The Belt of Gold (34 page)

Nicephoros said, “God give you a fair wind all the way to Italy, Hagen.”

“Fair wind or foul, I shall be back in my own home by winter,” Hagen said.

The Greek physicians had sewn his bad eye shut with silk thread. It hurt only a little now. He stood watching his horses being loaded on to the galley—Nicephoros had given him two blood stallions, as well as the two he had brought from Syria—and the itch to leave was strong as a hunger.

“You will not think again and stay?” Nicephoros said. “There is a life of ease and pleasure for you here, and my eternal gratitude—mine and my people's.”

“I'm going home,” Hagen said. “Your life will not be one of ease and pleasure, I think, if you are to be a worthy Basileus.”

“I will be as great as I can be. I shall not forget the cost of my diadem.”

Hagen touched the patch over his eye. “We have an old story, among my people—of a god who gave his eye for wisdom. I won't mind, if it turns out I have gained some from this.” He put out his hand. “God help you, Basileus.”

Nicephoros shook his hand in a firm grip. “God go with you, Hagen.”

He stepped on to the ship; half a dozen servants of the Emperor carried on his luggage and the gifts that Nicephoros had lavished on him. The horses were restless and he went to stand by their heads to calm them. When he looked back, Nicephoros and his retinue were climbing up the steps from the Imperial harbor toward the Bucoleon and the rest of the Palace, gleaming white in the sun at the top of the cliff. Hagen turned his eyes forward again. The sea leapt under the brisk merry breeze. At the far end of that wind was his river, his hall, the rest of his life, waiting to be taken up. He could never have married Theophano; she would never have lived there with him. He would have lost her no matter what he did. In his heart, that wound closed over and healed without scar. He faced forward now, into the future; eagerly he leaned into the wind going west.

The Basileus Irene died in exile on Lesbos in 803, one year after she was deposed. Later she was canonized a saint, in memory of the favor she had shown the monasteries.

Nicephoros became Emperor and ruled well for nine years. He was a good emperor, but a bad general, and when he led an expedition against the Bulgars in 811 he was killed, and his skull was cleaned and covered with jewels and used as a drinking cup for the Bulgar Khan.

Hagen returned to Braasefeldt, and there lived a long and happy life, marrying three times, and siring many children. He died peacefully by his fire, in the twilight of his years, with all his friends around him, and speaking of Constantinople.

All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 1984 by Cecelia Holland

Cover design by Jamie Keenan

978-1-5040-0764-1

This edition published in 2015 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

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