"So much for your open foes."
"Closer to home, the subject cities are always a threat: Utica, Sicca and others, even the colonies such as New Carthage in Spain are jealous and want more independence, more profit for themselves."
"And within Carthage itself?"
He paused, then: "Since the day of my ancestor Hannibal the Great, there has been a constant struggle for power between the shofet and the priesthoods. Every king must have a divine sponsor and mine is Baal-Hammon. His priests have grown wealthy and influential and have no stake in weakening my position. Tanit has lost power since Hannibal's day. Her priests are a wretched, weakly lot. They are mostly eunuchs who cling to power by cultivating the women of the royal household."
"Do they stand to gain by burning your support fleet?"
"Not directly. They cannot believe that giving victory to Rome or to Egypt will better their lot. But it will be much to their advantage to put it about that Baal-Hammon has abandoned me. They will cry out again that the gods are angry with me for adopting foreign ways. They will demand a Tophet. Zarabel will be their cat's-paw."
Her advice was simple and direct. "Kill her. Then kill the priests and suppress the cult of Tanit."
He smiled upon her. "If only it were that simple. In times of our accustomed peace and prosperity, I could take such extreme measures. But now I must have the people with me, both the commons and the wealthy. A quick war with fat, indolent Egypt was one thing. A swift victory against Selene would have made my position unassailable. But a double war that includes her new Roman allies is very different. I must take back Sicily and Italy. It will be a long, costly war, and the wealthy hate to sacrifice, while the commons adore the gods above all things. In the end, I will give Carthage the world. But for a while, they must all suffer, and the priests will take advantage of that."
She nodded. "I understand. So you think the priests of Tanit are the most likely culprits?"
"I believe so. I further believe that Zarabel put them up to it. She is far more intelligent than any of them, and she has studied the politics of world power deeply, while they understand it only as fought within the temples, the city and the court."
"But you will not take immediate action against them?"
"I cannot. That would be a mistake. I must plan against them as carefully as they have plotted against me. In the meantime, the people must be given someone to blame, and I must not allow them to think that the gods of Carthage have forsaken me."
She inclined her head toward him. "You are sagacious as well as bold. Please allow me to help in any way you think proper."
He walked back across the seawall and spoke to the harbormaster: "I find no fault with your conduct during this emergency. It was enemy action, and so I shall report it to the Assembly. The firefighters and others who died will receive all the proper rites." He gestured toward the line of bodies. "You and your men may speak freely of what you have seen here. It was a treacherous act perpetrated by Rome, seeking to weaken the sea power of Carthage."
The harbormaster bowed. "My shofet is gracious." He spoke as calmly as if the specter of the cross had never intruded upon his thoughts. "I shall see to the cleaning and repair of the harbor."
"See to it. Now go."
For a while Hamilcar and Teuta stood alone upon the seawall, save for the corpses and the guardsmen, who stood a little way off.
"What will you do when you move against your sister and the priests?" Teuta asked him.
He pondered this a while. "You come from a far place and have traveled widely. Do you know of a punishment even worse than crucifixion?"
CHAPTER NINE
Their ship was a cargo vessel from Corcyra named Oceanus. It was an old but trustworthy craft, veteran of more than a hundred years of voyaging to every shore touched by the Middle Sea, or so her skipper boasted. Been in his family the whole time, he said. The ship was bright with paint recently renewed, and its graceful stem, carved in the form of a swan's neck and head, was brilliantly gilt.
They saw the smoking pinnacle of the Pharos lighthouse from many miles out at sea and passed between the island and Cape Lochias at midday. Since they had letters from the Roman Senate, they would be permitted to use the exclusive Royal Harbor. A small cutter drew alongside at the entrance to the little harbor, and Zeno presented his dispatch case, sealed with a lead medallion embossed with four simple letters in the Roman script: SPQR. This was a formula signifying the Senate and people of Rome, and was placed on all official correspondence, decrees and even public monuments. It was fast becoming a familiar sight.