CHAPTER 83

 

Thanks to Jishtay’s help Alexander arrived to his camp that same day at night. Kleitos was going to scold him for disappearing like that, but when he saw his expression he decided to close his mouth. The King called immediately a meeting with his closest friends, Hephaistion’s older brother, his high-ranking officers, and, to everybody’s surprise, he even called Kyros and Xsayarsa.

 

Alexander had no time to lose, he went straight to the point and told them what had happened, without spearing any detail to his impressed audience, which stayed still in complete silence, gasping and cursing at the right moments and burning with indignation. By the time he finished, his audience was staring at him in shock, and no one knew what to say, what could one say after such a story?

 

- I imagine that Hephaistion didn’t spoke about our kidnapping with any of you –some said nothing, others shook their heads, but Kyros raised his hand—What is it?

 

- Sire, I…I was the one who found Eurycliedes’ head outside the General’s tent –said the Theban without looking at him—But…the General told me to say nothing.

 

The King remained silent; he understood perfectly well why Hephaistion had done that. He cursed Melkar silently, the Carthaginian’s plan had been perfect, he knew his beloved would never endanger his or Achilles’ lives to protect himself, which told Alexander that Melkar had excellent spies to know that much about them.

 

- We didn’t noticed something strange, sire –said Dismas, feeling like an idiot, he was Hephaistion’s second in command, and it was also his obligation to see the King came to no harm—Whoever killed Eurycliedes and kidnapped you, was inside the camp since long before the attack.

 

- What happened when you noticed my absence? –Alexander paced around, unable to sit down.

 

- I sent a party to look for you, sire –said Dismas at once.

 

- At first, we didn’t know what to think –Kleitos intervened—Everything was so sudden and clean. I, for one, thought you were exploring the place, or gone with one of the parties to supervise the grain supply.

 

- We thought you were with Hephaistion –said Leonnatos, looking very concerned—Who could have imagine this?

 

Nikandros didn’t say a word; he was so pale that Perdikkas thought he was going to faint, extremely worried for his brother and the news that he was going to be sold into slavery.

 

- We’ll investigate how was that Melkar’s men infiltrated our camp –the King said and many heads nodded—But now, we need to concentrate on how to bring Hephaistion back –no one argued. This had been an insult to all of them; the enemy had infiltrated their camp and kidnapped their King and Prince. Darius had behaved in a despicable way and they would rescue the General not for love but for pride—Yarsa –Alexander called the Persian, scaring him.

 

The eunuch was still very impressed after hearing the King’s story, and even more disappointed with the Great King; Darius had done a terrible thing. The Persian cleaned his tears with his handkerchief before answering.

 

- Your majesty.

 

- Where do you think they took Hephaistion? –asked Alexander.

 

Xsayarsa took a moment to think. He liked his new patron and was more than willing to help.

 

- To Babylon, it’s the most important slave market –he said—There aren’t many slave markets here, so I don’t think it would be difficult to find the General.

 

- What do you mean? –asked Leonnatos with curiosity.

 

Xsayarsa explained everything about slaves in Persia, and his audience was surprised with this piece of information, they had imagined the opposite; after all, in Greece slaves were very common. 

 

- Yarsa, if they didn’t send Hephaistion to Babylon, what other choices are? –asked Alexander, watching the eunuch with intensity and making him feel very nervous. 

 

- Not many your majesty, but the worst of all would be the mines –the King nodded. He knew how was the fate of the slaves in the mines, it was horrible and they didn’t live more than a couple of years.

 

Alexander felt the rage burning inside him. Melkar was a cruel man, cold and intelligent, and he could bet his kingdom that the Carthaginian would send his beloved to the mines without thinking twice.

 

- Which mines? –asked the King.

 

- Well…there are several mines –Xsayarsa wiped the sweat from his forehead—But Bactria’s silver mines are the ones that use the greatest number of slaves. 

 

They all fell silent.

 

- We’ll go first to the mines –said the King, nodding.

 

- Alexander –said Kleitos with caution—We all want to rescue Hephaistion, we all are insulted by Darius’ actions but we can’t go to Bactria, is way too far from here and, in order to reach it, we’ll have to cross through enemy territory. We don’t know for sure that he was sent to Bactria and we don’t know these roads; why not start the search in Babylon?

 

- Kleitos is right –said Nikanor, he too was angry and concerned for Hephaistion, but they had to think things carefully—We should send a small group, to pass unnoticed, maybe disguised as merchants, and look for him in Babylon.

 

- We could ask our spies if they know something –Eumenes proposed.

 

Alexander shook his head.

 

- To ask the spies will take time, and Hephaistion doesn’t have time –the King sighed—He is not in Babylon –he said as if he knew this for a fact—Melkar is too smart, he would never send him to the most obvious place, besides, Babylon is not too far from here…no, he sent Hephaistion to the mines, the most distant and cruel place…—he returned his attention to the eunuch— How many roads can take a group from here to Bactria, Yarsa?

 

The eunuch frowned, thinking really hard. He wasn’t an expert traveler but, he searched in his mind for information he had heard from other people.

 

- If they want to reach Bactria as soon as possible, they would have to take the Royal Road, at least for the first part of the trip –said the eunuch—Its winter, any other route would be dangerous.

 

The King nodded.

 

- This makes things even easier. Kleitos, chose your faster riders and sent them to the Royal Road in disguise, a small group but heavily arm –said Alexander.

 

- I’ll see to it now –said the hipparch, standing up. 

 

- Eumenes, write to our spies at Darius’ court and ask if they know something about Hephaistion, and try to get all the information you can about this man, Melkar –the King continued.

 

- Yes, Alexander.

 

- Yarsa, do you know someone who could have information about this? –asked Alexander.

 

- Yes, your majesty, an old friend who lives in Babylon –said the eunuch.

 

- Write to him.

 

- Yes, your majesty –the Persian bowed.

 

- Dismas, you will investigate inside the camp how was that Melkar’s men infiltrated; do what ever is necessary –said Alexander and Dismas saluted and left.

 

Please Phai, just wait a little longer –thought the King, raising a silent prayer to the Gods.

 

XXX

 

Hephaistion started to wake up. He had been floating in limbo for days, half sleep half awake; the sounds around him, the smells, the sensations… all was like a dream. When the General opened his eyes he needed several minutes to understand where he was and what had happened to him, his mind felt numb, his thoughts moved slowly forming ideas with difficulty; he had the mouth dry and his body felt heavy…strange. He tried to move and then, an excruciating pain ran through his body, sending a shock to all his nerves; it was a terrible sensation but that served to wake him up, to make him take conscious of his surroundings.

 

At first, he wasn’t sure of what was happening to him, then, he remembered Melkar’s trap, Darius, the whipping…his last memory was of the guards lying unconscious around them and Alexander and Achilles safe. He remembered telling Alexander to escape and he truly hoped the stubborn King had done it. Now, one of his questions was answered, but the second and more important remained a mystery: where was he?

 

The cracking sounds, the gentle rocking and salted air told him he was inside a ship, but whose ship? And where was he heading? Using all his willpower, Hephaistion sat, clenching his jaw in the process, he closed his eyes for a moment, he felt dizzy, and had to take a deep breath. He was half naked, his torso covered in bandages, and he was planning to stand up when someone arrived. He opened his gray eyes again, and found a young woman standing in the threshold, holding a bucket and several bandages. 

 

The woman stopped when she saw he was awake, but she recovered quickly and approached him, leaving the bucket at one side of the bed.

 

- I didn’t expect to see you awake –she said in Greek. She tried to touch him but he took her hand.

 

- Who are you and where am I? –the General asked. She smiled.

 

- My name is Adria –said the woman gently—And you are onboard the Tanit, the merchant ship of master Hanon…and now, if you excuse me, I have to change your bandages. 

 

This time the Macedonian didn’t stop her, and Adria sat down at his side.

 

- Who is Hanon? –asked Hephaistion, his gray eyes exploring his surrounding with curiosity. It was a very small room, with a very small window and the only furniture there was the hard bed when he was sitting. 

 

- You truly don’t know a thing, do you? –she said, taking off the bandages with all care—Master Hanon is a slave trader, I have served him since I was a little girl when he bought me in Syracuse.

 

- Slave…trader –now the General remembered everything, Darius had kept his word and had sold him, but, what happened with Alexander and Achilles?—Adria, do you know if are other Macedonians here?

 

- Not this time –said Adria, taking care in treating his wounds—I remember that 4 months ago, master Hanon bought 3 Macedonians but, this time you are the only one –he nodded, hoping that the 2 most important persons in his life had escaped.

 

She clicked her tongue.

 

- You truly pissed off someone –she said, watching his back—What did you do to deserve this beating?

 

Hephaistion smiled humorless.

 

- I tricked someone –Adria expected to hear more but he remained silent.

 

- At least, do you have a name?

 

- Hephaistion…where are we heading?

 

Adria cleaned his wounds with a wet cloth, and the Macedonian clenched his jaw. It hurt horrible.

 

- To Carthage.

 

- WHAT?! –he exclaimed in disbelief, turning to see her. His initial surprise overshadowing the pain in his back—Why?  

 

Adria blinked confused.

 

- Master Hanon’s home is in Carthage –she said with simplicity, applying an ointment on his back before bandaging him again—Are you hungry?  

 

He just nodded, not trusting his voice. Adria stood up, took the discarded bandages and the bucket. She left, leaving him behind with a myriad of thoughts in his head.

 

Hephaistion tried to recapitulate what had happened, he wanted to think that Alexander and Achilles had escaped; apparently he had been unconscious for a couple of days, and during that time, he had been sold to a Carthaginian named Hanon, a slave trader, and now he was heading to Carthage, in north Africa. He sighed.

 

If Alexander and Achilles were fine, then, his sacrifice had been worth it and he had no regrets. But, Carthage? That was so far away from Alexander… What was he thinking? He was no longer the master of his own destiny, now his life wasn’t his own, because he had been sold as a slave. Slave! He couldn’t accept that fate; it was so unreal. He had been born as the son of a hetairoi of the Macedonian King, he had a privileged life and was a General in the most powerful army of the world, he as a slave was something very difficult to accept.

 

And yet, this is how things are going to be from now on…until I find a way to get back –thought Hephaistion—Carthage –he sighed.

 

It was funny how the world at that time could be divided in 2: To the east the Persian Empire, Egypt and that distant place called India. To the west Carthage, Rome, Gaul and Hispania. Hephaistion would have never dare to imagine traveling to the west, and now, at every heartbeat the wind took him even farther from the love of his life.

 

But, if this was the price to pay to assure that Alexander could escape, then, its fine, someday I’ll see him again, I’m sure of that –thought the Macedonian.

 

XXX

 

That was a peaceful night in the Macedonian camp. With the exception of the high ranking officers, no one knew about what had happened with Darius and Melkar, and the construction of the mole continued without delays.

 

Kleitos was heading back to his tent, rubbing his tired eyes with his index and thumb after a very long day, but someone made him stopped.

 

- Sir, can I talk to you? –asked Achilles, standing very serious in front of him and taking Kleitos by surprise.

 

- I don’t have time to tell you a bedtime story, kid –said the hipparch, and continued his way. It was late and he was tired, the only thing he wanted in that moment was an amphora of wine, food and his bed.

 

After a while, he noticed Achilles was still following him; he stopped again and turned.

 

- What do you want? –he asked rudely, but he boy didn’t even flinch.

 

- I want you to teach me how to fight –said Achilles.

 

For a moment Kleitos didn’t understand.

 

- The King already asked me that –he said—I’ll teach you when you are 5.

 

- I want to learn now –the boy insisted.

 

The hipparch sighed heavily.

 

- Look kid, I don’t have baby swords and I can’t teach you now –he kept walking and Achilles kept following him.

 

- I’m not a baby, and I need to learn how to fight now –said the boy with the same stubbornness of the King. 

 

- Why? –asked Kleitos, not bothering in look at him.

 

- Because if I knew how to fight, maybe I would have been able to help my father –explained Achilles, talking about Hephaistion.

 

The hipparch stopped, and watched him intently this time.

Achilles had changed. Kleitos didn’t know how to put it in words but this wasn’t the same boy that had cried at the top of his voice because he didn’t wanted to leave his best friend at the Persian camp; the experience with Melkar had made him grow up, now he was more mature, and his eyes, like the King’s, told him the boy was serious in what he was asking. 

 

Kleitos sighed.

 

- All right, kid –he said at last—Come tomorrow at first hour to my tent.

 

Achilles smiled.

 

- Yes, sir –he answered with enthusiasm and returned running to the King’s tent.

 

- Great! Now, I’m a babysitter –the hipparch yawned and kept walking. 

 

XXX

 

The construction of the mole to reach Tyre continued as if nothing had happened. Five days after Alexander and Achilles had escaped found the King supervising the construction process, speaking to his men and encouraging them, making an effort to smile even if his heart were bleeding, mortally wounded knowing that his beloved was in danger.

 

The Tyrians had made a routine of climbing their walls to insult the Macedonians, and laughed at their pathetic attempt of building a mole. Seriously, what kind of King thought of these sort of things?

 

- Let them laugh now –said Alexander to his men—They won’t be so happy once we reach their gates.         

 

- Sire! –one of his pages arrived running—Sire, the secretary Eumenes said he had the information you had asked for.

 

The King felt his heart beating faster, but his face remained the same. He followed his page back, and found Eumenes with a very long letter. When the King entered, he stood up, and gave it to him.

 

- This arrived a minute ago, from our man at Darius’ court –Alexander read as fast as he could.

 

His man, Dolon, knew nothing about Hephaistion, but he was full of information about Melkar. He was a widower, some said he had something to do with his wife’ death but nobody knew that for sure, he came from Carthage but had settled in Tyre years ago, his only daughter was married to King Azemilcus’ older son and he had great influence in the empire. Dolon also told Alexander that Melkar was famous because of his spies and his ruthless methods.

 

Ruthless methods –thought the King angry, crumpling the letter in his fist. Thanks to Dolon his anger now had found a culprit, someone or something he could punish for the things Melkar had done to him and Hephaistion: Tyre. Melkar’s daughter was inside Tyre.

 

- Sire –Dismas arrived, taking Alexander out of his terrible thoughts.

 

- Yes? –he turned to face his officer and the look in his uneven eyes made Dismas take a step back, his eyes mirroring the emotions haunting his heart and giving him a fearsome appearance—What is it Dismas?

 

The officer swallowed hard.

 

- Sire, we have a man that wants to talk to you, he says he saw the General in Gaza, unconscious, taken onboard a ship –the King’s eyes shone with hope.

 

- Bring him here immediately.

 

- Yes, sire –he saluted and turned on his heels.

 

Paltibaal was taken to the King’s tent, and he needed a moment to recover after finding himself surrounded by all the riches and wonderful furniture and tapestries that once had been Darius’. Dismas lead the way to the King’s audience chamber and stayed at the door, ready to intervene in case it was necessary. 

  

- I’m King Alexander of Macedon –said the blond, successfully impressing the Sidonian.

 

- Sire –he bowed slightly—My name is Paltibaal, I’m a merchant from Sidon; my older brother and I had the pleasure of having General Hephaistion at our house.

 

Alexander recognized him immediately; his beloved had told him about them. He nodded.

 

- I heard about your hospitality Paltibaal, and I thank you and your brother for that –Paltibaal bowed again—What can I do for you? 

 

- Sire, maybe this is silly and I’m overreacting, and if that is the case, I apologize, but the more I think about this the more I’m convince that something is wrong –said the Sidonian.

 

- Go on, please.

 

Paltibaal took a deep breath.

 

- Days ago I was at Gaza, supervising one of our ships when I saw the General unconscious on a stretcher –he said, catching Alexander’s attention—A group of men were taking him onboard a ship, and, when I asked about the ship I heard it’s the property of a slave trader –the King felt his heart beating faster.

 

- Do you have any idea of where were they heading?

 

- Yes, sire –said the Sidonian—To Carthage.

 

XXX

 

- To Carthage?! –exclaimed Perdikkas, at the military council, when Alexander told them the news—But, but that’s insane.

 

- No, it has all the sense in the world –said Alexander to his impressed officers and friends—Melkar is Carthaginian and he doesn’t want Hephaistion to be rescued; I bet you that he was planning to send him to Bactria until he heard about my escape, he must have known I was going to rescue him, and instead of sending him to Bactria he is sending Hephaistion to the other side of the Mediterranean.

 

Again, all the present fell silent.

 

- We can’t go after him –said Krateros, not because he hated Hephaistion, but, because it was a fact—We don’t longer have a fleet, our resources are scarce and a trip to Carthage will take weeks.

 

- Nearchos, how far is Carthage from here? –asked Alexander.

 

His friend took a moment before answering.

 

- One or two weeks, depending on the weather –said Nearchos, having an idea of what was his King planning.

 

- Then, I’ll go for him –said the King.

 

- Alexander you can leave now –said Kleitos, his arms crossed over his chest—We are in the middle of a siege, if you insist in going to Carthage, I’ll go with a group of my men; you have my word that I’ll bring Hephaistion back.

 

- No. Hephaistion risked his life for me, the least I can do is the same –said Alexander stubbornly—I’ll go to Carthage and that is final.

 

His officers exchanged glances but no one said a word, it was impossible to reason with him.

 

- Fine, but still, I’ll go with you –said Kleitos.

 

- We’ll see, I can’t leave the army without it’s best officers –said the King, his mind thinking fast on his next course of action.

 

XXX

 

Hephaistion was called to Hanon’s cabin almost after a week of travel, his hands and feet were in chains and, two big and strong guards walked at his side; he felt like some kind of wild beast but he said nothing; he didn’t feel well, he had found to his utterly dismay that he had seasickness, he had never been so long onboard a ship before and had decided that he didn’t like ships.

 

- Come in –said Hanon’s voice and the guards opened the door pushing Hephaistion inside—Oh! –exclaimed the merchant watching his new acquisition with interest; the Macedonian noticed that Adria was there, serving the food—I’m glad to see you are fine now, that brute of Melkar almost kill you –Hanon was sting on a big couch, his massive stomach stretching the fine tunic he was wearing—You have beautiful eyes, I’m going to make a fortune with you –he smiled, while Adria filled his cup with wine.

 

- You are Hanon? –asked Hephaistion and one of the guards hit his side with his sword’ hilt, for his insolence. Hephaistion clenched his fists.

 

- That’s enough –said Hanon—He is recovering and I want him in perfect conditions when we arrived.

 

- Yes master –said the guard.   

 

- Yes, I’m Hanon –the merchant continued— Melkar told me you were a Macedonian soldier captured in battle –up went Hephaistion’s eyebrows in disbelief; could it be? This man knew nothing about what really happened? One look at Hanon’s childish face told him that the merchant was only another pawn in Melkar’s game—How old are you?

 

- 24 –it was pointless to tell Hanon the truth; that would change nothing. 

 

The merchant nodded while chewing grapes.

 

- Good, good…can read?

 

The General frowned.

 

- Of course I can read, and I can do it in Macedonian and Greek you glutton fool –he said with all dignity making Adria gasped. The guards saw their master, waiting for the order to hit the impertinent young man, but Hanon just stared at Hephaistion, chewing. At some point, he reminded the Macedonian of a cow, a very big and fat cow.

 

- You were not a common soldier –the Carthaginian spit the seeds at his side with calm, he was used to aggressive slaves—What was your rank?

 

- General of the Agema of the Hypaspist –said Hephaistion with pride.

 

Hanon knew nothing about the Macedonian army, but he could tell that, this man in front of him was important, he didn’t know how was that Melkar had captured him, but, for what he knew about his fellow countryman, here was something fishy, and he wanted no part in this. He would sell Hephaistion as fast as possible and get rid of him, a shame because he was so beautiful…Hanon sighed.       

 

- Take him again to his room, and see that he has no food today for his insolence –the guards took Hephaistion by the arms—Remember that you are no longer in the army, “General”.

 

XXX