Part 7 (2/2)
”You think we could be attacked this close to Trojan waters?”
”Probably not, but then, I expect Dios felt safe in a Trojan marketplace.”
Gershom fell silent for a moment. The a.s.sa.s.sination two days earlier had shocked them all, especially when, under torture, the killer's son had admitted they were seeking to kill Helikaon. His father's poor eyesight had led him to attack Dios. Gershom looked at his friend, seeing the hurt in his eyes. ”In Egypte,” he said, ”the priests say a man's life is calculated in a celestial sand measure. When the sand runs out, his life ends.”
”We do not hold to that belief,” Helikaon replied. ”I wish it had been me in that marketplace.”
”You would prefer to be dead?”
Helikaon shook his head. ”I wouldn't be be dead. I would never have walked among the crowds unarmed, and I do not believe a fat merchant would have been fast enough to surprise me.” dead. I would never have walked among the crowds unarmed, and I do not believe a fat merchant would have been fast enough to surprise me.”
Gershom smiled. ”Karpophorus surprised you, my friend. But yes, you are a tougher man than Dios ever was. Even so, you are not invulnerable. Do not let arrogance blind you to that fact.”
Helikaon took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. ”I know what you say is true, Gershom. And I did did like that fat merchant, so perhaps he would have gotten close to me. We will never know.” like that fat merchant, so perhaps he would have gotten close to me. We will never know.”
”Was the son executed?”
”Not yet. The other boy was discovered hiding in a warehouse. They are both to die tomorrow. Priam has decided they will burn alive on Dios' funeral pyre and serve him on the Dark Road.”
”They deserve no less,” Gershom commented. He flicked a glance to the rear deck and cursed softly. ”Why does she keep staring at me?”
Helikaon laughed. ”She is barely more than a child. Why does she bother you so?”
”I have never been comfortable around the insane. They are so...unpredictable. I saw her in Troy after we docked. She told me that my head was full of mist and that one day I would see clearly. Her words have been going around and around inside my head. What do they mean?”
Helikaon put his hand on Gershom's shoulder and leaned in close. ”One moment you say she is insane, the next you look for meaning in her words? Is that not itself a sign of madness?”
Gershom grunted. ”And that that is why I am uncomfortable around them. I fear their afflictions can be transmitted like the plague. If I stand too close, I will begin howling at the moon.” is why I am uncomfortable around them. I fear their afflictions can be transmitted like the plague. If I stand too close, I will begin howling at the moon.”
”She is not insane, my friend. Cursed would be more accurate. As a babe she was struck down with the brain fire. Most infants die when afflicted with it, but she recovered. From that moment she was fey.”
”Could she be a true seer?”
Helikaon shrugged. ”Ka.s.sandra once told me that she and Hektor and I would live forever. Later she said that she would die high in the sky, sitting upon a rock, and that three kings would take to the clouds with her. Does either sound like genuine prophecy to you?”
As Helikaon spoke, the clouds suddenly cleared and brilliant sunlight sparkled upon the sea. Islands of dull gray and brown rock instantly were transformed into s.h.i.+ning silver and red gold. Light from the setting sun shone brightly on the undersides of the rain clouds, turning them to glistening coral. Gershom gazed in awestruck wonder at the glory of the sunset.
”Have you ever seen such beauty?” Helikaon whispered.
Gershom was about to agree, when he saw that Helikaon was staring toward the rear of the s.h.i.+p. Gershom turned and saw Andromache, framed in golden light, her yellow dress s.h.i.+mmering as if formed from molten gold. She was smiling and pointing out to sea. Gershom swung his gaze to starboard and saw a dolphin rise from the water, then dive deep.
”It is Cavala,” he heard Ka.s.sandra call out happily.
The girl ran to the starboard rail and called out.
The dolphin gave a high-pitched cry, as if answering her, then leaped high into the air, spinning as it rose. Drops of water sprayed from its body, the bright sunlight turning them to diamonds.
It swam alongside the s.h.i.+p for a while, occasionally leaping and diving, but when the Xanthos Xanthos swung toward a protected bay, it gave a last cry and then disappeared toward the west. swung toward a protected bay, it gave a last cry and then disappeared toward the west.
Gershom saw that the dark-haired girl once more was looking at him. She looked so sad, and Gershom was suddenly sorry for her. He lifted his hand and waved at her.
She answered him with a smile, then turned away.
The moon was high and the night cold as Helikaon, wrapped in a heavy coat of dark wool, climbed to the top of the cliffs overlooking the southern sea. Most of the crewmen were sleeping on the beach below, huddled together for warmth. Others, much to the annoyance of the cooks, were crouched close around the early breakfast fires burning on the sand.
It would get much colder yet, Helikaon knew. There would be ice and snow in the Seven Hills and sleet storms along the way. Squatting down away from the wind, he stared out to sea, picturing the route along the coast and then through the Great Circle to Thera. With luck they would encounter no war fleets this late in the year, and few pirate captains would have the nerve to attack the Xanthos. Xanthos.
No, the dangers would come farther west and on the journey home. He sighed and corrected himself. Dangers from the sea, anyway. His thoughts darkened as he recalled the merchant Plouteus. A good, honest man and a shrewd trader. Helikaon never would have considered him a threat, and Gershom was right: The fat merchant would would have gotten close enough to make a mortal strike. How many others had been approached, hired, threatened, or suborned? Were there men on this s.h.i.+p waiting for the opportunity to kill him? have gotten close enough to make a mortal strike. How many others had been approached, hired, threatened, or suborned? Were there men on this s.h.i.+p waiting for the opportunity to kill him?
He thought again of the merchant's son Perdiccas. He had been babbling and begging by the time Helikaon had arrived in the cells. One of his eyes had been burned out, and he was bleeding from a score of shallow wounds. The torturers were weary and disgusted with the lack of information. At first they had thought the lad was showing great bravery, but then they had discovered he actually knew nothing and they had been wasting their time and their skills.
Helikaon knelt beside the weeping Perdiccas. ”Do you remember me?” he asked softly.
”I do...I am so sorry, lord. So sorry.”
”Why was the attack so hurried? You could have come to my home or waited for nightfall. Why in bright daylight?”
”Father was told you were sailing south either that day or the next. There was no time for planning.” He burst into tears again. ”Please forgive me, Helikaon.”
”I forgive you. You stood by your father. What else could you do?”
”Will the torture end now?
”I think that it will.”
”Thank the G.o.ds.”
Helikaon had left him then, climbing away from the stench of the dungeons and out into bright sunlight. Perdiccas would not be thanking the G.o.ds when they dragged him out and threw him, bound and gagged, onto the funeral pyre of the man he had murdered.
He thought over what the doomed young man had told him. The Mykene had known he was sailing south. Did that mean there was a traitor on board the Xanthos Xanthos or within Priam's inner circle? Or could it simply be a sailor bragging to a wh.o.r.e about his coming travels and the wh.o.r.e pa.s.sing on the information to a Mykene spy? or within Priam's inner circle? Or could it simply be a sailor bragging to a wh.o.r.e about his coming travels and the wh.o.r.e pa.s.sing on the information to a Mykene spy?
If it was the latter, there was no harm done. No one on the crew knew their destination, only that they were heading south. If, however, there was a traitor within the palace, the enemy would know he was heading for Thera.
The wind dropped. The eastern sky was growing paler now, the dawn approaching. In that moment Helikaon heard the sound of furtive movement. Stepping swiftly to his left, he drew his sword and spun.
A few paces away a s.h.a.ggy goat rose on its hind legs and leaped for the shelter of the rocks. Helikaon smiled, sheathed his sword, and made his way back along the cliff top. He paused to gaze down on the Xanthos, Xanthos, his thoughts a mixture of joy and regret. She was the s.h.i.+p of his dreams, and he still remembered everything about the first day of her voyage, from the clumsy crewmen who dropped an amphora of wine to the sudden wind that blew Khalkeus' hat over the side. What a day that had been! The crewmen were terrified of sailing the Death s.h.i.+p. Even Zidantas, who always claimed to fear nothing, was ashen when the storm struck. his thoughts a mixture of joy and regret. She was the s.h.i.+p of his dreams, and he still remembered everything about the first day of her voyage, from the clumsy crewmen who dropped an amphora of wine to the sudden wind that blew Khalkeus' hat over the side. What a day that had been! The crewmen were terrified of sailing the Death s.h.i.+p. Even Zidantas, who always claimed to fear nothing, was ashen when the storm struck.
Zidantas!
Murdered and beheaded by the Mykene. As Dios had been murdered, and Pausanius, and Argurios and Laodike. And little Dio and his mother, Halysia.
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