The Betrayal Read Free Page B

let’s go.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s not wise to dally here. Besides, I’m sure the others are awake and longing to hear what happened.”
    They started down the trail that led back to her family’s home in Bet Ani, but she could not help glancing over her shoulder often to make certain they were not being followed.
    They walked the entire way in silence. He seemed lost in his thoughts, but Maryam was listening for footsteps behind them. Around every bend, she expected to be ambushed by an angry horde.
    When they finally reached her home, her nerves were strung so tight, she said, “You go in, Master. I—I need to remain out here in the cool air for a while.”
    He touched her hair gently, said, “Don’t be long,” and walked to the door. When it closed behind him and she heard the voices of the other disciples rise, bombarding him with questions, Maryam could stand it no longer.
    She staggered to the side of the road and vomited until there was nothing left to heave, until her belly shredded and caught in her throat, and the only thing coming up was blood.

    For a long time, she just listened to her own breathing.
    It took a quarter hour, but when she could, she wiped her mouth on the corner of her himation, and straightened her clothing.
    He needed her now more than he had ever needed her in his life. She sucked in a deep, fortifying breath, and strode for the house to stand at his shoulder.

TWO
    THE 325TH YEAR AFTER THE DEATH OF OUR LORD
    The smell of the spiced nightingale tongues mixed sickeningly with the scent of wood smoke, making Pappas Silvester feel slightly ill. He straightened the sleeves of his black robe and let out a shaky breath. His closely shaven head and long nose felt as cold as ice.
    The emperor sat in an ornate chair behind a table heaped with colorful platters of meat and fruits. He wore a glittering purple robe, gold-studded jerkin, and sword belt. Constantine was a big man, tall and muscular, with broad shoulders. He didn’t even seem to be breathing, just staring unblinkingly at Silvester.
    Silvester said, “You summoned me, Excellency?”
    The emperor plucked a grape from a platter and crushed it between his teeth. The entire time, his gaze never left Silvester.
    Silvester swallowed hard. He was fairly certain why he’d been summoned, but was hoping it was something else. Anything else.
    The crackling fire in the hearth threw monstrous shadows over the elaborately painted walls, the great rounded arches, and magnificently vaulted ceiling. There were few pieces of furniture, but each was intricately carved and polished until it gleamed.
    Warmth climbed up through his boots, and Silvester glanced down at
the mosaic floor. Below, in the subterranean caverns, he could imagine the slaves laboring at the boilers to heat the tiles he stood upon. Ordinarily their warmth would have been a balm, but not tonight. Tonight it was a reminder of the dangerous ground upon which he stood.
    â€œMy informants tell me that this afternoon’s session was more like a brawl than a sacred council meeting,” the emperor said.
    â€œThere were many disagreements, Excellency. The heresy of Arius caused much concern. Both sides have strong opinions about whether or not Iesous should be subordinated to God. Our side maintains that our Lord’s eternal essence, the Word, is God, while the Arians stress that he was indisputably ‘begotten,’ though only-begotten, and therefore his creaturely dependence upon the Father’s will makes it clear Iesous is less than the Father. This whole ‘only-begotten’ thing is complicated, of course, by Psalms chapter two, verse seven. Even worse, Pappas Eusebios of Caesarea agrees with Arius! At heart, it’s all a discussion of how our Lord could have suffered and saved if he was not human, but wholly God. We will fight it out, I assure you.”
    A glitter entered the