In the Heart of Darkness

whore would hold out for a solidus.'

Theodora cawed harshly. The Empress leaned forward in her seat, bracing her hands on her knees.

'I need you to be my spymaster, Irene.'

Interpreting correctly the slight hesitation in the woman's face, Theodora made a little flipping motion with her hand, as if brushing something aside.

'I'll settle it with Sittas. He doesn't need your services half as much as I do. And I'll pay more than he does. Rich as he is, I'm a lot richer. And unlike Sittas, I'm not a stingy tightwad.'

Irene chuckled, glancing around the lavishly furnished room. 'You certainly aren't!'

When Irene had approached Theodora, a week earlier, with her charges against Narses and her plan to trap him in a treasonous meeting, it had been the Empress who had purchased this villa to serve as their command post. Purchased it-a huge, luxurious villa. Just-bought it. Like a matron buys fruit from a grocer.

The spymaster shook her head. 'There's no point in that, Theodora. I can serve as your spymaster while staying on Sittas' payroll. It'd be much better that way. The fewer people who know of our relationship, the better. Money trails are the easiest to track. If I'm on your payroll, even secretly, someone will find out.'

'The same objection applies to your being on Sittas' payroll,' countered the Empress. 'More so. I'm sure my security is better than Sittas'.'

Irene shrugged. 'So what? Let our enemies find out that I'm Sittas' spymaster. I'm sure they already know, anyway. Good. Excellent. Let them keep thinking that. Sittas they are not worried about. He's just a fat general who hates palace duty in Constantinople. Stuck way out there in Syria. Good at his trade, sure, but lazy and unambitious.'

Theodora ran fingers through her elaborate coiffure, thinking. Almost immediately, the fingers became tangled in that incredible structure. Suddenly, vigorously, she plunged her fingers into the mass and pulled it all loose. Long black tresses cascaded over her shoulders. Her hair, now truly visible, was quite beautiful.

'God, I've wanted to do that for the longest time!'

Again, the women laughed. But it was a very brief moment of levity.

Theodora nodded. 'You're right. Whatever their plot is, it does not appear to focus on the army. I noticed that no military figures attended that meeting tonight.'

'No, they didn't. I'm pretty sure they've suborned a few officers, but not many. The only one of significance is Aegidius, the commander of the army in Bythinia. I'm not positive, but I think he's one of them. An underling, though, not a ringleader.'

Theodora scowled. 'I never liked that greasy bastard. God, my husband has the worst taste in generals!'

An apologetic nod to Antonina: 'Belisarius aside, of course. And Sittas.'

Again, the Empress ran her fingers through her hair, disheveling it even further. Her sensual pleasure in the act was obvious, but it did not distract her from her thoughts.

'Doesn't that seem odd to you, Irene? That lack of attention to the army? Every other treasonous plot I can remember has put the military on center stage. For obvious reasons.'

'Actually, it's a cunning move on their part. They know that Justinian's suspicions will always be centered on the army. So they stay away from it, by and large, and spread their poison in darker corners.'

'I still don't understand it.' Theodora's voice was dark with frustration. 'I take your point, but-so what? What good does it do to plot treason if you can't carry it out when the time comes? And for that you need military force. A lot more force than the Bythinian army provides. What is that army-ten thousand strong? At the most?'

'Eight,' replied Irene. 'Not enough to take power, but enough to neutralize loyal units. Especially if many of those units decide to stay on the sidelines until the dust settles. Which, unfortunately, many military units do during a coup.' The spymaster began to add something, but fell silent. She glanced quickly at Antonina.

Theodora did not miss it.

'The two of you know something,' she announced.

Silence.

'Tell.' The voice of the Empress, that, not Theodora.

Irene's eyes appealed to Antonina. Antonina sighed.

'I will tell you everything, Theodora. Tonight. But you're not going to believe me.'

'Tell.'

When Theodora left the villa, Irene and Antonina escorted the Empress to the palanquin drawn up in the courtyard. After she climbed into the palanquin, Theodora leaned forward and whispered:

'You were right, Antonina. I don't believe it. It's absurd! Belisarius has a talisman from God? A messenger from the future?'

Antonina shrugged. 'You didn't believe Irene, either, when she told you about Narses. But still you came here, to see for yourself.'

The two old friends stared at each other. The Empress was the first to look away.

'No, I didn't. And, yes, I did.'

She leaned back into the plush cushions. Antonina could barely make out Theodora's face in the dark interior of the enclosed vehicle, but she couldn't miss the grimace.

'I hate to travel,' growled the Empress.

A sigh.

'Yes, Antonina, I will. I will come to Daras and see for myself. This summer.'

Another sigh.

'I hate Syria in the summer.'

A great, imperial sigh.

'Now that I think about it, I hate Syria any time of the year.'

After the gate closed behind the departing palanquin, Antonina and Irene stood for a moment in the courtyard, admiring the clear night sky.

'I'm curious about something, Antonina,' said Irene.

'Yes?'

'I don't really understand. Well, let's just say that I was surprised how hard Theodora took it, to find out that Narses is a traitor. I knew he was one of her closest advisers, but-'

'He was a lot more than that, Irene,' replied Antonina, shaking her head sadly. 'Much, much more.'

The short Egyptian woman looked up at her tall Greek friend.

'You've heard, I'm sure, all the stories about Theodora's past?'

Irene shrugged. 'Of course. I can't say I paid much attention to them. People are always quick-'

Antonina shook her head. 'The fact is, they're mostly true. At least, insofar as the tales report what she did.'

She looked away, her jaws tight, before adding: 'Where they lie is in the heart of the thing. Theodora, as a girl, was as great a whore as you'll ever find. What she never was, was a wanton slut.' A little laugh, barely more than a chuckle. 'It's ironic, actually. Fair-minded, respectable, proper people, when they compare she and I, are prone to give me the benefit of their doubt. True, before I met Belisarius I gave my favors for money. But only to the most carefully selected men, and not many of those. Whereas Theodora-'

Harshly: 'If there's to be a comparison, by rights it should go the other way. I did what I did through choice. Not much of a choice, mind you, for a dirt-poor girl on the streets of Alexandria, with a whore for a mother and charioteer for a father. But-I can't honestly claim that anyone forced me into it.'

She took a breath, then looked her friend straight in the eyes. Irene winced.

'I don't think I want to hear what's coming next.'

'You asked, woman. Theodora never took pleasure in her whoring, and she never had a choice. Her pig of a father raped her when she was nine, and kept doing it until he sold her to a pimp at the age of twelve. And her pimp was even worse. That stinking-'

She stopped abruptly, made a short chopping motion with her hand. 'Never mind. There's nothing in it but nausea.' She took another deep breath, let it out. 'The point is, Irene, that Narses was the closest thing to a real father that woman has ever had. When she first met him, she was just a poor ambitious young woman helping her poor ambitious young lover to claw his way to the top. Narses took her under his wing, and helped her along. With