Minotaur (30 page)

“Follow me,” I yelled to any of the tributes who were within earshot and hurried off back the way we had come. I didn’t turn to see if they followed. If they did, they had a chance to live. If they chose to stay, they would probably die. I didn’t have time to convince them of the merits of either option.

Reassured by the sounds of hurried footsteps behind me, I slowed and let them catch up. Luckily, one of them still carried the lamp I had left. I counted eight frightened tributes. Behind them, I heard the sounds of battle as Theseus guarded our retreat with his life.

I moved as swiftly as I could. Not nearly swiftly enough but I was hampered by two factors. One, the arrow in my back was beginning to take its inevitable toll, and two, the tributes were reluctant to get too close to me. I had to constantly stop and urge them on.

A guard suddenly sprang out before me, thrusting with his spear. I was taken completely by surprise and grunted heavily as the spear tip entered my side. The guard tried to withdraw it and thrust again, but I stopped him by the simple expedient of grasping the haft of the weapon with my free hand. I pulled him toward me and brought my club down. He was wearing a helmet, but even so, I heard his skull crack like an egg.

The wound to my side was fortunately not deep. Only the tip had penetrated. I pulled it out, heedless of the blood that ran down my side and along the inside of my leg.

Perhaps my actions had convinced the tributes that I was now trustworthy. Maybe they just realized that if I hadn’t eaten them by now, I was probably not hungry. Whatever the reason, they started to follow me with greater enthusiasm.

We reached the trapdoor without further incident. If I had hoped that it would be relatively unguarded, I was disappointed. Minos may have been a cruel and often unwise ruler, but he wasn’t foolish. The floor space directly under the trapdoor was crowded with guards. I could clearly see how hopeless our situation was by the several torches that now lit the space. Even as I watched, more descended the rope.

I clenched my teeth together in frustration and anger. So close! To have come this far and be denied now was almost unbearable. I resigned myself to die, knowing the wounds I’d suffered would kill me inevitably if they weren’t treated soon. Perhaps Theseus inspired me. I would take as many as I could with me before I died.

I heard sounds of commotion behind me and turned by head. My great height enabled me to see over the heads of the tributes. I saw Theseus rush up behind us, panting and bleeding. He was smiling. Several guards trailed behind him, blocking our path.

I met his eye, and for some reason I grinned back. His expression was infectious. I felt a little comforted knowing I would die with my friend.

I turned my attention back to the guards in front of me and hefted my club menacingly. They hadn’t moved, reluctant to be the first to die. Time seemed to slow for a moment. One of the faces of the guards seemed to be familiar for some reason. My eye was drawn instinctively toward him, even though he was close to the rear of the clustered guards.

Now, I confess I didn’t know every one of the guards. Many I recognized from my time spent in the palace, but I had no doubt that there were many, many others I had never encountered. There were hundreds or possibly thousands of guards and soldiers on Crete in those days. There was no reason why I would’ve recognized one of them. But I did.

Perhaps it was because he was larger than the others. Perhaps it was because of his noble bearing. He had long dark hair that flowed down his shoulders and a full beard. This was not unusual amongst the guards. What set him apart mostly was his clothing. He wore a rich tunic instead of a loincloth and armor. And he wasn’t carrying a sword or spear. In one hand, he grasped a trident.

It was the trident that did it. The trident was the symbol of Poseidon. I had no doubts at all that my father had come to me in my hour of greatest need. We locked gazes for a fleeting moment. His expression was unreadable, and then his mouth quirked into the briefest of smiles, and he nodded at me.

Time resumed its normal languid pace.

And then the earth shifted.

The walls of the labyrinth shook. Many were thrown off their feet, but I managed to stay upright. Chunks of rock began raining down upon everyone gathered there. Screams and dust filled the air. Several of the guards were crushed by falling rock. I received a glancing blow from a large rock falling from the roof of the labyrinth. I staggered and fell to my knees. One more step to the left and it would have flattened me.

Many have said that this was a natural earthquake. Crete was prone to them after all. But I know better. My last thousand years upon this earth has taught me wisdom. There are those who attribute natural events like earthquakes to nothing other than what they are—a natural occurrence. Often that is the case. Experience and my interaction with the gods in the centuries since have taught me to recognize the difference.

This earthquake was not natural. Poseidon had merely bided his time and waited for the perfect opportunity to bring about his final revenge on Minos. To make him pay for what he had done to the sons of Poseidon. I know this because Poseidon himself told me, many, many years later. You may choose to believe me or not. I don’t care. I know it is the truth.

The guards, understandably, were in disarray, confused and disheartened by this turn of events. Many had been killed. Some had fled in terror. Most had forgotten about us. I got to my feet and looked around. The earthquake was over. Rocks continued to fall from the ceiling and walls. The ceiling of the labyrinth had been torn asunder as if by the hand of a titan. A jumbled pile of rocks lay before me, reaching well above even my head height. Of Poseidon, there was no sign. I saw Theseus trying to pull one of the tributes to their feet. He was dusty and shaken but thankfully otherwise unharmed.

“Did you see him? I asked after I’d gingerly picked my way to Theseus. I felt weak. Blood leaked in a constant stream from the wound in my side. The arrow in my back was a source of constant, throbbing pain.

“Who?” asked Theseus, helping another one of his fellow Athenians up.

“Never mind,” I said.

A couple of guards moved as if to attack us. Both Theseus and I raised our weapons, faces grim. The guards fled rather than face our cold wrath.

“It seems we have a way out after all,” said Theseus, looking above us.

We did indeed. The labyrinth, once my prison and home, was now shattered and broken. Never again would it serve to imprison the unwilling.

As for the willing, that is another matter entirely.

Ω

Of the fourteen Athenian tributes, only six—including Theseus—clambered out of that dreadful place alive.

We emerged into a palace that had fared little better than the labyrinth itself. Much of it was in ruins. Walls and ceilings had crumbled, tumbling broken remains of frescoes to the cracked mosaic floor. Fire had broken out and was clearly out of control. There were dead or dying bodies everywhere, many crushed by falling pillars and other debris.

It was a scene of unbridled chaos and confusion. Guards ran everywhere. None paid Theseus or the surviving tributes any attention. Several however glanced fearfully at me. Thankfully, none moved to attack. The earthquake had drained whatever fight was left in them.

We helped the tributes outside, moving away from the palace. As soon as I set foot outside, I stopped dead. It was the first time I had been in the open air for well over a year. It was early evening. I looked up. Even though smoke from the burning palace obscured my vision, I still caught glimpses of glittering stars. This night sky was one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen.

Other sensations impinged on my awareness. The wind moving through the trees, the same wind that was even now caressing the faceplate of my helmet. The smell of flowers, redolent with the sweet scent of spring. I felt suddenly alive, free. But also curiously exposed, as if my soul had been bared for everyone to see.

It was strange to experience such a rush of emotions all at once. I was a little overcome. I think if Theseus hadn’t physically kept me moving, I would’ve stayed there for hours.

Eventually we found an open space in the palace gardens that appeared relatively safe. I sat down and tore a piece off my loincloth, using it to bind the wound in my side. At least it stopped the bleeding.

“We have unfinished business here,” said Theseus, grasping the hilt of his weapon. If his wounds affected him, he certainly didn’t show it. “I came to kill Minos. I’m not leaving without first separating his head from his shoulders.”

“I need to find Phaedra,” I said, groaning as I got to my feet.

Theseus shook his head. “Minos first. Then Phaedra.”

I agreed reluctantly. I was in no condition to attempt a rescue mission by myself and needed his help. Phaedra would have to wait until Theseus’s thirst for vengeance was satisfied. I’d learnt that once Theseus got an idea in his head, there was no point trying to change his mind.

What’s more, Theseus needed me. The palace at Knossos was vast. Strangers had been known to get lost for days inside. Now that it was in ruins, it would be even harder to find his way around. He wouldn’t be able to find Minos without me.

We picked our way through the ruins slowly. I knew, of course, where Minos’s chambers were, but there were no guarantees that he would be there. For all I knew, he had been near the trapdoor, gloating as his guards flooded into the labyrinth.

We eventually found what had once been Minos’s extensive and lavish royal chambers. They weren’t so lavish anymore. The earthquake had left very little intact. Smoke clouded the room, rising up from the now out of control fires below. I watched it spiral into the sky through the smashed roof. In hindsight, it was probably foolish to attempt to climb up to his chambers given the state of the palace. I was still surprised that parts of it remained standing. But much of what Theseus and I did was foolish. And Theseus was not to be denied.

Minos was there. Three guards were with him. Theseus brandished his sword, and that was enough for them. Evidentially, their lives were more valuable than that of their king. They edged around us under the watchful gaze of Theseus. Once they reached the door now hanging partially off its hinges, they took to their heels and ran. It was only this action that saved their lives. Theseus wouldn’t have spared them otherwise. I think he was a little disappointed that he didn’t get to kill them.

Minos only vaguely resembled the man I remembered. It had been over a year since I had last seen him, and time had not been kind to him. I had thought him a huge man with a size to rival my own, but that was an image painted by a boy. His presence suddenly rekindled memories of him hitting me. His cold manner toward me. The way he’d studied me from afar. I felt the old fear resurface for a moment, but then I remembered who I was now and what I had become. I was a boy no longer. What I saw before me now was an old man, possibly of average height, slightly stooped about the shoulders. He appeared a shriveled shell of his former self. The price of his revenge against me was a weight not easily borne.

He stood before us, clearly a little shocked by recent events. His hair was disheveled, and there was a wild look in his eyes.

He spared Theseus only the briefest of glances. Then, he fixed his cold eyes on me. They widened, and his face twisted into something far more intense than plain anger. Anger could not even begin to describe the look on his face. “You!” he screamed. “Hades born creature. You are responsible for this.” He drew his sword and charged.

I’m not sure how Theseus managed to restrain himself. I knew he desperately wanted to kill Minos himself for the humiliation Athens had suffered. But I think he knew that this was between my stepfather and myself. Theseus could have easily stepped in and cut Minos down. Maybe that’s what stopped him. It was too easy. Perhaps he thought Minos was not a worthy opponent even though he deserved Theseus’s special brand of justice. Pick a reason. It hardly matters now.

I doubt whether the old man was conscious of anyone else in the room other than myself. For that reason, it would’ve been a simple matter for anyone else to have killed him. One stroke of his sword, one severed King’s head. In the long run, it probably would’ve been the kindest thing to do. I wish sometimes that Theseus had done it.

As it was, I didn’t even bother using my club. It was unnecessary. Minos swung at me with such wild abandon even I was fast enough to avoid his attack. I stepped to the side and smashed my fist into his face.

To say that I hit him and he fell to the ground would be a gross understatement. I hit him with a force nurtured by years of physical and emotional abuse. A force channeled into furious action. I’m actually surprised that I didn’t kill him, but, according to some accounts, he was a son of Zeus. Demi-gods, as I may have mentioned, don’t die easily.

Theseus told me that as I struck, I roared so loudly that he was forced to cover his ears. I don’t remember. I do, however, remember the outcome. Minos actually flew off my fist. His robes fluttered around him as he sailed through the air. He hit the floor with bone breaking force and skidded along the broken tiles.

Minos was the cause of everything bad that happened in my life. The flaws that exist within me exist because of him. The insecurities, the fears, the remarkable lack of self-worth. I spent over a year locked in a labyrinth because of his pride, arrogance, and desire for vengeance.

If he had accepted me as I was, I have no doubts I would’ve been a much greater man than I am today. My life would’ve been completely different. Better.

Hitting him went some way to sooth my traumatized soul. To be honest, nothing I have done before or after has ever felt so good.

Perhaps as a testimony to his semi-divine heritage, Minos sat up moments after his body came to a halt. If I hadn’t seen it for myself, I probably wouldn’t have believed it. I know first-hand what happens to a normal human when I hit them with my not inconsiderable strength. And not one of them ever sat up afterwards like he did.