"Chelsea Quinn Yarbro - Olivia 1 - A Flame in Byzantium" - читать интересную книгу автора (Yarbro Chelsea Quinn)

good citizens. Perhaps you will be content to leave this for another time?"
"How can we leave this, when you will be gone tomorrow?" asked the one with the darkest beard.
"There will be other men here. Most of my officers are experienced and will do what they can to
make this a worthwhile time for all of you." He moved away from the narrow table. "I will instruct them to
guard the city from abuse. If you will let them do the work they are trained to do, everyone will benefit,
even the unfortunates from Roma."
"And you will not have to answer for anything that goes wrong. You will be able to say that if there
are problems, if there are those who are injured or in other ways harmed, that it was our actions, not
yours, that brought this about. We have heard about the manner in which you of Constantinople conduct
your affairs."
"Lepidius," said Belisarius, "even if everything you say is true, and everything you believe is true and
everything you deplore is true, nonetheless, Justinian is the Emperor and what he orders and demands is
his by right of his rule. If you question that, you question the order of the world and the word of Heaven."
He reached for a small mallet and struck a small, flat bell with it. "You will be fed while you are here, if
you wish. My slaves will see to it."
"And you?" asked the monk, clearly not satisfied with the hospitality Belisarius offered.
"I will be attending to my duties with my officers so that they will be prepared to act for you
tomorrow." He gestured to the slave who came through the door. "These men are to be given every
courtesy a guest can expect. Is Chrysanthos here, or has he already gone to his men?"
"He is still here, Master," said the slave in Egyptian-accented Greek.
"Then let him dine with these citizens," said Belisarius in Greek.
"Does this man speak Latin?" the youngest member of the delegation wanted to know.
"Yes, that is why I thought of him. You will be able to understand one another. I have three other
officers who are fluent in Latin as well as Greek, and they are most in demand of the men I command in
Italy." Belisarius indicated the slave. "If you follow him, he will see that you are escorted to Chrysanthos."
Most of the men were willing to depart, but the one with the darkest beard was inclined to linger, to
press for more advantages than they had secured already. "I wish your assurance that if there is any
trouble, you will be willing to send your troops to quell any uprising that we may have to deal with."
"You'll have to arrange that with Chrysanthos; I will abide by the terms you make with him," said
Belisarius.
The other men did what they could to get their companion to leave with them, speaking a few words
in low voices urging him to come with them to this new officer.
"If we are not satisfied, you will learn of it," said the oldest delegate as he left the room.
"I'm certain of that," said Belisarius, watching the door even when it was empty, as if aware of a
lingering presence like an odor or the echo of a scream.



Text of a letter to Vigilius, Bishop of Roma and Pope of the Church.



On the anniversary of the election of Your Holiness to the See of Santo Pietrus, the Priest
Formosus of Ostia sends this report with the deepest faith and reverence.
It has pleased Your Holiness to learn of the current state of the Church in her parent city of
Roma, and it has fallen to this most unhappy of men to inform Your Holiness that the great devil
and pagan Totila has made progress with his forces against this most venerable of all cities. It is
his intent to tear the whole place down, or so he swears on his blasphemous gods. To this end, he
has been harrying the merchants on the roads, stopping farmers bringing produce to the city, and
attempting to cut the aqueducts that bring water to the people of Roma. All this has been seen and