Soldier of Arete Read online

  But see how swift the lions run!

  The Lord of Battles, battle brings,

  And battle drinks the blood of kings."

  When Hegesistratus was finished, I glanced at the black man and he at me so that when I spoke it was for both. "I don't see that it has anything to do with Oeobazus."

  Io added, "Or with us. Aren't you going to explain it to us, Hegesistratus?"

  "Later, possibly." To Cleton he muttered, "All this sounds extremely serious, my friend. Have you more bad news for us?"

  "I think so," Cleton said. "But I'll let you judge it for yourselves. After I left the temple—this wasn't long ago, you understand—I had to go back to the city to catch the road that comes here. Well, I ran into Egbeo and thought they'd let you go, so I stopped him and asked. He said no, his orders had been to get everybody onto fresh horses, so he'd sent them off one at a time and gone last himself."

  I told Hegesistratus, "They plan to attack us when the moon is high—it will give light enough for them to use their lances. There will be many more than our present guards, I imagine; and this King Kotys may very well lead them in person."

  Hegesistratus shook his head. "Do you really think they may? I would have said that we could trust the king's word."

  Cleton declared frankly, "Well, I wouldn't."

  When all of us had thanked him for his information and good offices, and watched his mule-drawn wagon rattle down the road, Hegesistratus told me, "You are quite correct, Latro, I am sure. But although I do not believe our friend Cleton is a spy for the king, he may very well repeat what he has heard here to someone in the city. If he does, it may reach the king's ears, or those of one of his officers. We must get away tonight, if we can."

  Seeing the questions in my eyes, he added, "I would like to consult the gods before I say anything further, and the Amazons have yet to beseech the father of their race."

  He spoke briefly with their queen, then said, "Hippephode agrees that a horse would make a suitable sacrifice. Certainly it must be the worst we have, for under these circumstances we cannot spare the best. I believe the god—this god particularly—will understand. Perhaps one of the horses we took from the Thracians at our first encounter. Then I will leave it to you two"—he meant the black man and me—"to devise a plan for our escape, with Hippephode. You must be our strategists, and I shall be your mantis—though I will have to translate for you, I fear."

  The Amazons built an altar of wood and earth and plunged a short sword into it. Meanwhile, the black man and I had washed the worst of the horses (which I thought still a very good horse indeed) and decorated it with such finery as Io and Elata could contrive. Hippephode performed the actual rite, slitting the horse's throat after what I assume were appropriate prayers and a hymn sung by all the Amazons. Hippostizein, the tallest, caught the blood in a basin, smeared some on the sacred sword, and threw the rest into the fire. Then the queen and Hegesistratus opened the paunch, and cast the heart and liver, with other organs and certain bones, into the flames. Hegesistratus watched them and the smoke with care, and scrutinized both shoulder blades before telling us what he had learned.

  "There is bad news," he said, "but good news, too. We will not escape every danger threatening us unscathed; but it appears that in the end we shall obtain what we wish."

  The black man gestured quickly toward Elata, Io, himself, and me, and then toward Hippephode and her Amazons.

  "Yes," Hegesistratus said. "Both groups, not immediately—not tonight, I believe—but soon. Ares, at least, is pleased to grant his daughters' request."

  The black man crept past the sentries as soon as the sun had set so that he might watch the road. We assumed that the Thracian leader would ride at the head; and though it would be well if he were the king, if he were not he would nevertheless be the best hostage. Io and Elata were to remain behind in our tent. The rest of us mounted as soon as we could be certain we would not be seen, hoping to attack before the moon rose—even the wounded Amazon sat a horse, insisting (so it seemed) that she was well enough to fight, when Hippephode ordered her into the tent with Io and Elata. Someone kissed me in the darkness, and I think it was she. Certainly it was a woman larger and stronger than Elata.

  FIFTEEN

  I Would Go Now

  HEGESISTRATUS WILL NOT AGREE TO it, and I have promised to defer to him. We spoke in private and agreed that if something is to be done, it must be done quickly, and I am the one to do it. I told him I planned to go as soon as I finished; but he insists I rest first and sleep if I can.

  This is because of the events he foresaw in the flames of our sacrifice—that though we would indeed secure Oeobazus, it would not be tonight. If we wait for dawn, he says, it will be easier to discover the other exit from the cave, if one exists. I had planned to leave through the mouth, for which night would be the best time and in fact the only possible time. Perhaps I should not have agreed, though there is as he says a wind from the mouth. I can see it carrying away the smoke.

  I have just reread what I wrote before Hegesistratus came, and I find that I passed over something that should be set down before I forget. After our sacrifice, Io asked Hegesistratus about the spring oracle again.

  He said, "I suppose that nothing less than a full, line-by-line exegesis will satisfy you; very well, I will attempt one. But you must realize that the king will have a sage of his own; and that this sage, having a sizable body of the pronouncements of this oracle to study, will understand it far better than I.

  " 'Ill fare the strong when god, god smites' is the initial line, and the sole questions involved are the identities of 'the strong' and of the gods. It is not at all uncommon for oracles such as this to set a riddle in the first which is solved in the final line, and I believe that to be the case here; 'the strong' are the kings referred to in the last line. Do you follow that?"

  Io nodded, and so did the black man and I.

  "At least three gods are mentioned, though there well may be more. Those we can be certain of are 'the Lord of Battles,' that is, the War God; 'Bendis,' which is the Thracian name for the Huntress; and 'the sun,' which can only be her twin. Those three we can feel certain are involved.

  "The second line runs 'Then howl the hounds and wheel the kites.' The wheeling kites would appear to indicate that many will die; kites feed upon carrion and wheel over battlefields. The question is whether 'hounds' refers to the many-headed dog who protects the principal entrance to the Lands of the Dead. Because Bendis is referred to so openly, I think them hunting dogs instead, and if I am right, the line means, 'There will be pursuit, and many will die.' "

  Io said, "What does it mean about the child?"

  "Be patient," Hegesistratus told her. "We shall reach that soon enough. The next line is 'Doves stoop like hawks, and oxen gore.' I believe this line may bear two meanings; the first and certainly the most obvious is simply that the orderly operations of nature will be suspended—there will be prodigies. Doves do not swoop down upon their prey like falcons in the normal course of things, and oxen are the most docile of beasts. But I think that we are being told here as well that specific individuals or groups whom we do not expect to fight will do so. Doves are of course birds sacred to the Goddess of Love, and when they appear in prophecy they most frequently represent fair young women—you will recall that when we sacrificed at the grove of Itys outside Pactye I told you about two princesses who were transformed into similar birds. The 'oxen' mentioned in the second half of this line are presumably peasants, though in this country, as in our own, the peasants are far from docile and often accompany their lords on their raids."

  I told Hegesistratus, "The next line's the one that Io's so interested in: 'The child rides armed, and maids to war.' "

  "Correct," he said. "Latro, you have an excellent memory when you have one at all. That is indeed the line as I gave it, but unfortunately there is very little I can tell you about it. 'The child' may possibly be the God of Love, the goddess's son; but as he habitual
ly goes armed, and flies rather than rides, I have little confidence in that interpretation.

  The Huntress is another weak possibility—passing at once to womanhood, she has remained a child in some respects; and it is true that she often rides, particularly here in Thrace. But she, too, habitually goes armed, so that this interpretation is open to the same objection as the first one. Worse, she is named outright in the line that follows: 'Then Bendis seeks to halt the sun.' She will act when 'the child rides armed,' and thus she herself is unlikely to be the child referred to. What would be the point in saying that she will act when she acts? I would guess that this 'child' is someone with whom we are unfamiliar, possibly a prince of this or a neighboring state.

  "The 'maids' are in all probability the persons referred to as 'doves' in the line above, and if that is correct, these two lines with the 'doves-maids' pair constitute a smaller cycle of riddle and solution set within the greater one. If 'the child' is indeed the Huntress, then the 'maids' Orpheus has said will ride to war may well be the nymphs of her train— but a far more probable solution has already occurred to all three of you; I can see it in your faces."

  The black man pointed emphatically toward the Amazons, and Io and I named them.

  Hegesistratus nodded. "And that, we can say with virtual certainty, is the interpretation the king and his adviser have settled on. Consider King Kotys's situation; he received this oracle in spring, nearly a year ago, and it hints strongly that he himself may be killed, warning that 'when god, god smites... battle drinks the blood of kings.' Summer finds the mighty forces of the Great King streaming through Apsinthia in full retreat. Can this be what the oracle foretold? But the Great King was not even wounded, and in any case Orpheus's oracle was given to him, Kotys, and not to Xerxes, as we call him.

  "Now, so near the year's end, warrior maidens—perhaps to Kotys an unheard-of thing—appear in his kingdom. From what Cleton has told us, we may be certain that the first party of Apsinthians we encountered knew of the oracle. They molested us and found themselves attacked by maids riding to war; thus the second party, which agreed to a truce and conducted us to Cobrys. Latro, you are King Kotys. What will you do next?"

  "Come here, I suppose," I said, "and see the warrior maids for myself."

  "You would be running a grave risk," Hegesistratus told me. "As your adviser in all such matters, it is my duty to warn you that the events foretold may not occur until you yourself have encountered one— or perhaps all—of the portents. If you do as you plan, King Kotys, you may yourself bring about the very results you fear."

  I nodded. "I think I understand. What do you advise me to do, Lord Hegesistratus?"

  "First, send three trustworthy men to verify that these are indeed warrior maidens, as specified by Orpheus. Second, disarm them. If you attempt to destroy them, they are sure to resist; and their resistance may itself begin the war spoken of. But if you deprive them of their weapons and horses, they cannot 'ride to war.' "

  Io shouted, "Wait a moment! I know he sent those lords who wore so much gold, and he wants us to give him our weapons and horses. But he gave us until tomorrow morning, and now you and Latro say he's really going to attack tonight."

  Hegesistratus sighed. "Yes, I'm afraid he is. Cleton and the gods brought the same warning; thus we can be as sure of it as of anything. Although we did not say outright that we would not surrender our horses and weapons, we were playing for time, and he knew it. Now he means to take the wolf by its ears if he can. Kings may bleed, but a wound may be all that is meant, or the oracle may refer to other kings, not to him. Or the oracle itself may be false; the Bright God is said to spoil the oracles of Orpheus from time to time, and as we have already seen, he is certainly involved in all this, acting in opposition to his twin sister."

  Io jumped up, too excited to sit still. "So was that why he moved up sacrificing Oeobazus? Because he wanted to get on the good side of the Lord of Battles?"

  "Precisely. Let us consider the four final lines as one: 'Then Bendis seeks to halt the sun,/But see how swift the lions run!/The Lord of Battles, battle brings,/And battle drinks the blood of kings.' Bendis and the sun we have spoken of already. I would guess that 'the lions' are strategists or perhaps mighty warriors; they rush to battle. The Lord of Battles is of course Ares—or Pleistorus, as he is called here. All right, he is to bring battle, but someone will presumably be victorious. May it not be Kotys himself? The divine favor of Pleistorus is thus to be sought at once, and fortunately a suitable victim is at hand. Kotys will destroy the warrior maidens if he can, then urgently petition Pleistorus's favor."

  That was all Hegesistratus said then, or if there was more, I do not remember it now. But when we spoke here in the temple—apart from the others and in the tongue I write, so that they could not understand us—he gave me a warning that may be of the greatest importance.

  "You do not remember our conversation with the Huntress," he said, "but perhaps you have read of it in your book today?"

  "I didn't," I told him, "but at the moment whatever she may have said to us is of no interest to me. You speak my tongue—tell me where my land lies."

  Hegesistratus shook his head. "I would if I could, but I do not know. If we live through this night, I can consult the gods for you. Do you wish it?"

  "How can you speak my tongue and yet not know where it's spoken?"

  Hegesistratus seated himself beside me; this was before we talked about my going to the temple. "Because I am the man I am. Do you know of Megistias?"

  That name signified nothing to me.

  "He was the mantis of King Leonidas of Rope, and died with him. It was given to him to know the speech of every bird and beast, and thus he learned of many faraway things, though once he told me that most beasts, and all birds, concern themselves little with the doings of our kind."

  I asked, "Could a bird tell me where my home lies?"

  "I doubt it. In any case, I—who sometimes talk with gods—cannot converse with birds. Yet another power of tongues has been given me as that was given him; I know the speech of every man I meet, and of every woman. I cannot explain how I do it. Mardonius often used to ask me, but I could only ask in reply how it was that he could not. It is possible I never learned, as other children do, to speak our own tongue at all."

  I believe that at that moment I could have fallen upon my sword. "It seems to be the will of the gods," I said, "that I never find my home."

  "If that is indeed their will, you must bow to it," he counseled me. "Will you read the words of the Huntress?"

  I shook my head.

  "Then I will tell you. She promised you that you should be returned to your friends. I did not speak of it earlier because your slave girl was listening; but I tell you now. I advise you to read that part of your book, and also to read again that part which you read aloud this afternoon in the tongue of the sons of Hellen."

  Here I will write of the battle. The moon was low in the east when we heard the black man's cry. At once we broke the circle of our guards, Hippephode leading her Amazons at my left, Hegesistratus at my right. Two were before us, but the Amazons' bows sang; though I forget everything else, I will never forget the whiz of the arrows. The bones of the Thracians broke under our horses' hooves.

  The king's hand was upon his sword, but before it cleared the scabbard I was upon him; I pinned his arms to his sides and wrenched him from his saddle. A Thracian charged me—I recall the gleam of the moonlight on his lance head. I swung my horse about so that the king's body would receive the lance, and the Thracian raised it and galloped past. The king is very strong; he freed an arm and struck me in the face, so that it seemed to me that all the stars of heaven had rushed into my eyes; but I got one hand around his throat and choked him until he no longer tried to pull my arm away.

  All this time I was riding north by west as we had agreed, driving my heels again and again into my horse's sides. He is a fine horse, but he could not outrun the Thracian horses with two heavy men upon
his back. The black man, Hegesistratus, and some of the women reined in until they rode beside or behind me. The black man held a javelin still, and with it he killed the first Thracian who would have overtaken us, turning in the saddle and casting it hard and well when the Thracian was very near. The arrows of the Amazons rid us of more, the men tumbling off their horses, or their horses falling under them; but there were too many.

  Suddenly I felt that we were flying. I looked down and saw the silver bow of the moon below us, so that it appeared we had leaped above the sky. It was only one of the ditches with which the Thracian farmers drain their fields, and my horse had jumped it before I knew it was there. He stumbled on the farther side; I almost fell, and nearly dropped the king.

  In a moment more, I knew that I must, or die. The man on my right was not Hegesistratus but a Thracian, his lance poised high for a thrust. I would have thrown his king at his head if I could; but though I lifted him well, I could not make such a throw from horseback. The king fell between us, and the lancer pulled up, as I knew he would. I could cast my javelins then. One I killed, I think; one I missed.

  I do not know how we found this sacred cave. We rode into the hills, then along a road, because it was only there that our horses could gallop. I heard a voice: "Latro! Latro!" It was the black man, and though it seems that he seldom speaks, he was shouting. The road ended at the mouth; it glowed crimson in the night, lit by the embers of its altar fire. It is too low to ride through, even if the rider lies on the neck of his horse, though the chamber is much loftier a short way in.

  When I reached the black man and the others gathered at the mouth, the black man dismounted and led his horse inside, waving for the rest of us to follow. A young priest rushed at him with a sword; the priest's thrust would surely have killed him had it been a finger's width to the right, but the black man caught his wrist and cut his throat,

  Elata is no longer with us; we left her behind in the tent. I believed that Io was there as well until I saw her among the Amazons (this was before she built the new fire for us). I told her she would have been killed had she met one of the Thracians face-to-face.