Free Orion and the Conqueror by Ben Bova Page B

blood-red.
    Alexandros sat.
    "Philip talks about fighting the Persians. You will speak of conquering the Persian Empire. Philip uses the Persians as an excuse in his drive to bring all the Greek cities under his dominion. You will tell all the Greeks that no Greek city can be free as long the Persian Empire threatens us."
    "That's what Aristotle told me—"
    "Of course he did." Olympias smiled knowingly.
    "But the Persians aren't threatening us," Alexandros said. "Their new king is struggling to hold his empire together. They have no intention of invading us."
    "Little matter. People remember the tales of their grandfathers, and their grandfathers before them. The Persians have invaded us in times past; they all know that.
    Even today the Persians control the Greek cities of Ionia and interfere in our politics, paying one city to war against another, keeping us weak and divided. Only by crushing the Persian Empire can cities such as Athens be truly free."
    Alexandros gaped at her. At last he said, "You could be a better orator than Demosthenes himself."
    Olympias smiled and patted her son on his golden curls. "Philip has an army. Demosthenes has a cause. You can have both."
    "To conquer the Persian Empire." Alexandros breathed the words, inhaled the idea like heady perfume. "To conquer the world !"
    Still smiling, Olympias turned to me. "Orion, I have a command for you."
    I knew that I must obey.
    "This is my son," she said. "You will protect him at all times against all his enemies. Including the man who believes himself to be his father."
    "Against Philip?" I asked.
    "Against Philip and anyone else who would stand in his way," Olympias said to me.
    "I understand."
    Abruptly she turned back to Alexandros, still sitting there musing about conquering the world. "Be patient. Learn from the One-Eyed Fox himself. Bide your time. But when the moment finally comes, be prepared to strike."
    "I will, mother," said Alexandros fervently. "I will."

    Olympias dismissed me as soon as Alexandros left. I went to my barracks bed that night with my thoughts in a swirl. I owed my allegiance to Philip, yet Olympias had commanded me to protect Alexandros even against Philip himself. What did she fear? What did she plan?
    I forced myself to sleep, willed myself to dream. Once again I found myself on the sunny hillside overlooking the magnificent city by the sea. It sat beneath its glittering dome of energy, looking totally empty, completely abandoned.
    The woman I loved had lived there once. The woman I knew as Athena. Anya was her true name, or as true a name as any of the Creators possessed. They were far beyond the need for names, even the need for words. They were as far beyond mortal human form as the stars are beyond my reach.
    The Creators. I remembered the word, the concept. One of them had created me. Hera had called me a creature, a being created by—by the Golden One, Aten. I remembered that much. My memory was slowly returning. Or were the Creators merely allowing me to remember some things so that I could serve them better?
    Determined to learn more, I started walking toward the glowing city.
    Only to find myself in my rumpled bed in the barracks at Pella, sunlight beaming through the high windows and roosters crowing in the distance.

Chapter 9

    "Do you think you could make a good spy for me?" Philip asked.
    I had been summoned into his work room. The trestle table was bare, except for a pile of scrolls in one corner. There were no servants, no wine.
    "A spy?" I blurted.
    "Why not?" Philip mused aloud, leaning back in his leather sling-chair. "The best spies are men who seem to be part of the background, men who are not noticed by the people they're spying on. Or women, of course, but that's something else altogether."
    I stood at attention before him, not knowing what to say.
    "Don't look so miserable, Orion," the king said with a crooked grin. "I'm not asking you to sneak around and pry into locked rooms."
    "I don't understand,