Shadow of Death (Book 2 of Hanthalah)

Chapter 28

643 AD, 22 AH

"I can get used to this," I said beneath my breath, standing at the prow of Andronicus' ship.

One leg on the railing and an elbow on its knee, I basked in the incessance of the breeze ruffling my hair, the sound of my cloak billowing behind me. The sight of clear waters parting before me, the specks splattering against my face.

Even the swaying of the deck beneath foot. I was a man built for the deserts and the hills, a man of harsh terrain and arduous lifestyle. But though it had not grown on me right away, the unsteady footing was a welcome change from mountain treks, the unremitting gusts a reprieve from the baking sun.

And besides, it was good exercise for my yet frail legs.

"Don't act like you own the fucking place!" Andronicus roared at my back.

But I only smiled into the horizon. We were on our way to the port city of Tripoli.

And from there was a short trek north and east to Hims.

To Sumayya and Ruqayya. My wife and daughter.

But before I bade one final farewell to Alexandria, city of ghosts, I got my affairs in order.

I hefted the Nubian's necklace, standing on the harbor of the now Muslim governed city. 'Amr ibn al-'Aas himself had gone west to the province of Cyrenaica and the lands past the Libyan Desert. Other branches of the conquering army went south to annex what remained of Egypt to the south.

"If I see him, I will be sending him your love," I told him. I was referring to 'Amr – our 'Amr – who had gone west with his namesake, and with him Mundhir.

The Nubian inclined his head.

"You wish to come with me?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I will take Nubia. For vengeance."

I chuckled and patted him on a shoulder. "So, you do have fire in you after all. Whenever you are in need of aid, brother, I will cross distant seas and weather fierce storms to fight and kill by your side."

We embraced and that was the end of it. I left it all behind. The final vestiges of Martha, a softer life in Alexandria and the horrid memories it entailed.

All of it.

I would forge new ones.

With Sumayya.

________________

"So, what do you get out of that ordeal?" Andronicus asked from atop his steed, the shining white walls of Hims visible in the distance now. In tow, was the Egyptian's caravan of goods to be traded in the city, primarily textiles.

"Ordeal?" I asked from atop a camel, raising an eyebrow. It was nice to have a mount between my legs again. There are few joys in life. Riding is at their head.

And not just horses and camels. Hehe.

"All this, uh, what do you call it?" he made a circular gesture. "The wars and sneaking into cities and the like."

"You mean a stipend?" I guessed. "Usually, there is a stipend for every troop out of the treasury. This is financed primarily by the jizya tax that you so kindly provide for us."

The sum afforded to each Muslim was based on precedence of conversion. It was another system 'Umar had established. The highest earners were those who were the closest companions of the Prophet in the earliest days of Islam, those who came to be known as muhajireen – migrants – for their journey that found them to Madinah. Then, it was the group known as the Ansar – the supporters. Those of the Aws and Khazraj tribes, natives of the city that had once been Yathrib. And then, all the rest.