Alexander (Vol. 3) (Alexander Trilogy) Read Online Free PDF Page B

walked back in the direction they had come from until there in the darkness he was able to make out the silhouettes of a horse and a man lying down next to it. Everything was proceeding according to plan and so he returned to their camp and lay down himself, snatching brief moments of sleep while remaining alert to the sounds of the night.
    When the boy woke at dawn he found that the man had placed a handful of dates with dry bread and a boxwood cup full of water from his water bag on his cape. The water had chilled during the night and was refreshing to drink. They ate in silence and then set off again under the burning sun, in the stagnant, motionless air.
    By about midday it was clear that the horses were struggling and so they dismounted and continued on foot, leading the animals by their bridles.
    They reached the Euphrates late in the night, becoming aware of the great river thanks to the gurgling of its waters before they actually saw the sparkling of its flow in the moonlight. There was one point where the water rushed against the shallow gravel bed creating a ribbon of foam from one bank to the other – a ford. The soldier moved closer, rode slowly towards the centre of the river, testing the solidity of the crossing, and then turned back.
    ‘It’s safe here,’ he said, turning to Eteocles. ‘If you want, you can cross.’
    ‘What do you mean?’ the boy asked him. ‘Aren’t you coming?’
    The soldier shook his head. ‘No. My mission is accomplished and I must turn back now.’
    ‘Mission?’ asked the boy, increasingly bewildered.
    ‘That’s right. Alexander gave us orders to escort you to the border and to make sure nothing happened to you. Another companion has been following us at a distance.’
    Eteocles lowered his head, humiliated by such odious consideration on Alexander’s part: ‘Return to your master and tell him that this will not stop me killing him if I ever meet him on a battlefield.’ He guided his charger into the ford.
    The soldier, sitting upright on his mount, stood there watching until he saw the boy riding up the opposite bank and setting off along the plain into Persian territory. Then he turned and headed back to meet his companion who was probably waiting not far away. The moonlight was increasingly strong and things were well illuminated, helped by the chalky colour of the desert, but there was no sign of the other hetairos . And the next day, by sunlight, there was no trace of him either, nor was there any the day after that; the desert had swallowed him up.

 
5
     
    ‘Y OUR SON E TEOCLES has crossed the border into Persia safe and sound,’ said Alexander as he entered Barsine’s room, ‘but one of the men I sent to follow him and protect him has not returned.’
    ‘I am sorry,’ replied Barsine. ‘I know how close you are to your men.’
    ‘They are like my children. But this is the price I pay for your peace of mind. And how is your youngest son?’
    ‘He remains close to me, he loves me, and perhaps he understands me. And then nature helps protect the young – they soon forget and forgetting comes more easily to them.’
    ‘And you? How do you feel?’
    ‘I am most grateful to you for all you have done, but my life is no longer the same. A woman who is also a mother can perhaps never be a real lover – her heart is always pulled in another direction by other feelings.’
    ‘Are you trying to tell me that you no longer wish to see me?’
    Barsine lowered her head, somewhat upset now, ‘Please don’t make things any harder for me; you well know that I wish to see you every day, every instant, that your remoteness and your coldness hurt me so much. I beg you, please give me some time to recover, to build a small refuge in my heart for my memories and then . . . then I will know how to love you as you wish me to.’
    She stood up and approached him, enveloping him in her beauty and her fragrance – Alexander took her face in his hands and kissed her.
    ‘Do