Scourge of Rome

XXXV

In the aftermath of their love, Valerius was still in a dazed, bewildered no-man’s-land when Tabitha’s face appeared above his, her eyes reflecting his own wonder. ‘It was not meant to come to this.’

‘Then make the sun go backwards.’ The fingers of his left hand brushed a lock of hair from her eyes. ‘Otherwise you must accept it. If it was not meant to come to this, what was it meant to come to?’

‘A mutual attraction.’ She kissed his shoulder and his flesh muffled her voice. ‘A pleasant diversion. You felt it too?’ He nodded. ‘At first I thought you were just another coarse military man, a typical Roman soldier, lacking manners, morals or conscience. But over time I discovered someone compassionate, fair and caring; a man I would trust with my life.’

‘And with your secrets?’

A shiver ran through the slim body. ‘You know?’

‘I suspect. Serpentius saw you talking to Josephus in a way that made him think you knew each other. Yet Josephus made a point of seeking me out and questioning me about you as if you’d never met. Something didn’t feel right.’

Valerius expected her to be angry at being spied upon, but Tabitha’s only reaction was a wry smile. ‘Josephus is the kind of man who can polish an ingot of copper with his fine words until you’re convinced it is gold. We have never been friends, but my mistress believed he could be useful to us. In Emesa, King Sohaemus talked of a book …’

‘I remember.’

‘The Book of Enoch. Written at the very dawn of our people, before the Great Flood swept the earth clean of impurity. It foretold a new cataclysm – a second cleansing – when the Jews of Jerusalem would be destroyed by Gentiles.’

‘The siege?’

‘Yes. That is what we believe.’

Valerius registered the ‘we’, but kept his counsel. ‘Josephus also mentioned a cleansing.’ He told her of his mission into the city and the negotiations with Simon bar Giora and John of Gischala, and she frowned.

‘Josephus knows they will not surrender, and it is not in his interest to stop what is happening here.’

‘So you believe there was another reason for the meeting?’

‘Joseph Ben Mahtityahu would forgo every treasure in Jerusalem to possess the Book of Enoch.’ Her eyes rose to meet his. ‘He must not have it.’

‘Sohaemus was doubtful it existed,’ Valerius pointed out. His words contained a question that demanded an answer.

‘It exists,’ she said firmly. ‘It exists and it was sent to Jerusalem for safe keeping. The Book of Enoch lies in the Great Temple, but it is hidden and only two people alive know its exact location.’

‘Josephus?’

‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘But given the opportunity he is one of the few astute enough to locate it. Only Queen Berenice of Cilicia and her faithful handmaiden Tabitha have that knowledge. You wonder why an ancient text is so important to the future of the Jews?’ She paused, trying to find the words to explain some complex thought process. ‘The foundation of my people’s existence lies in their religion. God and his prophets. But there can be different interpretations of the word of God. In times past these interpretations have led his people on two distinct paths – let us call them the light path and the dark path. When the Jews have taken the first of these paths it has brought them to a place of enlightenment where art and culture prospered, wondrous buildings were erected and peace prevailed.’

‘And the dark path?’

Tabitha wrapped herself a little tighter in the blanket. A jug of wine sat on a table by the bed and Valerius rose to pour two cups of the sweet Judaean vintage. He handed her one and she took a sip from it as he settled beside her on the bed.

‘The dark path led us here,’ she said, meaning the siege and the hundreds of thousands trapped within the city. ‘Those who follow the dark path twist God’s words so that power, strength and fear are the forces which drive his people. In the past it has created a society where the strong were encouraged to prey on the weak. Where the weak were despised for their weakness and poverty, but never allowed the opportunity to escape it. In this society the sword and the spear rule. This is where Josephus would take us. Only Berenice can lead the Judaean people on the path of light to where God intended. She would use the stability provided by Rome and the power of her … attachment … to Titus to create a new enlightenment. A society which values not only peace, but all the benefits peace can provide. A society not bound by the petty rules imposed by priests to maintain their power. But to achieve this, she must have the Book of Enoch.’

A cockerel welcomed the new day with a raucous cackle and Valerius rose with reluctance and pulled the cowhide stock of his artificial hand over his stump. She watched him dress as he considered the implications of her words, and the hidden suggestion at their core. ‘If all you say is true, nothing can stop the destruction of this city and its inhabitants.’

‘I believe so.’ Uncertainty flickered in her eyes for a moment. ‘If what is written is true, Titus couldn’t save them even if he wished it.’

Valerius recalled the iron in Titus’s voice as he’d outlined his plan of attack; the terror that would rain down upon the city’s helpless refugees, the price to be paid in blood for each of the three walls and, at the last, the temple. ‘If Simon and John defend the temple …’

This time she had no doubts. ‘They see it as their sacred duty.’

‘It will be utterly destroyed, and the Book of Enoch with it, unless it has been found.’

‘If it is found I will know.’ She didn’t say how, but he knew her well enough now to believe her.

‘If Berenice is to have the book someone must retrieve it for her.’ He waited for a response, but Tabitha’s expression didn’t alter and he continued. ‘It will be dangerous. They must find a way into the temple when the defenders’ attention is elsewhere, but with sufficient time to escape before Titus’s legions smash it to dust.’ Again she didn’t respond, and he sighed, bowing to the inevitable. ‘Very well. I’ll take Serpentius, if he’s willing. I can get us into the city, but …’ He frowned as he realized the fundamental flaw in his hastily conceived plan.

‘And I can get us into the temple.’ She rose naked, the sinuous, pale body flowing against his, and put her finger to his lips to still the inevitable protest. ‘The temple is a maze, Valerius. Only someone with intimate knowledge of that maze can find the Book of Enoch.’

He took her in his arms, torn by fear for her welfare but trapped by the truth of what she said.

‘Very well,’ he conceded at last. ‘We will do this together. But we do it on my terms.’