‘Best not spill any food on the clothes, then,’ Melitta said softly.
Philokles didn’t look happy. ‘Much as we enjoy your hospitality,’ he began, but Kinon interrupted him.
‘Leon, our master, has been all the way west to the Pillars of Herakles. His business there is secret – even his trip is itself a secret. But I have had news today that he is safely returned to Syracusa, and will visit Alexandria for the summer before coming here. He will be here in late autumn. I have sent letters to him. I think that you must wait here. In addition, I have started the process of arranging for Satyrus to speak to the assembly in Athens. I spoke to Theogenes. He sometimes represents Athenian interests here. He suggested that you live in his house as an Athenian citizen.’ Kinon took a sip of wine. ‘I do not trust him that far. He has Stratokles there.’
‘Who is this Stratokles?’ Theron asked.
‘A politician from Athens,’ Kinon said. ‘Just arrived two days back. On a trireme from Pantecapaeum,’ he said, and paused to let the import of that statement filter through.
‘He now claims to be the representative of Athens here in Heraklea. He claims vast wealth, family connections and political power.’ Kinon shrugged. ‘I’m not sure – but he does appear the representative of Athens. He’s busy buying every cargo of grain we have to sell, and that gains him friends. I’ve done business with him myself. He is an extreme democrat – the sort of man who wants to give every citizen equal power. He and Leon are sometimes rivals. And he has the name of a killer. Where he goes, enemies of Athens die.’
‘We’ll avoid him then,’ Philokles said with a smile.
‘Oh no,’ Kinon said. ‘I don’t trust him, but he has the ear of the tyrant – Demetrios of Phaleron, the tyrant of Athens, that is. And Demetrios was a friend of Phocion’s, and of Kineas, your father. We need him. He can get you a passage to Athens and safety.’
‘Except that he arrived here on a trireme from Pantecapaeum,’ Satyrus put in, and Philokles nodded. ‘Ares, what a rat’s nest. I think we should stay away from this Stratokles. See what we can learn about him. In the meantime, what of Macedon, Kinon?’ Philokles asked. ‘Tell me where you are with respect to Polyperchon?’
Kinon held out his cup for more wine. The heavy scent of tuna in syphillium wafted in from the kitchens. Bowls of white cabbage in honey vinegar were put on the side tables that were positioned next to every diner. ‘Ahh. The crux of the matter.’ Kinon drank some wine. ‘It is not Polyperchon, with whom we had good relations. I think you are behind on your news, my friend. Polyperchon is deposed as regent of Macedon, and Antipater’s son Cassander has the reins in his hand – but behind him is that madwoman Olympias, Alexander’s insane mother.’
‘That is news,’ Philokles said. ‘You said something of it just before we went to bed. But what of Heraklea? What side is she on?’
Kinon shook his head. ‘No one is on our side. Perdikkas – remember him? The first commander when Alexander died? – assigned us to the satrapy of Phrygia and refused to accept our status as a free city despite all our years. And he received all our discontents and exiles, and threatened, through his lieutenant, Eumenes the Cardian, to lay siege to the city. Then he died in Aegypt – murdered. Now Antigonus has his army and he faces off against the Cardian. Confused yet?’
‘But…’ Philokles said, ‘you and Leon sell weapons to the Cardian!’
‘No,’ Kinon said. He looked over his shoulder, where Kallista was motioning for the slaves to bring in the tuna. She was more beautiful than ever, in a cross-gartered chiton of dark, crisp blue. ‘No,’ he said, clearly having lost the thread of what he was saying. He looked away. ‘No,’ he said for the third time. ‘We sell weapons to your Diodorus, who is a great captain and a good customer. He serves Eumenes the Cardian – for money, and with the permission and even the support of Ptolemy of Aegypt. We would prefer for Antigonus to defeat the Cardian. But we’d really prefer it if they went on fighting each other in Phrygia and left us alone.’
Satyrus felt as if his head was spinning. ‘I don’t understand,’ he said.
Kinon tested a finger bowl of tuna for his guests and nodded vigorously. ‘Superb. Tell the cook she’s a genius.’ He looked back at Satyrus. ‘No one can understand all of it, young prince. But Heron – at Pantecapaeum – is part of this game. The big players want all the small players lined up or out of the game. Your city of Tanais threatened the kingdom of the Bosporus, and your mother was the obvious queen of all the Assagatje. That makes you children the heirs of two small empires – in two bodies, you unite the whole north of the Euxine. That means gold, grain, Sakje warriors and Greeks.’ He watched for a moment as his slaves carried the tuna around the garden, showing off its size and quality, before carving steaks from it and serving them on trays.
Kinon watched it all with pride – pride in his team and pride in his table. ‘The Macedonians aren’t united. Antipater’s death was like the end of the world for them. Antigonus is not Antipater, nor yet is Cassander – or Olympias – in charge. The Athenians are still powerful, and they will back anyone who gets the garrison out of their city – at the moment, they favour Cassander.’ He shrugged. ‘I think that Stratokles is working for Cassander. And Cassander needs grain from the Euxine to woo Athens. Am I making sense to you?’
Theron looked around in confusion. ‘I heard all this every day in Corinth and still it made no sense to me.’
‘Attica and Athens eat three times as much grain as they produce,’ Kinon said. ‘Men like me grow rich collecting the grain from the Euxine and selling it to Athens. Cassander needs that grain to flow to make Athens happy. He can accomplish this by supporting Eumeles of Pantecapaeum as sole king of the Bosporus. Hence, you children are in his way and need to be eliminated.’
Philokles nodded. ‘I’d come to the same conclusion myself.’
Kinon continued, ‘Our Leon is heavily invested in Aegypt and the new city there at Alexandria, so we are, willy-nilly, allies of Ptolemy. That sets us against Cassander, and against Antigonus sometimes and Eumenes the Cardian at other times. Cassander is power-mad, Antigonus is an excellent general and a useless ruler, Eumenes would be a great man if he weren’t so addicted to proving he’s a better man than any Macedonian. He really is the best general and the best man of the lot, but is a Greek and not a Macedonian – you can imagine what that means.’
Philokles gave a grim smile. ‘I know,’ he said.
‘And he married one of Alexander’s mistresses – you know that? Banugul? She had a son by Alexander, although not many people know it. A handsome boy named Herakles.’
Melitta’s eyes happened to be on Kallista. She saw the slave girl’s attention fix. She was listening attentively, and her eyes stole off to cross with someone else, someone standing behind Melitta. She rolled back, casually tossing her arm over her brother, and saw Tenedos, the steward, standing by a sideboard with a ewer of wine. He didn’t seem aware of the conversation, and Melitta, watching, saw so many slaves come and go that she couldn’t be sure.
Perhaps slaves listened all the time.
‘I know Banugul,’ Philokles said.
Kinon grinned. ‘So you said last night! I gather there’s a lot to know. Leon was fulsome in her praises. He continues to be her friend, and loans her money, and keeps track of her son.’
Even as Melitta watched, Philokles took a gulp of wine and stared off into space, lost in reminiscence. Next to her, her brother cleared his throat.
‘I think that I understand it, Master Kinon. So Cassander must be allied with Heron,’ he said. He was handed a gold cup by one of the slaves, and he took an appreciative sip. ‘I can see how the sides will shape up – even how this will affect the Euxine.’
Kinon looked at the boy with respect. ‘Yes, young prince. That is exactly correct. I’ve only had a few days to put this together, but it appears to me that Heron has offered to put the whole north of the Euxine at Cassander’s disposal in exchange for a free hand.’
Melitta spoke quietly. ‘Any news of our mother?’ she asked.
‘I fear not.’ Kinon shook his head.
‘Let us do honour to the meal, and banish sad thoughts,’ Philokles said.
Melitta leaned over so that her chin was on Satyrus’s shoulder. ‘They think she’s dead,’ she said.
‘Yes,’ Satyrus whispered. The food swam before his eyes.
Melitta put her arm around him. ‘It’s better if she’s dead, rather than a slave or worse,’ she said. ‘We are her children, and the children of Kineas. Make your face a mask of bronze, and start to think of our revenge.’ But even as she spoke the words, her voice broke.
Satyrus sobbed first, but in a moment they were crying – not bold princes of the Euxine, but two children whose mother was probably dead. They lay together, weeping, and the other diners avoided looking at them.
