‘They are all yours. Everything you see belongs to you.’
‘No. That is folly. I am the steward, no more than that. But that is enough, Nicanor. This is a proud land. I can feel it, seeping into my bones. I will not see it conquered-not in my lifetime.’
Striding to his horse, he took hold of its mane and vaulted to its back. ‘Ride on!’ he ordered.
Six days of easy travelling brought them to the foothills of the Messapion range, where they camped in a hollow surrounded by trees.
‘Tell me more about the governor Elyphion,’ Philip ordered Attalus. ‘I want to be prepared tomorrow.’
Attalus spread out his cloak and lay alongside the fire. ‘He’s fat – very fat. He dresses always in blue. He has three wives, but spends most of his time with young boy slaves. He has been governor for eleven years. He has a palace that rivals any in Pella – even yours. He is a collector of statues and works of art – most of them Persian.’
Philip grunted. ‘My gold supplies dry up, but he collects works of art and builds a palace! I think I am beginning to know the man. What of the mines themselves? How are they run?’
‘How would I know, sire? I have never seen one.’
‘You will tomorrow,’ Philip assured him.
‘What a fascinating prospect,’ muttered Attalus. Philip laughed and thumped him on the shoulder.
‘Aren’t you interested in where our gold comes from?’
‘No,’ admitted Attalus, ‘only that it comes.’
‘What of you, Nicanor? Do you wish to see the mines?’
‘If you command it, sire. But what is there to see? Men grubbing in the earth like moles. Darkness and stench. And
as they go deeper, the constant danger of a roof-fall. I want to be buried when I am dead, not before.’
Philip shook his head. Then I give you leave to seek the fleshpots of Crousia. Antipater will accompany me.’
‘A singular honour for him,’ Attalus sneered.
‘It is always an honour to walk with the King,’ said Antipater, masking his anger, though his dark eyes remained fixed on Attalus.
‘You do not like me, do you?’ asked Attalus, sitting up and returning the soldier’s stare.
‘I neither like you nor dislike you, Attalus. In fact I think of you rarely.’
‘Be careful how you speak to me!’ Attalus snapped. ‘I make a bad enemy.’
‘Be silent, the pair of you!’ stormed Philip. ‘You think we do not have enough trouble? When Macedonia is free then . . . perhaps … I will allow you to declare your enmity. Perhaps. But know this, if either of you fights I will have the winner executed. If you cannot be friends for my sake, then at least suffer one another. You understand me?’
‘I wish for no enmity, sire,’ said Attalus.
‘Nor I,’ added Antipater.
Philip settled down in his blankets, his head resting on his folded lionskin chabraque, and gazed at the bright stars – so distant, so far from all the troubles of the world. He closed his eyes, and slipped into sleep.
He was walking on a grass-covered hillside under a silver moon when he saw the woman sitting beneath a spreading oak. He looked around, surprised that he was alone. When he approached her and bowed, she looked up, pushing back the dark hood of her cloak. Her face was pale and beautiful, her eyes dark and yet luminous.
‘Welcome, Great King,’ she whispered. He sat beside her.
‘I am not great, woman. But I am a King.’
‘ You will be great – that is the promise ofAida; the gods have decreed it. But there is something you need, Philip. There is a talisman you must acquire.’
‘Where do I find it?’
‘It will find you. Look!’ She pointed down the hill to where a
small stream was sparkling in the moonlight. There sat a second woman. ‘Go to her – and know the joys of the universe.’
Philip was about to ask a question when the dark woman vanished. He stood and walked to the stream. The woman there was little more than a girl, her figure slim, her breasts small and round. Her hair was red, like reflected firelight, her eyes green as jewels. When he knelt beside her she reached out and stroked his beard, her hand dropping to his chest and stroking his belly. He realized he was naked, as she was, and passion flooded him. He pulled her down to the grass, kissing her face and neck, his hand caressing her inner thigh. He could feel his heart pounding.