"Surely there was vanity in my words, but no one seemed to think so. Or if they did they forgave it. The Elders rose, they had their Proclamation in their hands. All were satisfied. It was done. Cyrus the Persian was the Messiah.

" 'Tomorrow morning, the trumpets sound,' said the High Priest. 'It will be announced that Marduk has brought Cyrus to liberate us from Nabonidus! The Processional Way is already being prepared. By the time the sun is high everyone will be in the street. The boat waits in the river to take us to the garden house where you will slay the dragon Tiamat, and that, by the way, will be nothing to you. We will return the following day, with you. We will hold you, and do all we can to ease your pain.'

" 'On the third morning, in the Courtyard, you must have life enough in you to rise and to put the crown on the head of Cyrus. That is all. After that, you may stand, held straight by the gold that kills you, warmed by it, numbed by it, and you may die in it. All the rest, the reading of the poems, the Destinies, all you need do is keep your eyes fixed and open.'

" 'And if I don't make the three days?'

" 'You will. The others always did. It is after that we may have to ease your death with a little more of the gold perhaps, in your mouth.

But it will be painless.'

" 'I'm sure,' I said. 'Do you know how I despise you?' " 'I do not care,' said the High Priest. 'You're a Hebrew. You never loved me. You never loved our god.'

" 'Oh, but he does!' said Asenath, 'that is the pity! But don't fear, Azriel, your sacrifice is so great for Israel that the Lord God of Hosts will forgive you, and your flame will be joined in death with the great fire that He is.'

" 'I vow it,' said Enoch.

"I laughed contemptuously. I looked up, meaning only to look away in disdain, but I could see now that the room was thick with spirits. Like smoke they hovered all around, ghosts. I didn't know what they were or had been, their clothes were gone to such simplicity. Nothing remained except a tunic here or a robe there, sometimes there was not even a real form, only a face looking at me.

" 'What is it, son?' asked Cyrus kindly.

" 'Nothing. Only I see the lost souls and I hope that I do find rest in the fire of my god. But . . . it's foolish to even think of it.'

" 'Leave us now, all of you, leave the boy with us,' said Remath. 'We must groom him and dress him to be the finest Marduk who has ever been carried down the Processional Way, and you, old woman, will keep your promise, and tell us how to mix the gold and how to put the gold on him, on his skin, his hair, his clothes.'

" 'Go on, Father,' I said. 'But do let me see you tomorrow. Know that I love you. Know that I forgive you. Make of us a powerful house, Father, make of us a powerful nation.' I bent over and kissed him hard on the mouth and on both cheeks and then I looked to King Cyrus.

"After all, he had not dismissed me. But my father left, and the Priests took out old Nabonidus, who had in fact fallen asleep, and the miserable mumbling Belshazzar, who was drunk and confused and seemed ready at any moment to be murdered. I didn't care what happened to either of them. I listened to my father's steps until I couldn't hear them anymore.

"Enoch went out with the Elders, making some big fine speech then, of which I don't remember a single word, except that it sounded like a bad imitation of Samuel.

"Cyrus stared at me. His eyes spoke, they spoke respect, they spoke forgiveness for my rudeness, my lack of servility, my lack of courtesy.

" 'There are worse ways to die!' said the High Priest. 'You will be surrounded by those who worship you; as your vision dims you will see rose petals fall before you, you will see a king kneel at your feet.'

" 'We need to take him now,' said Remath.

"Cyrus beckoned for me to come to him. I stood up, went round the table and bent down to receive his embrace, and he rose with me, embracing me man to man. 'Hold my hand for those three days, my son, hold steady, and I promise you, Israel will live under me forever in peace, as long as there is Cyrus and Persia, and Yahweh will have his temple. You are braver than I am, son, and I consider myself the bravest man in the world, you know. But you are braver. Now go, and tomorrow we will begin our journey together. You have my love, you have my unbounded love, the love of a King who was a King before he came to you and will be a greater King because of you.'

" 'Thank you, My Lord,' I said. 'Be good to my people. I am a poor spokesman for my God, but he is powerful.'

" 'I honor him,' said Cyrus, 'and all the beliefs and all the gods of those I take under my protection. Good night, child. Good night.'

"He turned and his soldiers closed in around him and he walked very straight and calm out of the chamber. No one remained now but me and the priests and Asenath.

"I looked about. The dead had faded. But Marduk had come back and watched with folded arms. Marduk had sent them scurrying perhaps.

" 'Parting words for me?' I said.

" 'I'll be with you,' he said. 'I shall use all my power to be with you and ease your pain and help you. As I told you, I remember nothing of any such procession, or birth, or death. And maybe when your flame has gone into the great fire of your god, I will be here still for Babylon. If you love your people so much, maybe I can love my people a little more.'

" 'Oh, you needn't doubt him, he's a fine demon,' said Asenath.

"Marduk glared at her and disappeared.

"The old priest raised his hand as if he would strike her, and she laughed in his face.

" 'You can't do this without me, you fool,' she said. 'And you had better write down everything I tell you. You're a laugh, all of you, you pious priests of Marduk. It's a wonder any of you can even read the prayers!'

Remath came up to her.

" 'Remember your promise to me,' said Remath under his breath.

" 'In time, in the right time,' said Asenath, 'the Father has the tablet hidden where you will never find it, and when the three days are concluded, when the army has entered through all gates, and when the Hebrews are on the march, I will see that you have its contents.'

" 'What is this other tablet you speak of?' I asked. 'What part does it play?' Of course I knew where it was, where my father had hidden it in our house.

" 'A prayer for your soul, son,' she said, 'that you may see god, and of course you know I'm lying to you.' She shook her head. The mirth went out of her, even the hate. 'It's an old charm. You can choose then. You'll be dying. It's nothing to worry you now. Just a charm, such as the ancients believed, that's all, nothing else. The rest that we do here is medicine, not magic.'

"They led me through the palace and now we broke another ancient seal and entered together a large chamber. Servants moved swiftly past us to place the tables and the lamps. I saw a great cauldron brought in. I saw a brazier for fire that would lie on the floor beneath the cauldron. I felt for the first time total fear. Fear of pain and hurt and burning.




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