Selene of Alexandria Read Free

coffers or the Patriarch's appointed almsman. The three proceeded onto Canopic Street, the vast main thoroughfare bisecting the city from east to west. The magnificent Church of St. Theonas, sometimes called the church of a thousand pillars, anchored this end of the boulevard, while the Church of St. Metras greeted travelers from the east as they entered the Gate of the Sun. Selene's father had been a boy when St. Theonas had served as the Episcopal residence. The former Patriarch Athanasius needed ready refuge in the necropolis and desert monasteries during his ongoing battles with the Emperor's choice for the Patriarchy. Calistus occasionally spoke of those bloody times with a fierce desire never to see them repeated.
    Those dark days seemed long over on such a festal occasion. Flowers wreathed the church in all its glory. Garlands twined about the columns, bright hangings shaded the doors, and streamers waved gaily in the windows. All the buildings along the processional route would be similarly adorned.
    Selene glanced down Canopic, assessing the crowds and their chances of making it home on time. Other wide boulevards branched off at regular intervals, leading to spacious homes clustered in residential districts – the sign of a planned city. The wide straight streets were bounded with shaded colonnades. Brightly painted statues towered over squares or peeked from carved niches.
    Sharp cries drew Selene's attention. A group of men in rough brown robes, armed with heavy wooden cudgels, emerged from the church and forced their way through the crowd. A woman pulled her children out of their path and drifted off into a side street. Others suddenly found their errands took them in opposite directions, leaving Selene and her companions in the middle of the wide boulevard. The glowering men headed straight for them, brandishing their weapons.
     
     
     
    Chapter 2
     
    "Selene!" Antonius yelled. When she stood rooted to the spot, he grabbed her arm, sprinted toward the church and yanked her onto the steps. She stumbled against the wide marble slabs, banging her shins and yelping in pain. "Are you trying to get your head bashed in? Those men are dangerous!"
    Antonius' face was pale except for two hectic red spots high on his cheekbones. Was he angry? Frightened? She would have stepped out of the way in another moment. There had been no need for him to treat her so roughly.
    She shook off his hands in a pique and reached down to rub her shins. "The only wounds I have sustained today are those you gave me. First you force me to kneel on sharp rocks, and crack my rib with your elbow. Now you practically pull my arm out of its socket and cause me to scrape my shins. May the Good Lord save me from your protection!"
    "Why you ungrateful, stubborn, donkey-headed…" Antonius paused, grasping for words. "…child! See if I save your precious hide again. Let your brother do it. That's his job, not mine."
    His unkind words stung, probably because they were close to the mark, but Selene felt wronged by his attack. She yelled back, "I don't need either of you to protect me. I can..."
    The shouts of the armed men drowned out her final words. They boiled by the steps then halted to insult the vastly outnumbered gate guards. One guard, pale face sweating under his helmet, stayed close to his post and looked as if he would bolt for the guardhouse any moment. The second man, older, maintained a cooler head. "It's a feast day, good brothers. I'm sure your patron, the Patriarch, would not like to hear of disturbance by his chosen ones. Go about your business and leave the travelers in peace." The guard's friendly smile and affable manner disarmed the unruly men who, finding no fight, drifted off in another direction.
    "Let's go home." Nicaeus grabbed Selene's arm and escorted her firmly down the steps to a side street. Antonius sulked behind.
    "Who are those men?" Selene asked her brother. "Where do they come from?"
    "They're Patriarch