A Flame in Byzantium

my mandate if I permit your concerns to override all that has been entrusted to me.'

The monk raised his hand, making a gesture against the evil eye. 'You are a tool of the forces of Hell, not of the Emperor.'

Belisarius had been cursed by those more expert than this man, but he still disliked the feelings it awakened in him. 'I am no one's tool, good monk. I am the Emperor's General in Italy and will remain so for as long as he honors me with the position.'

'You will fall,' said the monk with deep satisfaction.

'That is for God and Justinian to determine,' said Belisarius with a faint smile. 'I will authorize two of my Captains to do what they can to aid in controlling the people coming through the city, and if you wish, I will give them permission to deal with any disruptions in the most direct way possible.' He saw the faint approval in the men's eyes and went on to warn them. 'Take care. You have had near-riots here for the last several days, and now there is no doubt that these Romans will need all the aid they can get or take. If you are too stringent with them, you may lose all that you seek to preserve through your rules and limitations.'

The monk lowered his eyes. 'We submit to the will of God.'

'Once you have troops to protect you,' said Belisarius.

'And you, proud man, you are fast coming to a time when all your might and all your battles and all your honor will avail you nothing.' The monk glowered at the General. 'The Emperor listens to other voices than yours. Never forget that.'

'He listens to his wife after God,' said Belisarius, not adding that Theodora was a close friend of his Antonina; as long as the two women were close friends, Belisarius knew that his position was secure.

'If a man is led by a woman, he makes his own fall, as did Adam,' said the man with the darkest beard. 'It is known that these women have given themselves more to the service of Satan than of God.'

'Do not let the Emperor hear you say such things,' suggested Belisarius. 'He says that the words of a virtuous woman are more worthy than the preaching of fools. He has gained much from his wise Empress.'

It was apparent that none of the men believed this, and Belisarius was too tired to pursue the matter any further. The tallest of the delegation, a man who had remained stubbornly silent, finally said, 'How many troops will you leave here, General?'

'I can leave no more than two hundred foot soldiers and fifty cavalry. The rest must follow me to Roma before midday,' he said, welcoming this apparent understanding from one of the men of Neapolis. 'I will be certain that the instructions are clear to these troops. You may choose one of your number to work with the men I leave behind, and that will in turn give you the opportunity to arrange the defenses you have in whatever way most suits your purposes.'

'These troops—are they the best you can provide?' asked the youngest man.

'If you mean, will I leave the exhausted and the wounded behind to guard you and take with me those soldiers who are in better condition and more fully equipped, then the answer must be no, for those who are wounded are not required to fight in any sense and are with our ships in the east.' He sighed. 'I will be at pains to find you a Tribune you can trust to do all that you require of the soldiers without spreading them too thin or putting them at a serious disadvantage. Let me point out one thing to you, and you may then do what you wish: the soldiers can create a corridor from gate to dockside, and can keep most of the people from spilling over into your city, if you will permit them to act in that way. It would be the best use of the men you have and it would limit the amount of damage you are apt to sustain during the time the Romans are in Neapolis.'

'Are those your orders?' asked the oldest suspiciously.

'No, those are my observations. You are free to do as you wish with the men so long as your orders do not contradict those of the Emperor.' He stretched. 'It has been more than a full day since I slept, good citizens. Perhaps you will be content to leave this for another time?'

'How can we leave this, when you will be gone tomorrow?' asked the one with the darkest beard.

'There will be other men here. Most of my officers are experienced and will do what they can to make this a worthwhile time for all of you.' He moved away from the narrow table. 'I will instruct them to guard the city from abuse. If you will let them do the work they are trained to do, everyone will benefit, even the unfortunates from Roma.'

'And you will not have to answer for anything that goes wrong. You will be able to say that if there are problems, if there are those who are injured or in other ways harmed, that it was our actions, not yours, that brought this about. We have heard about the manner in which you of Constantinople conduct your affairs.'

'Lepidius,' said Belisarius, 'even if everything you say is true, and everything you believe is true and everything you deplore is true, nonetheless, Justinian is the Emperor and what he orders and demands is his by right of his rule. If you question that, you question the order of the world and the word of Heaven.' He reached for a small mallet and struck a small, flat bell with it. 'You will be fed while you are here, if you wish. My slaves will see to it.'

'And you?' asked the monk, clearly not satisfied with the hospitality Belisarius offered.

'I will be attending to my duties with my officers so that they will be prepared to act for you tomorrow.' He gestured to the slave who came through the door. 'These men are to be given every courtesy a guest can expect. Is Chrysanthos here, or has he already gone to his men?'

'He is still here, Master,' said the slave in Egyptian-accented Greek.

'Then let him dine with these citizens,' said Belisarius in Greek.

'Does this man speak Latin?' the youngest member of the delegation wanted to know.

'Yes, that is why I thought of him. You will be able to understand one another. I have three other officers who are fluent in Latin as well as Greek, and they are most in demand of the men I command in Italy.' Belisarius indicated the slave. 'If you follow him, he will see that you are escorted to Chrysanthos.'

Most of the men were willing to depart, but the one with the darkest beard was inclined to linger, to press for more advantages than they had secured already. 'I wish your assurance that if there is any trouble, you will be willing to send your troops to quell any uprising that we may have to deal with.'

'You'll have to arrange that with Chrysanthos; I will abide by the terms you make with him,' said Belisarius.

The other men did what they could to get their companion to leave with them, speaking a few words in low voices urging him to come with them to this new officer.

'If we are not satisfied, you will learn of it,' said the oldest delegate as he left the room.

'I'm certain of that,' said Belisarius, watching the door even when it was empty, as if aware of a lingering presence like an odor or the echo of a scream.

* * *

Text of a letter to Vigilius, Bishop of Roma and Pope of the Church.

On the anniversary of the election of Your Holiness to the See of Santo Pietrus, the Priest Formosus of Ostia sends this report with the deepest faith and reverence.

It has pleased Your Holiness to learn of the current state of the Church in her parent city of Roma, and it has fallen to this most unhappy of men to inform Your Holiness that the great devil and pagan Totila has made progress with his forces against this most venerable of all cities. It is his intent to tear the whole place down, or so he swears on his blasphemous gods. To this end, he has been harrying the merchants on the roads, stopping farmers bringing produce to the city, and attempting to cut the aqueducts that bring water to the people of Roma. All this has been seen and heard by many and is not the result of mere rumors and fears that are current with many of those still living within the walls of the city.

It is of particular note that those who should be most stalwart in their duty— the religious of Roma—have fled in great numbers, and it would astonish me to find more than two hundred priests and monks in Roma to minister to the thousands of unfortunates who have remained faithful to their God and Roma.

While there are many who look to the Byzantines to succor us before Totila can break through our defenses, Your Holiness must understand that it is only through their efforts that any semblance of defense has been maintained at the present, and it would not be unreasonable to prepare for worse to come, for although the great Belisarius brings his men to our aid, the force is smaller than the one that the Emperor of Constantinople promised to provide, and they are not as well-equipped as they had been represented to be. No one wishes to think