‘Of course. In your own mind are you not always right?’
Priam’s laughter boomed out. ‘You know why you don’t like me, boy. I am all you do not have the nerve to be. I became a king. You backed away from it, and allowed little Diomedes to bear the burden.’
‘Moments like this remind me why I spend so little time in Troy,’ said Helikaon, pushing himself to his feet.
‘Oh, sit down!’ said Priam. ‘We need to talk, so we’ll stop baiting one another for a little while. You want wine?’
‘No.’
‘Let us return to Agamemnon,’ continued Priam, as Helikaon resumed his seat.
‘Have you met him?’
‘No.’
‘Nor I, though I knew his father, Atreus. He was a fighting man – but then he had to be. The western peoples were constantly warring with each other in those days. But Agamemnon… ? He is a mystery. Most of his father’s loyal men have been either replaced or killed. Those around him now are savages – like Kolanos.
Did you know Agamemnon has reintroduced human sacrifice before battles?’
‘No, I had not heard that. It is hardly surprising. The Mykene are a blood-hungry race.’
‘Indeed so, Aeneas. Yet they have, since the time of Atreus and his father, maintained the heroic code laid down by Herakles. Glory and service to the gods.
Courage and love of homeland. Strength without cruelty. All that is changing under Agamemnon. His generals are now brutal men, who encourage excesses among their soldiers. My spies tell me stories of horror from the lands they have plundered. Women and babes butchered, men tortured and maimed.’
‘So why is Agamemnon mysterious?’ asked Helikaon. ‘Surely he is just another savage from a race of savages.’
‘He is not so easy to analyse, Aeneas. His generals are bloodthirsty, and yet he takes no part in their excesses. At feasts he does not down wine, and laugh and sing. He sits quietly, watching others do these things. My ambassadors tell me he has a sharp mind, and he talks well about alliances with Troy, and the need for peaceful trade. Yet he also equips the pirate fleets which raid our coastlines. Now he seeks alliances with the kings of the east. His ambassadors have been offering gifts of gold in Maeonia, Karia, Lykia – even up as far as Phrygia. Kings require alliances with neighbours, to prevent unnecessary warfare. An alliance with Troy is understandable. We are the greatest trading city upon the Great Green. But Lykia and Phrygia? What point is there in such gift-giving? What does he hope to gain?’
Helikaon shrugged. ‘With the Mykene it is always war, or plunder.’
‘That is in my mind also,’ said Priam. ‘And there is the mystery. My spies tell me Agamemnon has fierce intelligence, and yet a war in the east would be foolhardy and doomed. The Hittites may not be the power they were, but their armies would dwarf those of the Mykene. The Gypptos too could be drawn in. Also, if Agamemnon attacked our allies then the Trojan Horse would be despatched – and there is not a force alive to match my Hektor.’
‘All this is true. And still you are worried,’ Helikaon pointed out.
‘The shepherd is always concerned when the wolves are out,’ quoted Priam.
‘However, there is the added concern that Agamemnon has ordered the building of great numbers of ships. The question is, how will he use them? And where will he take them?’ Priam rose from his seat and walked into the bedroom, returning with a length of cured hide, on which was etched a map of the Great Green. He spread it on the table. ‘In my grandfather’s time the Mykene attacked Kypros, and there is still a large Mykene settlement on the island. If they invaded in force they could seize the copper mines. But Kypros is allied with both Egypte and the Hittite empire, and both have armies ten times larger than that of Agamemnon.
Fleets would blockade the island. Massive armies would land and the Mykene would be defeated.’ The king moved his finger to the coast of Lykia. ‘Let us suppose they invaded the Fat King’s realm. They already have colonies on Rhodos and Kos, and in Miletos. They could be supplied from there. But Kygones is an old soldier, and a good fighting man. More important, he is allied with me. I would send the Trojan Horse to his aid, and the Mykene would have no way to call reinforcements. The same can be said of Miletos and Maeonia. Wherever one looks there is no hope of victory for Agamemnon. And you know what that means, Aeneas?’
‘Either Agamemnon is not as intelligent as your ambassadors report – or you are missing something.’
‘Exactly! And I have no doubt as to his intelligence. In the spring will you ask your captains to gather information as they sail the west?’
‘Of course.’
‘Good. In the meantime my spies and ambassadors will continue to report. At some point Agamemnon’s plans will become clear. When are you heading for home?’
‘In a day or two. After I have paid my respects to the queen.’
A look of pain crossed Priam’s features. ‘She is dying,’ said the king. He shivered. ‘Hard to believe. I thought she would outlive us all.’
‘That saddens me,’ said Helikaon. ‘I had heard she was ill. Can nothing be done?’
Priam shook his head. ‘She has opiates for the pain. But the priests tell me she will not survive the winter. You know she is not yet fifty? By the gods, she was once the most beautiful woman in all the world. She filled my soul with fire and made my days golden. I miss her, Aeneas. She was always my best counsellor.’
‘You speak as if she was dead already.’
‘I have not seen her in weeks. Not since the priests told me. I cannot look at her. It is too painful. You will find her at the summer palace across the Scamander. She is there with Kassandra and young Paris.’
Helikaon rose. ‘You are looking weary. I shall leave you to rest.’
‘Rest would be good,’ Priam admitted. ‘I am not sleeping too well at the moment.
However, there is something else you should be aware of,’ he added. ‘Agamemnon has hired Karpophorus to kill you.’
‘I have heard the name.’
‘Of course. We all have. What you may not have heard is that he is the man who murdered your father.’
It was as if the air had suddenly chilled. Helikaon stood very still, and felt his heart thudding against his chest. ‘How do you know this?’ he managed to say.
‘Soldiers of mine captured a man yesterday. They took him away for questioning, where, naturally, he died. During the interrogation, however, a great deal was learned. The man we captured negotiates and arranges the missions undertaken by the assassin. One of my sons tried to hire Karpophorus to kill me. However, Karpophorus had already been hired by Agamemnon’s agents to kill you.’
‘Which of your sons wanted you dead?’
‘Probably all of them, truth be told. They are – with the exception of Hektor –
a sorry crew. However, the agent died without naming the traitor. In truth I do not believe he knew which of the princes he had been summoned to meet. A messenger took gold to him in Miletos, and invited him to Troy. He was to have been met and taken to the unknown prince. Unfortunately we captured him too soon. However, we have the messenger, but he is proving to be a man of considerable courage. I am not at all sure we will break him.’
‘Do we know what Karpophorus looks like?’ asked Helikaon.
‘About forty years of age, of average height and slim. Sometimes he is bearded, sometimes not. Hardly a help, is it?’ said Priam.
‘No. Did you learn who hired him to kill my father?’
‘No. Apparently it was not arranged through the intermediary. Someone went to Karpophorus directly. You need to be wary, Aeneas. And be careful whom you trust.’
‘I have only loyal men around me.’
‘Loyalty is a commodity,’ sneered Priam. ‘And Agamemnon is not short of gold.’
Helikaon felt his anger rise. ‘Your curse is to believe that everything has a price,’ he said.
Priam smiled. ‘And your weakness is to believe that it doesn’t.’
