Anne Rice - Servant of the Bones

“And thank God these dead people all went away. Of course he and I were standing there, plainly visible, and attracting much attention, this noble Lord who made extravagant gestures to people nobody could see, and this rich Hebrew overladen with jewelry, standing there like his page, or companion or whatever.

“But the dead did fade. My heart sank. I remembered the ghost of Samuel when he had been called forth by the Witch of Endor for King Saul. He had said, ‘Why do you disturb my rest?’ Oh, but the woe of this rest. I didn’t want to be dead. I didn’t. I didn’t want to be dead. I reached out and clutched his hand. Marduk was of course stronger now, from having been seen for so long by so many. I don’t have to tell you the cosmology, it’s simple, he would grow stronger and stronger the more he appeared.

“I was confused, however, on every other score. For example. Why did he not let the priests bring him to life in gold and walk in gold, the god himself, about the city? Of course I’d never heard of any god doing that, but then I’d never met a god before Marduk. He read these thoughts for me. He still looked apprehensive.

“ ‘Azriel, first off the priests are not strong enough to make me solid and visible in gold. They cannot move the statue! They cannot make an image of me in gold as you can and then make it walk. They don’t have the power. They don’t have your gift. And even if they did, what would be my life? An endless New Year’s Festival, surrounded by worshipers? I’ve seen gods fall for this! And in the end they have nothing, they belong to everyone who can touch their garments or their skin or their hair, and they flee into the fog, finally, screaming like the confused dead. No, such a thing I would only do if Babylon needed it of me, and Babylon does not. But Babylon needs something and soon, and you know why.’

“ ‘Cyrus the Persian,’ I said. ‘He draws closer every day. He’ll sack Babylon. And…and…’ I said. ‘He will either slaughter my people with all the inhabitants or he will maybe let us stay.’

“Marduk put his arm around me and we walked bravely through the enormous crowd that had gathered to stare at us and our strange activities, and we went on into another great garden, one of my favorites where the musicians were always playing the harps. In fact, here the Hebrews played their music and the Hebrew men often gathered to dance. I hadn’t meant to come to my people directly, but as it turned out it didn’t matter. He said quite quickly,

“ ‘Azriel, I think we took the wrong turn.’

“ ‘Why, they won’t notice us any more than anyone else. They see me with a rich man. I’m a merchant. I’ll say I sold you your beautiful girdle of gold and these jewels.’

“He laughed at that, but he made us sit down together and we were once again whispering. ‘What do you know about the Persians!’ he asked me. ‘What do you know about the cities that Cyrus conquers! What do you know?’

“ ‘Well, I know the lies the Persians spread, that Cyrus brings peace and prosperity and leaves people alone, but I don’t believe it. He is a murdering King like any other. He is on the march like Assurbanipal. I don’t believe the Persians will peacefully accept the surrender of this city. Who would believe them? Do you?’

“I realized that he was no longer listening to me. He pointed ahead. ‘This is what I meant,’ he said, ‘when I said we took the wrong turn. But they would have found us anyway. Be calm. Say nothing. Give away nothing.’

“I saw what he saw, a great mass of the Hebrew elders storming towards us, clearing back the crowd and thickening it on all sides. And at the head of this crowd was the prophet Enoch in a fury with his white hair streaming in all directions, and he gazed on Marduk, and I knew he saw Marduk, whereas all those around him, uneasy and unsure, and not wanting to provoke a riot, only saw a Noble Man and their slightly crazy Azriel, whom they already knew to be a troublemaker of a mild, powerful, and obedient sort.

“Marduk looked the prophet in the eye! So did I. He came to a halt not far from us. He was half-naked, as prophets often are. He was covered with ashes and dirt and he carried a staff, and I knew for the first time since I had ever heard of him—he wasn’t a favorite of mine—that he was a real prophet because of the way he beheld Marduk with flaming indignation and violent faith.

“ ‘You!’ he declared, lifting his staff and pushing it at Marduk. The crowd fell back in fear. I mean, this figure did look like a rich man! But then the most terrible of all things happened. The prophet opened wide his eyes, and said, ‘Bring to yourself your loot, the gold that your soldiers took from our temple in Jerusalem, clothe yourself with it, you stupid, useless idol, go on, you were made to be metal!’

“And before I could think to act, the gold did come down upon Marduk and enclose him, but he resisted it, and I tried to banish it, and between us we made it a light covering only, and it did not have the deep vitality of the visions I had so long had. But the gold was all over Marduk, and the streets were filled with the sounds of running feet. I looked up at the distant houses that enclosed the garden, and the rooftops were thronged with onlookers.

“My father suddenly pushed his way to the fore, and threw his arm in front of Enoch. ‘You hurt us with this, don’t you see!’ he declared, and then he too saw Marduk standing there now dusted with gold, and Enoch hit my father with his staff.

“I was enraged, but my brothers surrounded the prophet, and Marduk took my arm. ‘Stay with me,’ he said imploringly in a soft whisper. ‘Am I all gold?’ I explained he was covered over with it, and it was getting thicker but he was not the moving idol that he had seemed to me at first. He merely smiled and he looked up at the people on the rooftops and turned round and round, and people began to scream.

“ ‘Silence,’ shouted Enoch, stamping the bricks with his staff, his beard shuddering. You should have seen him. He was in his glory. I tell you, prophets are murderous, a murderous breed. ‘You, Marduk, God of Babylon, are nothing but an impostor sent out from the temple!’ he roared.

“Marduk laughed under his breath. ‘Well, he’s giving us a way out, Azriel, what a relief!’

“ ‘Do you want them to believe in you, my Lord? All you need to do is vanish and reappear. I’ll help you.’

“He gave me a devastating look.

“ ‘I know,’ I said, ‘I disappoint you. You don’t want to be the god.’

“ ‘Who in the hell would want it, Azriel? No, I shouldn’t say that. Let me say, who would give up life for it? But there’s no time. Your prophet here before us is about to bellow like a bull.’

“And Enoch did just that. He raised his powerful voice, though how such a thunder could come from such a scrawny rib cage, it’s hard to imagine, and he declared:

“ ‘Babylon, your time is come. You will be humbled. Even as we speak, the anointed one comes, Cyrus the Persian, the scourge whom the Lord God Yahweh has sent to punish you for what you have done to his Chosen people and to lead us back to our own land!’

“Roars came from the Hebrews, roars and prayers and chants and bowing and bowing to the Lord God of Hosts, and the Babylonians looked on in amazement, some of them even laughing, and then Enoch made his prophecy again:

“ ‘Yahweh sends a saviour in the person of Cyrus to save this city…aye, even you Babylon, you yourself will be delivered out of the hands of mad Nabonidus into the hands of a liberator.’

“There was a beat of silence. Only a beat. And then the roar rose from all—Hebrew, Babylonian, Greek, Persian. The whole crowd cried up for joy. ‘Yes, yes, the anointed one, Cyrus the Persian, may he liberate us from a mad king who has left the city.’