“That was my personal gift to you, excellency,” Dedi replied with another bow. He favored the royal couple with a crooked-toothed smile.
“Then now let us see this artifact of which we have heard so much,” Theodora said firmly. “We trust we will not be disappointed.”
“No true believer will be disappointed,” Dedi replied. “First, however, we must take precautions, for there are wonders that would blind if seen in the light.”
As he spoke attendants began dousing lamps until there remained lit only those suspended from the ceiling. In the smoky haze they glowed dimly, tiny suns glimpsed through fog.
The excubitors stationed near the emperor and empress moved closer, wary of the increased darkness. Felix peered around, alert for trouble.
Two servants hauled a crate to the foot of the throne.
Justinian gestured in Crispin’s direction. “Come forward now and tell us what we are about to witness.”
The bishop made his way with obvious reluctance to Dedi’s side. He looked down at the closed crate with an uncertain expression.
When he spoke his voice trembled, as if with some powerful emotion. “Caesar, my followers and I are blessed to present to you, heaven’s representative on earth, the brazen serpent Moses raised up in the wilderness. Nehushtan!”
With a flourish Dedi slid aside the top of the crate, reached inside, and pulled out a shadowy form.
Fitful light glimmered on loose coils and caught an eye in a withered human visage.
Gasps of awe and terror erupted from the audience.
They fell quickly silent as it became apparent that what the magician held was a stout stick around which coiled a somnolent snake fitted with a blatantly counterfeit human head.
Bishop Crispin turned pale as a few muffled oaths of a decidedly unecclesiastical nature were heard.
Dedi moved the stick back and forth, imparting a semblance of life to the comatose reptile. He grasped the snake under its false head and made it bow to the imperial couple.
Justinian roared with laughter before glancing at Theodora. “We haven’t seen anything so entertaining since that dwarf mime of yours disappeared!”
Theodora rose from her seat. “Who is responsible for this insult?” Her venomous gaze fell on Hektor.
The former court page turned toward Justinian. “Caesar, as you can see, the information I gave you was accurate. There was indeed a threat from Egypt, only it has come to nothing. This Nehushtan is of no use to anyone.”
Justinian, still seated, glanced briefly at Theodora. Then his gaze passed over Hektor as if he were not there and came to rest, instead, on Felix.
“Captain. Execute Hektor immediately.”
Epilogue
“I only wish I could have handed my sword to you, John. Not that I minded putting an end to the villain myself.”
Felix took another sip of wine and stared thoughtfully at the wall mosaic in John’s study. “The strangest thing was when I returned to the reception hall after escorting Hektor to the dungeons for execution as ordered. Bishop Crispin kept muttering something about how it was turning out to be true, that Hektor wouldn’t die on the street. What do you suppose he meant?”
John shook his head. “Who can say? Now we know that Hektor alerted Justinian to the plot, which is probably why the emperor gave me so little information. I suspect Hektor didn’t tell him everything he knew.”
“Hektor was trying to wager on both teams at the same time,” said Felix. “I know what I would’ve laid a coin or two on, and that’s that when a scapegoat was needed it wasn’t going to be Theodora’s prize bishop.”
Anatolius spoke up. “I almost feel sorry for Crispin. I’m not sure he believed me when I told him my associates had Nehushtan. However, since I obviously knew about the plot and he was ordered to the audience with Justinian, he had little choice but to go along and hope for the best. He couldn’t have expected anything as ludicrous as that snake on a stick. I wish I had as much hair.” He ruefully patted his scalp, now covered with short, dark fuzz.
“Dedi’s snake oracle appears much more convincing presented in front of an ancient temple ruin in the middle of the Egyptian night,” John observed.
“I’ll have to take your word for it,” Anatolius replied. “Dedi will doubtless boast to the end of his days of his great success performing for the emperor and empress.”
“No doubt he saw it as the opportunity of a lifetime. As indeed it was, particularly since he escaped with his life. Francio’s guests will enjoy his act.”
Anatolius’ gaze went to the window. “See how the sky is purpling, John. We should leave soon or we’ll be late. Francio’s been planning this recreation of Trimalchio’s feast for some time, and I don’t want to miss any of it.”
“Just as well Francio hasn’t set eyes on Cheops,” said Thomas. “I’m afraid he might have been tempted to add ancient feline to the menu.”
Laughter from down the hallway mingled the voices of Europa and Hypatia, now back in residence, with the deeper tones of Peter.
“Whatever is going on in the kitchen?” Felix wondered. “It sounds as if Peter is declaiming something of great import.”
“I believe he’s entertaining the ladies with a magick trick he learned on the boat back,” said John. “For the purpose of entertainment only, of course.”
Thomas laughed. “It’s the leaping coin illusion. Dedi showed him how to do it, as Peter wanted to amaze Hypatia when he returned. It’s quite easy. All you need is a coin with a tiny hole drilled at the edge and a length of black hair or finely woven thread tied through it. A quick twist of the wrist and you can flip it out of a bowl as if by magick. It works wonderfully well, especially in dim light. In fact, I’m going to astonish Isis with it, assuming she’ll allow me to return to her employ after such a long and unexplained absence.”
Anatolius remarked that Peter sometimes surprised him.
“I expect Peter will chatter for months about our trip,” John said. “On the boat back, he observed to me that right from the time we disembarked for Mehenopolis he realized Porphyrios was not what he could call reliable. He said he’d reached this conclusion because despite the supposed charioteer’s statement about dogs running while they drank from the Nile for fear of being dragged in by crocodiles, a dog was standing quite calmly on the bank drinking from the river near where we landed!”
They went down to the atrium. Anatolius paused at the house door. “One thing more that I don’t understand. Felix, at times it appeared to me as if you really thought John had murdered the senator.”
Looking embarrassed, Felix tugged at his beard. “Yes, I could see you were puzzled. John indicated there was more to his exile than it seemed, but he was not very clear.” He scowled briefly at John. “Officially he was being blamed for the murder. I wasn’t certain how much to reveal of what I intended to do if we could not find evidence to clear him.”
Anatolius gave the excubitor captain a questioning look.
“If we could not clear John’s name-and Justinian would not-if John died for a crime he did not commit, I was prepared to take the first opportunity I had to kill Justinian. It would have been a dishonorable act to murder a man I am sworn to protect, but I knew John was innocent and as brothers in Mithra…”
“But John is so valuable to Justinian…” Anatolius argued.
John observed that many valuable subjects had been executed for lesser sins than supposedly murdering a senator.
“That’s true,” Thomas said. “I’d have expected Justinian to have Dedi dispatched on the spot for trying to foist that snake oracle off on him after all that talk about an astounding relic.”
John chuckled. “I suspect Justinian realized Dedi’s act could be used to discredit his religious opponents. Besides, the Christians’ holy book claims Nehushtan was destroyed, and Justinian certainly wouldn’t have welcomed proof the sacred writings were fallible.”