The three men made their way to the community's temple, where there was already a group of families talking amicably among themselves-country people and small artisans who had converted to faith in Jesus. Timaeus introduced them, one by one, to Izaz and Obodas and then asked the two young men to recount their flight from Edessa.
Timidly at first, Izaz began to relate the news of Edessa and to reply to the questions asked him by members of the community. When he finished speaking, Timaeus invited the group to pray to Jesus to help their brothers and sisters in Edessa. And so they all prayed and sang and shared among themselves the bread and wine that Alaida had brought.
John's skin was dark olive and his beard was black, as black as his hair; he was neither tall nor short. He had arrived late, in the company of Harran and several men from the caravan, bearing heavy sacks. Timaeus instructed them to bring them to his house.
"My lord Senin," Harran said to them there, "wishes to present you with these gifts, which will aid you in your support of Izaz, Josar's nephew, and his guardian, Obodas. He also bids me give you this bag of gold, which will be useful to you in times of hardship."
Izaz looked on in astonishment at the presentation of so many things. Senin was very, very generous; before Izaz had left Edessa Senin had given him, too, a bag of gold, enough to live comfortably for the rest of his life.
"Thank you, Harran, my good friend," Timaeus said, his voice filled with emotion as he grasped the caravan leader's hands. "I pray that you return to find Senin as you left him and that the wrath of Maanu has not fallen upon him. Tell your lord that these presents, like those you brought me from the queen several months ago, shall be dedicated to help the poor, as Jesus taught us, and to secure the well-being of our small community. Since you will not be leaving Sidon to return to Edessa for several more days, I will have time to write Senin myself."
Nightmares plagued Izaz's sleep. In his dream, he saw faces consumed by fire, a field running with blood. When he awoke, just at dawn, he was covered with sweat, the sweat of fear.
He stepped outside the house to the water basin next to the garden, and he found Timaeus there, cutting back a lemon tree. Timaeus bade him go for a walk with him, down to the seaside, to enjoy the coolness of the morning.
"Will Obodas not be alarmed when he awakes?"
"I will ask John to watch, so that when your guardian awakes he can tell him where we have gone."
After he had given the instructions to his grandson, who had already risen and was preparing to work in the garden he shared with his grandfather, Timaeus led Izaz down to the water.
The Mare Nostrum, as the Romans called it, was angry that morning. Waves beat against the pebbles of the shoreline and washed the sand from the beach. It was the first time Izaz had seen that immensity of water, which seemed to him a miracle, and he watched its turmoil in awe. There, on the shore of that ancient sea, Timaeus told Josar's nephew of the plan he had devised.
"Izaz, it is God's will that you and I be repositories of a great secret-the place where the shroud of His son, who has performed so many miracles, is hidden. The place to which Marcius entrusted it should remain a secret with us for as long as needed, never to be revealed before Edessa is once again Christian and we are certain that the shroud is in no danger. You and I may never see that day, so when I die you must choose a man to keep the secret and transmit it in his turn to another, and so on until no cloud darkens the presence of Christians in Edessa. If Senin survives, he will send us word from time to time of all that is happening in the kingdom. But in any case, I shall keep the promise I made to Thaddeus, your uncle Josar, and the queen when they sent me missives explaining what the future would hold when Abgar died. They bade me, come what might, to see that the seeds planted by the Christ not die in Edessa and that, should the worst come to pass, after some years to send Christians once more to the city."
"But that would be to send them to their deaths." "Those who go will do so without revealing their beliefs. They will take up residence in the kingdom, work there, and try to seek out any Christians who still remain, in order to rebuild the community, in secret. They will seek not to provoke Maanu's wrath or unleash a persecution, but rather act in such a way that the seeds of Jesus' teachings may take root and grow again among the people there. That was the Lord's wish when he sent Josar with the shroud to Abgar. Jesus sanctified that land with his presence and his miracles, and we must obey the wishes of our Lord in this matter, regardless of the price we and those who follow us must pay or how long it might take.
"We will wait for Harran to return with a caravan, and then we will be able to decide what to do and when. But whatever happens, or has happened, the shroud of Jesus must never leave Edessa, and we must do all in our power to ensure that belief in Jesus never falters in the city. We will dedicate our lives to fulfilling these promises, made in the name of those who have sacrificed all for our faith."
20
ZAFARIN TREMBLED. ONLY THE PRESENCE OF his father kept him from turning and fleeing. His mother was holding his arm, and his wife, Ayat, with their litde daughter, walked at his side without a word-they were as frightened as he was. A thin, frail-looking little man, modestly dressed, had opened the door and greeted them quietly.
Now he led the women into another room. "Wait here," he told them, closing the door behind him as he turned back to Zafarin and his father. He led them through the foyer to the threshold of a richly carved double door, opened it, and ushered them inside. Shelves lined the walls of the room, overflowing with books and other objects that were impossible to discern in the flickering candlelight. Heavy curtains over the windows blocked every ray of sun, maintaining the effect of a perpetual twilight in which the shadows seemed alive.
The man at the head of the immense, elaborately carved wooden table should have been dwarfed by the enormous chair in which he sat, but it only made his imposing figure more intimidating. There was not a hair on his head, but the wrinkles around his eyes and mouth left no doubt as to his age, which was also apparent in his bony, large-knuckled hands, which were clasped before him on the table, veins seeming to pulse through almost transparent skin.
Along each side of the table were four high-backed chairs. Sitting in them were eight men, dressed in severe black. Their eyes remained lowered as Zafarin and his father entered the room.
"You failed."
Addaio's voice echoed through the oppressive chamber. Zafarin lowered his head, unable to hide the shame and terror that lay deep within his soul. His father took a step forward and fearlessly met the pastor's eyes.
"I have given you two sons. Both Zafarin and his brother Mendib before him have been selfless and brave; they have sacrificed for you; each has given his body, his voice, his future. Mendib languishes in a foreign prison. They will not speak until the Day of Judgment, when God raises them from the dead again. Our family does not deserve your recriminations. For centuries, the best of us have dedicated our lives to Jesus Christ and to this community. We are human, Addaio, only human, and we fail. Zafarin is intelligent, and you know it. You yourself insisted that he, like