02 - Shield of Thunder

by David Gemmell

  He gazed up again at the mighty walls of Troy. It was a prize worth taking, he thought.

  Cold dread struck him, causing an involuntary shiver. Troy was no longer merely a prize, a city to be plundered. The conqueror of Troy would have immortal fame and the opportunity of empire. To fail here would be to lie in a forgotten grave in the middle of a ruined nation. Pushing such dark thoughts from his mind, he turned to his companions.

  “Now we go ashore,” he said as the Trojan king’s chariot drew up on the beach below the ship. “The fox has come to greet us. We will stroke his ego and smile at his jests. And as we smile, we will picture the day he is on his knees before us, his city in flames, his sons dead, his life a few heartbeats from its end.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  THE EAGLE CHILD

  Antiphones stood on the beach, his brother Polites beside him, with several courtiers in attendance. He was there to greet the Mykene king but soon realized Agamemnon would not leave his ship until Priam deigned to make an entrance.

  The heat was strong, and Antiphones began to sweat. His vast bulk was bearing down on his knee joints, which were beginning to ache. Beside him the skinny Polites was dabbing at the bald spot on his crown with a piece of embroidered linen. Neither man spoke, and Antiphones wished he could be anywhere but there.

  He looked up at the prow of the black galley, where he could see a round-shouldered man with a black chin beard. Was this the dreaded Agamemnon, butcher of cities? Antiphones sighed. Though he was losing weight fast, he was still grotesque in his own eyes, a soft, plump creature other men looked upon with either scorn or pity.

  That he had become a hero during the attack on the city the previous autumn meant little to him, for when men referred to his slaying of the assassins and his warning of the raid on Priam’s palace, they spoke of the “fat hero.”

  Even in that they were wrong, he thought darkly.

  He remembered the day Father had come to his sickbed, where he was recovering from the stab wounds he had suffered, wounds that would have killed a thinner man. The blades had been defeated by the wealth of flesh guarding his body.

  Priam had walked into the room and stood by the bed, regarding his son with eyes that shone with both contempt and concern.

  “Well, boy, I am told you acted with courage. I must say I am surprised.”

  “Why would that be, Father? Am I not the son of Priam and the brother of Hektor?”

  Priam had shrugged. “Let us not argue, Antiphones. Let us merely say I misjudged you. Helikaon tells me that without your warning we would not have been able to shut the gates in time. Then the Thrakians would have been upon us before we had a chance to muster a defense.”

  “That was all he told you?”

  “Is there more?”

  “There is always more, Father.” Anger had ripped through him then, making his wounds burn. “Would you like to hear it?”

  “Well, I am here, so I might as well,” the king answered, sitting down on the bed. “Will there be more surprises?”

  “I plotted with Agathon to kill you. I only turned away at the last because he planned to murder all my brothers and their families.” Antiphones had expected rage and then that soldiers would be summoned to drag him from the bed and murder him. Instead, Priam merely shrugged.

  “I knew that,” the king said. “No other way you could have learned of his plans. I take it you were foolish enough to confront him, hence the assassins?”

  “Yes. Foolish Antiphones. I thought I could reason with him. Just kill the old man, Agathon. No need for innocent people to die. Just one ghastly old man.”

  Priam laughed then, his manner changing. “Agathon would have made a terrible king, Antiphones. You would have been better. You have a sound mind and a fine grasp of the intricacies of trade and the acquisition of profits.”

  “Really? And that is why you made Polites your chancellor? A man who needs to kick off his sandals to count to twenty? That is why you chose me to be your master of horse, a fat man who could not ride? You are a monster, and I hate you.”

  “Nothing wrong with hate, boy,” Priam said indifferently.

  “So what now, Father? Banishment? Death?”

  “I considered death—had you not admitted to me your part in the plot. As it is, I am rather proud of you. Which, as you can imagine, is a rare thing where you are concerned. I am giving you command of the Ilos regiment.”

  “Why?”

  Priam stood and stared down at him. “I am a king, boy. Kings never have to explain. You want the command?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Well, you rest and recover. We’ll talk more when you leave the houses of healing.” He walked to the door, then swung back. “I take it there will be no more plots from you?”

  Without waiting for an answer he was gone.

  Back at his own house some weeks later, Antiphones had found that his servants had prepared a feast for him, loading the tables with his favorite sweetmeats and pies. He had stared at them with no longing, which surprised him.

  Little Kassandra had been there. The twelve-year-old had looked at him with serious eyes. “I did tell them, Antiphones, but they didn’t believe me.”

  “What did you tell them, sweet girl?”

  “That you would have no taste for such food again.”

  “And how did you know that?”

  “Xidoros told me. He said you had spent years eating your pain, and you could never be filled. Now the pain is gone, and you are no longer hungry.”

  Antiphones had kissed her on the brow and questioned her no further. Xidoros had been her first teacher, and he had died four years before.

  The imaginary spirit had been correct, though. His taste for sweetmeats had vanished. However, years of excess would take more than a few months to overcome. He stood now on the beach, his joints aching, sweat coursing down his face, wishing that he could sit down.

  Then, thank the gods, his father’s chariot came into sight.

  Now there was movement on the ship, and several men lowered themselves to the beach. The first was the man with the black chin beard; the second a florid-faced middle-aged man, clean-shaven. The third was a god!

  Antiphones stared at the young warrior in the white, gold-edged tunic. His body was lightly tanned, his muscles sleek and well defined. His face was the most beautiful Antiphones had ever seen, deep dark eyes over high cheekbones, full lips above a strong chin. Antiphones could not stop staring at him. His mouth was dry, and all thoughts of pain in his joints disappeared in an instant. Other men, officers of Agamemnon, climbed down to join their lord. Antiphones tore his gaze from the beautiful young man and tried to concentrate on the meeting of kings.

  “At last you return to Troy,” Priam said, stepping in and throwing a powerful arm around Agamemnon’s shoulder. “When last I saw you here, you were no taller than a jackrabbit and clinging to your father’s cloak. Welcome back, Agamemnon. May your visit be a happy one and rich with the company of friends.”

  “It is always good to be among friends,” Agamemnon said. “It is good to be here and to be able to tell you in person of my sorrow that Mykene renegades should have joined your son in his revolt. You should know that I had them put to death upon their return. I take it that is why you freed them, so that justice could be served by my own hand.”

  “I freed them because they weren’t worth killing,” Priam said with a wide smile. “They fought like children. Quite the worst fighters I’ve ever seen. By Athene, I’d be ashamed if they were part of my army. No wonder they were renegades. No king worth the name would have such men under his command. But enough of chatter in the sunshine.”

  Antiphones listened to the exchange and suppressed a smile. The Mykene invaders had been the elite of Agamemnon’s forces and had fought like lions.

  “Let me introduce my sons, Antiphones and Polites,” Priam said. The introductions went on until Antiphones stood before the godlike Achilles.

  “I have heard
wonderful tales of your bravery,” Antiphones said. “It is a great honor to have you in our city.”

  Achilles smiled at him, seeming to appreciate the warmth of the greeting. “I, too, have heard of the wonders of Troy,” he said. “Where is your great hero, Hektor?”

  “At sea, hunting pirates. He should be here within the next few days. At least I hope so, or he will miss his own wedding celebrations.”

  “Will he participate in the games?”

  “I do not believe that he will.”

  “Ah, that is a shame,” Achilles said. “Now my victory will not be as sweet.”

  “But it will be wondrous to see,” Antiphones said. “I shall look forward to it.”

  Achilles seemed puzzled and leaned close. “You are so sure of my winning?”

  “I cannot believe any man could ever defeat you,” Antiphones answered.

  “Not even Hektor?”

  “That I could not say,” answered Antiphones honestly. “Hektor is not a man. He is like you—a young god. Mere mortals cannot make judgments on such matters.”

  Achilles laughed. “I like you, Antiphones. Come dine with us one evening.” Then he moved away.

  Priam took Agamemnon in his chariot, while the other officers and dignitaries walked up the slope toward the great gate.

  Antiphones remained where he was, lost in the wonder of the moment.

  “They hate each other,” Kassandra cried, pointing from the high wall down toward the chariot carrying her father and the Mykene king. “Look at all that red mist flowing around them and behind them like a great cloak.”

  Andromache smiled down at the fey child and stroked her dark hair. Kassandra looked up at her and grinned. In that moment Andromache saw that Kassandra’s childhood was passing. She was in her thirteenth year, and already there were tiny breasts showing under her thin tunic and her hips were no longer quite as thin. “I don’t see any mist,” Andromache said.

  “Of course you don’t. Silly of me.” She leaned far out over the wall, trying to see as the golden chariot passed through the gates beneath.

  “Be careful,” Andromache said, reaching out and taking her arm.

  “I shall not fall,” Kassandra told her, then ran back across the battlements to watch the chariot moving on toward the upper city. “Helikaon is unhappy,” she said suddenly.

  “He has been ill. He is recovering now.”

  “Helen says he asked for you but you would not go to him.”

  “Then Helen says too much,” Andromache snapped. The sunshine was bright, and Andromache felt a sudden nausea. It was the third time that day.

  “Oh, look, there is fighting on the beach again,” Kassandra said. “Lots of men whacking each other with fists and sticks.” She laughed. “And there go the soldiers, dragging them apart. What fun!”

  Andromache moved into the shade of the high gate tower and sat down, breathing deeply and slowly.

  Kassandra came and sat beside her. “You are looking very pale,” she said.

  “I ate smoked fish yesterday. It must have been bad.”

  Kassandra moved closer, laying her head on Andromache’s shoulder. “Your bodyguards are very handsome,” she whispered. “I like Cheon.”

  The nausea passed. Andromache sighed and looked up at the tall young soldier standing some ten paces distant with his comrade Teachos. As Antiphones had foreseen, Priam had ordered all the royal family to be accompanied by guards during the games and the wedding celebrations. Cheon and Teachos were pleasant enough company, though Andromache would have preferred the more gregarious Polydorus. His conversation was always bright and engaging. However, he had been assigned to Helen.

  “You like Cheon because he winks at you,” Andromache said.

  Kassandra giggled. “He has beautiful forearms,” she said. “I love the way the muscles ripple on them.”

  “You sound like a girl in love,” Andromache said.

  “Oh, no, I don’t love him,” Kassandra replied with great seriousness. “Anyway, there wouldn’t be any point. Cheon will be dead long before me, and I won’t live very long.”

  “You shouldn’t say such things,” Andromache admonished her.

  “Why does everyone become so agitated about death?” asked Kassandra, sitting up and looking into Andromache’s eyes. “Everyone dies.”

  “Not everyone dies young, Kassandra.”

  “Laodike did.”

  “Laodike was killed by evil men. I don’t want to talk of it.”

  “It wasn’t your fault, you know. She was dying from the moment the spear struck her.”

  Andromache pushed herself to her feet. “It is too hot out here. Let’s go back to the palace. We can sit in the garden.”

  “Will you show me how to use your bow?”

  “Yes.”

  The child smiled happily, but then her expression changed. She cocked her head as if listening to someone. Then she nodded and sighed. “You won’t be able to,” she said. “When we get to the palace, a messenger will tell you Father wants to see you.”

  “Whom are you listening to?”

  “Xidoros.”

  “Has Xidoros nothing better to do than haunt small girls?”

  “I suppose it would be very tedious for him,” Kassandra said, “if it was just me. But he has lots of other spirits to talk to.”

  Andromache asked no more questions. Conversations with Kassandra were always difficult. The child had been struck down by a brain fever when very young and since then had heard voices. Sometimes she seemed almost normal, as when speaking about Cheon. Mostly, though, her thought processes were unfathomable.

  Together they walked down the gatehouse steps, emerging into the shadows of the Scaean Gate. Crowds were moving through, and Andromache waited for Cheon and Teachos to move ahead, clearing a way. Then they slowly strolled back through the upper city and on to the palace of Hektor.

  Andromache left the guards in the main entrance and took Kassandra through to the garden. Fetching her bow and her quiver, she called the girl to her. “You see, there is no messenger from Priam, and I am going to teach you the bow.” She notched an arrow to the string, then handed the weapon to the child. “Draw back upon the string as far as you can and then sight it toward the straw deer.”

  Kassandra tugged back on the string, which broke, spilling the arrow to the ground.

  In that moment a servant came into sight. “Lady Andromache, there is a messenger from the king to see you.”

  Andromache thanked the man, then took the broken weapon from Kassandra’s hand. “Very well, you were right, little seeress. Perhaps you would like to tell me why the king wishes to see me.”

  “He wants you in his bed,” Kassandra said. “He is going to seduce you.”

  “That is not prophecy,” Andromache replied. “I would think everyone in the palace has guessed his intention. He is not discreet with his compliments. Tell me something no one could possibly know.”

  “That’s a silly game,” Kassandra said. “If nobody knows, then you would not know it, either. Then, when I told you, there would be no way to prove it. Like if I told you that a sparrow had died on the roof of the palace and had been eaten by a crow. Anyway, why do you want to test me?”

  Andromache sat down on a stone bench. “I suppose I would like to know if the voices are real or imaginary.”

  Kassandra shook her head. “No, you want them to be made up. Everybody wants them to be made up. I told Father that Hektor wasn’t dead. He was angry and shouted at me. But Hektor wasn’t dead. He came home, just like I said. Father thinks it was a coincidence. I told you that you would need your bow and put it in your hand on the night the Thrakians later attacked. No one ever believes in my gift, Andromache. No matter what I tell them.”

  Andromache drew the girl to her and kissed her cheek. “Sadly, I think you are right, Kassandra. We all get frightened by prophecy. So from now on I will not question your powers or seek to test you. And I will teach you to use the bow. I will, won�
��t I?”

  “Yes, you will,” Kassandra answered, with a shy smile.

  “And now I must go and resist your father’s charms. You stay here and flirt with Teachos. I shall be back before sunset.”

  “Take some water with you,” Kassandra said. “The sickness will come again as you walk.”

  “I shall avoid the salt fish in future,” Andromache told her.

  “It isn’t the fish,” the child replied.

  Andromache crossed the square in front of the great temple to Athene with its copper and amber doors and paused for a moment at the base of the huge statue to the goddess. Elaborately carved, it showed Athene in her war helm, holding a spear in one hand, the shield of thunder at her feet. Andromache gazed at the stone shield. It was perfectly round, and a lightning bolt had been carved upon its center.

  “You always pause here,” said the soldier Cheon. “Then you reach up and touch the shield. Why do you do that?”

  “Why do you always tug on your ear before asking a question?” she countered.

  He gave a boyish grin. “I was not aware of it. Is Athene the patron goddess of your home city?”

  “No, Hermes has pride of place there. My father loves wealth, and Hermes is the god of travelers and merchants. But my mother was a follower of the goddess. She learned the mysteries. On the night of my birth she almost died, but a priestess of Athene saved her—and me.”

  Andromache walked on, thinking of the long-ago day when she had sat on her mother’s knee and heard of that terrible night. “You were blessed by the goddess, dear heart. She flew over the palace disguised as an eagle,” Olektra had told her.

  “How do we know that?”

  “Many people saw her.”

  “They saw an eagle. How did they know it was the goddess, Mother?”