The Dark Lord

Maxian realized he was still holding her hand. He let go and sat up straight in the chair. 'I'm glad. I'm sorry we couldn't save more of your people...' He grimaced, thinking of the devastation he had seen during the brief time he was in Constantinople. 'It won't happen again.'

'I'm sure it won't... my lord,' Martina said in a rush. 'Master Gaius said you needed help with some historical research and I'm a historian and perhaps I could help if that's not too much trouble.'

'But aren't you...' Maxian stopped before he said busy. He looked around for Gaius Julius. The old Roman was nowhere to be seen. He looked back at the girl, giving her his full attention. She was still looking at the floor and he could feel her nervousness in the air like the half-heard chime of a temple bell. What is there for you to do? he mused, considering her. Ghost images of the Empress unfolded in his sight—laughing, afraid, cowering in the basement room under the palace in Constantinople, clutching her baby to her—then disappeared as he willed them away. Alone in exile, living on the mercy of others, directionless... bored.

'You're a historian?' he said, curious. 'What kind of histories do you write? Can you read Greek or Persian?'

'I can,' Martina said, smiling. She dabbed at her eyelashes, smudging charcoal powder on her cheek. 'I was writing a history of Constantinople, from its founding by Queen Medea as Byzantium in ancient times to the present day... Heraclius approved, he thought it would keep me out of trouble.'

'Medea of Colchis founded the city?' Maxian was surprised. He'd never thought of the woman as anything but a character in a play. 'I thought colonists from Corinth made the first settlement.'

'Rubbish!' Martina's face changed, her shyness falling away. 'I've seen the founding stone of the city myself—and Medea is listed as Queen, under the aegis of her patron, the goddess Hecate. You can ignore Eusebius—he had no idea what he was talking about.'

'You read old Greek too?' Maxian grinned. He did not relish the thought of plowing through mountains of Achean scrolls, searching for some vague fragment that might bear upon the current matter. Someone to help him would be very welcome indeed.

'Yes,' Martina smiled back. 'Being an Empress is usually very dull. It would be nice to do something useful for a change.'

'Then you can help me,' he said, pleased. 'I must go up to Fiorentina tomorrow, to oversee some projects. If you'd like to come along, I'll show you what we've gathered.'

CHAPTER TWELVE

Beneath a Fig Tree

The sky was still perfectly blue. Mohammed opened his eyes to cerulean heavens unmarred by cloud or wind and a round yellow sun. Despite the brightness, his skin was cold and the falling sunlight brought him no warmth. He was unsure if any time had passed while his eyes were closed, but he forced himself to sit up against the bole of the tree. The sound of his parched skin rubbing against the skin of the fig was very loud. His movement made the hand-shaped leaves tremble, and they rustled softly, disturbing a perfect silence.

Pale-barked woods surrounded him on three sides. On the fourth, a grassy sward led down to the walls of the city. He looked through the open gate, seeing men and women passing by, going about their daily tasks. As he watched, the sounds of their conversation and business swelled around him. The smell of roasting meat, of fresh-baked bread, of decanted wine assailed his nostrils and he began to salivate.

Mohammed wiped his mouth, then looked down at his hand. A fine white dust covered his palm. He raised his hand, squinting, and saw the dust was composed of tiny, broken hairs.

'My beard.' He coughed and felt his lip split. Tentatively, he touched the wound and his finger came away clean. Even his blood was parched and dry. Yet, he thought, I have not died of thirst, or of hunger. What is this place?

'You are outside the city of Iblis,' a gentle voice said. 'In a wood.'

Mohammed looked up and saw the well-featured man who had spoken to him before. Moha knelt on the grass, strong-limbed body clad in jewel-colored silk. As before, he smiled and nodded in greeting. 'You are not well. I can bring you water, from the city, or food, if you are hungry.'

'I am not hungry,' Mohammed said, looking the man over very carefully. 'You are the guardian of this place? A servant, who watches over those within?'

Moha shook his head, puzzled, and his golden eyes danced with laughter. 'I am not a jailer,' he said. 'I keep a watch upon the wood and the city. Sometimes—though not, I must admit, in my lifetime—a disturbance might rise in the wood to trouble those who live in the city. I am... a shepherd.'

'Your flock seems content,' Mohammed said, indicating the bustling crowds in the city only by the movement of his eyes. Even this much effort left him drained and weak. 'What happens if they wish to leave?'

'I don't know,' Moha said, standing up and brushing off his tunic. Mohammed watched closely, but did not see grass, leaves or dust fall from the man's clothes. 'No one has ever wished to leave.'

The man turned, looking back at the city. A procession was passing the gate, holding aloft banners and gaudy icons. Drums and pipes sounded, making a merry noise. The people were laughing, carrying a golden idol on a platform of glossy wood. Mohammed started in surprise, then felt a chill creep across his arms. The face of the idol was his own.

'I'm sorry, but there is poor news,' Moha said, turning back. Now his perfect face was troubled, creased with worry and anguish. 'A message has come for you.'

Mohammed blinked, looking away from the idol and the cheering crowds filling the streets of the city. Many of the faces were familiar—his friends and neighbors—even those he had not seen since he was a boy. Was that Khadijah, in her wedding veil? 'A message?'

'Yes.' Moha squatted, clasping his hands. He seemed worried. 'You are sorely missed, at home. The young Khalid al'Walid—he has betrayed you—taken your army, your woman, even your name. Did you know he was of the Makzhum tribe?'

Mohammed frowned for a moment before his face cleared and he remembered his father, speaking vigorously in the house of the black stone. 'The Makzhum... they were driven from the Zam-Zam by my grandfather. They fled the city, into the desert in shame.' The face of Khalid wavered into his memory, and now— thinking back across many years—Mohammed saw the resemblance to those proud, hawk-faced chieftains. 'Was he even born, when they were driven from Mekkah?'

'No,' Moha said, shaking his head in sympathy. 'He was whelped in the sand, among scorpions and snakes. His people wandered in the desert for a long time, without a home, without lands or flocks... forced to banditry. The last of the Makzhum were betrayed and ambushed by the Banu Hira. Khalid, still a child, was taken prisoner. In time, he was a slave, and then a scout in the Persian army after Bahram Choban destroyed the kingdom of the Mondars.'

'Yes,' Mohammed whispered, remembering. 'He was at Palmyra. He saw our final battle... Uri said...' Mohammed fell silent and his mind became entirely clear. A shadow fell away from his sight and he looked upon the man, Moha, with a piercing glance. 'Your master is known to me, creature. I will take nothing from you, or from this place.'

Moha ran slender fingers through his dark hair, sighing. He seemed concerned. 'My lord Mohammed... Khalid has seized control of the Sahaba, your boon companions. He urges and guides them to fight for Persia, for your ancient enemy. Your teachings are being ignored and forgotten. The lady Zoe is under his spell, his servant. Even such stalwarts as Jalal and Shadin follow him. They continue to fight against Rome, heedless of the danger to their own lives.'

'What would you have me do?' The Quraysh was curious.

'Leave this place!' Moha gestured at the pale-barked trees and the short-cropped grass. 'Go home! Take up the banner of your moon and star—drive out the traitor, as your father drove out his fathers. Take back what was yours... Look, there is your future. She is waiting for you.' The man pointed, off through the trees.

Mohammed closed his eyes, turning away from golden sunlight falling through the clouds. A man and a woman were riding on fine, brightly caparisoned horses. They were laughing and the air around them was clear and filled with song. Their companions followed at a discreet distance, road-weary but smiling, for soon they would be in the city and many old friends would be reunited. Mohammed banished the image, driving glorious brown eyes from his memory.

'No,' he said, though his chest was being crushed by an enormous weight. 'The world will continue to turn