Read an Excerpt
Chapter One
CTESIPHON
Spring, 533 A.D.
Are you sure of this? asked Aide. The crystalline thoughtin Belisarius' mind shivered with uncertainty. They haveprotected you for so long.
Belisarius made the mental equivalent of a shrug. Thiscoming campaign is different, Aide. I will be commanding—
He broke off for a moment, scanning the imperial audiencechamber. The crooked smile that came so naturallyto him made its reappearance. There was enough of royalty,nobility, officers and advisers crowded about to filleven that huge and splendiferous room. The costumes anduniforms worn by that mob were as varied as the mob itself.Roman, Persian, Ethiopian, Arab—only the Kushans wereabsent, for reasons of secrecy.
No one in the West has assembled such a gigantic forcesince the days of Xerxes and Darius and Alexander the Great.I will be leading well over a hundred thousand men intoIndia, Aide. So there's no way I'll be at the forefront ofany more cavalry charges.
The crystal being from the future flashed an imagein Belisarius' mind. For just an instant, the Romangeneral saw a Homeric figure storming a rampart, swordin hand.
Aide's voice came sour, sour. Alexander the Great did.
Belisarius snorted. Alexander was a lunatic as well asa genius. Thought he was Achilles come back to life. I haveno such pretensions, myself. And if I ever did—
He winced, remembering the way Rana Sanga, Rajputana'sgreatest king as well as champion, hadhammered Belisariusinto a bleeding pulp on a battlefield in the Zagros mountains.Would have killed him, in fact, if Valentinian hadn'tcome to his rescue.
You should not send Valentinian away! Especially notwhen you're sending Anastasius also!
Belisarius ignored Aide's last remark, for the moment.The raging argument between Sittas and Kurush which hadfilled the audience chamber for several minutes seemed tobe coming to a head, and he thought it was about timethat he intervened. It wouldn't do to allow two of his topcommanders to come to actual blows, after all.
Loudly, he cleared his throat. Both Sittas and Kurushstopped bellowing, although they did not leave off theirferocious mutual glares.
"Kurush will command the left," pronounced Belisarius.Sittas made a choking sound and transferred his glare fromhis Persian equivalent to the top commander of the jointexpedition. Beneath the indignation and outrage in hisexpression lurked something of the small boy—betrayed!—byhis trusted older brother.
Belisarius shook his head. "Don't be stupid, Sittas. Theleft wing will be responsible for protecting the entireexpedition against Malwa cavalry raids. Rajputs and Pathans,most like. The Aryans are far more experienced cavalrymenthan Roman cataphracts in that kind of mountainousterrain."
The words did not seem to mollify Sittas at all. To thecontrary—Belisarius' huge friend was giving him the enragedboar's glare that was one of Sittas' trademarks.
Belisarius found it hard not to smile. On one level, ofcourse, he could hardly blame Sittas. The official justificationwhich Belisarius had just given for allowing thePersian dehgans to take the prestigious position on theexpedition's left flank was absurd. By the time Belisarius'huge army was nearing the Indus valley, the Malwa wouldcertainly have detected the northern expedition of Kungasand his Kushans. Any Rajput or Pathan raiders availableto the Malwa after their crushing defeat the previous yearat Charax would be busy trying to protect the Hindu Kush.They certainly wouldn't be wasting their time in futilecavalry raids against Belisarius' army far to the south inBaluchistan.
But—
The Kushan expedition was still a secret, so Sittas—chokingwith indignation all the while—could not arguethe point. He was forced, grudgingly and angrily, to cedethe argument and resume his seat. Kurush did likewise.Fortunately, the young Persian general had enough tact tokeep his face expressionless rather than indulge in opengloating.
Good enough, thought Belisarius. He would make it apoint to discuss the matter with Sittas privately after thecouncil meeting. In truth, he should have discussed it withhim prior to the meeting. But in the press of his responsibilities,he simply hadn't thought of it. Belisarius had beenaway from the imperial court at Constantinople for so longthat he'd forgotten the touchy pride of the capital city'selite cataphracts. He should have realized that Sittas wouldfind a point of honor in the issue of whether the left flankwas under the command of Persians or Romans.
Stupid, he thought sourly. Sittas should have the senseto understand that I must keep the Persians satisfied. Andtheir pride is even touchier!
His eyes met those of Agathius. Belisarius' chief of staffwas sitting at a large table across the room, with thecampaign maps and logistics records spread out in frontof him. Seeing the easy manner in which Agathius handledthat mass of written material, no one would have guessedthat he had been effectively illiterate until a year ago.Beneath Agathius' brawler's appearance, the chief of staffwas as intelligent and capable as any man Belisarius hadever met.
There seemed to be a little twinkle in Agathius' eyes.Belisarius gave him the faint hint of a smile, as a mandoes when he is sharing a subtle unspoken secret withanother.
Stupid noblemen ...
Until the injuries which had crippled him at the Battleof the Nehar Malka, Agathius had been a cataphract himself—anda great one. But the lowborn baker's son hadnever approached war with any attitude beyond plebeianpracticality.
Agathius now cleared his own throat. "If we can moveon to the logistics ..."
Belisarius nodded his assent. As Agathius began runningthrough the state of the logistical preparations for the comingcampaign, Belisarius let his thoughts go inward again.
It is too important an opportunity to pass up, Aide. IfIrene is right—
She's guessing! Nobody knows what that crypticmessage means!
Belisarius made the mental equivalent of a shrug. She'sa very good guesser, you know. And I think she's right. Thething has all the earmarks of a Narses maneuver.
He's a traitor.
No, Aide. He was a traitor. Now he is in the service ofanother. And, unless I miss my own guess, I suspect thathe is serving Damodara very faithfully indeed. Not—therecame a momentary silent chuckle—that I think Damodarahas any idea what his chief of espionage is doing.
Aide said nothing for a moment, though his uneasinesswas still evident. Then: But why Valentinian and Anastasius?He complained. They aren't spies and intriguers.They—
—are the deadliest soldiers in my army, Belisarius completedthe thought. And they both speak the language—wellenough, at least—and they are both familiar with India.I don't think Narses wants spies, Aide. He has plenty ofhis own. I think—
You're guessing!
Belisarius sighed. Yes, I am. And I am also a good guesser.And can I finish my thought without interruptions?
He could sense the "jewel" sulking. But Aide kept hispeace.
As I was saying, Belisarius continued, I suspect that whatNarses needs are people who can get someone out of Indiain a very big hurry. Or protect them. And who better forthat than Valentinian and Anastasius and Kujulo?
Aide was silent, but Belisarius could sense the unspokendisagreement.
Oh, stop sulking! Say what you were going to say.
The thoughts came in a rush. And that's another thing—thosethree are well known to the Malwa! They will bespotted!
By whom? The only ones who would recognize them areChandragupta's imperial entourage—which there's no chanceat all of encountering, as tightly sequestered as Skandaguptakeeps himself-and—
The Rajputs! Rana Sanga fought Valentinian in singlecombat for hours! You think—
Belisarius drove over the protest. And Damodara'sRajputs—who, by all accounts, have been stationed in Biharand Bengal since they returned to India. Half a continentaway from where Valentinian and—
Things change, pouted Aide. You say that yourself, allthe time.
Again, Belisarius made that mental shrug. Yes, they do—andprobably will again. Judging from what Irene told usof the Maratha rebellion's progress, I imagine that Damodaraand Rana Sanga will soon be ordered into the Great Country.Which—
He could sense Aide's growing surly pout, and had tofight down another smile. Which is also half a continentaway.
Belisarius broke off the exchange. In his usual terse andefficient manner, Agathius was completing his logisticsreport. Belisarius braced himself for another round ofbellowing and bickering.
Kurush was already on his feet. "What is this nonsense?"he roared. "Not more than four servants—even for Aryannobility? Absurd! Impossible!"
Belisarius gave Sittas a quick, sharp glance. The Romangeneral's returning glare faded instantly into a look ofsuppressed glee and cunning.
Sittas shoved his great powerful form out of his chair."Nonsense," he rumbled. "Any Roman cataphract can makedo with two servants, easily. But if the noble sahrdaranthinks maintaining a lean baggage train is a problem,perhaps we could reconsider the assignment—"
Bellow, roar, rumble. Sound and fury.
Ah, the joy of command, thought Belisarius sourly.
You will keep Isaac and Priscus? Came Aide's timid,fearful thought.
Yes. No point in sending them into the Malwa maw. Hebegan to add some jocular remark, but then, sensing thegenuine anguish lurking in Aide's mind, he shifted immediately.
They are almost as good as Valentinian and Anastasius,Aide. I will be safe enough.
There came a crystalline equivalent of a sigh. Then: Itis just — I love you dearly.
The roar and bellow of outraged and bickering dehgansand cataphracts continued to fill the chamber, as a giganticarmy continued to take form and shape. But the commanderof that army himself was oblivious to it all, for a time,as he communed with the strangest form and shape whichhad ever come into the world. And if others might havefound something strange in the love and affection whichpassed between man and crystal, neither the man himselfnor the crystal gave it a moment's thought.
They had been together for years now, since the monkand prophet Michael of Macedonia had brought Aide andhis warning of a terrible future to Belisarius' door. Overthe course of those years of battle and campaign, they hadcome to know each other as well as father and son, orbrother and brother. What they thought—hoped—was thefinal campaign of the long war against Malwa was nowupon them. They would survive, or not, as fate decreed.But they would go into that furnace united in heart andsoul. And that, more than anything—so they thought, atleast—was the surest guarantee of future triumph.
A sharp sound echoing in the audience chamber broughtBelisarius' mind back to the present. A brisk handclap, herealized. Belisarius saw Khusrau Anushirvan rising from histhrone perched at the opposite side of the chamber.
"Enough!" The Persian emperor clapped his hands again.Beneath the thick, square-cut beard, his youthful face wasstern. "Enough, I say. At least for the moment. It is pastnoon, and we have an imperial wedding to attend."
He turned his head to Belisarius. The sternness of hisexpression seemed to ease a bit. "A wedding which, I'msure the illustrious Roman general will agree, is moreimportant than the details of marching order and logistics."
Belisarius nodded and rose to his own feet. "Indeed so,Emperor. Far more."
Excerpted from THE TIDE OF VICTORY by ERIC FLINT DAVID DRAKE. Copyright © 2001 by Eric Flint and David Drake. Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
