Daimon by Georgette Gouveia

Author:Georgette Gouveia [Gouveia, Georgette]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Published: 2019-11-23T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

It was Stateira who broke the spell as she turned to the fanning plain.

“Father,” she cried, “why don’t you answer me?”

“My lady,” Bagoas said gently as he reached her, taking her hand. “Come away from this dreadful place.”

“Someday I will weep for it,” she said, allowing herself to be persuaded. “Someday. When I am happy.”

What one heart rejects another embraces—or at least pretends to for its own advantage. The city of Babylon gave us a hero’s homecoming though we had never passed through the blue and amber gates of Ishtar before. Still, the pink rose petals wafted from the crenellated rooftops. Silver altars of frankincense lined the route. And the shouts of the crowd—mingled with the chants of the Magi—were as deafening as the roar of the lions and leopards.

“The people of the Book—the Jews—say that Babylon is a whore who gives herself where she pleases,” Hephaestion yelled as he rode alongside me. “She was the great Cyrus’ once. She’s ours for the moment. And tomorrow when we are gone, when we are dead…”

His voice trailed off. I loved Hephaestion more than life itself. But I wondered at his gift for injecting sadness into the happiest occasions.

“Then we must let Babylon love us for now,” I said, waving to the throng.

I was prepared to be loved. I had dressed carefully in white linen and silver and gold armor. My generals suggested I wear the helmet with the white and red plumes for protection, but I wanted the populace to see me open and unafraid, my gold hair wreathed in similarly hued laurel. I knew enough of the Babylonian tongue to catch some of what the people were saying. I imagined the rest:

“He’s not as tall as the Great King.”

“Nor as handsome as his companion. They say the two have been lovers since childhood.”

“His eyes appear two different colors—one a warm hazel, the other a stormy blue. Could that mean a divided temperament?”

“They say his mother’s a witch who poisoned his father.”

“I heard the father was stabbed by a former lover.”

“It doesn’t matter: I’m sure the mother was behind it, and the son probably helped.”

“And yet he’s so young and beautiful, for such a monster.”

“He may be no worse than Darius, and he might be better.”

“Who cares who rules as long as we’re left alone?”

On each I bestowed the charm, the courtesy and the curiosity that had been honed in the presence of Father’s guests, Mother’s relations and even the Persian ambassadors who had visited the Macedonian court. For their part, Bagophanes and the other city fathers were only too happy to welcome me as long as nothing changed—except for the improvements that I would undertake, naturally. In exchange for my industry and protection, the Babylonians would love me to my face. We none of us had any illusions about this marriage.

I didn’t care. Babylon in those days was like the remains of a wedding feast left too long in the sun—lovely and decaying. The blue-tiled palace of Ishtar was

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.