Page 56 of Forbidden

“That is what I wanted to talk to you about,” Erik said.

“The repairs made to my hauberk?”

“No. Saracen arms. Something you said yesterday about their archers intrigued me.”

With an effort of will, Simon forced himself to concentrate on Erik rather than on the girl who looked so innocent yet who was so deeply steeped in evil that she could steal a man’s mind with neither hesitation nor regret.

“What was that, lord?” Simon asked.

“Did their warriors truly shoot from horseback at a gallop?”

“Yes.”

“Accurately? At good distance?”

“Aye,” Simon said. “And as quickly as hail falling.”

Erik looked into the darkness of Simon’s eyes and had no doubt that whatever memories of war lay there were much of the reason for the man’s bleak, chilling competence.

“How did they manage?” Erik asked. “A crossbow has to be armed by a man standing on the ground.”

“The Saracen used a single bow. It was half the length of our longer English bows, yet shot arrows with a force like that of a crossbow.”

“How can that be?”

“It was a question that D—” Simon covered his error by clearing his throat and quickly speaking again. “It was a question my brother and I often argued.”

“What did you decide?”

“The Saracen curved and recurved their bows in such a way as to double or redouble their power without the penalty of heaviness that the crossbow bears.”

“How?” Erik asked.

“We don’t know. Every time we tried to make one for ourselves, we broke the bow.”

“God’s teeth, what I wouldn’t give for a handful of Saracen bows!” Erik said.

“You’ll need Saracen archers, too,” Simon said dryly. “There is a trick to using the bow that non-Saracen warriors have trouble mastering. In the end, honest Christian swords and pikes carried the day.”

“Still, think what an advantage those bows would be.”

“Treachery is better.”

Startled, Erik stared at Simon.

So did Duncan.

“My brother,” Simon said, “often told me that there is no better way to take a well-defended position than by treachery.”

“A shrewd man, your brother,” Erik muttered. “Did he survive the Holy War?”

“Aye.”

“Is he what you are seeking in the Disputed Lands?”

Simon’s expression changed.

“Forgive me, lord,” Simon said softly. “What I seek in these lands is a matter between me and God.”