Parthian Vengeance (35 page)

Axsen then disappeared behind the curtain with Nabu and there paid homage to the god. When she reappeared she was escorted to a gold throne on a dais covered with purple cloth that had been erected in the temple for the ceremony. Nabu stood on her right side and Afrand on her left as two priests carrying felt cushions approached her, a gold sceptre laid on one, the crown of Babylon on the other. The temple was filled with the smell of burning frankincense as Nabu took the gold crown and placed it on Axsen’s head.

His words echoed round the room. ‘Before Marduk, thy god, may thy priesthood and the priesthood of thy sons be favoured.’

Afrand took the gold sceptre and handed it to Axsen.

Nabu’s voice boomed once more. ‘With thy straight sceptre make thy land wide. May Marduk grant thee quick satisfaction, justice and peace.’

Thus did Axsen become queen of the Kingdom of Babylon. As the assembled dignitaries paid homage to her, including Gallia and I, the priests burned more frankincense. I smiled to myself. This precious incense was extracted from the bark of trees that grew on the coast of Arabia. It was collected by Haytham’s people who sold it to the Egyptians and Romans and even the Parthians, the merchants in Dura doing a brisk trade with the supposed enemies of the empire to acquire the precious incense.

When Axsen had received oaths of loyalty from all her nobles she was escorted outside by Mardonius to witness the grand military parade. First came her own royal bodyguard in their dragon-skin armour, followed by a thousand mounted spearmen with shields and five times that number of horse archers. Then came my father’s royal bodyguard led by Vistaspa with Hatra’s banner flying behind him, followed by my own heavy cavalry looking resplendent in their scale armour, steel arm and leg protection and full-face helmets. Vagharsh carried my banner and griffin pennants flew from every
kontus
. Five hundred of Nergal’s horse archers brought up the rear of the column.

As the horsemen who had ridden into the city via the Ishtar Gate and down the Processional Way left Babylon through the Marduk Gate, slaves brought our horses and we journeyed back to the palace to attend the feast that was attended by four thousand people.

Two days later representatives from other kingdoms in the empire appeared at the palace to pay their respects to Axsen, nobles from Media, Atropaiene, Hyrcania and Margiana. No one came from Persis or the other eastern kingdoms in the empire, though an invitation for Axsen to attend Mithridates at Ctesiphon did arrive. The queen wrote back accepting the invitation when her present onerous difficulties had been attended to.

‘You should have asked him to return to us all the Babylonians he took back to Ctesiphon as slaves after his recent visit,’ remarked Mardonius dryly.

With the evacuation of Babylonian territory by Narses’ army the task of rebuilding those areas laid waste by his army began. This involved Axsen receiving a seemingly never-ending stream of nobles and village headmen begging for aid from the royal treasury. I attended one such meeting a week after the queen’s coronation, the throne room crammed full of petitioners, guards and city officials. The intimidating figure of Nabu stood on the left side of the queen on the dais and Mardonius on the right.

The day was hot, airless and the crowded room was stuffy and began to reek of human sweat. Gallia and Praxima had taken themselves off to see a woman who lived in the south of the city who could apparently levitate off the ground from a cross-legged position. My father had already taken his leave of Axsen and was taking his men back to Hatra, a letter from Vata increasing the frown lines on his face with news of yet more Armenian incursions.

Orodes, ever the diplomat, had taken a keen interest in the affairs of Babylon and a delighted Axsen had invited him to act as an adviser with her high priest and Mardonius, and now he stood to the side of the old general listening earnestly as a headman implored the queen to send engineers to assist in the rebuilding of his village’s irrigation system.

So there I was standing like a fisherman in a boat without a net, as Axsen took the burden of kingship on her shoulders. I was daydreaming when I heard someone cough behind me. Turning, I saw a young woman in a low-cut white dress standing before me. Tall and shapely, she wore delicate white slippers on her feet and her shoulders were bare. Her skin was dark brown like her eyes and her complexion was flawless. She was certainly a beauty, the wife of a prominent noble no doubt, judging by the expensive perfume she was wearing.

‘Forgive me, highness, I have a message for you.’

‘A message?’

She smiled, her teeth white and perfect. ‘Yes, highness. I am one of the priestesses at the Temple of Ishtar and I bring a request for you to go to the temple.’

I was confused but also curious. ‘Who makes this request of me?’

‘A lady, highness, who asked that you come to the temple today to meet her.’

It was all very mysterious but as I had nothing better to do and was bored to distraction by what was happening in the throne room, I agreed to her request. I made my excuses to Axsen and Orodes, who appeared absorbed in it all, and left the throne room with my attractive messenger.

She accompanied me as I walked to the stables to collect Remus, smiling at me when I caught her eye, her steps delicate and silent beside me, almost as if she was gliding over the ground. The stables were like those in Hatra – large, luxurious and well staffed. A small army of stable hands tended to the horses’ every need, each animal having a separate stable boy to feed him, groom him, muck out his stall and saddle him, in addition to the farriers and veterinaries who tended to their wellbeing. It was a far cry from the austere stables at Dura, not that the horses there were any less cared for, just not as indulged as they were at Babylon.

I arrived at Remus’ stall and told the young men in purple livery standing around that I would be taking him out, and then was met by incredulous stares when I informed them that I would saddle him myself. They gave my escort guide lecherous glances as I dismissed them, leaving me alone with her.

The priestess stood at the entrance to the stall as I went through the routine that I had learnt as a small boy. First I brushed Remus’ back to remove any dirt or grit that may cause chaffing under the saddle.

‘How long have you been a priestess at the temple?’ I asked, brushing him from his neck towards his hindquarters so all the hairs laid flat.

‘Since the goddess spoke to me as a small child, highness.’

I inspected him to ensure there were no sores or wounds on his body.

I walked past her to fetch the saddlecloth lying on the bench opposite the stall, under my saddle hanging on the wall. Strangely the other stalls were empty of horses and this particular stable block was also deserted of people. It was suddenly very quiet and very still. As I passed her I inadvertently stared at her breasts.

I threw the saddlecloth on Remus’ back, positioning it forward over his withers and sliding it back so that his hair lay flat beneath it, running my hand over the white material, a red griffin stitched in each corner.

‘My body pleases you, highness?’ she purred.

I could feel my cheeks flush at her words as I took the saddle from the wall and placed it gently on my horse’s back, slightly forward and then settling it back.

‘What? My apologies, I did not mean…’

She laughed. ‘There is no need to apologise, highness. Ishtar is the goddess of love as well as war and fertility. Her servants aspire to possess her qualities.’

I checked that there were no wrinkles beneath the saddlecloth and then grabbed the free end of the girth.

‘What qualities are those?’ I asked, tightening the girth gently to leave enough space to be able to slide my fingers between it and Remus’ body.

She moved closer to me, the alluring smell of her perfume filling my nostrils.

‘Ishtar is the perfect woman, highness, tempting and sensual, a seductive and voluptuous beauty.’ She breathed in and her breasts rose. The stall suddenly seemed very small.

She smiled as I brushed past her to fetch the bridle that had been placed on hooks beside the saddle. She stroked Remus’ neck.

‘Your horse is a most beautiful beast, highness.’

He moved his tail casually and adopted a relaxed stance to indicate that he was very content. I smiled as I put my right hand under his jaw and held the bit with my left, pressing it gently into his mouth and up over his tongue.

‘Yes, he and I have been together a long time.’

With the bit in his mouth I gently slid the bridle’s headpieces over his ears, then pulled the forelock over the brow band.

She continued stroking him, fixing me with her brown, oval eyes as she did so.

‘He was sent to you, highness, so that you would not lose your way.’

I stood in front of him and ensured that the bit, noseband and brow band were level and without twists.

‘No, I found him in a town called Nola in a land a great distance from Babylon.’

She stopped stroking him and smiled at me once more. ‘No, highness, he found you.’

I fastened the throatash and then the noseband, running two fingers between it and Remus’ nose.

She moved closer to me until her face was inches from mine, her full lips parting invitingly. She placed her hands on my hips.

‘I will give myself freely if you desire it, highness.’

As my loins stirred with lust she moved one hand to behind my neck and caressed my groin with the other. She smiled.

‘Your body says yes, highness.’

She moved her lips closer to mine and it was with god-like will that I suppressed my lust for her.

‘My body may say yes but my marriage vows say no,’ I replied, gently pushing her away.

‘I am here to serve you in all things,’ she persisted.

I backed away from her and held up my hands. ‘You are most generous but showing me the way to the temple will suffice. We will have to find you a horse so that we may ride to the temple together for I do not know the way.’

I walked round the other side of Remus so temptation was out of view.

‘He will lead you there, highness.’

I only half-heard her words as I checked that there was a width of two fingers between the brow band of the bridle and Remus’ brow.

‘All done,’ I announced. ‘Now, let’s get you a horse and then we can ride to the temple together.’

I turned to discover that she no longer stood behind me. I walked out of the stall and looked up and down the corridor. She was nowhere to be seen. I led Remus from his stall outside into the expansive courtyard. An elderly stable hand came towards me carrying a bucket and spade, bowing his head to me.

‘Did you see a young woman leaving these stables, she was very beautiful and wearing a white dress?’

He shook his head. ‘No, majesty.’

He called to one of his companions nearby on the paved courtyard, who also reported not having seen the priestess. I vaulted into the saddle.

‘A striking young woman cannot just disappear into thin air.’

‘Do you wish for me to fetch the captain of the guards, majesty?’ he said.

‘No, carry on with your duties.’

He bowed his head and continued on his way, leaving me none the wiser.

‘Well,’ I said to Remus, ‘I had better find a guide to take me to the temple so that I can resolve this little mystery.’

Without prompting Remus began to walk forward purposely, across the courtyard and out of the palace compound. He ambled past the guards at the gates and swung left to take us north up the Processional Way.

‘You seem to know the way,’ I said to him and sat back to enjoy the ride.

He took me to the northeast quarter of the city, along an unpaved road at right angles to the Processional Way. Away from the royal thoroughfares citizens threw their garbage and filth onto the streets, which was then covered up with layers of clay. I thus rode along a street that was significantly higher than when it had originally been constructed.

I came at last to the Temple of Ishtar, which was surrounded by a high wall built of mud-bricks. Guards stood at the entrance to the temple complex to keep the throng of worshippers at bay, spearmen dressed all in white with wicker shields painted gold. As soon as they saw me one called inside the tunnel entrance to the temple and a score of other guards appeared and roughly pushed aside the worshippers with their spear shafts to make a passage for me. Remus was unconcerned by the assembly of well-dressed dignitaries, half-naked mystics, poor people, cripples and visitors from other lands dressed in exotic robes who protested and wailed as they were shoved aside to give me access. We passed through the tunnel in the thick perimeter wall and past two guardrooms that flanked its other end to exit into a rectangular courtyard surrounded by stables, barracks and other accommodation. In fact it looked more like a palace than a temple.

‘I told you he would find his way here, highness.’

I looked down to see the beautiful priestess who had tried to seduce me in the stables standing on my right side. She smiled at me.

‘Shall I take him? The high priestess awaits.’

I was going to ask how she got here before me but then I saw Afrand coming towards me, like her other priestesses dressed in a low-cut white dress, white slippers on her feet and a gold diadem in her hair. I dismounted and my beautiful messenger led Remus to the stables. Guards ushered worshippers from the temple grounds. One man, obviously of some importance judging by the amount of gold on his fingers and round his neck, and the richness of his accompanying wife’s apparel, was protesting loudly.

‘Do you know who I am? I will tell you. I am the governor of Sippar and a member of the royal council. I have paid handsomely to enter the temple and object strongly to being treated in this way.’

His wife was making noises like the shrieks of a crow as they were unceremoniously ushered from the courtyard.

‘How small are the minds of men,’ remarked Afrand as she watched them go. She bowed her head to me.

‘Welcome, King Pacorus, you honour us with your presence.’