I was going to ask more about Necessity, but Sokrates interrupted. “We have several points in favor of considering that Ikaros is not a god. What are the points for considering that you are one?”

“I’ve been working with Athene in a way that isn’t like anything I’ve ever heard or read about a mortal doing,” Ikaros said. “And she talks about giving me responsibilities and power. If she did that, I’d definitely be a god. But she says I’d have to die first, put down my mortal body, and I’m reluctant to do that. I think I am perhaps an apprentice angel.”

“But you’ll come to the meeting tomorrow?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said, resignedly.

“Then I should go if I’m to catch the tide,” I said. “I’ll have to run as it is. I’ll see you all here after dinner tonight.”

“Have fun fishing,” Ikaros said. “And thank you for your questions. We’ll spend a happy afternoon thrashing out points of definition.”

“Oh really?” Porphyry asked. “Can I come fishing instead?”

“If you really want to and Jason doesn’t mind,” I said, seeing he was in earnest. “Do you know how to fish?”

“I go out all the time at home. I find it so relaxing, and of course it’s doing something really useful too.”

“I think exactly the same,” I said, pleased. “Come on!”

So we left Ikaros and Sokrates to their argument and ran down to the harbor to meet Jason and Hilfa. “There’s much more going on than anyone has told me,” Porphyry said, as we ran.

“I can tell you if you want,” I said, reluctantly.

“No, I don’t want at all. It’s delightful being in the dark for once. It’s such a nice change.” He laughed, panting, then we saved our breath for running. Down below we could see some boats going out already with the tide, but Phaenarete was still waiting at the quay when we came up alongside.

20. Apollo

20

APOLLO

Once the door closed behind the rest of them, the three of us stood alone in Hilfa’s sitting room, looking at each other uncomfortably. Then Arete sighed, and took up the papers and read through them again, silently. “I feel Necessity pressing hard on me,” Jathery said. The spell of gla words had no effect on either of us, but I could feel the power gla was putting into them, to make us trust gla. Gla looked all Saeli now, with the greenish skin and the bright lids and the strange knobbly joints that didn’t bend the way human joints bend. The patterns on gla skin were not random, as on mortal Saeli, but formed changing letters in an alien alphabet that perhaps Arete could read.