Keeper of the Flame by Tracy L. Higley

Author:Tracy L. Higley
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: ebook
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2014-04-30T16:00:00+00:00

Twenty-Three

Pothinus strode past the tents and fires in the dark marshes of Pelusium, greeting soldiers with a regal nod or a partial bow. The darkness hid their expressions, leaving only the whites of their eyes glowing around the fires for him to decipher whether each was loyal to him and the boy-king or had let his allegiance be bought by the scheming sister Arsinôe and her hulking idiot tutor, Ganymedes. The army’s general, Achillas, slipped beside him in the night, and Pothinus jumped.

“You have nothing to fear from me, my lord,” Achillas whispered.

“The shadows hide both friend and foe.”

“More friends than foes, I believe.”

“Tell me.”

Achillas rubbed at a stubbled chin with grimy fingers. He was shorter than Pothinus, as were most Greeks, but with a thickness of body that few would want to face on the battlefield. They walked through the tents and sidestepped the orange fires with their embers twirling into the night. The smell of roasting meat mingled with the usual tang of soldiers encamped far from home and luxury.

Achillas lifted his chin toward the reedy plain, dotted with fires like stars in the black night. “The girl still sends whispers through the troops, promises of wealth and time away from battles.”

“She offers what she does not have.”

Achillas shrugged. “She may soon have all she could desire.”

Pothinus slowed and studied Achillas. “You said the troops were still loyal.”

The general scratched at a place under his leather. “They still believe that Ptolemy should be on the throne, as his father desired, perhaps with Cleopatra. But few of them believe a woman should be co-regent. Not Cleopatra nor Arsinôe.”

A soldier approached with a metal plate of roasted goose and offered it to Pothinus. He took the plate and bowed his thanks. The soldier did not move. Pothinus obligingly lifted a slab of the meat to his mouth and tore off a smoky bite. He chewed and swallowed the tough flesh quickly. “Good man,” he said to the soldier.

Now be gone.

The young man disappeared back into the night, and Pothinus shoved the plate at Achillas. “So the troops will follow my orders?”

“Arsinôe is telling them that she desires to restore Ptolemy as well. She says that while you sit on your hands in your tents here, she will send to Alexandria to have Ptolemy rescued from the Roman.”

Pothinus drew up his full height and scowled into the darkness. “Then we shall have to find a better way.”

Achillas punched him lightly on the upper arm. Pothinus pulled away.

“May the gods be with you on that one, Pothinus,” Achillas said and pointed upward. “Because I am beginning to believe they favor Rome.”

Pothinus gazed again over the starry plain. How many of them would he sacrifice to gain the throne for Ptolemy?

How many would I not?

The night had chilled, and Pothinus retreated through the tents to the royal enclosure that he had assumed for himself. He had barely washed the dirt of the fields from his feet and reclined on one of the low couches when the tent flap lifted and two figures slipped in, unannounced.

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