Minotaur (16 page)

“Some tactics,” I offered. “Maybe one of us creates a distraction while the other frees the prisoners? That’s if they’re still alive.”

Theseus narrowed his eyes. “Agreed,” he said. “You do the freeing, I’ll create the distraction.”

Quickly, he crawled further around the campsite, making no discernible sound. I had a sudden thought, scattering the pine needles and pawing at the earth around beneath me. I unearthed a couple of large stones that I had felt under my body and hefted them in my free hand.

Suddenly Theseus sprung up from cover, clashing his spear against his shield. “Oi! You loincloth sniffers!” he yelled. “Let’s see how you go against a real man.”

The sound and his sudden appearance caused the bandits to flinch. Their surprise lasted for only a moment. Yelling, three of them immediately charged toward him, brandishing a variety of weapons.

Theseus, fleet of foot, darted into the trees and disappeared. The three bandits set off in pursuit.

I made my move. Approaching as quickly and as stealthily as I could, I reached the edge of the clearing. I needn’t have bothered. The bandits were already on high alert and didn’t look surprised by my sudden appearance. I suspect a charging bull would’ve made less noise. Three bandits remained—the huge man known as Sinis and two others.

Sinis released his grip on the woman’s hair and pulled out a sword, striding toward me. His companions weren’t so keen. I’m certain my huge size, massive club slung over one shoulder, and my bull’s helm unnerved them somewhat. They approached more uncertainly.

It didn’t matter. I was still outnumbered, but this time, I kept a tree to my back to offer some protection from an attack in that direction. I dropped one of the stones to the ground and squeezed the other firmly. Taking aim, I hurled the first rock at the nearest assailant—Sinis. He ducked, and the rock sailed harmlessly over his head.

Cursing silently, I quickly picked up the other. I chose one of the other bandits instead and threw my last remaining rock with all the strength I could muster. Fortune finally smiled on me. The rock hit him squarely on the forehead, dropping him to the ground like a sack of wheat.

I brought my huge club down off my shoulder and readied myself. Dismayed, the other smaller bandit backed off.

“Get him!” roared Sinis. As fearsome as I was, I suspected the smaller bandit was more scared of Sinis. Instead of fleeing, which he clearly wanted to do, he approached me tentatively, his sword outstretched.

I didn’t need another invitation. The sword was too easy a target. I swept my club down and shattered his sword. Sharp fragments sliced through the air, one whistling past my neck. One of the fragments struck the bandit in the eye. With a howl of pain, he tumbled to his knees.

One on one then. Much better odds. I squared up against Sinis. He was almost as massive as I, with a bull’s neck and shoulders large enough to lift boulders. He eyed me evilly and charged. Not wanting to kill, I didn’t see how I could avoid it this time. I couldn’t risk disarming my opponent. He was clearly too powerful for that. Besides, I was probably too clumsy. I had gotten lucky with the other two bandits—there was no way I could pull it off a third time.

Sinis roared and stabbed with his sword. Despite his size, he was remarkably quick. I attempted to parry with my club, but I was much too slow. Not only that, but I was tired and hungry. I had very little energy left—certainly insufficient to move fast enough to block.

I felt a burning pain in my side. Sinis withdrew his sword. It had my blood on its point. He grinned at me, sensing victory. He had my measure by now. He knew that I was slow with the club. Sure, on a good day, I would have bested him, but this was not one of those days. Now that I was injured, it was only a matter of time before he wore me down.

Confident, Sinis went in for the kill, darting in close and aiming for my neck. It was a foolish move, arrogant even. The blow was so obvious even a child could see it coming. It was, however, a move designed to nullify my club. By moving in so close, I simply didn’t have room to swing it. Sinis knew it; I knew it. I couldn’t bring my club up in time.

So I didn’t. I dropped my club instead and crouched down under the sword stroke. It sliced the air above my head, narrowly missing my horns. I lowered my head and with an ear splitting roar, I charged. Sinis was too close. He had no room to dodge. Frantically, he tried anyway. Tried and failed. My horns speared him in the stomach, driving in deep.

A lesser man probably would have died, but Sinis was certainly not a lesser man. His strength and endurance were almost equal to my own. I suspected that he had divine or even titan blood running through his veins.

At first, he tried to hammer his sword hilt against my helm. When that didn’t work, he dropped his sword, got a solid wrestlers grip around my neck, and began to squeeze. I, in turn, wrapped my arms around him, forcing my horns in deeper. So deep in fact that his body was pressed up hard against my helm. It didn’t seem to matter. Sinis’s strength seemed to have no limits.

Roaring with rage, I lifted him from his feet. He twisted, forcing my neck sideways. Off balance, we both toppled to the ground. He landed on top of me, driving the wind from my lungs and freeing himself from my horns.

He used my momentary breathlessness to press his advantage, tightening his grip. I began to see bright sparks before my eyes as lack of air began to affect my vision. I suspected that Sinis had me.

Just before I began to black out, however, I felt him starting to weaken. Blood loss was beginning to take its toll. Not that I was in any better shape. The wound in my side hurt badly, and I could hardly breathe. But I was still alive, and where there is life, there is hope.

Rallying, I unclasped my hands from around his waist, breaking his grip around my neck. I grabbed him by the throat and began to squeeze. He flailed against my hands, hitting my armored face, anything he could to dislodge my grip. But it was useless.

He was almost unconscious when his eyes went suddenly wide. He looked down, terror etched over his face as he saw a spear point protruding from his chest. He stared at me for a moment, confused, and then collapsed to the ground. Gurgling sounds came from his throat. Somehow, he still lived.

Wearily, I lurched to my knees and looked up. Theseus was standing above me, his spear point dripping blood. His eyes were wild, and there was a splattering of blood on his face. Dropping his spear and picking up Sinis’s sword, he grabbed the huge man by the hair and dragged him toward the pine trees.

Suddenly I realized what he intended. I still tell myself that I was too injured and exhausted to stop him, but perhaps the truth is that I really didn’t want to stop him. In my heart, I knew that Sinis was getting what he deserved. It didn’t mean that it was right though. No man should have to die that way.

Theseus dragged Sinis in between the trees. The bandit leader was too far gone to protest. Almost dead. Almost, but not quite. Swiftly, Theseus bound each of Sinis’s wrists to the pines. Then, drawing his own sword with his right hand and with Sinis’s sword in his left, he swept both blades down simultaneously.

The effect was just as gruesome as it had been the first time we witnessed it. Sinis would never again trouble innocent travelers.

Directly after this event, I didn’t know what to say to Theseus. I didn’t thank him, probably because I had nothing to thank him for. Although he didn’t know it, I had already defeated Sinis before the spear had entered his chest.

Theseus did what he believed to be right. He was a stubborn and pride filled man. He believed he had saved me. We were even. Without doubt, the fact that I never thanked him rankled. I suppose he was left a little hurt and confused, but we never got to discuss it until much later.

Theseus went around and finished off the two injured bandits dispassionately. I don’t think I could’ve stopped him if I tried. He seemed a little bit possessed, and I doubted whether I had the strength to resist him.

We had much to do after Sinis was disposed of. I untied the prisoners and made them as comfortable as I could. Other than the father, one of the men was already dead. I left them to mourn their brother and father while I bound my wound with strips torn from dead men’s clothes.

Theseus retraced our steps, intending to find the women, children, and old man we had met on the path. By the time he returned, I had gotten rid of the dead bodies and cleaned up the campsite as best I could. I was thoroughly exhausted, but my strength was returning quickly thanks to the ample supply of food and water I found in the camp. I shared it with the survivors—the daughter, who was in her early twenties, and her surviving brother, who was probably only a few years younger. Both continued to weep for their dead.

Although clearly distraught by her loss, the mother thanked us profusely, promising to sing the praises of Theseus. She made no mention of my contribution. We loaded them up with as much food and water as they could carry, as well as a purse of coins we found on the body of one of the bandits.

After they left, Theseus and I sat in silence, both lost in our own thoughts.

He’d been injured. He had a few sword cuts to his legs but they were relatively minor. Once again, I had fared worse than him. My injury wasn’t life threatening, but it would take time to heal. Theseus washed and cleaned his wounds and then bound them with strips torn from the clothes of the bandits. He washed the worst of the blood off his face. It seemed it wasn’t his.

“What happened out there?” I asked at last. I didn’t need to explain. Theseus knew exactly what I was asking.

“I killed them,” he said. The crazed look in his eyes had been replaced with something colder.

“What, all three of them?” I said, shocked.

Theseus nodded. “Yes. All three of them. They chased me around the trees. I separated them and took them one at a time.”

“And … and how do you feel about that?” I ventured.

“Satisfied,” he said, looking me square in the eye, challenging me. “They were fatherless sons of whores.”

Theseus was always made of sterner stuff than me. The death of Periphetes, the first man I’d ever killed, still haunted me. Theseus appeared unconcerned that he had killed all six bandits.

“Remember, they deserved it,” said Theseus. “Think what they did to that woman’s husband. Given the chance, they would’ve done the same to us, and raped and killed the woman. Don’t you think the world is better off without them?”

I nodded slowly, knowing the truth when I heard it. “What about Sinis? Did he deserve to die the way he did? You could’ve just put him to the sword.”

If Theseus was confused by me naming the bandit leader, he didn’t show it. “I could’ve, but I chose not to. I think it was fitting that he died the same way as those he killed. Don’t you?”

I frowned, not knowing what to say. Theseus didn’t press me for an answer.

“We are even now,” he said. “A life for a life. I saved your life just as you saved mine. But we are brothers now too, bonded by the blood we have spilt together.”

We spent the next hour preparing for the next leg of our journey. We were well supplied now thanks to the bandits. Not only that, but we had several coin purses that would come in handy when we reached Ismthmia.

We distributed our supplies evenly. Although I found it distasteful, I tried on several pairs of sandals. I left Sinis’s for last, reluctant to go near the scattered remains of his corpse. As I suspected, his sandals fit me perfectly.

Thus prepared, we set off. The next two days passed uneventfully. We took our time, now that water wasn’t an issue. Theseus and I spoke little at first but he attempted to break the mood with more stories. It worked to some degree, and by the time we reached Ismthmia, we had regained a certain level of camaraderie.

Now, after the passage of many years, I remember those days we spent together fondly. At first, we weren’t exactly the best of friends, but we were comrades, united in our goal to reach Athens. The events that occurred in that place ensured that we would forever be tied together by fate. Over time, our bond grew and he became my friend. Perhaps my only true friend. A bloodthirsty one at that, but I wasn’t exactly in a position to be picky. It’s not like I had a queue of friends waiting to take his place. We were never enemies like other poets and scholars would have you believe.

My relationship with Theseus was, for lack of a better word, complicated.

Ω

Ismthmia was a city no larger than Troezen and in some respects, inferior. Its gardens were overgrown in parts, largely untended. Some of the buildings were in a state of disrepair.

Like Troezen, it had a stone wall to protect itself from bandits and other rival city states. Its market was a rich, vibrant place filled with the cries of vendors trying to sell all manner of goods including fruit and vegetables, wine, freshly baked bread, clothes, and weapons. With the money we had obtained from the bandits, we succumbed and stocked up on supplies.

With my share, I purchased a new tunic and sandals. My kilt marked me as a foreigner, which brought me even more unwelcome attention than my size or bull’s helm. Wearing dead man’s sandals had always sat badly with me. I was relieved to see the last of them. I threw them in the ocean and watched them float away on the lazy swells.

Theseus also bought some new clothing: a richly emblazoned tunic and a belt sewn with gold thread. He planned to arrive in Athens in triumph and wanted to make a good impression with his father, the King.

Word of our exploits, or more specifically, Theseus’s exploits, had somehow already reached Ismthmia. Presumably, some of the survivors of Periphetes’s band had spread word about us, as had the woman whose family we had saved. I’m not sure how the news got to Ismthmia so quickly. Perhaps by ship or passed onto those travelling faster than us on horseback or donkey.

I was unmistakable of course. Theseus for his part was marked by his confident bearing and godlike handsomeness. Some vendors even offered to give us free produce for ridding the land around Ismthmia of bandits. We could’ve easily stayed in the city for a week or longer. We had several invitations to stay in wealthy citizen’s homes, the implication being that our food and lodging would be free, paid for by tales of our exploits. I suspect some of the attraction was to keep heroes in the city to deter attacks, but I think that many just wanted to be in Theseus’s presence, to bask in his handsomeness. Theseus could also be incredibly charming when he wanted to be.