BooksBarbecue
Back The Arrow of Apollo Save as PDF
Chapters (52)
  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. About the Author
  4. Dedication
  5. By the Same Author
  6. Author’s Note
  7. Map
  8. Domus Libris
  9. House of the Wolf
  10. The House of the Wolf
  11. One
  12. Two
  13. Three
  14. Four
  15. Five
  16. Six
  17. Seven
  18. Eight
  19. Nine
  20. Ten
  21. Eleven
  22. Twelve
  23. Thirteen
  24. Fourteen
  25. Fifteen
  26. Sixteen
  27. Seventeen
  28. Eighteen
  29. Nineteen
  30. Twenty
  31. Twenty-One
  32. Twenty-Two
  33. Twenty-Three
  34. Twenty-Four
  35. Twenty-Five
  36. Twenty-Six
  37. Twenty-Seven
  38. Twenty-Eight
  39. Twenty-Nine
  40. Thirty
  41. Thirty-One
  42. Thirty-Two
  43. Thirty-Three
  44. Thirty-Four
  45. Thirty-Five
  46. Thirty-Six
  47. Thirty-Seven
  48. Thirty-Eight
  49. Timeline of the Trojan Cycle
  50. Further Reading
  51. Acknowledgements
  52. Supporters

Now they were both on board, the ship turned gracefully, and began to sail towards the horizon. Silvius gripped onto the rail, and soon could see nothing; not Iulus and his companions, or the port. There was a single shout, and then they were out in the sea, the moon shining bright above them, the wolf cub tearing in excited circles at their feet.

‘We’re on a boat! We’re out at sea!’ Elissa was lit up with delight. ‘Like the Phoenicians!’

They’d done it. The first stage of the journey had worked, thanks to a miracle. But Apollo had not listened only to Silvius. He looked shyly at Elissa, at the joy in her eyes. She wasn’t leaving anything behind in Lavinium; no mother, no father.

‘Thank you – thanks for helping me pray. I don’t think I could have done it on my own.’ He didn’t mention the hissing and the snakes.

The sea was a stretch of blackness all around. As he turned to investigate the rest of the boat, out of the corner of his eye he spotted a red light.

He stood at the stern and watched it, skin prickling with the cold. The Enemy. They had already found a boat and were coming after them.

‘What is it?’ Elissa asked, frowning. The little wolf cub scampered to his side.

Silvius didn’t answer for a moment. The ship creaked.

‘Come on,’ he said at last. ‘Let’s see if we can find somewhere to sleep.’ They would soon see in the morning.

Twelve

images

Revelation

MYKENAI, ACHAEA: KINGHOUSE OF THE LION

Tisamenos set two oil lamps in his window, as Hero had told him to do as a sign that he’d performed his task, and sat on the edge of his silken bed to wait. The Last Gorgon’s head, its snakes still clamped to the shield, was in the sack at his feet.

He did not like to be near it, but he did not want it to be far from him either.

He had avoided Agatha, asking one of the maidservants to fill up the copper bath for him. Earlier, as he had sunk into the warm water, he had become increasingly aware of a low, hollow tapping sound. He’d thought it was coming from water dripping onto the stone, but could not locate the source of it.

He had scrubbed away the blood and gore from his body. A stone jug full of small ale stood on a table within reach, and he gulped down a mouthful. Then, after soaking for as long as he could, he stepped out, and looked at himself in a mirror.