The Spymaster's Protection (49 page)

While Taqi al Din went inland, Saladin attacked up the coast.
Tyre had already been assaulted once by his nephew, but Saladin gave it another
go. The northern port proved elusive and tough to capture. Resistance was
strong, and it was amply and easily supplied with its needs on the seaward side
of the city. Thousands of Christian refugees and fighting men had poured into
Tyre in the weeks after the Battle of Horns.

When it became clear that a much longer, bigger siege was
going to be necessary, Saladin moved back down the coast to Ascalon. His
soldiers had been in the field for many months now and were beginning to
complain about going home to wives and farms. The sultan could not afford to
lose his army before taking the prize, Jerusalem.

By the time Saladin joined his forces outside of the southern
port of Ascalon, the Crusader Kingdom had been reduced to Gaza, Safed, Tyre, a
few isolated castles in the south, and the castles in Oultrejourdan. Kerak and
Montreal were still holding out despite the loss of their commanders.

Ascalon took a great deal of effort to conquer. King Guy was
brought over from Damascus and offered his freedom if he could talk the
Christians within the city into a peaceful surrender. Though he pleaded with
the residents and commanders of the besieged city to do so, they refused. The
Templar Grand Master was forced to add his pleas to those of his king, but both
men received nothing except insults and accusations.

Guy was then sent to be confined at the captured castle of
Nablus, and the assault began again. It was a protracted one, and the sultan
lost two of his best commanders, one being the esteemed chief of a powerful
Bedouin tribe. Finally, after a grueling ten day siege, Ascalon fell into the hands
of the Muslim forces.

What surprised Lucien was that, like Acre and a few other
captured cities, Saladin offered generous terms. The residents of the city and
the merchants were allowed to remain, though many chose not to, while the
garrison of the city and their families were taken to Egypt, where they were
put up in decent housing until they were transported back across the
Mediterranean to their homelands.

After Ascalon, Saladin attacked the Templar citadel of Gaza,
to the south. Once again, Gérard de Ridefort was used to induce the castle
garrison, his own Templars, to surrender without a fight. Because every Templar
vowed unquestioning obedience to the Grand Master, the men inside Gaza had no
choice. The moment their leader appeared before the walls, draped in chains, he
ordered them to lay down their arms, and they did.

Seated next to the Blue Wolf on a magnificent black Arabian,
Lucien watched the surrender with a mixture of disgust and relief. While he did
not want to see more of his brothers die in this war that had for all intents
and purposes been lost at Hattin, he was disgusted at Master de Ridefort’s
theatrical display. The crazy bastard really knew how to play to a crowd.

As he watched the performance, it occurred to Lucien that
Gérard de Ridefort had grown mad, as well as fanatical. His choleric
temperament, blind dogmatic convictions, and unremitting self-righteousness had
escalated to the point of madness. In the time Lucien had served under him, his
excessive zealotry and wild rages had grown more frequent, making it
increasingly impossible to deal with him.

Until recently, Lucien had managed to avoid him, but it was
inevitable that they crossed paths during their mutual confinement. Each time
they did so, Lucien saw a man who had and would continue to lead the Order and
the kingdom into disaster. He had badly tarnished the image of the Brotherhood
and the Temple. And history would, no doubt, place the loss of the kingdom
heavily on his poor leadership.

Saladin had promised the Grand Master his freedom if he got
Gaza to surrender and, quite frankly, Lucien suspected the sultan had had about
all of de Ridefort’s maniacal behavior he could handle. Lucien certainly had. A
dozen times, the Grand Master had threatened to have him not only arrested, but
hung as a traitor. He handled the personal attacks de Ridefort made on him, but
it took all of his discipline to keep from physically assaulting him when he
called Gabrielle vile names.

Knowing that he was probably going to be released on the morrow,
de Ridefort delivered his most scalding attack his last night in the Muslim
camp. Seated across from Lucien in the tent where they usually took their
meals, under the watch of a huge, heavily armed Mameluk guard, the Grand Master
stared at him with a malevolent parody of a smile.

"Just how is it that you are here, de Aubric?"
Gérard began. "Are you giving the whoresons information about our defenses
as they march up and down our land?"

"They have requested nothing of me, de Ridefort. Unlike
you, I have not been asked to extract a surrender from anyone."

"Insolent bastard!"

"So you've stated on numerous occasions."

Lucien stared wearily at the man he had once served. He had a
wild look about him these days. His hair was disheveled and matted. His beard dirty
and untrimmed. His clothes soiled with stains. And his atrocious odor reminded
Lucien of Gabrielle’s assessment of ‘smelly lamb’s wool drawers’. Their captors
had offered him clean clothes and the like, but de Ridefort had rejected them,
leaving his appearance to reflect his growing dementedness.

"What do you think to do after this, de Aubric? Return to
Jerusalem and marry de Châtillon's harlot now that she is free?"

Lucien's jaw clenched, but he did not respond to his former
Master’s baiting.

"The Order will never let you, you know. We will hunt you
down wherever you go and arrest you. I will see you excommunicated and
imprisoned, maybe even hung for treason. You will not be free of my wrath and
vengeance, even should you sail back to your homeland. As far as I am
concerned, you have aided the enemy. You are a traitor! No matter what that
devil Saladin takes, we will win it back, as soon as the Pope rallies men from
the continent to take up the cross and reclaim the Holy Land. This is not
over."

"I never thought it was." Lucien knew what Gérard
said was true. More Christian soldiers would come, eventually. The kings of
Europe and the Pope would not let Saladin keep his grip on the Holy Land.

"You will not escape our reach, Lucien de Aubric, ever,
as long as you live."

Lucien looked at him askance. "Find a worthier endeavor,
de Ridefort. I am not worth your persecution."

"You and that adulteress whore will both feel my…."

Lucien leaped off his floor cushion and lunged at him,
tackling him. Behind him, the Mameluk guard surged forward to separate the two
men just as General Gökböri entered the tent. Both men reached him as Lucien
rose and reached down to grab de Ridefort by the front of his tunic. Before
they could stop him, he flung the older man single-handedly through the opening
of the tent, out onto the dirt.

By the time, Lucien broke free of the Mameluk’s restraint, de
Ridefort was being drug to another pavilion by two more guards.

"Come with me Lucien de Aubric. I wish to speak with
you," General Gökböri said beside him.

They walked to Gökböri’s luxurious pavilion and sat on
cushions of the finest heavy silk. The emir clapped for his servant and had the
man pour two cups of the thick rich coffee Lucien knew the general greatly
favored.

"I heard most of what that crazy old man said, de Aubric.
It distresses me for many reasons. I have not told you why I have kept you with
me these past two months. It is time I rectify that."

“I am your prisoner.” Lucien spoke matter-of-factly as he
tried to assess what the general’s intent was. While they often conversed with
one another, it was never anything too personal. And he had never asked Lucien
to reveal information about the Christian defenses. What he’d told de Ridefort
had been true. “I have wondered what my purpose here was,” Lucien commented.
“You could have left me in Damascus.”

“You are not really a prisoner, de Aubric. You are here
because I wanted to get to know you. I have kept you under guard for your own
protection.”

“I am no one important, General Gökböri,” Lucien pointed out,
perplexed.

“You are very important to someone who is important to me.”

Lucien frowned. “Who?”

“My daughter.” The Turk stared at Lucien as he took a long
drink of his coffee. “Gabrielle de Châtillon.”

Lucien was stunned. “Gabrielle is your daughter?”

Gökböri nodded and set his coffee aside, then leaned forward,
bracing his elbows on his bent knees. “I captured her mother and held her for
ransom when I was a young man, many years ago living near Antioch. Even then
Reynald de Châtillon and Armand Chaumont were ruthless raiders of our people.
Simone Chaumont came into my hands, and I kept her for several months until
Chaumont ransomed her. In that time, we fell in love. I learned after Simone
died that she had had a child by me, a girl. By then Gabrielle was married to
de Châtillon and living at Kerak. I have tried to keep an eye on Gabrielle, but
I have not been able to do much for her. Until recently.” The Blue Wolf could
not repress the grim smile that curved his wide mouth. “I slayed that bastard
Chaumont on the field at Hattin.”

“Good,” Lucien stated with a nod. “He deserved slaying.
Gabrielle believes he may have killed her mother; that he may have pushed her
off the wall at Kerak. It was reported as a suicide, but….”

Gökböri uttered a savage curse in Arabic. “Then Allah
delivered a just end to his miserable life. I would have killed de Châtillon,
too, if the sultan had not.”

“I longed to,” Lucien added harshly.

“I know. It is why I did not send you to the prison at Damascus
and why you are here with me now. You have done much for my daughter. I know
that you tried to get the Assassin contract removed, and I know you took her
with you so she would be protected from her husband. Such a man I needed to get
to know. It seems you are the first real happiness my daughter has known. Her
life has been hard. I want to make it up to her a little by giving you back to
her. But I think you may not be safe in Jerusalem if what your despicable Grand
Master says is true.”

“He will go to Tyre when he is released; if he is released
tomorrow. I have nothing to fear from him for a while.” Lucien looked the man
across from him directly in the eyes. “I would like to return to Gabrielle. She
may not know I am alive. But I cannot promise I will not raise arms against
your soldiers. You, personally, I will not fight, but I would defend my fellow
Christians in Jerusalem if Saladin attacks.”

“He will, in a matter of a few weeks. Your people will not
prevail. You have been too weakened."

“I believe that to be true, also, but I cannot switch sides or
refuse to defend the citizens in the city. I wish there was a peaceful
solution.”

“It is too late for that.”

“Yes,” Lucien agreed sadly. “Will you release me soon?”

“Yes, after de Ridefort leaves, and he
will
leave. Your
brothers obeyed him and gave up Gaza, and the sultan cannot tolerate much more
of him.”

Lucien laughed. “Will you tell Gabrielle she is your daughter?
She would like to know. She hated being Armand’s daughter.”

The general shook his head once, indicating he would tell
Gabrielle. “I will see her in Jerusalem when we win it.”

“You are confident of victory.”

“Would you not be in our position?”

“I would,” Lucien agreed solemnly.

“Think about this Lucien de Aubric. When Jerusalem is taken, I
will go home to my father’s land in Irbil. I am finished with fighting. There
are things I wish to do for my people now; things that have nothing to do with
killing. Bring my daughter and live in the city. I will find a position for
you, or you may choose one on your own. You could also come to marry my
daughter, stay a while, then go, if that pleases you both. You will not be
given any peace here, if de Ridefort survives and has his way.”

“I cannot give up my faith or change my allegiance.”

“I would not ask it of you. There is a large Christian
community in Irbil. You know we are more tolerant than your people.”

“I have come to learn that many of you are, though not all.”

“Then think about my offer. I would like to know my daughter,
if only for a short while.”

“If I live through the siege of Jerusalem, I will give you an
answer, and I will think seriously on it.”

“You will live through Jerusalem. You wear the pendant I long
ago gave Simone to keep her safe, though it did nothing to protect her from Armand.
None of my people will kill you if they see it.”

“So that is how Gabrielle managed to remain safe on her rescue
missions across this land.”

“It is just so.”

“You are what I had heard you were; a good and just man,
Muzaffar al Din Gökböri. It has been my honor to get to know you.”

The Blue Wolf touched one hand to his lips, then his forehead
in the traditional Muslim demonstration of respect and greeting. “As it has
been mine to know you disavowed monk. Your mother’s blood does you great
honor.”

Lucien returned the gesture of esteem.

CHAPTER
25

It was the first week of September, and Jerusalem was only two
days ride away. Lucien had refused the escort Muzaffar Gökböri had offered. As
the general had advised, he wore Gabrielle’s pendant over his tunic. Though the
terrain was filled with Saracen soldiers, Lucien had no trouble from any of
them. Dressed in the long robes of a Bedouin, with a banded scarf wrapped
around his head, he looked Arab, but whenever there was any question, it was
resolved the moment they looked at the crescent pendant around his neck

Gökböri had told Lucien that the stone was called a diamond, a
rare and very valuable rock. The other gemstones Gabrielle had mentioned had
also been given to her mother by the young emir. Simone Chaumont had intended
to return to the Blue Wolf after being sent back to Armand. But events had
conspired against them, and the lovers had never reunited. It had taken years
for Gökböri to discover he had a daughter. Most Saracens of his high rank
probably would not have concerned themselves with a child born of a liaison
with a Christian woman, but Gökböri was not like most men of his station and
rank.