Chapter 11 — Voices in the City

The walls of Arqa stood pale against the night, their battlements bristling like the back of an old wolf that still had teeth. The enemy host ringed the city in tents and smoke, but Ahmad slipped between their watch fires, low in the saddle on Adham’s back.

He moved like a hunter who knew patience was survival. Reeh circled high, a black fleck against the stars. Nahhas trotted at his stirrup, ears twitching at every sound. They had lived this game before—passing where men saw nothing, breathing where no one expected breath.

At the northern gate a guard opened without a word. The man lifted his torch just enough to glimpse the wolf’s flank and the hawk on Ahmad’s arm. He smiled and turned the flame aside. Some doors opened not with passwords, but with fear and faith together.

Inside, the air smelled of smoke and thin cooking. Days of siege had already made the city weary. Lamps burned low, hearths gave little heat. The streets pressed close, crooked and shadowed. Ahmad led Adham through them, hooves scuffing softly.

Children saw him first. They always did. A barefoot boy whispered a name: Father of Beasts. His sister clutched his sleeve, but she stared wide-eyed at the wolf padding beside Adham. Nahhas sat, watching the children without moving.

Ahmad swung down and crouched, lowering himself so the wolf looked less like death. “He bites only those I tell him to,” he said, his voice rough but steady. “Do you want to touch his coat?”

The children looked to their mother. Her face was gaunt, carved by hunger, but she nodded. The boy reached out with a trembling hand and brushed Nahhas’ ruff. The wolf did not stir. The girl touched next, and her laugh—thin and high—carried farther than it should have in those streets.

More faces appeared in doorways. Men muttered, women whispered prayers. One spat the word jinn into the dust, but no one blocked the way. Ahmad rose, cloak heavy on his shoulders, and led Adham on. The people made room without being asked.

At the square, he found familiar faces: fighters he had met on the road when he handed over the collaborator. Among them was Qays, scar still fresh along his cheek. He grinned when he saw Ahmad.

“Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah, and his blessings.”

“You were right to spare him,” Qays said. “The prisoner’s been speaking. Our amir, Abdullah has him watched day and night. Already we’ve learned how their supply convoys move.”

Ahmad smiled but he said nothing.

By the stables, stray cats prowled in the shadows, thin and desperate. Ahmad crouched and broke what little bread he had, scattering crumbs in the dust. The cats darted forward, mewling, and pressed against his hands as he stroked their backs. Adham stamped, jealous, until Ahmad rubbed his muzzle. “We must think of others,” he murmured. Nahhas huffed, in acknowledgement. Reeh fluttered down, landing squarely on his head and pecking at his hair until Ahmad scratched the feathers at her neck. The men nearby chuckled, the sound carrying warm for the first time in days.

That night, word was sent to the amir, Abdullah that the Father of Beasts had entered the city.

When the call for prayer came, Ahmad prepared. But water was now forbidden for purification; every drop had to be saved. By Abdullah’s order, the faithful used the dust of the ground instead. Ahmad pressed his palms to the floor and lifted them to his face and arms. It was enough. He spread his cloak on the stone and prostrated to his lord.

Nahhas sat steady at his back. Adham lowered himself onto his haunches beside him, snorting once as if to share the prayer. Reeh hopped down and began tugging gently at the stallion’s mane until Ahmad reached up and stroked her feathers when he finished. The men watching could not help but laugh softly again.

Ahmad prayed aloud:
“O Allah, give perseverance to those inside these walls. Give fear to those who march with shaytan (satan). Do not let Ma’arra be repeated.”

When he rose, grey light was climbing the walls. Beyond them, banners stirred in the morning wind, and the siege pressed closer.