Empire of Lies

72

No one else came in.

It was unlikely anything had been overheard, not through the twin sets of thick curtains that blocked the tent’s interior from the outside world, not given the noisy battle raging on the city walls and the preparations for the next day’s long march. Even if the fight had been heard, it was clear that Rasheed’s men took his instructions of not being disturbed with utmost seriousness.

Inside, after Kamal was able to tear himself away from Nisreen’s body, he went around the fallen bodies, checking them quickly while Kolschitzky, armed with two sabers, kept watch by the entrance curtains to the tent.

They were all dead—Rasheed, Taymoor, and the four guards.

And Nisreen.

Kamal lingered for a moment over Taymoor’s body, mixed feelings of anger and regret swamping him. Then he pulled himself away and joined Kolschitzky.

“Doesn’t look like anyone heard anything,” the Pole told him. “The camp’s busy tonight; they’re preparing for the big march tomorrow.”

Kamal nodded, though his mind was already elsewhere. He seemed oblivious to the fact that Kolschitzky was eyeing him quizzically and expectantly.

“You want to explain what I saw?” the Pole finally asked.

Kamal let out a weary breath. “There’ll be time for that later.”

“Everything they said… about the future. About what happened. It’s true?”

“Yes.”

Kolschitzky looked bewildered. “And that thing she did… can you do it too?”

Kamal gave him a reluctant nod.

“What are you…? Zauberers?” His scrambled mind had plucked the German term for sorcerer before remembering to revert to Ottoman. “You’re a Büyücü?”

The question wasn’t that easy to dismiss.

Kamal shrugged. “Only in this respect,” he replied. “Look, we can talk about it later. Right now, we need to figure out what to do.”

He reconsidered the timeline and ordered his thoughts.

“Tomorrow’s Tuesday,” he told Kolschitzky. “Kara Mustafa’s army will leave the camp at dawn to get into position for the attack on Wednesday morning, after the bombing. We need to warn Sobieski before then.” He tried to visualize the map of the region and the various players’ positions. “Sobieski and most of the others should have crossed the Danube and arrived at Tulln today. The rest of the armies will arrive tomorrow; then they’ll all be in place for the ceremonial review on Wednesday.”

“Which is when the suicide bombers will strike.”

“Exactly.” Kamal nodded. “How long a ride is it from here to Tulln?”

Kolschitzky thought quickly. “It’s around five fersahs from where we are. But there’s the Wienerwald standing between us. The most direct way is to take the high road that snakes up the hills and back down to the plains outside Tulln.”

“That’s the road Kara Mustafa’s men will take tomorrow to cross to the other side.”

“It has to be,” the Pole said. “It’s the only passage across. The rest are just small trails and pathways through the valleys and forests.”

“We need to make sure Sobieski and his men are in control of the peak before the Ottoman army gets there,” Kamal said. “We have to get to him and convince him to make a push for it at first light. If he takes command of the higher ground, the sultan’s men will be walking into a trap. They’ll get bogged down on the way up and the hussars will be able to cut them down at will. Then this whole camp will be at his mercy.”

“But it’ll be dangerous for us to take the high road. Kara Mustafa is bound to have dispatched advance patrols to secure it.”

“How else can we get to Tulln?”

“We can go around the hills. Either from the east—the way they brought us here, or from the west, along the Vienna River. We’d be much less likely to run into patrols that way, but it’ll be longer.”

“How much longer?”

The Pole mulled his answer. “During the day, given the terrain… we could do it in three hours.”

“What about right now, in the dead of night? Can you get us there?”

“It might take twice as long, but… yes, I think I can.”

Kamal nodded. “Then that’s what we’ll do. Right now. We need to get going.”

Kolschitzky glanced around the room. “We can cut through the tent covers and sneak out the back. In the dark, we should be able to slip away unseen.”

“We can’t leave like this. If they find the dead bodies, it might change things. It could affect their plans.”

The Pole looked at him quizzically. “What does it matter? Better that they do, no?”

“No. I don’t want to give them any reason to think something’s wrong. We need to keep up the appearance that things are proceeding as planned.”

“But Rasheed is dead.”

Kamal nodded. “They don’t need to know that.” He took in the grim scene. Then his eyes settled on Rasheed’s body. He formulated a quick plan and turned to Kolschitzky. “You said before you can pass for anyone?”

“Within reason.”

Kamal pointed at Rasheed. “You’ll need to pass for him.”

Kolschitzky’s brow furrowed. Then he shrugged with acceptance. “In the dark… it’s doable.”

Kamal crossed the room and knelt before Nisreen’s body. He knew he couldn’t just leave her lying there like that either. He stared at her solemnly as he laid his hand on her cheek; then he ran his fingers gently up her forehead and through her hair. She was still warm to his touch.

He turned to the Pole. “We’ll start with her.”