Minotaur (31 page)

“Where is my mother?” I roared. I knew where Phaedra was and hoped my brothers were imprisoned with her. I hoped that my mother still lived.

Minos flinched at the sound. His nose was broken, blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth.

“A place where you will never find her,” he spat. A gobbet of blood splattered on the floor.

I stepped toward him threateningly and raised my club. “Tell me,” I demanded.

He laughed at me, the sound gradually rising in pitch. I realized that Minos was probably mad. His madness possibly exceeding my own. Unlike mine, his was entirely of his own making.

“Never,” he said and laughed again. I think I probably could’ve killed him then, but Theseus intervened, for once setting aside his own rage filled desires.

He joined us and knelt down next to Minos, whispering in his ear words that I couldn’t catch, but I could guess at. Minos’s eyes went wide. Theseus stood and looked down at the King of Crete. Something passed between them. Minos saw something in Theseus’s cold, dispassionate look that he feared even more than I. I had seen the form that Theseus’s vengeance took in the past. I knew what he was capable of. Minos had just been enlightened.

“With the others,” stammered Minos. I took this to mean that he had imprisoned her along with Phaedra, my brothers, and the two craftsmen.

With this admission, Theseus raised his sword, his intent clear.

Minos threw up warding hands. “Please don’t,” he pleaded. He began to snivel and raised himself to his hands and knees. He clutched Theseus’s ankle. “Please don’t kill me. I’ll give you anything. Athens is now free. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it? No more tributes. I will pay you gold. Enough gold to make Athens the richest city in Greece. In the world. Just don’t kill me.”

I saw the disgust on Theseus’s face. The loathing. Suddenly, I felt a wave of pity for Minos even though I knew he didn’t deserve it. He was just a sad, bitter old man. He wasn’t worthy of a quick death, especially a noble one at the hands of a hero like Theseus. He deserved to die alone and in poverty.

Theseus shook him off. “Shall we kill him, Asterion?” he asked. I wanted to say yes, but that would make me worse than Minos. I wasn’t like him. I would never be like him. It was also Theseus’s way to seek revenge, to do to others what they had forced upon their victims. I suspect that if the labyrinth had still been intact, Theseus would’ve forced Minos to live out the rest of his days there. As it was, he didn’t have that option. As much as Theseus was my friend, I didn’t want to become like him either.

After long moments of consideration, moments where Minos looked fearfully from me to Theseus, I finally made up my mind.

“No,” I said. “His hold over Athens is now broken. His death will serve no purpose other than to satisfy my thirst for revenge. Death will not change anything. He has nothing now. No kingdom, no crown. His children have deserted him. I can’t think of a worst fate. Leave him with his madness.”

I locked gazes with Theseus for a moment. Suddenly, he shrugged. “As you will, Asterion. He is your stepfather after all.” He smiled brightly. That was the thing about Theseus. He could be cold and rage filled in one moment, relaxed and carefree in the next. He was not a forgiving man, but he believed that a punishment should fit the crime. Evidentially, he thought that Minos had gotten what he deserved. And that was enough for him.

“Come,” he said. “Let’s go rescue your family.”

That was the last time I saw King Minos. If you think perhaps I was too gentle with him, have no fear that he got his just desserts in time. Now I am glad I didn’t kill him. If I had, I believe I would have deserved to join him in Tartarus. Because that’s where he is now.

The earthquake marked the end of Crete as a power. Most of the towns and cities in Crete were destroyed. Many soldiers were killed and her navy smashed by a huge wave that could have only been the rage of Poseidon.

Minos eventually left the island to pursue his vengeance against Daedalus. It was Daedalus who had betrayed him, who had given up the secrets of the labyrinth to Phaedra. You may wonder why he switched his attention from me to Daedalus. There is a simple reason for that. As far as Minos was concerned, I was dead.

As for the King of Crete, he eventually met his end rather ignominiously at the hand of the daughter of Cocalus, the King of Agrigentum. She poured boiling water over him while he was taking a bath. When I heard this news, I remember feeling nothing at all. No grim satisfaction, no joy. Nothing. When all is said and done, Minos was nothing to me.

His remains were sent back to Crete. The few loyal Cretans who remained built him a sarcophagus and inscribed it with “the tomb of Minos, the son of Zeus.” I would’ve preferred something else. Maybe “Minos, bitter tyrant. Petty seeker of vengeance.”

I actually remember his tomb being built. At the time, I had to wrestle with an impulse not to deface it but managed to resist mostly because it would’ve been beneath me. I sometimes go there still. Seeing it helps me remember. The memories are painful but they are a part of me. For good or ill, they have made me what I am.

Ω

Hurrying as quickly as our injuries would allow, Theseus and I made our way to the tower where Phaedra and the others were imprisoned. It would’ve been quicker and far more efficient to take horses but any that had been housed in or around the palace had been scattered by the earthquake.

I’d been to the tower a few times before when I was younger, more out of curiosity than anything else. It was a large stone structure Minos used to imprison those he particularly despised. I remember being a little scared by the place. It was on an isolated part of the island, a league or two from the palace. Windswept and desolate, it had always seemed an appropriate place for misery and suffering.

It took longer than expected to get there. It must have been almost midnight by the time we reached our destination. I was completely shattered, feeling weaker by the minute. The events of the last few hours had also taken their toll emotionally. In addition, I knew that if the arrow in my back wasn’t seen to shortly, it might well kill me.

The tower, although still largely intact, had not escaped unscathed from the destruction wrought by the earthquake. Large blocks had toppled from its battlements to lie scattered around the base. As we approached, I could see a group of figures clustered around the entrance, carrying torches. In the darkness, it was difficult to make out who they were.

I had hoped it might be Phaedra and the other prisoners already making their escape. It wasn’t. As we neared the base of the tower, I could see that it was four guards.

They challenged us as we strode up.

“Who are you, and what is your business?” asked the oldest of the guards, a grizzled veteran in his middle years. He recognized me of course and probably suspected that I’d escaped from the labyrinth rather than being released. He may well have known who Theseus was too, which was probably why he didn’t give the order to attack straight away. The years had given him wisdom. Even with the odds in his favor, the fight could go either way.

“Our business is our own,” said Theseus in a tone that brooked no argument. “Stand aside or face the consequences.” He laid a hand on his sword hilt and grinned.

“Have a care with that tongue,” said the guard. “Lest you lose it.”

I saw Theseus stiffen and his grin widen. I placed a cautionary hand on his arm to forestall his predictable reaction.

“Your work is done here,” I said to the guard. “The palace is destroyed, Minos is dead.” The lies came easily and were much preferable to the alternative. Theseus may still have had a desire for battle, but I was all but spent. It was unlikely that the guards knew exactly what had taken place at the palace.

“Your loyalty now lies with those inside this tower. Catreus and Deucalion are now the rightful rulers of Crete. Before he died, Minos commanded us to free them.” At this point, I wasn’t even sure that Catreus and Deucalion were inside, but the guard’s reaction confirmed that was the case.

The guard looked me up and down in disbelief. “He commanded you? Minotaur? King Minos sent the creature he most despises in the world on an errand? I don’t think so. Go back the way you came or blood will be spilt.” His lip curled disdainfully, and he placed a hand on the hilt of his sword.

I gambled and lost. Perhaps if the words had come from someone other than myself, it might have worked. It had been a bad idea for me to go there. I should have sent Theseus alone. Or perhaps not.

I believe that the situation would certainly have degenerated into bloodshed. But then a voice rang out from the darkness. A woman’s voice.

“He speaks the truth. Do what he says.”

Two figures emerged on horseback. As they trotted up, I finally saw who was riding them. Ariadne and Glaucus. My mouth fell open in amazement.

“What?” said Ariadne defensively, catching my eye. “I’m allowed to help.”

I knew immediately that she was up to something, and it troubled me. Ariadne never did anything that didn’t serve her own interests. She wanted something. Suddenly, I knew what. Crete as a power was finished. Minos was finished. Ariadne was no longer in a privileged position. But she knew someone who was. Theseus, Prince of Athens. And Theseus and I knew nothing of her betrayal at that point. How it had been her who had revealed the secret entrance to the labyrinth.

I think she realized that Theseus was her only option. Even though he clearly didn’t want her, once back in Athens, she would be in a position to start her power play. I wasn’t worried about Glaucus though. Although fifteen now and almost a man, he was overweight and certainly no warrior. Besides, he followed Ariadne’s lead in almost everything.

“Your father did say that no one was to enter,” said the guard hesitantly.

“That was before,” said Ariadne curtly. “His last command before he died was to free those in the tower.”

“Well, if you say so, Princess,” said the guard. He shrugged and stepped aside. If Crete’s power had just been destroyed, then it was probably a good time to seek employment elsewhere. Become a mercenary. Blocking access to the tower was no longer in the guards’ best interests.

Ariadne and Glaucus dismounted, and we followed as Theseus led the way inside. The interior was a shambolic mess. A table had fallen over, spilling the remains of the guard’s meal onto the floor. A weapons rack had buckled and loosed its contents.

Thinking back now, the guards were lucky Theseus didn’t kill them. They had obviously fled outside, rightly believing the tower to be no longer safe. They had given no thought to their prisoners, unconcerned that they were being left to their fate. More humane guards would’ve released them. At least that way, the prisoners would have some hope if the tower collapsed.

A minor tremor shook the building. Dust floated down in gentle eddies. We steadied ourselves against the walls, and I was appalled to find that the blocks were shifting alarmingly beneath my hands. The tower was indeed unsafe. It probably wouldn’t be long until it broke apart altogether.

“Phaedra!” I shouted. No answer. Stone steps spiraled upward. Given that there were no other doors, it was clear that the prisoners were held above us. “Wait here,” I said to Ariadne and Glaucus.

I raced up the stairs, Theseus at my heels. We found ourselves in a circular tunnel, punctuated by a series of doors. They were all unlocked. Each one concealed a cell. Frantically, we searched, but all the cells were empty. We raced up the next flight of stairs and found ourselves in a corridor that was almost identical to the one below. I tried one of the doors and found that it was locked.

“In here,” I heard a voice say.

Theseus and I put our shoulders into it and broke it down. We found ourselves in a large chamber almost completely filled with tables cluttered with all manner of tools and instruments.

Daedalus stood there, looking a little shaken but otherwise none the worst for his experience. I was not at all surprised that Daedalus had been imprisoned with the tools of his trade. His knowledge and intelligence was too valuable to Minos to have him sitting idle.

When he saw my masked face, his expression was that of sadness. Regret. At first, I thought he was like all the others and had started to believe the tales. But that wasn’t it at all.

“Asterion,” he said his voice faltering. “It’s good to see you.”

“And you, Daedalus,” I said. “Where are the others?”

“In the cells nearby, I think.”

“Get outside. It’s not safe in here.”

Without waiting, Theseus and I raced to the next adjacent cell. We were about to break down the door when Daedalus stopped us.

“It might help if you have this,” he said, handing us a large bronze key. “I made it by examining the lock. I couldn’t access it from my side, but it will save your shoulders unnecessary punishment.”

I thanked him and inserted the key into the lock. Like everything Daedalus made, it worked perfectly. We still had to force the door though. The earthquake had moved everything out of alignment, and the door was jammed.

Eventually we got it open. This cell was much smaller than Daedalus’s. There were no tables or equipment, just a straw bed. It had one occupant: Phaedra. She rushed into my arms.

“I was so worried about you,” I said.

“And I you,” she replied, hugging me tightly. “Especially with the earthquake.” Her questing hands found the arrow in my back, and she gave a small cry of dismay. “You’re hurt.”

“I know,” I said simply. “We’ll deal with it later.”

“No,” she said firmly in a tone that brooked no argument. “We’ll deal with it now. Daedalus has tools and instruments that can remove it. We’ll just get you outside.”

“I can’t. I have to get the others out.”

“Theseus can take care of that.” She turned to the man in question. “Isn’t that right, Theseus?”

Theseus nodded, smiling crookedly. He obviously knew Phaedra well enough now not to argue with her. In this, he was smarter than me.