Chapter 13 Continued: Ambush
Posted by wisejargon on June 25, 2009
This night had been a strange one, and Naaman had not been able to sleep. A fog hung in the air as he decided to make his way to the guard house where the Captain of the Night Watch kept a log of palace guard assignments. Looking through the log, he came to Daniel’s name, and saw that the posting assignment had been marked through. When Naaman had inquired as to the meaning of this, the Captain of the Night Watch said he had received orders not to post a guard for the three a.m. watch.
That had triggered the mad rush that Naaman and the two soldiers that had been available were now on to get to Daniel’s quarters. Only Naaman had the authority to approve a change in the Night Watchman’s posting assignment. Naaman and the soldiers accompanying him reached a corridor leading to an inner palace courtyard not far from Daniel’s chambers. As they emerged through the gate into the courtyard, a figure narrowly missed colliding with them. Naaman looked closely at the man, suddenly realizing that the fugitive before them was Daniel.
Naaman didn’t need to ask Daniel any questions - the reason for Daniel’s sudden appearance was almost upon them. As one, Naaman and the other two soldiers drew their swords to meet the onrushing attackers, while Daniel flattened himself against a wall. The three formed a triangle, the base of which was the wall behind them where Daniel stood, slowly comprehending what was happening about him.
Naaman met the attacker directly in front of him. His opponent brought his sword down at Naaman’s head with a mighty two-handed blow. Naaman parried, lifting his sword nearly parallel to the ground to deflect the blow. Once the two blades had met, Naaman stepped to his right and brought his sword in an arc from right to left, slicing through the man’s midsection. In shock, Naaman’s enemy stood for a second, watching his life’s blood flow out of him before collapsing on the cobble stones.
But Naaman did not have time to watch the man die. Two attackers were pressing in on one of Naaman’s men. He raced to his comrade’s aide, driving his sword into the back of one of the attackers while the Babylonian soldier, though wounded himself, felled the other assassin.
From behind them, Daniel cried out, locked in a fight for his life with the remaining assassin who had already killed Naaman’s other guard. Daniel had managed to grab both of the man’s wrists, but now the attacker had freed his sword hand and raised his weapon with the intent of delivering a mortal blow to Daniel’s skull.
But instead of feeling the steel of the assassin’s blade, he was showered with the man’s blood as the attacker’s wrist, now a bloody stump, swung past Daniel. The attacker’s sword, still held in the clutches of his right hand, fell to the ground, severed from it’s owner’s arm by Naaman’s expert blow. Naaman grabbed the man, writhing in agony. “We will keep this one alive to tell us who ordered this attempt on your life. Are you all right, Daniel?”
“Yes, I think so,” Daniel said. “Thank you.” Daniel set to binding the man’s wrist to prevent him from bleeding to death, while Naaman inspected him for other weapons. Then he attended to the wounds of his other soldier. Just then, four more of Naaman’s palace guards arrived.
Naaman barked orders to the arriving guards. “Take this man and lock him in the deepest dungeon we have. Tell no one that he is alive. Take the bodies of these others and search them for any clues as to their identity, then burn them. If anyone asks, tell them there were four bodies that were disposed of. When the time is right, this dog will reveal who masterminded the plot to kill Daniel.”
Naaman turned to Daniel. “You shall spend the rest of the night in my quarters, and we shall triple the guard around you. Someone does not want you to interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream tomorrow.”
Daniel didn’t speak, but quietly followed Naaman to his quarters.
Jumping in at the middle? Go into the achieves at http://wisejargon.wordpress.com/2008/10/and go back to October, 2008 to find the Prologue.
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