Read Online Henry of Atlantic City by Frederick Reuss - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Frederick Reuss
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his face pressed to the glass of the window, trying to look down at the street below.
The angel said then the light will descend upon you and you will be clothed in it.
Henry tried to imagine being clothed in the light but he couldn’t. He was disappointed. It was like that sometimes between divided egos and lovers of the truth.
There was an owl in the emperor’s garden. It lived in a tree. One of the guards had the job of finding mice for it to eat. The mouse got left in the grass somewhere on the big lawn. After a while the owl swooped down and grabbed it and took it back up into the tree to eat. Life in the emperor’s garden was easy. There was a wall around it and a long, long driveway that went through some woods. There were statues and fountains and terraced gardens and springs with flowing water and gazebos. There was even a helicopter landing pad with a big red X painted across it and a swimming pool.
“Looks like fucking East Egg,” Sy said.
“Don’t be so nervous,” Henry’s father said as they drove up to the gate.
“Don’t be nervous? How can I
not
be nervous?”
A guard at the gate stopped them and talked into his walkie-talkie before letting them through. They drove slowly through the grounds until another guard stepped out from nowhere and pointed to where they should park the car. They got out of the car and Henry’s father opened the trunk and pulled out a big suitcase. As they walked toward the house he asked Henry if he still had the gold chain. When Henry showed it, his father put down the suitcase and picked him up and kissed him on both cheeks.
Procopius said the emperor rarely ever left the Palace grounds except to go to the Hippodrome. He was always surrounded by people. They came from all parts of the empire and grew so numerous after the wars with Persia and Carthage that he ordered a special hostel built in the Palace for them to stay in. Henry had only seen the emperor once before. It was a long time ago during the Easter festival in the Forum of Constantine, where Henry and his father were supervising the slaughter of the Paschal Lambs. Justinian and Theodora were generous at Easter. They provided lambs to be roasted for all the people of Byzantium. Not just a few but thousands and not just in the Forum of Constantine but in all the public areas throughout the city. As captain of the Blues Henry’s father helped keep order during the festival. Just as the big charcoal fires over which the lamb would be cooked were being lit, Justinian entered the Forum with Belisarius, who had just returned from the war with Persia. At first nobody noticed because they were not dressed in their normal regalia or accompanied by theregular guard. They just rode into the Forum of Constantine on their horses as if they were ordinary people. It was noisy and the air was thick with smoke from the fires and everybody was watching the soldiers do the slaughtering. Henry figured it was what battle looked like. There was blood everywhere and a strong smell of viscera. The two men rode through the crowd and when somebody shouted, “Hail Justinian, emperor of Rome,” and someone else shouted, “Hail Belisarius, commander of the armies,” a cheering began that drowned out even the bleating of the doomed animals. The people pressed around the two men on all sides and the emperor and his general made their way slowly until they reached the big pit where the meat was being cooked and then one of the Blues gave them each a leg of roasted lamb. Belisarius ate his but the emperor refused because he always fasted at Easter and took nothing but water and bitter herbs for three days. They sat on their horses and watched the festival while the people cheered them. Then a detachment of the Palace guard made its way through the crowd and surrounded them and made the people stand back. That was before the Nike riots, when the Hagia Sophia was burned down, and before Belisarius was publicly disgraced and made to walk
The angel said then the light will descend upon you and you will be clothed in it.
Henry tried to imagine being clothed in the light but he couldn’t. He was disappointed. It was like that sometimes between divided egos and lovers of the truth.
There was an owl in the emperor’s garden. It lived in a tree. One of the guards had the job of finding mice for it to eat. The mouse got left in the grass somewhere on the big lawn. After a while the owl swooped down and grabbed it and took it back up into the tree to eat. Life in the emperor’s garden was easy. There was a wall around it and a long, long driveway that went through some woods. There were statues and fountains and terraced gardens and springs with flowing water and gazebos. There was even a helicopter landing pad with a big red X painted across it and a swimming pool.
“Looks like fucking East Egg,” Sy said.
“Don’t be so nervous,” Henry’s father said as they drove up to the gate.
“Don’t be nervous? How can I
not
be nervous?”
A guard at the gate stopped them and talked into his walkie-talkie before letting them through. They drove slowly through the grounds until another guard stepped out from nowhere and pointed to where they should park the car. They got out of the car and Henry’s father opened the trunk and pulled out a big suitcase. As they walked toward the house he asked Henry if he still had the gold chain. When Henry showed it, his father put down the suitcase and picked him up and kissed him on both cheeks.
Procopius said the emperor rarely ever left the Palace grounds except to go to the Hippodrome. He was always surrounded by people. They came from all parts of the empire and grew so numerous after the wars with Persia and Carthage that he ordered a special hostel built in the Palace for them to stay in. Henry had only seen the emperor once before. It was a long time ago during the Easter festival in the Forum of Constantine, where Henry and his father were supervising the slaughter of the Paschal Lambs. Justinian and Theodora were generous at Easter. They provided lambs to be roasted for all the people of Byzantium. Not just a few but thousands and not just in the Forum of Constantine but in all the public areas throughout the city. As captain of the Blues Henry’s father helped keep order during the festival. Just as the big charcoal fires over which the lamb would be cooked were being lit, Justinian entered the Forum with Belisarius, who had just returned from the war with Persia. At first nobody noticed because they were not dressed in their normal regalia or accompanied by theregular guard. They just rode into the Forum of Constantine on their horses as if they were ordinary people. It was noisy and the air was thick with smoke from the fires and everybody was watching the soldiers do the slaughtering. Henry figured it was what battle looked like. There was blood everywhere and a strong smell of viscera. The two men rode through the crowd and when somebody shouted, “Hail Justinian, emperor of Rome,” and someone else shouted, “Hail Belisarius, commander of the armies,” a cheering began that drowned out even the bleating of the doomed animals. The people pressed around the two men on all sides and the emperor and his general made their way slowly until they reached the big pit where the meat was being cooked and then one of the Blues gave them each a leg of roasted lamb. Belisarius ate his but the emperor refused because he always fasted at Easter and took nothing but water and bitter herbs for three days. They sat on their horses and watched the festival while the people cheered them. Then a detachment of the Palace guard made its way through the crowd and surrounded them and made the people stand back. That was before the Nike riots, when the Hagia Sophia was burned down, and before Belisarius was publicly disgraced and made to walk
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