The bishop nodded. The distraught young man clearly needed to rest and to pray. He would ask God to enlighten him as to what to do.

"My son, if what you say is true and the shroud of our Lord is somewhere in this city, I shall not be the man to put it in danger. You shall rest in my house, and when you have recovered from your journey we will talk, and between us we will decide what's best."

"You will tell no one what I have told you?"

"No one, my son, I promise you."

Eulalius's stern demeanor and the firmness of his response reassured John. He prayed to God that he had not made a mistake. When his dying father had told him the story, he warned him that the fate of the shroud that bore the image of Jesus lay in his hands, and he made him swear he would never reveal the secret unless he was certain the time had come for Christians to recover the shroud once more.

But he, John, had felt an overwhelming urgency to set out on his journey to Edessa. In Alexandria he had been told of the existence of Eulalius, and of his goodness, and he believed that the moment had come to give Christians back what his family, guardians of a wondrous secret, had protected for them.

But he may have acted too swiftly, he thought now, assailed by doubt. Recovering the shroud at a time when Edessa was about to face a new war would be a bold step. John feared he might have misjudged.

John was a physician, as his father had been. The older man had imparted all his own knowledge to his son, who had also studied with the finest teachers of the city. The most prominent men of Alexandria came to his house to seek out his knowledge and his skills. His life had been a happy one until the death of his father, whom he loved and respected above all men, even more than his lithe, sweet wife, Myriam, with her beautiful face and deep black eyes.

Eulalius accompanied John to a small room in which there was a bed and a rough wooden table.

"I will send something to eat and more water, so that you may refresh yourself after your journey. Rest as long as you wish."

Then the old bishop, deep in thought, made his way again to the church. There, kneeling before the cross, he hid his face between his hands and asked God to show him what to do, should the young traveler's story be true.

In one corner, mantled by shadow, Ephron watched his bishop with concern. He had never seen Eulalius troubled or overwhelmed by responsibility. He decided to seek out a caravan going to Alexandria so that he could send a letter to his brother Abib asking for information about the strange young man who seemed to have laid such a burden upon the bishop.

The moon's wan light was on the city by the time the bishop made his way home from the church. He was weary; he had hoped to hear the voice of God but had found only silence. Neither his reason nor his heart had given him the slightest enlightenment. He found Ephron waiting at the door, his noble features creased with worry.

"You must be tired. It is late," the bishop said quietly to the priest.

"I was waiting for you. Can I help you in any way?"

"I'd like you to send someone to Alexandria to ask Abib to tell us more about John."

"I have already written a letter to my brother, but it will be difficult for it to reach him. In the place of caravans they told me that the last caravan departed two days ago for Egypt and that another one will not be leaving for some time. The traders and merchants are worried. They think war with the Persians is inevitable, so a number of caravans left the city earlier than planned. Eulalius, let me ask you what this young man has told you to trouble you so."

"I cannot tell you yet. I pray God I may do so soon, for it will bring comfort to my heart. Shared burdens weigh less upon one, but I have given my word to John that I will keep his secret."

The priest lowered his eyes; he felt a twinge of pain. Eulalius had always confided in him; together they had shared the tribulations and dangers that had sometimes beset the community.

The bishop, conscious of Ephron's emotions, was tempted to reveal to him the secret brought by John, but in the end he remained silent.

The two men, each burdened in his own way, bade each other good night.

"Why are you enemies of the Persians?"

"We are not their enemies; it is they who, greedy for what is not theirs, wish to possess our city."

John was conversing with a young man of more or less his own age in the service of Eulalius.

Kalman was preparing to be a priest. He was the grandson of an old friend of Eulalius, and the bishop had taken him under his protection. He had become John's best source of information, explaining the details of the city's politics, the vicissitudes its people faced in these dark days, the palace intrigues.

Kalman's father was the king's overseer, and his grandfather had been the royal archivist; he himself had considered the idea of following in his grandfather's footsteps, but his sponsorship by Eulalius had marked him, and he dreamed now of being a priest, perhaps one day a bishop.

Ephron slipped quietly into the room where John and Kalman were talking, unnoticed by the two young men. For a few seconds he listened to their animated conversation, but then, coughing softly, he made them aware of his presence.

"Eulalius would like to speak with you," he said, addressing John. "He is in the room where he works, waiting for you."

John thanked Ephron and made his way to the bishop's chambers. Ephron was a good man, and a dedicated priest, but John felt his distrust and was not comfortable in his presence.

"I have bad news, my son," the bishop said when John had seated himself. Eulalius looked weary and his voice was filled with concern. "I fear that soon we may be besieged by the Persians. If that comes to pass, you will not be able to leave the city, and your life, like all our lives, will be in great danger. You have been in Edessa a month, and I know that you are still unsure whether to reveal to me the place where the shroud of our Lord is hidden. But I fear for your life, John, and I fear for the shroud that bears the visage of our Lord. If what you have told me is true, you must save the shroud and leave the city as soon as possible. We cannot run the risk of the city being destroyed and the true face of Jesus being lost forever."

Eulalius saw uncertainty flood John's face. He wished it were not necessary to command such a drastic step, but he saw no other choice, given the peril they faced. Since the day the young man arrived, the bishop had found no calm in sleep, fearing day and night for the fate of the grave cloth that John spoke of. Sometimes he doubted its very existence, but at other times, the limpid eyes of the young man led him to believe in it with his whole heart.

John rose to his feet. "No! I cannot leave here! I cannot take away the shroud in which the body of our Lord was buried! It must remain in Edessa!"

"Calm yourself, John; I have decided what is best. You have a wife in Alexandria; you must not remain here any longer. We know not what will become of the kingdom. You are the keeper of an important secret, and you must continue to be so. I will not ask you to tell me where the shroud is but only how I can help you recover it, so that you may save it."

"Eulalius, I must stay here, I know I must stay here. I cannot leave now, much less expose the shroud to the dangers of the journey. My father made me swear to obey the command of Abgar, Josar, and the apostle Thaddeus. I cannot take the shroud from Edessa, for I have sworn not to."

"John, you must obey me," the bishop corrected him.

"I cannot; I must not. I will stay and deliver myself over to the will of God."

"Tell me, what is the will of God?"

John felt the grave, weary voice of the bishop like a hammer beating at his heart. He stared at Eulalius and suddenly understood how troubled the old man had been made by his arrival and the fantastic story of the shroud.