Servant of the Bones

"In a daze I turned and looked at the King! How splendid and beautiful he looked.

"Just as we passed through the gates, there came the loudest shrieks and cries. The Hebrews were on the rooftops. I looked. It was a haze. But I could hear them singing the psalms of Zion. The faces were small and distant.

"The wagon picked up speed, as much speed as a giant wagon can get, which is not much, but we were rolling steadily, you might say, and I held to the edge of the chariot with one hand, letting my golden fingers curve around it, and then I reached out as if by instinct, for no one told me, and I put my hand into Cyrus's hand and gave him the first kiss.

"The crowd was in ecstasy. Every house along the Processional Way seemed a living thing in itself, with life screaming from its windows and its roof, and life pressed up against its door, and in every side street people sang and waved palms and again and again I heard the Hebrew music. The Hebrew music followed us.

"I don't remember when we crossed the great canal, though I think I did see the dazzle of the water. The attendants were holding me firmly and telling me harshly to be strong.

" 'You are my god, Marduk,' said Cyrus. 'Bear with them, they are fools. Hold my hand, my god. For now, we are King and god and no one can deny it.'

"I smiled, and again I bent forward to kiss his cheek and again the screams of joy surged through the crowd. We were approaching the river. We would now be placed in the boat, and taken to the House of the Ordeal with Tiamat, the god's great battle with chaos. And what would that be?

"I was as one so drunk it simply didn't matter. I could feel the gold hardening all over me. And I could feel it caressing me as they said it would. I had anchored my feet fairly well at last and the attendants had their grip, and Cyrus's living hand held warm and tight to mine, and he waved and bowed and shouted a thousand greetings to the eager citizens of Babylon.

"A funny thought came to me as the boat moved up the river. There were crowds on all sides. And I thought, 'He thinks this is all for him, Cyrus. And it's really just Babylon. Babylon having a big party or festival like it does so often, but he's never seen the city going crazy with dance and drink, and so he is very impressed. Well, let him enjoy it.' Only dimly did I realize, I had not seen my family. They had been there, I was sure, but I had not seen them.

"The House of the Ordeal was splendidly plastered in silver and emerald and rubies. The pillars were gold and made to look like great lotus blossoms at the top. The middle of the roof was wide open, and all around us were crowded hundreds upon hundreds of noble Babylonians, the rich, great officials from other cities, priests who had come with their gods to Babylon for safety, and also hundreds upon hundreds of Cyrus's court, so like us, yet so different. Taller, leaner, more trim, and more sharp of eye.

"Suddenly I stood alone in the midst of the open court. Everyone had backed away. Remath stood beside me, and on the other side, the young compassionate priest.

" 'Lift your arms,' said the priest. 'Take your sword from the scabbard.'

" 'Sword, I didn't know I had one.'

" 'You do,' said the young priest eagerly. 'Ah, yes, raise it high.' "I scarcely knew whether I obeyed. The world was swimming before me. The nobles were chanting and harps were playing, and then I heard a sound I knew, knew from many spectacles of the past, and from the hunts with my father and brother. I heard the roar of lions, caged lions.

" 'Don't fear,' said Remath. 'These animals are satiated and filled with potions that make them sluggish and they will come one by one as they are released, and they will rise as they have been trained to lick the honey from your lips, which I will put there now, honey and blood, and when they do, you will drive your sword into them.' "I laughed. 'And you, where are you going to be?' I asked. " 'Right here, beside you,' said the young priest. 'This is nothing, Lord God Marduk, these lions want to die for you.'

"He lifted a chalice to my lips. 'Drink the honey and the blood,' he said.

"I did, barely able to feel myself swallowing. I realized suddenly that almost all sensation had left my skin, I was as one in bitter cold night desert wind. But I swallowed and he gave me more until my tongue and lips were coated with blood and honey.

"A terrible excitement ran through the crowd. I could see the fear. The first lion had been released and came towards me. The Persians were backing up against the walls, I think. I could feel the fear, smell it. And I laughed again. 'This is so funny,' I said. 'I'm half-dead and this lion is staggering towards me.'

"Suddenly, the lion sprang, and the two priests had to hold me so that the lion's weight didn't throw me backwards. I lifted the sword. I called on the gold enamel to give me strength and I drove the sword into the lion's heart. His hot foul breath blew into my nostrils and his tongue touched my lips, and then he fell over, awkward, dead, and the crowd sang and sang and sang of courage.

"Now the King came to my side, and he too had his sword, and I saw that as the second lion and third lion were released that we were to kill them together. The King's face was as rigid as mine, and he narrowed his eyes at the beast. 'They have plenty of life in them, it seems to me,' he said.

" 'Ah, but you're a King and I'm a god, so let's kill them.' "Behind them the priest cracked the whip which made one lion jump for Cyrus first and he staggered back as he drove the sword and then kicked the animal away from him. The lion rolled on its back roaring, dying. The second beast was in my face. I felt the priest lift my wrist. 'Thrust now!' I did. I thrust more than once wanting the thing dead and off me.

"And once again, all sang, and cheered, and I could hear the crowds outside singing and cheering. I saw the lions lifted and carried out. I heard the song of the priest of the slaying by Marduk of the evil Tiamat.

" 'And from her hide he made the heavens and the earth and the seas . . .' the words rang out in the old Sumerian. And then in Akkadian, and then in Hebrew, and it was like overlapping waves of sound, and I swam in them.

"I stood alone in the court. The priests were painting me with the blood and honey. 'They cannot hurt you,' said Remath.

" 'What?' I asked. But I knew. I could hear them as distinctly as the beasts. It was the bees. And now as a great silken dragon proceeded towards me, tightly sewn with spindly gold ribs and controlled by those who worked it on sticks, I saw it was full of bees. The dragon was wrapped around me, and I was enclosed in a silken tent. Its tail even covered my head. I heard the sound of ripping fabric. The bees were loosed on me and covered my body over. I was filled with loathing. But my feet were frozen in place. And the stings of the bees did not penetrate the gold, and when they came near my eyes I only dosed my eyes, and gradually I realized the bees were dying. They were dying from their own sting and from the poison perhaps in the gold. I heaved a great sigh.