The sun rose and fell. The river churned as it met the sea. The breeze reached down into the hold and stirred my hair. I smelled the clean, sharp scent of salt water, the tidal flats, the wide open space of the gulf, and the sun burning the wooden hull of the ship. We had a long voyage ahead of us. Through the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, through the Indian Ocean, and up the Red Sea. It would take many weeks, but we had all the time in the world.
In the cool of the evening we sat on deck while Axiom prepared our meal in the clay oven.
After dinner, Plexis unrolled the parchment and read The Odyssey to us. Alexander lay on a blanket, his head in my lap. I stroked his forehead with a hand that shook sometimes when I thought of how close I had come to losing him. Paul and Chiron dozed in their hammocks. Brazza rocked Cleopatra in his arms.
We watched as the sun dipped below the sea. For a moment, it seemed as though the sky burst into flame and the sea was a burnished bronze shield. Then the lavender twilight cooled the air. As the night deepened, a trillion stars sparkled in the sky. Alexander pointed out the constellations, and I felt as if all the gods and goddesses in the heavens looked down upon us, while Nearchus sailed our boat through the wine-dark sea.
Proudly published by Accent Press
www.accentpress.co.uk
Storms over Babylon Page 16
