Daoud told Baibars how he had found Nicetas in the desert and what he had said to him. He kept his voice level, trying not to let his fear show.
"You should have reported this to me!" shouted Naqeeb Mahmoud, his white beard quivering. The naqeeb would bear some blame, Daoud thought, for this breach of discipline.
But Daoud only turned to him and threw his own words back at him, "Among Mamelukes, he who is strongest rules."
Perhaps he should not be so defiant, he thought. Both the sultan and Baibars liked to show themselves to be men of great generosity.
Yes, but not to a julban who has broken the law.
"He cannot kill his comrade and go unpunished," said Qutuz. "He should be beheaded."
At the words, even though he had thought himself prepared for them, Daoud felt something shrink with dread inside him. He felt the blade slicing through his neck. The sultan had spoken. His life was over.
"He is too valuable to be beheaded," said Baibars. "Believe me, My Lord."
Valuable?
Daoud felt as if he had fallen from a cliff and a strong hand had reached out and was dragging him back. He was breathless with a relief he barely dared to feel. He tried to keep his face and body still as the two great ones debated his fate, but he could not stop his fists from clenching.