to the kingdom of Sicily, and now she was in the camp of Sicily's
enemies.

"Will there be a battle?" she asked timidly of no one in particular.

De Verceuil's head swung around toward her. "Do not worry about the
battle, little harlot," he said in an unpleasantly syrupy voice. "Yes, I
expect we will be too busy tomorrow and the next day to concern
ourselves with you. After that, perhaps we will have some Ghibellino
prisoners to help us find out what you have been up to. And you will
furnish our weary troops with diversion."

Rachel felt as if her body had turned into a block of ice. Was he saying
that he would let the troops have her? That would kill her. After
something like that, she would want to be dead.

"Please--" she whispered.

"Yes, diversion," said de Verceuil, reaching down to take her face
between his hard, gloved fingers. "It has been many a year now since I
have seen a Jew burn. And when you go up in flames, it will mark a new
beginning for this Sicilian kingdom of heretics, Jews, and Saracens. You
will be the first, but not the last."

He let go of her face just in time to avoid being pushed away by John.
He took a last swallow of wine and turned and strode out of the tent,
followed by Sordello, who turned and gave Rachel a last leering,
gap-toothed grin.

"Is that a great man among your people?" John asked Friar Mathieu, his
face black with rage. "Among my people he would be sewn into a leather
bag and thrown into the nearest river."

Rachel sat on her traveling box, her hand pressed between her breasts to
quiet her pounding heart. She could hardly believe what she had heard,
that de Verceuil wanted to burn her at the stake as an agent of
Manfred's after the coming battle.

_Oh, God, let Manfred win, please._

* * * * *

His name was Nuwaihi, and he was so young that his beard was still
sparse. He came riding with his two companions out of the blue-gray
hills to the north, and brought his pony to a skidding stop beside
Daoud. He turned his mount and they rode on together, side by side, in
Manfred's vanguard.

"I saw the army of King Charles, effendi, I and Abdul and Said," he said
in Arabic, gesturing to include his comrades. "The Franks are on the
road that leads from Cassino to Benevento. They are about two days' ride
from here. We hid behind boulders close to the road, and we counted
them. There are over eight hundred mounted warriors and five thousand