Assassination in Al Qahira by James Boschert

Author:James Boschert [Boschert, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781942756163
Publisher: Penmore Press
Published: 2015-03-07T22:00:00+00:00

Their glory begins to fade the moment

Their leader is stricken, and soon it is gone;

But they will fight again before long-

For the dead on this field are always reborn.

— Avraham Ibn Ezra

Chapter 16

Return

Two weeks later, Emir Abbas Abdul Azim Ubn Athir Faysal was brought back to his house. The palanquin that carried him was supported by four brawny Nubian slaves and was heavily protected by men of his own personal bodyguard. The sultan had granted permission for Bilal to have extra men, not only to guard Abbas on return, but also to remain on duty at his home.

“I think the sultan’s preoccupation is now with the forthcoming expedition to the Negev and it seems to me that our master is no longer on the list of the sultan’s priorities.” Bilal grumbled to Talon as they made their way to the palace to accompany Abbas on his way back home.

Panhsj looked exhausted but pleased to see them. “He is awake, but you will not like what you see,” he warned them.

Abbas was conscious and they found him lying flat and secured with fine padded cotton straps on the hard bed that was placed carefully on the palanquin. The physician Yazan Abdul-Hayy, a man well known for his skill in medicine, had argued against moving him at all. He fussed about in his silk robes, waving his slim, dark fingers in the air like some agitated praying mantis whenever he thought the servants carrying Abbas were being in the slightest bit clumsy. He berated them in his high-pitched voice, clearly frightened of increasing the damage to his patient as they jostled the injured man down the steps. He asked them to stop for a moment to give the patient a little respite.

Bilal approached Abbas and knelt in front of the platform. Abbas weakly held out his hand and whispered something to him that Talon did not catch. Talon realized that Abbas was paralyzed from the waist down and thus would never be able to move of his own accord again.

Bilal nodded, stood up and waved Talon over.

Abbas was gaunt, his eyes sunken in his dark features, but his will still burned in his eyes. He moved just a little and winced. Talon knelt in front of him and came closer to better hear his voice.

“Ah, there you are, Suleiman,” Abbas whispered.

“My lord?”

“Panhsj told me that you saved my life,” Abbas croaked.

“Allah was there to preserve your life, Master.” He did not think he had done Abbas a favor, considering his condition, but he held his peace.

“You could have let them finish me. I shall not forget. Does my wife know?”

“Yes Lord, she knows. I could not lie to her.”

Abbas sighed, and as though accepting the fact, he relaxed a little and closed his eyes. They lifted him in the palanquin and began the long slow journey to Abbas’s home.

The entire household turned out to greet their master, and although the womenfolk, including Khalidah, were still out of sight, Talon was sure that

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