The Dragon of the Ishtar Gate

Orontes declaimed an impassioned oration, reciting King Xerxes' faults, real or fancied, and promising to do better in every respect. He concluded:

"... and when I am king, the Empire shall be a paradise on earth. Taxes shall be lowered; the army shall be modernized and its pay increased; trade shall be fostered; the poor shall wax prosperous and the prosperous become rich. Honor and justice shall reign from Hind to Thrace, and from Scythia to Kush. By the sacred Mount Hukairya I swear it! Already I have hundreds of partisans among the Aryan nobility. Next year it will be thousands. I need such a mighty and valorous man as you. For years I have watched your career and planned how best to draw you into my following. In dealing with Xerxes you will earn nought but suspicion and ingratitude, whereas my supporters shall be greater than kings! And those who join before the victory shall have precedence over those who come later. How say you, Bessas son of Phraates?"

Bessas gave a small sigh. "Your proposal might beguile your slave another time, Lord Orontes. But now, gentlemen, I must needs carry out my mission and obtain the release of my mother."

"You know not that the false king will in sooth release your mother. He is as likely to slay the twain of you for some fancied grudge."

Bessas muttered to Myron in Greek: "Stand by for . trouble." His mouth was set in hard lines as he turned back to Orontes. "I am sorry, gentlemen, but I am not to be had. If I succeed in my mission, approach me afterwards and we shall see. Meanwhile you may trust me to keep silent—"

"I fear it is not so simple," said the man who had stabbed Datas, blocking the door. "We urged you to join us; very well, you refuse. But we cannot then let you go—"

In a flash, Bessas whipped out his sword and struck, not at the man facing him, but at two rushlights. Their bronzen holders flew against the wall with a double clank, and both yellow flames went out. Now the room was lit only by the little daylight that could pierce the curtain over the window.

"Come on, Myron!" roared Bessas.

Myron leaped up and threw the stool, on which he had been sitting, towards the other masked men. In the momentary darkness, before his eyes adjusted themselves, he heard the sound of a heavy blow and the fall of a body. With a loud rending of wood, the door flew open, tearing out its socket pins.

For an instant Myron saw the doorway blocked by the huge silhouette of Bessas. The augmented light also revealed the man who had killed Datas lying across the door sill. Of the other men in the room, some were rising, some drawing daggers, and one was picking himself up off the floor after having been struck by Myron's stool. So lightning fast had Bessas' action been that the conspirators had not yet been able to gather themselves for a rush.

Myron sprang through the doorway, hurdling the fallen man, and pounded down the hall after Bessas, who had already readied the outer door. The giant paused long enough to sheathe his sword and assure himself that Myron was with him.

They ran out into the alley as the Persians poured out of the room behind them, crying pursuit. Someone blew a whistle; shouts and tramplings came from other parts of the house.

At the end of the alley, Myron and Bessas came to the wall surrounding the temenos of the temple of Dragon. The alleys were deserted, as most of the people of Gaza were at dinner. Bessas took a few steps along the alley that followed the wall, then paused to listen.

"They come from both directions," he said. "Over the wall with us!"

Although the wall was higher than Bessas' head, he placed his huge hands on Myron's waist and effortlessly boosted the Greek up to the top of the wall. Then he caught the rim and swung himself up, straddled the wall, and dropped down inside. They crouched in a dense grove of palms.

Myron groaned. "Herakles! I turned my ankle when I fell in here. If I survive this frightful journey, I'll stick to school-teaching the rest of my life."

"A pox on your ankle!" muttered Bessas. "Listen!"

A clatter of feet and a rush of Persian speech revealed that their pursuers had reached the point outside the wall that was nearest to the fugitives. Orontes' voice sounded; "Less noise, you! We would not rouse the city. Where could they have gone, since we came out both alleys? We should have trapped them here."

"Belike they climbed the wall," said another voice.

"That must be it!" said Orontes. "That Bessas has the thews of a lion. Cyaxares, take your six men down that way to the small gate, break it open, enter the temenos, and beat up the bushes towards this place. Izates, make your men kneel to form a pyramid against the wall, so that we can scale it. Fear not the temple guards; they will not interfere when they see our steel. For our own safety, these men must be slain."