Owing to the sound of raucous singing and the rhythmic thump of improvised drumming emanating from the banqueting rooms, I did not hear the others as they approached. "Brother Aidan," announced Brynach firmly, "we would speak with you."
I turned to see the three of them standing uncertainly nearby. "Come then, and sit down," I said. "My solitude is large enough to share."
They stepped closer, but stood over me and would not sit-as if what they had to say should not be compromised by informality. Brynach gave out their concern at once. "We have been thinking and praying about the events of the day," he said, "and we believe you have acted rashly. We think we should go to the emperor and present our petition. If we tell him why we have come and what it means, he will take pity on us and give us the aid we so desperately need."
I raised my eyes to look at his face, earnest and determined in the twilight. Stars were beginning to shine in the sky, and the delicious scent of roasting meat curled along the gently wafting breeze of the courtyard. I drew the aroma deep into my lungs as I took a breath to answer. "You have seen, yet you still do not understand," I told him. "What more do you require to convince you? Would you have me explain it again?"
The three looked at each other. Dugal replied, "Yes, brother. Unless you tell us we cannot understand."
"Then hear me," I said, standing to address them. "This is the way of it: when greed and power conspire together, let all men beware. You have heard this said, and now, through bitter experience, you know it to be true. Moreover, when those who uphold justice are far more guilty than those whom they must judge, there is neither hope nor redemption. Why believe the unrighteous judge will honour the truth, or look beyond his own interests to protect yours?"
"If that were so," Brynach observed, "nothing in this world would be safe, or certain."
"Nothing is safe," I said flatly. "But one thing, and one thing only is certain: the innocent will suffer."
"I do wonder at your words," Brynach confessed, not without compassion. "It is unlike you-unlike the man I once knew."
"I am not the man I was! That man is long since dead. But what of that? He deserved no better fate than all the rest who died along the way."
"How can you speak so, brother?" the elder monk chided gently. "God has guided and protected you through all things to now. He has showered his favour upon you. Even now he holds you in the palm of his loving hand."
I turned my face away. "Speak to Cadoc and the others of God's protection," I muttered. "Do not speak to me. Sure, I know full well how God cares for those who trust him."
My bitterness stung them, and they stared at one another in dismay. After a moment, Ddewi plucked up his courage. "Are you saying these things because you killed Nikos and now you fear to stand before the emperor once more?"
So, that was on their minds. Why not? They did not know what I knew. "Listen to me," I said sharply, "and heed me well. Put away any notion that you will receive favour from the emperor's hand. Do not be deceived: he is no God-fearing man. Nikos was acting on behalf of Leo from the beginning. What Nikos did, he did for Leo, as much as for his own insatiable ambition."
"But, Aidan," objected Dugal, "you said Leo told the truth when he said Nikos did not kill the emperor."
A great weariness drew over me. They still did not comprehend the enormity of the evil allowed to flourish in Byzantium's holy palaces. I shook my head in despair. "Think, Dugal. All of you, think! Think what it means. Leo said that Nikos did not kill his father-and that was the truth." Dugal and the others gaped at me, baffled and hurt.
"Do you still not see it?" I said, my voice lashing at their ignorance. "Emperor Basil was not Leo's father." I let this sink in for a moment, before proceeding, "This is the way of it: Michael seduced and bedded many noblewomen of his court; one of them was Basil's wife. Basil knew this; indeed, he even encouraged it because it gave him a hold over the emperor. When a son was born of the adulterous union, he used the occasion to advance himself."
"Leo is Michael's son?" wondered Brynach in amazement.
"Yes, and in exchange for keeping the boy as his own, Basil was raised to the purple and made co-sovereign. When Michael's profligacy no longer served him, Basil arranged the old emperor's murder-some say he even did the deed himself-and then claimed the throne outright. Years pass, and the unloved boy grows up determined to avenge his true father's death. To this end, Nikos was employed by Leo; to this end the wicked scheme was laid-long before we ever thought to come to Byzantium."
I could see them struggling against this hard truth.
"We should tell someone," suggested Dugal weakly. "The emperor should be made to answer for his crimes."
