‘I accept the charge, lord,’ said a partly drunk Surena.
‘Be silent,’ hissed Gallia.
‘Surena will raise more men from the Ma’adan,’ I said, ‘and the citizens of Uruk will accept their new rulers.’
‘They will?’ said Gallia, incredulously.
‘Of course. Chosroes and his sons are dead. His line is ended. Dura needs an ally on Uruk’s throne. So what say the both of you, will you accept? I promise that you will never stand alone.’
I could see that Gallia still had reservations, but Praxima was grinning with delight and Nergal was bursting with pride. They looked at each other and Praxima nodded at her husband.
Nergal looked at me. ‘We accept, Pacorus, you are a most generous friend.’
He and Praxima went to bed in high spirits that night. I told them to meet us the next morning in the throne room. Gallia was far from happy.
‘It is a ridiculous plan, hare-brained. You think the people of this city will accept Nergal and Praxima?’
‘Why not? They accepted Chosroes and all he brought them was war and misery.’
She was brushing her blonde locks near the gold inlaid wicker doors that led on to the balcony. Her beauty still took my breath away. We had taken one of the bedrooms near the quarters of the new king and queen.
She stopped her grooming and turned to look at me. ‘And what of Mithridates and Narses, do you think they will accept your little arrangement?’
I walked over to her and kissed her on the head. ‘No, but who will they send against me? Mithridates will not leave Ctesiphon and his doting mother and Narses will have to raise a large army before he dares to march against me. And to raise an army will take time.’
‘You have it all worked out, don’t you?’
I cupped her face in my hands. ‘Of course. But enough of politics. Let us talk of giving Claudia a brother or sister, if my queen is agreeable to the notion.’
She placed her hands on my hips and looked at me with her big blue eyes and her mood softened. ‘She is agreeable.’
It was truly a most wonderful end to a great day.
The morning came soon enough, and with it the sound of hobnailed sandals on the flagstones of the palace square. The voices of centurions barking orders and trumpet and horn blasts signalled that it was just another routine day in the life of Dura’s army. After a breakfast of fruit, honey, yoghurt, bread and water, Gallia and I went to the throne room where we found a nervous Nergal and Praxima. Gallia embraced her friend and I laid a hand on Nergal’s shoulder.
‘You are not going into battle, my friend.’
‘I wish I were,’ he said, his face slightly pale. ‘Are you sure about this, Pacorus?’
‘Quite sure. How many years have we fought together? Remember, you have Dura’s army behind you.’
And I made sure that the army’s strength was on show that day. The city walls were lined with legionaries and Nergal’s horse archers made a sweep through the Royal Orchard looking for any remnants of the garrison. They found a large group of them who promptly surrendered themselves in exchange for their lives. I asked Orodes to take the cataphracts attired in their scale armour to the White Temple to act as an escort for Rahim. I kept Surena and his Ma’adan out of the palace and thus out of the way of Gallia, but he approved of my plan to make Nergal king.
‘An excellent choice, majesty. Lord Nergal is a great warrior. Will he expel the population from the city?’
I was horrified. ‘Certainly not.’
‘They have oppressed my people for many years.’
‘That may be, but today is the beginning of a new era for Uruk,’ I said, ‘one in which Ma’adan and Mesenians will live in peace.’
‘Old wounds take time to heal, lord.’
‘But they do heal, Surena, eventually. So I will have no more talk of enmity between your people and the Mesenians.’
He remained sceptical but was nevertheless delighted that Chosroes, the murderer of his parents, was dead. And as the late king’s army had also been put to the sword I foresaw few difficulties in uniting the kingdom under Nergal. The only potential obstacle to the whole project was Rahim, who arrived mid-morning, escorted into the palace by Orodes and accompanied by a dozen other priests dressed in white robes. Also bald like him, they trailed a few steps behind him with their heads bowed. We waited for Rahim in the throne room, Nergal and Praxima sitting on the dais. Nergal sat on Chosroes’ old throne but we had to find another seat for Praxima, as the old king had not shared his power with any of his many wives. We fetched the most richly decorated chair we could find and draped it in a red cloth to give it a mask of authority. Praxima wore her white top under her mail tunic, leggings and boots, her trusty dagger at her hip. Her sword in its scabbard rested against her chair. Nergal wore Chosroes’ crown and kept touching it, more from nerves than anything else. I stood beside him on the dais on his right-hand side, while Gallia stood next to Praxima. Both women let their hair hang free, Gallia’s pure blonde, Praxima’s a fiery red. To me Praxima would always be the wild, fierce warrior who killed with relish on the battlefield with the Amazons when we had been in Italy, but looking at her today I could see that she was also a very striking woman. Not a beauty, perhaps, but proud, strong and uncompromising. She would make a fine queen for her king.
Nergal touched his crown again. ‘Don’t worry,’ I whispered, ‘it won’t fall off. It suits you, Nergal, it really does.’
Around the outside of the room legionaries lined the walls and Amazons in their helmets and clutching their bows were either side of the dais. Rahim may have been surrounded by a host of soldiers but he retained his haughty demeanour, standing proudly in front of the dais with his arms folded. His stance could have been interpreted as a sign of disrespect but I gave him the benefit of the doubt.
‘Welcome Rahim, I trust you and the people are well.’
‘They are well,’ sniffed Rahim, his eyes darting from me to Nergal and then Praxima.
I held out a hand towards Nergal. ‘Behold, King Nergal, ruler of this city, and his queen, Praxima.’
I thought I saw a flash of awe in Rahim’s eyes, but then it was gone as the priests behind him started whispering frantically among themselves. One walked forward and uttered some words into Rahim’s ear. The high priest nodded and then looked at Nergal and then Praxima. Then they turned their backs on us all and conferred together. Gallia looked across at me and frowned while Domitus looked bored. Nergal and Praxima both looked confused. Then Rahim and his priests stopped their chattering and went down on bended knees in front of Nergal. Rahim spoke, his voice echoing around the room.
‘Hail, holy one. Your coming was foretold many generations ago. We beg your forgiveness for doubting you. Please accept our humble apologies and our devotion.’
I was stunned. It was certainly more than I expected. I had hoped for Rahim’s acquiescence, a grudging acceptance would have sufficed. But this? I slapped Nergal on the shoulders, which earned me a glower from Rahim when he spotted it. No matter. Dobbai had been right; I must be beloved of the gods.
‘Get up, please, get up all of you,’ said a rather surprised Nergal.
Rahim and his priests rose and bowed their heads at Nergal and Praxima. A priest took two paces forward and whispered into Rahim’s ear once more.
Rahim nodded. ‘Excellent idea.’ He bowed his head to Nergal. ‘Would your highness and Queen Allatu care to visit the temple and inspect your people assembled there?’
Allatu? What nonsense was this? Praxima looked at Gallia, who shrugged.
‘Your idea is an excellent one, Rahim,’ I said.
He glowered at me again. ‘Only the king and queen may enter the temple itself.’
Nergal stood up, which caused Rahim and his priests to gasp in wonderment and once again go down on bended knee.