
we
feared
in
this
uncertain
time
between
alliances.
We
should
have
remembered
the
appetites
of
our
Rashidi
cousins,”
Nasir
remarked
bitterly.

Zahirah
nodded,
“Yes,
the
opportunity
to
strike
and
seize
a
port
of
the
Gulf
waters
is
a
rich
prize.
I
suspect
that
it
was
our
being
in
alliance
with
them,
and
thus
their
having
easy
access
to
the
waters,
that
was
the
only
thing
stopping
them
attempting
something
like
this
previously.”

Nasir
nodded
sombrely.
“Yes
and
having
lost
almost
all
the
al
Hasa
with
their
flight
from
al
Hofuf,
and
then
fleeing
from
Basra
a
year
and
a
half
ago,
this
is
now
the
Ottoman’s
only
access
to
its
waters.
Which
makes
us
doubly
valuable,”
he
remarked
quietly.

“Yes,
and
doubly
vulnerable,
much
as
a
tethered
bird
is
to
a
starving
dog,”
she
agreed.

As
well
as
ensuring
that
the
ramparts
were
manned,
they
had
placed
an
almost
equal
number
of
loyalist
guards
stationed
facing
into
the
town,
so
uncertain
were
loyalties
after
the
too
recent
blood-letting.
Then
all
they
could
do
was
watch
quietly
as
the
force,
several
hundred
strong
and
banners
flying,
approached
the
walls
and
the
leading
riders
became
clearly
visible.
Then
confirming
their
hostile
intent, they
swept
round
in
a
semi
-
circle,
entirely
surrounding
the
town
on
its
landward
side.
They
stayed
just
out
of
rifle-shot
and
stopped,
seeming
to
be
waiting
for
something
before
they
advanced
further
towards
the
walls.
From
where
Nasir
and
the
others
stood
on
the
tower
of
the
great
gateway,
they
could
also
see
to
their
left
across
the
harbour;
and
they
saw
that
there
were
boats,
many
boats,
approaching
its
mouth.
As
yet,
none
of
the
vessels
made
any
attempt
to
enter
and
stayed
lying
quietly
with
their
oars
banked,
just
outside
the
range
of
the
guns
of
either
of
the
small
forts
crouched
high
on
their
rocky
headlands
each
side
of
the
harbour’s
entrance.

The
inaction
of
the
enemy’s
land
forces
surprised
the
onlookers,
grateful
though
they
were
for
any
delay
in
the
expected
onslaught.
Why were they here, and so quickly? Two questions, with as yet no answer
,
thought
Nasir,
gazing
stonily
down
at
the
approaching
riders.

“Badr!”
The
speed
of
the
approaching
disaster
had
stunned
them
all,
but
now,
suddenly,
Zahirah’s
mind
was
working
with
its
usual
icy
clarity.

Nasir,
taken
by
surprise,
looked
at
her
in
astonishment,
then
his
own
mind
made
the
same
connection.
He
remembered
his
brother’s
uncharacteristically
leisurely
opening
speech
at
the
majlis
;
his
angry
exchange
with
two
of
the
ring-leaders
of
the
attack
in
the
great
chamber.
It
wasn’t
an
anger
aimed
at
their
treachery
but
their
timing!
They’d
launched
their
attack
too
soon.
His
brother
had
been
waiting
for
the
arrival
of
the
force
now
encircling
the
town.

“Yes,
that’s
why
they’re
waiting
now
–
they’re
expecting
Badr
to
greet
them!”
exclaimed
Zahirah.

“And
as
he
can’t,
they’ll
realise
he’s
been
defeated
–
and
then,
they’ll
attack
and
I
doubt
we
can
do
more
that
sell
our
lives
dearly,”
replied
Nasir,
bluntly.
“We
must
get
Talal
and
his
brothers
away
if
they
do
seem
about
to
overwhelm
us,”
he
added
quietly.