Mary Reed - Eight for Eternity

“It will be more convenient. I will only need a couple of servants, and neither of them will be slaves either.”

“It’s fortunate you were able to give the emperor an explanation of the matter of the missing Blue and Green, otherwise you would be residing in a very small house indeed.”

“A tomb, you mean?”

“Indeed. As for myself, I’m happy just to be back in the excubitors’ barracks. Though I am sorry Gallio was relieved of his head as well as his command. He was nothing worse than a coward, in my opinion.”

“Most of the court is grumbling Justinian didn’t carry out more executions alongside those of Hypatius and Pompeius.” John’s gaze was caught by a shaft of light falling from the compluvium, past the marble Aphrodite in the atrium’s fountain. The light sparkled on the water in the basin. “It’s rumored their bodies were thrown into the sea. The first time I saw Pompeius he was sitting in the basin there, soaking wet, and now….”

He broke off, scanned the atrium a last time, and turned away. It made him shudder to think of the dead men who had been his guests floating in the lightless depths.

Felix followed him into the corridor. “I hear Narses took great delight in pointing out how much time you had spent investigating the death of your friend Haik instead of carrying out Justinian’s orders. I suppose he was angry enough to spit lamp oil when you were elevated to Lord Chamberlain.”

“Narses had a right to be angry. His efforts bribing the factions probably influenced events more than anything I did.”

“The emperor is as unpredictable as Fortuna. But at least the city is returning to normal. It wasn’t just poor Hippolytus who went mad. The whole capital did. A colleague was telling me about the strange sights he saw during the riots. There was one fellow who was gathering up tesserae. Scrabbling around in the street after bits of glass with all the gold and silver there was for the taking!”

“Bits of glass can be turned into mosaics depicting stories more precious than any silver goblet. The bits and pieces gathered during an investigation may not seem valuable, but when assembled into a solution, that’s a different matter.”

“Your mind is still on your investigations, isn’t it?”

John peered through the open door of a deserted room as they passed. It was as bare as the rest of the house. “When you mentioned Haik I couldn’t help thinking that although I was obligated to look into his murder since he was an old comrade in arms and brother in Mithra, as it turned out he posed the most serious threat to the emperor.”

“Because of the document he brought with him, by which Justin was to adopt Chosroes?”

“Exactly.”

“Do you suppose he was entrusted with the document to help overthrow Justinian? If so, by whom? Was he working with the Persian emissary, Bozorgmehr? Or did he come by it some other way?”

“I’d like to think that Haik came by it quite by accident and decided it might be sold for a good sum in the capital. When he told me he was here on business, he was telling me the truth.”

“But even if that’s the case, why would anyone buy it, except for political reasons? He must have seen the implications.”

“Again, I am pleading on behalf of a friend, but it may be he thought he could sell it to someone who would buy the document to make sure it was destroyed. We’ll never know that or establish where it’s gone. My belief is someone had a good reason to destroy it and did. But before that, talk of the document, by its very existence, probably helped set off the riots.”

“That’s a startling assertion.”

“And like almost everything else about this whole affair, one that can’t be proved now that most of those involved are dead. But my speculation is Hippolytus started the trouble for which he was hung after he overheard Haik talking to Porphyrius about the attempted adoption. He might have decided the time was ripe to depose Justinian, having realized that Julianna’s father would be the most likely successor to the throne.”

“Being married to the emperor’s daughter would be a good job and Julianna was certainly interested in him,” Felix said.

“Haik and Porphyrius gave me conflicting accounts of why Haik went to the Hippodrome to see him, but Haik said they were interrupted by a visitor whom Porphyrius identified as Hippolytus. I am guessing Hippolytus lingered outside Porphyrius’ office long enough to learn what was going on before making his presence known.”

“Then do you think the hangings were deliberately botched?”

“No. The preparations were rushed, the executioner was nervous because of the mood of the spectators.”

“You told me Hippolytus killed the Blue after they were taken to Saint Laurentius, and then escaped. Was that, at least, part of a plot?”

“Not one against the emperor. Hippolytus was deranged from having been nearly strangled to death during his hanging. I imagine he hardly knew what he was doing. He wasn’t capable of reasoning. He saw a Blue. An enemy. So he killed him.”

“But if he was so impaired how did he escape?”

“Julianna freed him.”

They had come to the dining room where Hypatius and Pompeius had spent most of their time. Sunlight poured in from the garden through the gap left by the half opened screen.

Felix shook his head. “You amaze me, John. I can’t see how it’s possible.”

“Sebastian couldn’t see either. When I arrived at the church, he ran his fingers over the seal on my orders instead of actually reading them. He told me of a young man who had arrived earlier with orders the prisoners were to be taken to the palace. He too had an imperial seal.”

John paused to collect his thoughts. “Now what if this young man was Julianna? Let us suppose it was. Then it seems likely the alleged order she brought with her was in fact a piece of parchment carrying one of Anastasius’ seals. Being relatives of his, the family doubtless have seals on a number of such documents, one of which would seem genuine enough.”

Felix looked dubious. “That’s a big leap, John.”

“Not when you consider I myself saw Hippolytus possessed one of Anastasius’ seals when he died. Julianna is the only person who could have given it to him. He was in a dangerous predicament. Perhaps she thought it might be of use.”

“Even so, I can’t see how you connect Julianna with this mysterious young man,” Felix replied.

“Hypatius told me he suspected that she left the house in secret to visit Hippolytus or to see the races at the Hippodrome.” John stepped into the garden and gestured toward the opposite side. “I caught her coming in across the roof over there. Probably she had been out searching for Hippolytus. Porphyrius mentioned Hippolytus showing one of the faction’s horses to a callow-faced fellow, whom Hippolytus claimed was his younger brother. Yet despite an invitation from the great Porphyrius to meet him and his evident interest in racing, the boy did not reappear. Then one of the other charioteers remarked women were known to see the races disguised in male clothing, and some would visit the Hippodrome’s substructure to see charioteers they admired.”

“So you think Julianna was both the alleged younger brother and the young man with the seal? I suppose it’s possible.” Felix frowned. “But it’s a distinct possibility Sebastian will be in complete darkness now after the torturers’ needles have done their work, and that’s assuming he’s still breathing.”

“Sebastian’s been released.”

“Released?”

“The emperor told me he was demonstrating Christian mercy. Besides, he reasoned that it was Prefect Eudaemon who was at fault for giving a practically blind commander such an important task. What’s more startling is that Sebastian’s got his eyesight back. According to that loose-tongued physician Rusticus, the old commander suffered from cataracts. Purely by accident Justinian’s torturers treated them to the traditional cure when they inserted needles into his eyes.”