The Shadow of Ararat (95 page)

Jusuf stopped and stood waiting, the richness and subtlety of the furnishings making him seem garish and clumsy in his costume. Thyatis counted doors—three—and eyed the rooms beyond. If anything, they were more gorgeously appointed than this entryway. A severe-looking dark-haired woman dressed in dull gray entered through the doorway on the left. Amid the soft luxury in the rooms, the matron's harsh figure was a shock. She frowned, her face clouding with anger when she saw them.

"You must leave," she said in a clipped voice. "My mistress is not entertaining visitors at this hour." Her voice, though thickened by anger, was naturally melodious and her Persian flawless.

Jusuf bowed, his hands at the sides of his thighs.

"Please, my lady," he said in his best Persian, his voice quietly sincere. "I come from the north and have urgent news for Lady Shirin. I beg you, let me speak with her. My news is for her ears alone."

The woman paused, halting an incipient tirade. Her head cocked to one side. Coupled with the pile of deep black hair pinned up on her head, she reminded Thyatis of a raven eyeing a shining stone. Her eyes narrowed and she nodded. "Very well. I will convey your message and see if the lady will receive you. Wait here."

When the matron had gone, Thyatis whispered: "What news, O mysterious one?"

"You'll see," Jusuf answered, still smiling.

A moment later the matron returned, a trace of puzzlement on her face. She stood in the doorway and motioned them to enter. Once they were past, she drew closed a curtain behind them. Thyatis listened, but could hear no footsteps on the thick carpets.

"Most gracious lady," Jusuf said, bowing deeply, "we are honored by your hospitality."

Thyatis bowed as well, her eyes canvassing the room. The lyre music had stopped.

Half the chamber was walled with glass doors open to a garden of lush flowers and a sward of short-cropped grass. Paper lanterns hung in trees, and their light reflected from an ornamental pool set among mossy stones. The delicate placement of flowers, bushes, and rocks made Thyatis' eyes widen. The gardens around the house of the Duchess seemed poor and ill-made in comparison. This room, these chambers, the garden, all seemed to shimmer with a luxury she had never realized existed. It struck Thyatis that lanterns, carpets, couches, even a goblet of wine on the side table were all the finest that could possibly be acquired.

The woman who had risen, sylphlike, from a pool of warm light and linen pillows matched the room and made it complete. She was of medium height, though her slimness made her seem taller. Gorgeous brown eyes dominated a face of perfect curves and planes. Sleek upswept eyebrows and long lashes framed them. She smiled, her graceful dark lips suggesting laughter and merriment. Wavy dark-brown hair with russet highlights cascaded over smooth olive shoulders and down her back. A rich red gown with a scoop neckline that accentuated her full breasts clung to her body. Thyatis felt a bright spark of jealousy flare in her heart, but then it faded. The woman who returned Jusuf's bow, laughing, her eyes sparkling with joy, could not be hated or reviled, only adored.

"Uncle!" She laughed, her voice husky. "I never thought to see you here, or in such a costume!" She looked upon Jusuf in amazement, and he turned slowly, arms outstretched, showing off his robes. "What could possibly have overcome you to don such frippery?"

Jusuf bowed again, beaming. "I could not come to see my favorite niece without dressing for the occasion! Besides, they would not let me into the palace dressed like a ragamuffin."

A slim-fingered brown hand covered the lady's face as she tried to stifle a laugh. She failed, but then her eyebrows rose in surprise, taking in Thyatis for the first time. The woman stepped past Jusuf and made a graceful bow to the Roman woman, a single lock of her long wavy hair falling in front of her face.

"Uncle, you are remiss! You promised to write me but you never do and now I do not know the name of your wife!"

Thyatis grunted in surprise and touched her face. She had forgotten she was veiled in traditional garb. Jusuf laughed, seeing the movement. The woman spun on her heel, little golden bells tinkling at her ankle.

"Uncle! Do not laugh at me!"

Jusuf held up his hands to ward off the spark of anger in his niece's eyes. "Wait, wait! Your mother has not married me off yet! This is a traveling companion of mine. Please... may I introduce you in the proper manner?"

The niece turned away, her face haughty, her arms crossed under her breasts. "I suppose."

Thyatis grimaced under her veil and tugged at the cloth. It didn't want to unwind. She bent over and untucked the tail of the scarf from her neck.

"My dear, may I present Lady Thyatis Julia Clodia of the House of Clodia?"

Thyatis threw her head back, long golden-red hair spilling out, and brushed the tangle of locks from her face. She breathed a great sigh—it was suffocating in those things. The niece's eyes widened in surprise. Thyatis grinned, her even white teeth flashing in the light of the crystal lanterns.

"Thyatis, my niece, Princess Shirin, the junior wife of Chrosoes, King of Kings. Our host here in the Palace of Swans."

"Pleased to meet you, Princess. Nice place."

Thyatis made a sketchy bow, trying to remember what the Duchess had taught her about foreign royalty. The only thing that came to mind was Anastasia's voice saying
and stay out of their bedrooms!

Shirin took a step backward, amazement and anger warring in her face. She placed her hands on her hips and turned to Jusuf, her brow clouded with dismay. "Dear uncle, this woman is a Roman!"

"Yes," Jusuf said with an innocent expression on his face, "so she is."

"You can't bring a Roman into the Palace of Swans! If you hadn't noticed, my husband is at war with the Empire of Rome!"

Jusuf rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful.

"Why," he said slowly, "I believe that you're right. We are at war with Persia."

Shirin, her finger raised and poised for a tirade, stopped, her mouth open. Fear crept into her expression.

"We are at war with Persia?"

"Yes," Jusuf said softly and took Shirin's hand, leading her back to the couch. "We left Tauris weeks ago, but the Roman Emperors and the
Khagan
were in accord. Even now they may be marching on this city."

Shirin sat heavily, a bleak look on her face. Thyatis looked away and wandered to the doorway to the garden. Behind her, Jusuf also sat down on the couch, holding his niece's slim little hand in both of his.

"The Emperor of the East," Jusuf said, "made an alliance with the
Khagan
. Ziebil brought forty thousand men into the south with him. The best forty thousand of our warriors. That is why we are here."

"Oh, Jusuf, how could Sahul do this? He promised Chrosoes peace at our wedding! How can he be allied with murderers?"

Thyatis looked around and pinned Jusuf with her gaze. "So... friend Jusuf, you want to explain how our missing companion fits into this?"

Jusuf met her stare but then looked away. Shirin stared at Thyatis with concern.

"Sahul is missing?" Shirin's voice was faint. "Is he dead?"

"No," said Jusuf, slumping back into the couch, "he was as hale and hearty as ever when last I saw him in Tauris." He raised a hand to ward of the explosion about to erupt from Thyatis. "Please, my lady, the
Khagan
asked me to say nothing to you until he saw you again himself."

"That's a pretty low trick, friend
Khazar
, to let me think he was dead for all this time!"

"I'm sorry," Jusuf said. "My brother found it relaxing, I think, to be one of your troopers for a while. He didn't want to make your task more difficult in Tauris."

"Surely!" Thyatis spat, "kings usually give orders to centurions, not the other way around!"

"Wait!" Shirin said, holding up both of her hands, jeweled platinum bracelets tinkling. "Tell me the entire story, then the two of you can bicker like crows in a farmyard. Where did you meet and why? Then what happened?"

"And then," Thyatis finished, "your uncle got a wild hair and decided to bust into the palace and see
someone important
." She swirled the wine in her porcelain goblet and then took a long drink. Storytelling was thirsty work. The wine was a joy on her tongue, like rich velvet. Shirin, curled up around a velvet pillow with her small feet tucked under her, stirred under the quilts she had dragged out of a closet.

"You really made Sahul follow your orders," she said sleepily. "And Dahvos and Jusuf? They always ignored me when I was little. He was the worst," she muttered, pointing a long lacquered nail at her uncle, who was sitting on the floor, cross-legged, his back leaning against the end of the couch. "He picked on me all the time and put frogs in my hair."

Thyatis smiled, remembering her own brothers. "That just meant he loved you."

"Maybe." The Princess yawned. "Can I see your sword?"

Thyatis nodded and sat down next to the Princess. She had carried the blade with her into the palace, strapped to her back under the heavy robes. Now it gleamed in the lantern light as she slid it slowly out of the silk-lined sheath. The metal shimmered, the watery surface seemingly filled with glowing light. Shirin traced the patterns with her fingers, but she did not touch the surface of the blade. She fingered the leather hilt, her fingertips tracing the grooves worn by Thyatis' hand.

"It's sleeping," Shirin said, "and warm. Have you killed many men?"

Thyatis returned the blade to its sheath and tugged the leather strap over the hilt to hold it snug. She turned to the Princess, her gray eyes distant and shadowed.

"I've killed men," she said simply. "I take no joy in it."

Shirin hugged a pillow beaded with tiny pearls to her chest, peering over the top at the Roman woman. Thyatis felt a tingle in her arms and stomach when she met the Princess's eyes. They seemed bottomless, a liquid brown, swimming with vulnerability.

"Are you going to kill my husband?"

Jusuf hissed in alarm and began to rise from the floor. Thyatis waved him back down.

"Shirin," she said, "my lord, the Emperor of the West, sent me into Persia to prepare the way for his army. Your husband and my nation are at war. I am beholden to do everything I can to help win this war for my lord. But..."—she paused—"I am not here to murder your husband."

"What will you do, then?" Shirin's voice was even, though Thyatis thought there was a tremor of fear or panic hiding behind it.

The Roman woman shrugged her shoulders at Jusuf. "He's the one who wanted to come see you."

Jusuf levered himself off of the floor and knelt by Shirin, holding her hand. "Little bug, I know you love the King of Kings, but the stories I've heard made me fear for you. I came here, and, yes, Thyatis, I came because of Shirin, not because of your mission, because I thought you might need help."

Shirin stared at her uncle and took her hand back. "My husband has not been well since Maria died." Her hand crept to her face, "He thinks that he is ugly now, scarred and disfigured by the fire."

Thyatis shook her head in puzzlement, saying: "I don't understand. What fire? Who was Maria?"

Jusuf sighed and sat back down. He looked up at Shirin, but she saw only her own fears.

"Maria was the first wife of Chrosoes," he began, "the daughter of the Emperor of the Eastern Empire, Maurice."

"A Roman!" Thyatis said slowly, remembering Galen's words in his tent at Tauris. "How..."

Jusuf glared at her and she shut up. "Please," he said, "let me tell the story. When Chrosoes was a very young man, younger than you, his father—the great king Hormazd—was murdered by one of his generals, Bahram. Chrosoes himself was set up as a puppet king for this warlord, but in time he escaped from Ctesiphon and fled into the north. He would have died in the wilderness, even with the help of his good friend, the Eastern lord Shahr-Baraz, but he had the good luck to stumble upon a camp of the Khazars.

"My brother was the leader of that band of men and took Chrosoes in. When he learned who the boy was, he decided that he would help him. Chrosoes and Baraz traveled with us for a winter and we took them, Sahul and I, to Constantinople. Sahul thought that Chrosoes would find safety in the court of Emperor Maurice.

"At first, we told no one who the Persian boy was, but Sahul gained a private audience with the Emperor's son, Prince Theodosius, and convinced him that with the Empire's aid, a grateful Chrosoes could be restored to the Persian throne. The Prince convinced his father, who became good friends with Chrosoes, and together, they overthrew Bahram."

Jusuf stopped and shook his head in sorrow. "That was a good time. We rode with Chrosoes and Sahul stood at his side when Bahram was killed in the battle outside of Dastagird. That was when Chrosoes met Shirin, in the tents of our people. The boy had already agreed to marry Maurice's daughter Maria to seal the peace between the two empires, but anyone could see that he loved Shirin from the moment he saw her."

The Princess's hand crept out of the covers and Jusuf took it in his own.

"And there
was
peace," he continued, "until Maurice and all of his children were murdered by the usurper Phocas. That turned Maria against the Empire, I think, to hear that her father and mother and all of her brothers and sisters had been hewn down and their heads paraded in the streets of the capital before cheering crowds. Even when Heraclius overthrew Phocas her mind did not change."

"It is true," Shirin said, her voice muffled by the quilts, "she urged my husband to war upon the Empire and restore the true Emperor to the throne. She had great influence over the King of Kings."

"True Emperor?" Thyatis was careful to seem puzzled.

"Her son, Kavadh-Siroes," Shirin said, "is the only remaining male descendant of Emperor Maurice." Thyatis' eyes widened.

"He has always held me first in his heart," Shirin mused, her voice sad, "but Maria bore him a son first and was very brave, coming with him to live in a foreign land like she did. She was a strong woman."

"What happened? A fire in the palace?"