Swords of Arabia: Betrayal (43 page)

Chapter
Nineteen

He
whirled
quickly
as
those
first
shots
were
rapidly
followed
by
many
more.
They
were
coming
from
inside
the
chamber,
he
saw
–
and
being
fired
by
men,
members
of
the
majlis
,
who
should
not
be
armed.
He
also
saw,
to
his
alarm,
that
the
few
guards
stationed
around
the
room,
only
lightly
armed
and
taken
completely
by
surprise,
were
falling
where
they
stood.
Gunfire
outside
the
great
hall
told
him
that
those
guarding
its
doorways
were
also
under
attack.
As
he
turned
to
shield
Talal
he
saw
Badr,
angrily
shouting
something
to
two
men
who
seemed
to
be
the
attacker’s
ringleaders.
He
couldn’t
hear
the
words
over
the
growing
noise
of
the
smuggled
guns
now
mingling
with
the
screams
of
the
wounded
and
dying,
but
saw
the
anger
as
a
reflection
of
his
own
at
what
was
obviously
a
betrayal
by
some
of
those
closest
to
them.

Moving
quickly,
his
body
shielding
his
nephew,
he
ushered
the
stunned
boy
across
the
dais
towards
the
screens
shielding
his
mother
and
grandmother.
His
experienced
eye
told
him
that
the
youngster
would
be
safest
out
of
the
chamber
and
surrounded
by
the
loyal
guards
who
were
stationed
outside
the
small
door
through
which
the
women
entered
and
left
the
room.
Gesturing
to
three
of
the
guards
who
remained
unscathed,
to
move
onto
the
dais
and
surround
Talal,
he
had
them
all
move
quickly
to
the
screens.
As
he
did
so
he
cursed
the
rule
about
having
no
weapons
inside
the
citadel;
a
rule
obviously
ignored
by
many
in
the
room.

He
soon
had
even
more
reason
to
regret
the
ruling.
As
his
small
group
rounded
the
screens,
more
firing
erupted
from
the
corridor
outside
the
small
door.
Suddenly
it
burst
open
and
several
heavily
armed
men
were
seen
clustered
outside.
The
door
was
too
small
for
anything
other
than
single
file,
which
saved
Nasir
and
his
group
from
death
in
the
first
shocked
seconds.
Then,
however,
two
attackers
slipped
into
the
room
–
and,
as
though
seeing
no
one
else,
immediately
started
to
raise
their
rifles,
their
eyes
locked
coldly
on
the
two
women.

Such
was
the
shock
of
the
five
in
Nasir’s
group
at
seeing
women
threatened
–
culturally
almost
unheard
of
–
that
they
paused
in
their
headlong
rush
across
the
dais.
Their
reactions
slowed
them
only
a
fraction
of
a
second,
but
that
short
delay
was
enough
for
the
two
attackers
to
spit
obscenities
at
the
two
women
and
raise
their
rifles
to
kill
them.

Firyal’s
attacker
dropped
suddenly
–
killed
by
the
gun
Zahirah
was
holding.
Nasir,
seeing
it,
thanked
Allah
for
his
sister-in-law’s
disregard
for
any
ruling
she
disagreed
with.
She
then
turned
calmly
to
face
the
second
gunman
who,
stunned
at
his
fellow-attacker’s
death
–
it
was
discovered
later
that
it
was
his
brother
–
now
turned
his
rifle
back
onto
her,
his
face
a
mask
of
hatred.
Fortunately,
one
of
the
still
loyal
guards
had
used
the
small
delay
and
picked
up
the
downed
man’s
rifle
–
and
the
second
attacker
fell
dead
at
the
feet
of
the
princesses
he’d
tried
to
kill.

Dragging
the
heavy
screen
in
front
of
the
two
women,
he
gave
silent
thanks
at
its
carved
surface
being
heavily
inlaid
with
ivory
and
precious
metals,
giving
them
extra
protection
from
the
bullets
ricocheting
about
their
heads.
The
small
group
quickly
took
shelter
behind
it’s
protective
cover.
Stooping
quickly,
Nasir
had
picked
up
the
second
fallen
man’s
rifle
and
now
killed
two
more
of
the
insurgents
as
they
stooped
to
enter
through
the
small
doorway.
Their
bodies
blocked
easy
access
for
any
more
of
the
attackers.
Unfortunately,
they
also
prevented
Nasir
and
the
others
from
slamming
it
shut.
All
the
two
sides
could
do
was
trade
shots
across
the
fallen
men.
To
compound
the
danger
to
Nasir’s
group,
the
rebels
had
swiftly
taken
the
initiative
with
some
kneeling
and
others
firing
over
their
shoulders.
His
small
band
was
heavily
out-gunned,
with
their
danger
increasing
by
the
second.
Nasir
was
also
acutely
aware
of
the
gun
battle
going
on
behind
their
unprotected
backs
in
the
main
chamber.
It
would
only
take
one
or
two
of
the
attackers
already
in
the
room
to
see
their
predicament,
and
the
tempting
prize
of
the
young
emir
so
nearly
within
reach,
and
their
position
would
quickly
become
indefensible.