Stealing Fire Read Online Free PDF Page A

the fortress at Pelousion and hold it for him. And if it gets us out of Babylon, well and good.”
    “How we going to seize a fortress with sixty men?” Glaukos wanted to know, his chin forward stubbornly.
    I didn't blink. “That's for me to figure out, isn't it? Seeing as how I'm the Hipparch and you aren't.”
    “And better you than me,” he said, but he set about making ready again.
    I heard a noise and looked up at the portico, but it was only Ptolemy coming down, a couple of people with him. His head was bare, but he wore full harness. Everyone wore full harness now, even in the palace, even to sleep.
    “Ready?”
    I nodded, my voice low. “Ready, sir. We'll be out the gates before anyone has a chance to ask questions.”
    He handed me a pair of scrolls. “Good. Here's the letters for the governor at Gaza and for Artamenes at Pelousion. I don't know if he'll yield, but we got on well before. If he does, don't challenge his authority about anything civilian.” Ptolemy stopped and ran a hand through his damp hair. His hairline was already receding a bit. “You must do what you think best after a point, Lydias. I don't know what the situation is. The word of the King's death can't have reached them more than a few days ago. You'll be riding on the tails of the news.”
    I put the scrolls in my bag. “And you'll be behind us.”
    His eyes met mine for a moment. “I hope so,” he said.
    I nodded.
    “But not until Roxane is delivered at least,” he said. “Three more months. And then…” Ptolemy let his voice trail off. There was no point in discussing something so far away, so shrouded in blood.
    “We'll hold Pelousion for you,” I said, for want of something to say.
    Ptolemy looked about. “I have something for you to take with you as well,” he said, and one of the cloaked figures with him stepped forward. Under the dark cloth I saw her eyes, Thais the Athenian, the hetaira who had traveled with Ptolemy for ten years now, since they had crossed into Asia.
    I must have looked surprised, because she said quickly, “I can ride, Hipparch. How do you think I've kept up all these years?”
    “I'm sure you can,” I said.
    Her cloak moved, and I saw the child standing beside her, so close that one cloak covered them both. She held a second in her arms, sleeping against her shoulder.
    I opened my mouth and shut it again.
    Ptolemy's voice was low. “I am entrusting Thais and our children to you, Lydias. Convey them to Pelousion.”
    “We have no litters or wagons,” I said. “General…”
    Ptolemy's eyes flickered to Thais. “Thais can ride,” he said. “And if you take Chloe up before you, you will not lose speed. She won't be afraid. Thais can wear Lagos in a sling against her. That's what she's always done.”
    I nodded sharply.
    “Thank you, Hipparch,” Thais said in her rich voice. “We will not delay your business. I promise you that.”
    I mumbled some pleasantry or other and stowed the last of the things in my bag, conscious that behind me Ptolemy had knelt beside the child, who had thrown her arms around his neck while he spoke softly in her ear. He stood up, lifting her, a little girl seven years old or so, almost a bundle in her dark cloak.
    Thais bent her head toward his, and I caught his words as he straightened. “I'll see you soon in Pelousion, dove,” I heard him promise, and I heard the catch in his voice and knew he expected to die.
    I ground my teeth together and swung onto my horse's back. “Ile, mount!”
    There was the bustle of everyone getting up, the rattle of lances, one trooper holding the bridle while Thais mounted, surprisingly nimble.
    Ptolemy handed the younger child up to her, and I caught a glimpse of his sleeping face, a boy perhaps a year and a half old, wrapped tight in a sling that would hold him against his mother's body. Then he helped the little girl up before me. “Hold on right there,” he said, putting her fingers where they should be. “Just like you