Shield Of Thunder Part 42

Andromache looked around and gasped. The Burned Isle, black and gray like a pile of coals, was twice the size she remembered. It now filled more of the harbor, and the Xanthos Xanthos had to skirt it to reach the Theran beach. From its summit she could see thick black smoke arising and trailing off toward the east. She looked back to the aft deck, where Helikaon and Oniacus were talking urgently, pointing and gazing at the growing isle with wonder. had to skirt it to reach the Theran beach. From its summit she could see thick black smoke arising and trailing off toward the east. She looked back to the aft deck, where Helikaon and Oniacus were talking urgently, pointing and gazing at the growing isle with wonder.

Young Praxos shouted, "s.h.i.+p ahead, lord!"

Andromache could see a galley drawn up on the far beach. She could make out nothing of it at that distance, but within moments sharp-eyed Praxos cried, "It is the Bloodhawk, Bloodhawk, Golden One!" Golden One!"

Odysseus! What good fortune! Andromache smiled. But at that instant she heard the rumble of an earthquake beneath them. The sea churned, and she saw a landslip on the Burned Isle go cras.h.i.+ng into the water. The waves it created lashed the Xanthos, Xanthos, and the s.h.i.+p rocked back and forth. Andromache looked to the children, but they were both safely on the lower deck. She gazed up at the isle again and s.h.i.+vered. and the s.h.i.+p rocked back and forth. Andromache looked to the children, but they were both safely on the lower deck. She gazed up at the isle again and s.h.i.+vered.

Within a short time the Xanthos Xanthos had reached the beach, and crewmen were s.h.i.+nnying down ropes, ready to draw the s.h.i.+p up alongside the had reached the beach, and crewmen were s.h.i.+nnying down ropes, ready to draw the s.h.i.+p up alongside the Bloodhawk. Bloodhawk. Helikaon slid down a rope, and a ladder was thrown over the side for Andromache. When she reached the beach, Odysseus was waiting, one arm around Helikaon's shoulders. They both were grinning at her, and she smiled back. With a touch of sadness she saw that the Ithakan king's once-red hair was now silver. Helikaon slid down a rope, and a ladder was thrown over the side for Andromache. When she reached the beach, Odysseus was waiting, one arm around Helikaon's shoulders. They both were grinning at her, and she smiled back. With a touch of sadness she saw that the Ithakan king's once-red hair was now silver.

He took her hand and kissed it. "By Zeus, G.o.ddess, it does my old heart good to see you both safe. I heard Troy was taken and overrun, but there was no word of survivors. I'll wager you have a stirring tale to tell me!"

"Indeed we have, Odysseus, but it is a tale of sadness, too," Helikaon replied, gazing fondly at his old friend. "What are you doing here? We thought you would be safe in the arms of Penelope by now."

"Would that I were. I have a son I have not yet seen. But I came to rescue Ka.s.sandra. With Troy taken, Mykene sc.u.m have no reason to respect the sanct.i.ty of Thera. But the place seems abandoned." He looked around. "We arrived at sunset last night, and we have seen no one. There is always a priestess to greet arriving s.h.i.+ps." He shrugged. "I was debating defying the demiG.o.d and climbing to the Great Horse myself. Then we saw the Xanthos. Xanthos."

At his words a chill pa.s.sed through Andromache, and the feeling of urgency returned full force. It was as much as she could do not to go running up the steep cliff path.

To Helikaon she said swiftly, "I will go find Ka.s.sandra and bring her to the s.h.i.+p."

"If she is still here," her lover replied, gazing up and frowning at the top of the island, where the horse's head could just be seen.

"I know she is here," she told him, "though I do not know why she has not come to greet us." She saw his expression and guessed what he was thinking. "You must not anger the Minotaur by climbing to the temple. I will go and find her."

Helikaon glanced at the sky, then took her hand. "If you have not returned by noon, I will come get you, and no demiG.o.ds or monsters will prevent me."

"And I will come with him," Odysseus added. "There's something dangerous about this island now, and it's not the danger of violent men." He s.h.i.+vered in the sunlight and nodded toward the Burned Isle. "And tell me that island is growing, and it is not just a delusion of old age."

Andromache replied, "They say the Burned Isle only rose from the sea a hundred years ago. And yes, you are right. It is growing very fast, and I fear it is a bad omen. I will make haste."

With a smile for Helikaon, she turned and strode across the beach of black sand, then started up the cliff path, her old rope-soled sandals carrying her surely. Halfway up she stopped and looked down on the men and the s.h.i.+ps below. Her gaze traveled to the Burned Isle, and she was shocked to see it was nearly as high as the cliffs of the ring island. Smoke was rising from the summit, and the air was thick with it. On her arms and shoulders was a light sprinkling of gray dust. She hurried on, dread and foreboding pus.h.i.+ng her along with whips of fire.

As she reached the top of the cliff, she paused again, gazing up at the Great Horse. The colossal white temple seemed to sway above her, and she wondered if it was she who was swaying. Then, with a deep rumble that made her teeth ache, another earthquake rippled across the isle. Andromache threw herself down and clung to the rocky ground, fearing it would tip and throw her back down the cliffs. She heard a whoosh whoosh of wings and a raucous screeching. Looking behind her, she saw a huge flock of gulls flying past the edge of the cliffs, heading south. of wings and a raucous screeching. Looking behind her, she saw a huge flock of gulls flying past the edge of the cliffs, heading south.

"All the creatures are leaving the island," said a voice. "Even the birds of the air and the fish of the sea."

Andromache scrambled to her feet. Walking toward her slowly from the Great Horse temple was the First Priestess. Iphigenia saw the surprise on her face and chuckled.

"You thought me long dead, Andromache. Well, I will make old bones soon, but my time has not yet come."

"I am glad to see it," Andromache replied, and it was true. Iphigenia looked older than the world, but the gleam in her eye was as intelligent and calculating as ever.

Andromache gazed around. "Are the women all leaving the island, too? It seems deserted."

Iphigenia frowned. "When the earthquakes started at the time of the Feast of Artemis, Ka.s.sandra convinced all the girls the island would be destroyed. With her dreams and her visions she can be very persuasive, your sister. One by one they left despite all my efforts to stop them. The last one, little Melissa, departed two days ago." She gave a barking cough that Andromache recognized as a laugh. "She even took the donkeys, saying she did not want them to suffer when the end came. A s.h.i.+p full of donkeys." She shook her head. "Foolish girl," she said tenderly.

"How is Ka.s.sandra?"

Iphigenia looked at her with compa.s.sion, and Andromache wondered why she ever had thought the old woman unfeeling.

"She is dying, Andromache. Her visions...they injure her mind and give her hideous fits. Each fit takes something vital from her, and they have been getting more frequent. She is very frail, but the visions go on relentlessly."

"Where is she? I must help her."

"She is in the temple. Walk with me, my dear."

Andromache's sense of panic was almost uncontrollable now. Nevertheless, she took the old priestess's arm and walked with her slowly into the dark building.

Ka.s.sandra was lying on a narrow bed in a corner of the high bleak chamber. It was dark and very cold. The only windows were high above, and she was staring at the dusty shafts of light they shed, her mouth moving as if in conversation.

"Ka.s.sandra," Andromache said gently.

After a long delay her sister looked at her. Andromache was shocked to see her condition. She was dirty, and her hair was in rats' tails. She was skeletally thin, and looking into her fevered eyes was like staring into a black furnace.

"Is it time?" she asked feebly. "Can I go now?"

There was a jug of water and a goblet beside her, so Andromache filled the goblet, then gently lifted her sister up and dribbled some water into her mouth. After a few mouthfuls Ka.s.sandra drank greedily, holding on to the goblet, water running down her filthy gown onto the floor.

"Andromache," she said at last, clutching at her with bony fingers. "I'm so glad you've come. There is much to tell you and little time."

"Listen to me, Sister," Andromache urged her. "You must come with me. I will take you to the Xanthos. Xanthos. It is here, with Helikaon. We will travel together again." It is here, with Helikaon. We will travel together again."

"She is too ill to be moved," Iphigenia told her reprovingly.

"I will bring men from the Xanthos. Xanthos. Helikaon will come and fetch you, my love." Helikaon will come and fetch you, my love."

"Men will not defile this temple," the old priestess barked. "Do not be so arrogant, Andromache, as to bring down the G.o.d's wrath on us."

"Then I will carry her myself," Andromache told her defiantly.

"Listen, Andromache. You never listen, listen," Ka.s.sandra cried, pulling her close. "I am dying, and I have always known I would die here. You know that. I told you so many times. It is my fate, and I rejoice in it. I will see Mother again. She is waiting for me just beyond, so close that I can almost touch her. She knows I am coming. It is my fate. You must let me be."

Andromache felt tears running down her face, and Ka.s.sandra brushed them gently away. "Tears for me, Sister? You cried for Hektor, too. I saw you.

"They never should have killed him, you see. Hektor and Achilles were the last great heroes. And after the Age of Heroes comes the Age of Darkness." Ka.s.sandra seemed to gain strength as she spoke. "Even now they are coming down from the north, the barbarians, sweeping through the lands of the western kings. Soon they will learn the secret of the star metal; then nothing will stop them. Within a generation they will tear down the stone palaces of the mighty. In the Lion's Hall where the heroes walked there will be only rats and beetles feeding; then green gra.s.s will cover the ruins, and sheep will graze there."

"But what of Troy, Sister?"

"Troy will be a place of legend. Only the names of its heroes will live on."

"Did they all die?"

But Ka.s.sandra had paused, listening to her voices. "Astyanax and Dex," she asked suddenly. "Are they safe?"

"Yes, they are safe. Was Melite's prophecy true, Sister? Is Astyanax the Eagle Child?"

Ka.s.sandra smiled then. Her manner became less anxious, and her voice was that of a normal young woman, the pa.s.sion and urgency gone. "Prophecies are slippery things," she told Andromache, patting her hand. "Like oiled snakes. Priam and Hekabe searched for many years for the meaning of Melite's words. Finally they found a soothsayer who interpreted them to their liking. He told them the prophecy meant that a king's son born to the s.h.i.+eld of Thunder-you-would never be defeated in battle and that his city would be eternal."

"But you do not believe that?" Andromache asked. "Is Astyanax not the Eagle Child? Priam believed he would found a dynasty."

Ka.s.sandra laughed, and the sound was bright and merry and echoed off the roof and walls of the temple. For a moment the dust motes seemed to dance in the shafts of light.

"Like his father Hektor, Astyanax will have no sons," she said, smiling at the paradox. "But because of him a dynasty will will be founded, and it be founded, and it will will last a thousand years. It is true, Andromache. I have seen it set in the stones of the future." last a thousand years. It is true, Andromache. I have seen it set in the stones of the future."

"But that is not the prophecy of Melite."

"No, it is the prophecy of Ka.s.sandra."

A shudder ran through the temple as another small earthquake hit, and a corner of the temple roof gave way, collapsing to the floor, sending a new cloud of dust boiling around the chamber.

"You must go now," Ka.s.sandra told her. They looked at each other calmly. Andromache felt the turmoil in her heart cease, and acceptance took its place. She nodded, then embraced her sister for the last time. But Ka.s.sandra suddenly pulled away from her, her eyes wild again.

"Go now!" she shouted, flailing her arms. "Agamemnon is coming! You must go now!" She pushed urgently at Andromache until her sister stood up.

"Agamemnon?"

"He is coming to rescue me," Iphigenia explained. "Ka.s.sandra tells me he will be here before noon, with a fleet. I will return with him to Mykene."

Andromache hesitated no more but ran to the door, pausing for a last wave to Ka.s.sandra. But the girl had turned away and was speaking to her unseen friends again. Andromache picked up her skirts and raced from the temple toward the cliff path.

On the beach Helikaon watched as Andromache strode away up the path toward the temple. Her back was straight, and her hips swayed delightfully under the flame-colored dress.

Odysseus observed him, grinning. "You are a fortunate man, Helikaon."

"I have always been fortunate in my friends, Odysseus. You taught me to face my fears and conquer them. Andromache taught me that life can be savored only if you look to the future and leave vengeance to the G.o.ds."

"A good woman and a fine philosophy," Odysseus agreed. "And if Agamemnon were to walk up this beach now?"

"I would kill him in a heartbeat," Helikaon admitted with a grin. "But I will no longer seek out revenge and let it rule my life."

"You are sailing to the Seven Hills for the winter?"

Helikaon nodded. "The Trojan fleet has gone ahead of us. With all the extra men in the settlement, there will be a great deal to do."

"Many men and not enough women," Odysseus observed. "There will certainly be work for you to do, arbitrating disputes and settling grievances. Try to do it without severing their heads from their bodies."

Helikaon laughed, and the feeling of urgency in his chest eased.

Then he saw Kalliades and Skorpios walking toward them, and his heart sank. He had tried to persuade the two warriors to stay on the s.h.i.+p to the Seven Hills, but he could guess what they had come to ask.

"Kalliades!" Odysseus cried. "It is good to see you! Where is our friend Banokles?"

"He fell at Troy," Kalliades told him.

"Then I wager he took a good few of the enemy with him."

"Banokles never did things by halves. He was a brave man and a fine comrade. He often spoke of the Hall of Heroes. I'm sure he is supping there now with Hektor and Achilles and telling them what a fine warrior he is."

The other men smiled. Then Kalliades told Odysseus, "This is Skorpios of the Trojan Horse. We both wish to go to Ithaka. Will you grant me pa.s.sage one last time, Odysseus?"

"Aye, lad, with pleasure. And you can tell me tales of the fall of Troy to pay your way."

The tall warrior unstrapped his sword belt and held it out to Helikaon.

"I owe you my life, lord, and I owe it to Argurios, too. Take the sword of Argurios with you. It belongs to the people of Troy, not one wandering Mykene."

Helikaon received it silently. He slid the sword out of the scabbard and gazed at it with awe. "It is a wondrous gift. But will you not need it, my friend?"

"I do not yet know the shape of my future, Golden One, but I know I will not be carving it out with a sword."

They sat on the black sand then. Kalliades spoke of the last days of Troy, and Helikaon told Odysseus of the escape from the city. The sun was rising fast toward noon when Helikaon spotted the flame of Andromache's dress on the cliff path. She appeared to be hurrying, though she was treading with care on the treacherous slope. There was no sign of Ka.s.sandra.

He stood and strode over to meet her. As he did so, he saw dozens of rats running from their holes in the base of the cliff and scurrying toward the sea.

"Where is Ka.s.sandra?" he asked, taking Andromache's hand.

"She will not come. She is dying."

As Helikaon frowned and moved toward the path, Andromache stopped him. "She wants to die here. She says it is her fate. She will not come, and it would not be right to make her."

"Then I will go and say goodbye to her."

She grabbed his arm. "She says Agamemnon is coming with a fleet. He will be here by noon. I know you do not believe her predictions. It is her destiny never to be believed. But the First Priestess confirms her brother is coming for her. We must leave, my love, as fast as we can." There was an edge of panic in her voice.

He looked up the cliff path but turned back to her, the woman he loved above all others. "As always, I will take your advice. Come."

As they walked back to the s.h.i.+p, Helikaon shouted to his crew to get ready. He quickly told Odysseus the news, and without a parting word the Ithakan king hurried to the Bloodhawk. Bloodhawk. Helikaon felt something brush against his foot and looked down. There were more rats heading for the s.h.i.+ps, dozens of them, running over his feet and climbing the s.h.i.+p's trailing ropes. Helikaon felt something brush against his foot and looked down. There were more rats heading for the s.h.i.+ps, dozens of them, running over his feet and climbing the s.h.i.+p's trailing ropes.

He heard cries as the crew spotted them, and he looked back up the beach. The black sand now was swarming with thousands of the creatures. And they all were heading for the two s.h.i.+ps.

There were shouts and curses from the crew of the Xanthos Xanthos as the rodents started scrambling on board. Men were leaping about, skewering rats on their swords, but more and more were climbing onto the s.h.i.+p all the time. as the rodents started scrambling on board. Men were leaping about, skewering rats on their swords, but more and more were climbing onto the s.h.i.+p all the time.

"Don't try to kill them all!" Helikaon bellowed. "Get the s.h.i.+p off the beach!"

He handed Andromache quickly up the ladder. He saw that her face was pale with anxiety for her boys as she stepped onto the rat-infested s.h.i.+p. Then, trying to ignore the creatures running over his feet and biting his legs, Helikaon put his shoulder to the hull with others from his crew. He saw crewmen running from the Bloodhawk Bloodhawk to help move the to help move the Xanthos. Xanthos. Slowly the great bireme began to s.h.i.+ft. Then, with a rasp of wood on sand, she moved into the sea and floated free, surrounded by swimming rats. Slowly the great bireme began to s.h.i.+ft. Then, with a rasp of wood on sand, she moved into the sea and floated free, surrounded by swimming rats.

The Bloodhawk Bloodhawk crewmen ran back to their s.h.i.+p, and Helikaon went with them. It was impossible to run through the carpet of rats without treading on them, and the men slipped and slid on squashed bodies and rodent blood. They leaned into its planks and within heartbeats pushed the smaller s.h.i.+p into the water. Helikaon climbed on board. Men were killing the rats frantically, stabbing them with swords and daggers and throwing them overboard. Fewer were getting onto the s.h.i.+p as she drifted out into clear water. Helikaon glanced at the crewmen ran back to their s.h.i.+p, and Helikaon went with them. It was impossible to run through the carpet of rats without treading on them, and the men slipped and slid on squashed bodies and rodent blood. They leaned into its planks and within heartbeats pushed the smaller s.h.i.+p into the water. Helikaon climbed on board. Men were killing the rats frantically, stabbing them with swords and daggers and throwing them overboard. Fewer were getting onto the s.h.i.+p as she drifted out into clear water. Helikaon glanced at the Xanthos. Xanthos. She also was floating clear, and the oars were being run out. She also was floating clear, and the oars were being run out.

He skewered a dozen more rodents and threw their carca.s.ses in the water. Then he walked over to Odysseus, who still was energetically stabbing any rat he could see.

"This will make a fine tale for you, my friend," Helikaon told him, laughter bubbling up as he watched the fat king dancing about, impaling rats on his sword.

Odysseus stopped, panting, and grinned. "I need no more tales, even rats' tales," he countered. "Stories are always buzzing in my head like a hive full of bees!"

Then his expression sobered. "Get back to your s.h.i.+p, Helikaon. We must both make haste. We cannot take on an entire Mykene fleet."

Helikaon stepped forward and embraced his old mentor for the last time. "Good sailing, my friend."

Odysseus nodded. "Look for me in the spring," he promised.