"Lee Edgar - Princess 01 - Queen of The Persians" - читать интересную книгу автора (Edgar Lee)

Choaspes as the sun began to feel warm on his face. Dismissing all but a few, he stepped into the ice-cold river
and sat on a rock as his assistants began to smooth the water over his strong, manly body. Khshayarsha closed
his eyes to the bright spring sun as the cool waters washed away the dust from the road and the sweat of the night.
After twelve years as co-ruler with his father, was he yet ready for the responsibility ahead of him? He would have
problems, he knew, from his older brother Artabazanes. Long before his death, their father had decreed that he,
Khshayarsha, should rule, but there might well be objections to face. Also, there was his brother-in-law to consider.
As General of the land forces, Mardonius wielded much power. If the worst came to the worst, he may have to call on
the ten thousand Immortals to defend the throne. Only he himself could rule in the way his father had wished.
The King opened his eyes as the bathing stopped and his attendants started to mutter among themselves. ‘What
is it?’ he asked, a little annoyed at the disturbance.
The eldest maid bowed low. ‘With respect, highness, there is a body in the river.’
He instinctively stood up to get out of the impure liquid and stared towards the place where the roaring waters
rushed over and between rocks, before gathering themselves to plunge over the edge into the deep Karkhem
ravine.
‘It is a child,’ he said with feeling. ‘Send for soldiers. We must recover the body so it may be buried with honour.’
‘Very well, Highness,’ said the woman who rushed away to do her ruler’s bidding.
‘It moved!’ shouted one of the other girls excitedly. ‘The child lives.’
Khshayarsha instinctively stepped forward and, as he watched, the head moved slightly. Despite calls from his
people, the King waded into the water.
Suddenly, the voice of Haman prevailed. ‘My Lord King, it is too dangerous. Let one of the men go.’
The King hesitated. His advisor was right. Already, the raging waters were tugging at his legs, threatening to pull
him over the lip of the precipice and, between himself and the rock, there was a thrusting torrent which washed
away everything in its path. He motioned and three or four young soldiers plunged into the mainstream and worked
their way towards the rock. Inch by inch, the men edged closer, holding onto one other to prevent themselves being
swept away by the current. When within ten feet of the rock, one slipped and it took all the strength of the others to
prevent him plunging to destruction. The King watched as, time after time, they tried and failed until, unexpectedly, a
shadow fell over him.
‘I go,’ said the deep voice and Khshayarsha looked up at the giant beside him.
‘It is dangerous, Hegai,’ said the King.
The big man pulled back his shoulders and flexed the muscles in his back and bull neck. ‘I go,’ he insisted and
strode forward into the water.
‘Take a rope, Hegai,’ suggested one of the men. ‘We will hold the end and prevent you going over the edge.
The giant turned and nodded. Within a few minutes, they had knotted a long hemp rope around his waist and he
was inching into the raging water. Slowly, he pushed against the current and side-stepped towards the prone figure
stretched over the rock as if in sacrifice. Suddenly, he lost his footing and slipped into the water and disappeared
under the surface. The men on the bank held on tight to the rope and bore the big man’s weight as he vanished over
the edge. They slipped and skidded on the muddy limestone bank until several others joined in the tug-of-war with
death. Gradually, Hegai was hauled back up and he hung onto the rock to rest.
‘You pull now!’ he shouted and swung his great body out across the foaming brink. Several times, they tried the
manoeuvre until, with a gasp, he clutched hold of the slippery rock and looped the rope over it.
It was a mistake. Under the weight of two, it shifted and, before he could react, the young child was tipped into the
frothing torrent. Hegai let go of the rock and grabbed the long hair in passing. He swung the child round and held it
with his strong legs as he fought for breath. Slowly, Hegai hoisted the child into the crook of his arm and then looked
round at the situation he was in. Whilst holding on to the limp form, he had only one arm free and it had taken both
his hands to get to where he now was. He was stuck at the end of a rope while the icy flood waters from the snow
melt of the Zagros Mountains cascaded over them both.
The King was quick to observe the predicament of his senior eunuch. ‘You men. Move further round and hold the
rope tightly. We are going to swing them in to the side.’
Men nodded and moved, others arriving to tie more ropes to the first. The King slithered down the side of the
waterfall and raised his arm in signal. The first men let go of their line and the mighty Hegai swung like a pendulum