David Gemmell - Lord of the Silver Bow

Argurios approached them. Priam looked up. ‘Have the dogs fled?’ he asked, sober now, though his eyes were bloodshot and weary.

‘No, Priam King. They are gathering ladders. They will come soon. We need archers on the outer balcony above the doors. Thirty should suffice. I will order the men on the walls to pull back to the megaron once the attack begins in earnest.’

‘Who are you to give orders?’ snapped Dios, his eyes angry.

‘He is Argurios,’ said Priam calmly. ‘He is fighting at my side.’

‘We should put every man we have on the outer walls,’ raged Dios. ‘We can hold them.’

‘What say you to that, Argurios?’ asked Priam.

‘With three hundred men I would agree with Prince Dios. However, with so few the risk is encirclement. If they get behind us we will be cut to pieces. We must keep a line of withdrawal secure for as long as possible. My plan is to hold the wall for the first attack, then quietly pull back. When they come again we will hit them with volley after volley of arrows from the balcony.’

‘And then we bar the doors?’ asked Priam.

‘No, king. We leave them open.’

Priam was surprised. ‘Explain that strategy,’ he said.

‘There are many ways for an enemy to come at us. There is the door to the palace gardens. They could bring their ladders and climb to the balcony. They can come through the rear. We want them attacking where we are strongest. The open doors will be an invitation they will not resist. They will be drawn to us like flies to horse shit, and we will hold them there. At least until the Mykene arrive.’

‘By the fates, father,’ said Dios, ‘how can we trust this man? He too is Mykene.’

Argurios took a deep, calming breath. ‘Indeed I am, prince. Believe me when I tell you I would rather be anywhere than here at this moment. If the Mykene succeed here I will be killed along with all of you. Now, we have little time to prepare, and no time at all to vent personal feuds.’ He turned to the king. ‘If you have a better man than I to command this defence appoint him, and I will stand and fight wherever called upon to do so.’

‘I am the king,’ said Priam coldly. ‘I will command my own defence. You think I am a weakling, some ancient unable to wield a sword?’

‘It is not a question of your strength or your abilities,’ answered Argurios.

‘If I were commanding the attackers I would pray to all the gods that you would do exactly that. They win when you die. Every man among them will be seeking to kill you. Your armour shines like the sun, and every attack will home in on you.

Every arrow, every spear, every sword will seek you. Your men will fight valiantly – but only so long as there is a king to fight for.’

At that moment Helikaon came through to the megaron and stood alongside Dios.

‘We have blocked the rear entrances,’ he said, ‘but they will not hold long.

What are your orders?’

Priam sat quietly for a moment. ‘Argurios advises that I withdraw myself from the fighting. What say you?’

‘Sound advice. This fight will not just be about holding the palace, but about defending you.’

‘Let me take command in your stead, father,’ urged Dios.

Priam shook his head. ‘You have too little experience, and, as Argurios says, there is no time for debate. The men will follow you, Aeneas. This I know.

Equally, Argurios is known across the Great Green as a strategos and a fighting man. What is your opinion?’

‘I have little experience of siege warfare, and less of Mykene battle tactics,’

said Helikaon. ‘I would follow the lead of Argurios.’

‘Then let it be so.’ Priam suddenly laughed. ‘A renegade Mykene in charge of the defence of my citadel? I like it. When we win, you can ask me anything. I will grant it. We are yours to command, Argurios.’

Argurios swung to Dios. ‘You will command the defence of the upper balconies.

Take thirty good archers, and also the men with the least armour. They will be protected from arrows by the balcony walls. The enemy will bring ladders. Hold them off as long as you can, then retreat to the tnegaron and we will pull back to the upper buildings at the rear.’

Dios, his face pale, his expression furious, was struggling to hold his temper.

‘Do as he says,’ snapped Priam.

‘This is madness,’ responded Dios. ‘But I will obey you, father. As always.’

With that he stalked away.

‘Let us survey the battleground,’ said Argurios, striding away through the megaron. Priam and Helikaon followed him. Argurios reached the foot of the stairs. They were wide enough for two warriors to fight side by side. Then he glanced up at the gallery above and to the right of the stairway. ‘We will have archers placed there. They will have a good view of the megaron itself. We need as many shafts as possible placed there. Spears and javelins too, if we have enough. What is beyond the gallery?’

‘The queen’s apartments,’ said Priam. ‘They are large and spacious.’

Argurios strode up the stairs, Helikaon and Priam following him. In the queen’s apartments he saw Laodike upon her bloodstained couch, Andromache sitting on the floor beside her. All thoughts of the defence fled his mind. Pulling off his helmet he moved to Laodike and took her hand. Her eyes opened, and she gave a wide smile. ‘What happened?’ he asked her.

‘I was wounded,’ Laodike told him. ‘Do not concern yourself. It is nothing.’

Reaching up she stroked his face. ‘I am glad you are here. Have you spoken to father?’

‘Not yet. I cannot stay with you. There is much to be done. I will come back when I can. You rest now.’ Kissing her hand he rose and walked back to where the king and Helikaon waited. Only then did he see the shock on Priam’s face.

Argurios moved past them and walked through to the rear stairs. Then he turned back and strode through the many apartments. ‘The balconies are largely inaccessible,’ he said. ‘Therefore the enemy will be forced to come at us through the megaron. I believe we can hold the Thrakians at the doors. The Mykene will be another matter.’

‘We could retreat to the stairs,’ said Helikaon.

‘We will do that, but the timing is crucial,’ answered Argurios, walking back to the gallery above the stairs. ‘We must keep their blood up, forcing them to come at us. We must not allow them time to stop and think. For, if they do, they will realize that this gallery is the key to victory. Once inside the megaron all they need to do is bring in ladders and scale it. That way they would bypass the stairs and surround us.’

‘And how do we keep their blood up?’ demanded Priam.

‘They will see me, and come at me. I will be their target, and the focus of their attack. We will pull back to the stairs. They will surge after us. Then their hearts will be full of pride and battle lust. Will you stand beside me, Helikaon?’

‘I will.’

‘Good, for however much they will desire to bring me down it is you they hate.

Seeing us together will blind them to better strategies. And now I must return to the wall.’

‘A moment more,’ said Priam. ‘How is it my daughter greets you with a kiss?’

Argurios could see the anger in the king’s eyes. ‘You said if we survived the night you would grant any wish I had. My wish is to marry Laodike. I love her.

But is this truly the time to discuss it?’

Priam relaxed, then gave a cold smile. ‘If I am still king tomorrow we will discuss it at length.’

Argurios stood quietly for a moment. Then he turned to Helikaon. ‘Organize the defenders within the megaron. Then watch the walls. We need to turn back the first attack with heavy losses. It will dismay the mercenaries. When the moment is right come to our aid.’