Robert Ludlum's (TM) The Bourne Ascendancy (39 page)

I
t wasn’t easy,”
Sara said, “finding a place for him. After all, he was neither Arab nor Jew.”

“He wasn’t Iranian either,” Bourne said, “at least by their standards. He was without a home. I know what that’s like.”

They stood in front of Aashir’s grave. It was a clear day, clouds running before the hot wind. The dust tasted of antiquity, of the succession of civilizations, and of the blood of the fallen. They were in the ancient Mamilla Cemetery, hard by the western edge of Jerusalem’s Old City.

“Added to that,” Sara continued, as if he hadn’t spoken, “he was a Sefavid. His ancestors declared Shia Islam the state religion of Iran. They also declared the Jews
najis
, unclean, and had them expelled.”

“Did you hear what I said?”

Sara bowed her head. “Of course I did.”

Above them rose the Temple Mount, and its two sacred monuments dating back to the seventh century. It was where Judaism and Islam intersected: The rock where Abraham bound his son, Isaac, to be sacrificed to God was also the place where Mohammed ascended to heaven.

“This is not a religious issue,” Bourne said in a tone of voice that made it clear he was adamant.

“Everything in Jerusalem is a religious issue.”

He stared down at the grave, silent.

“Nevertheless,” she said, “I understand.”

He did not move or blink; he seemed scarcely to breathe, as if he had become rooted to the spot, an old tree, wiser now.

“There was nothing you could have done,” she said, her voice pitched lower, as soft as the wind. “You saved Soraya and Sonya. Isn’t that enough?”

“It’s never enough.”

She saw the sadness in his face. “No, I suppose not.”

For a long time, the only sound was the wind rustling the treetops. Then, startlingly, a child’s voice was raised in song—a nonsense rhyme that so entranced the littlest ones the world over.

“I understand what happened,” Bourne said after a time, “and yet I don’t.”

Sara put her arm around his waist, half turned him toward her. “Being what he was, he never had a chance.”

“That’s the part I don’t understand.”

“Then understand that you gave him something precious, something he never could have dreamed would be his. You accepted him, befriended him, helped him to grow up.”

“I helped him to his death.”

“No, Jason, that was his choice. An adult’s choice. Finally, he understood that he needed to put away childish things. He needed to return to his father.”

“He tried to fit in,” Bourne said, “but he didn’t belong anywhere else.”

“That’s right.” She took his hand in hers. “That’s all of it.” She kissed him hard on the lips. “That’s the end.”

The child, his voice plaintive against the centuries-old wall, sang on. Soon enough, other voices joined in.

ROBERT LUDLUM
was the author of twenty-seven novels, each one a
New York Times
bestseller. There are more than 225 million copies of his books in print, and they have been translated into thirty-two languages. He is the author of
The Scarlatti Inheritance
,
The Chancellor Manuscript
, and the Jason Bourne series—
The Bourne Identity
,
The Bourne Supremacy
, and
The Bourne Ultimatum
—among others. Mr. Ludlum passed away in March 2001. To learn more, visit www.Robert-Ludlum.com and Facebook.com/RobertLudlumBooks.

ERIC VAN LUSTBADER
is the author of numerous bestselling novels, including
First Daughter
,
Blood Trust
,
The Ninja
, and the international bestsellers featuring Jason Bourne:
The Bourne Legacy
,
The Bourne Betrayal
,
The Bourne Sanction
,
The Bourne Deception
,
The Bourne Objective
, and
The Bourne Dominion
. For more information, you can visit www.EricVanLustbader.com. You can also follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

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Star-Telegram
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—BookReporter.com on
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—
Spencer Daily Reporter
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“Readers familiar with the story of Jason Bourne and Treadstone will be flipping pages as fast as they can…Van Lustbader pulls readers through the story with gusto.”

—Booklist on
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