Thrax and I shared the bread between us, eating slowly to make it last.
‘Who were you signalling to, Thrax?’ I asked.
As usual, I didn’t get a proper answer. ‘It’s best not to talk about it before my plan bears fruit. Why don’t you tell the children a story to pass the time? Perhaps you could tell them about our adventure in Corinth last year.’
And, sitting in that stinking hold, I performed in public for the very first time. It wasn’t the luxurious andron filled with important patrons I had dreamed about, but it was a great success. My young audience lapped it up and they rapped against the hull in my honour when I finished.
Not long afterwards we felt the ship tremble and heard the oars cutting through the water. We were on the move again. I had spent the entire day telling my story.
Next morning, we anchored once more. This time we had docked in a natural harbour. Gentle hills sloped down towards it. They were covered in ancient olive trees, the remains of a sacred grove. I could tell people still came here to honour the spirits of the trees. They had left scarlet ribbons fluttering in the branches.
We marched endlessly between the prow and the stern while our guard barked out encouragement and the rest of the crew lugged heavy stones from the water to a spot among the gnarled olive trees. They were building an altar.
The sun rose higher in the sky. The cicadas shrilled in the trees. It got face-burningly hot and my head swam. A fight for bread broke out among the children and I wished my hands were free so I could block out the noise.
My knees began to hurt from all the marching and I was almost glad when the myrmidon on duty counted us down into the hold. I leaned against the hull, sweaty and breathless.
‘Shall I tell you another story?’ I said to the others, to keep my mind off my pitiful state. ‘Thrax and I had a marvellous adventure in Delphi.’
‘We’d like to hear about it,’ chirped a girl nearby. I jumped when I heard that voice. The girl was as tall as Alexa and had the same flowing hair. But it wasn’t Alexa. It was Fotini.
She grinned when she saw the look on my face. ‘Hello, Nico.’
I struggled to get the words out. ‘Fotini! How… how did you get in here?’
‘I swapped places with Alexa. Remember when you came to see me at the temple, I said I was worried for your safety? Well, after you left I hired some men from the temple to shadow you and report back to me. They followed you to Onatas’s house and then along the tunnel behind the shrine of Melinoe. Did you know that ruined house used to belong to Abantes before he was exiled? He must have used it to get to his pirate ship while he was still a respected naval office in Aegina. My spies told me all about it. The authorities in Aegina pulled the house down as punishment when he was caught stealing from a temple. I guessed from my spies’ descriptions that he and Belos were the men who kidnapped you.’
‘Ha,’ I said. ‘I saw a ghostly figure outside the shrine to Melinoe. It gave me nightmares.’
‘That must have been one of Abantes’s minions,’ said Fotini. ‘My men tell me the city is full of them. They must have been getting ready for their master’s return. It’s pure luck they didn’t find out about you.’
‘But how did you follow us once we’d set sail?’ I asked.
Fotini giggled. ‘When you were captured on this trireme, I hired a large fishing boat and started tailing you. I thought I’d lost you for a while but Thrax flashed me a message across the sea yesterday morning and we picked up your trail again. And now I have come to your rescue.’
‘I spotted your boat,’ I said, ‘but I couldn’t find a way to signal. And how did you get on board?’
‘When you docked this morning, my men hid the fishing boat round the headland and I swam here. I brought a rope with me so I could climb up the hull. You didn’t see me, Nico, but Thrax did and he created a diversion.’
‘The quarrel over the bread?’ I said.
Thrax smiled. ‘It gave Fotini time to cut the rope around Alexa’s hands and swap places with her.’
I turned to Thrax. ‘If you signalled to Fotini, you must have known she was following us.’
‘I didn’t know for sure if she was on that fishing boat,’ said Thrax. ‘But I had a feeling she might be.’
I looked at Fotini in pure admiration. She was taking a terrible risk, pretending to be a prisoner. If we didn’t manage to get off this ship before we reached Megale Hellas, she would be exchanged for a bag of salt instead of Alexa. I shook the horrific thought from my head. I needed to believe we could save ourselves. We were the Medusa League after all. We had outwitted thieves and murderers. We would outwit pirates too. I prayed to the gods my hopes would come true.
‘And where is Alexa now?’ I asked Fotini.
‘Hiding somewhere on the fishing boat, waiting to help us,’ said Fotini, fingering the Medusa League medallion around her neck. ‘Thrax, what’s your plan?’
Thrax looked from Fotini to me. ‘Did you look at the altar the myrmidons are building on the shore? It’s for a special festival in honour of Poseidon. The people of Aegina have a sixteen-day festival for the god every year. People who work out at sea often miss it, so they have their own little festival. It only lasts a night but it is enough to ensure Poseidon’s blessing for the whole year.’
‘The priestess at the temple told me about this festival,’ chipped in Fotini. ‘You must have noticed that the crew is using only black stones to build the altar. That’s because the special altar for the festival has to be jet black, like Poseidon’s dark home at the bottom of the sea. It reminds the sailors of their ancestors hiding inside the Trojan horse too. Men from Aegina fought in the Trojan War and they believe Poseidon helped them home across the sea. They started this festival to thank him.’
‘I hope they’re not sacrificing a horse,’ I said.
‘They don’t have one,’ said Thrax. ‘And even if they did, Abantes would not let them sacrifice something as precious as a horse. I don’t think he really believes in gods and goddesses. He only takes part in rituals to impress people.’
‘So are we going to try and escape during the festival?’ I asked.
Thrax nodded. ‘Listen carefully. This is what we have to do…’
CHAPTER 21
The Festival of Poseidon
Time in the hold passed slowly, as it always does when you have nothing to do except wait. But at last we could hear a myrmidon tramping down from the deck. He rattled the bolt on the trapdoor to make sure it was securely drawn. We all held our breath as his footsteps receded and we could hear the thump of his boots against the outside of the hull. He was climbing down to join his colleagues on the shore.
We waited a bit longer, to make sure he was gone, then Fotini got up, careful not to bang her head against the low ceiling. ‘It will take me only a short while to find the herbs for the potion. It is an easy one to make, assuming I can find a spring of fresh water. The potion is very powerful but it will not work with seawater. I have an alabastron to carry it in. I’ll make sure it’s a strong one so that it will take effect on the men very quickly. I suggest one of you keeps a lookout to make sure everything goes according to plan. If I get caught, try to find another way to escape.’
‘Nico and I will both come up on deck with you,’ Thrax said. ‘Nico especially is becoming very good at being a lookout.’ Fotini passed him a small dagger, which he used to cut the rope around my wrists. The other children saw it and crowded round, holding out their bound hands. Thrax obliged, smiling. ‘Listen, everyone, my friends and I are trying to get you off this horrible ship. You must sit here patiently and wait. But be ready to go when we come for you. Smilis, I am leaving you in charge.’
He banged on the trapdoor with the flat of his hand. A few moments later the bolt was drawn and I saw Alexa’s anxious face peering down at us. Fotini hauled herself up first. ‘Good luck,’ I whispered after her. She turned and smiled before the darkness swallowed her.
Thrax and I followed, Thrax
going first so he could give me a hand up. We stole up to the deck and soon found a vantage point behind the pile of amphorae. It was cloudy but the night was still bright enough to let us observe the men on the seashore.
I could see two dark heads bobbing in the surf. Fotini had taken Alexa with her, to help make the potion. I prayed no one on the shore would notice them or hear them splashing as they got out of the water. The men had formed a ring around the altar, Abantes towering above them in his golden mask. I guessed he was standing on a large stone, to mark him out as Poseidon’s ambassador for the ritual. There was a large stamnos at one end of the altar. A statue of Poseidon stood at the other end, facing out to sea.
Belos, wearing a scaly mask to show he was playing the part of Triton, Poseidon’s beloved son, dragged a bleating goat to be sacrificed. The men hauled it on to the altar stone, holding it down while Abantes recited a prayer to the god. He sprinkled it with something from a lekythos and I knew this to be sacred salt, which is always used in grand rituals. Then he raised a knife high above its head and brought it down on the goat.
His voice rang across the water. ‘Behold, the power of Poseidon is strong on land and sea. He maketh the waves, he maketh the salt.’
The men piled driftwood around the slaughtered animal and set it alight. The acrid stench of burning flesh filled the air.
Abantes carried the statue of Poseidon down to the water’s edge with the men following and chanting. They thrust their hands inside their chitons to pull out bits of stale bread, which they threw into the sea as offerings.
‘I heard a priest tell about this at a symposium,’ I said to Thrax. ‘They are feeding the fish in the hope that they will tell Poseidon how generous they are. In return, they pray Poseidon will be kind to them as they travel across the surface of his kingdom.’
Behind the men, a small dark shape slipped out from among the olive trees. It was Fotini. She peered around to make no one had seen her and ran to the altar, where she poured her potion into the stamnos.
‘Perfectly done,’ said Thrax.
Slowly, the smell of flesh and goat’s hair turned into the delicious aroma of roasting meat. The men returned from the edge of the water and Belos handed out drinking cups. His father carved the meat and the men grabbed it by the handful. I had expected a noisy banquet with dancing and wild games but the men all dined alone, each one sitting by themselves on the sand.
‘Our plan is working. Nico, watch,’ whispered Thrax.
As I looked on in amazement, Abantes’s head started to droop to his chest. The wine cup slipped out of his hands and fell in the sand. All around him, myrmidons and rowers were falling asleep too. Their loud snoring carried across the sea.
Fotini had spiked the wine with a powerful sleeping potion.
CHAPTER 22
Escape
Thrax got to his feet. ‘Wait for me here, Nico. This won’t take long. We’ll free the children as soon as I get back.’
He removed his chiton, hopped on the bulwarks and dived neatly into the sea. I watched him strike out towards the shore. Once there, he sprinted towards Abantes, who was slumped over the altar. Carefully, he removed the ring of the harpies from the pirate’s finger and slipped it on his own. Abantes snorted in his sleep but didn’t wake up. Thrax backed away from the altar. Then he turned and ran to the sea.
I helped him back over the bulwarks.
The ring of the harpies glinted in the moonlight. The harpies’ golden wings shone. Their eyes glowed a bright red. They were made from a special stone called carnelian, but in that moment they looked almost real. I realised I was looking at a true work of art, a priceless treasure.
‘Put it in your bag for safekeeping, Nico,’ said Thrax, slipping it off his finger. ‘A slave has no use for jewellery. Now let’s go and free those children. We need to get away from here before the men come round.’
Below deck, he threw open the trapdoor. The children were huddled under it, waiting in complete silence. We pulled them up one by one.
‘Aphrodite… Jacob… Dido… Miletus…’
Many had names from faraway countries and I wondered if they would ever make it home to their families, to their loved ones.
‘Now follow us,’ said Thrax. ‘We need to be fast, and we need to concentrate.’
Fotini’s men had rowed the fishing boat up to the trireme. We lowered the children down into their arms and they set them down on the planking. With everyone on board, we rowed away from the cove and out to the open sea.
Fotini introduced us to the crew of the fishing boat – Captain Theopompos and his sons, Carpus and Castor, who were both busy hoisting up the sail.
‘How long will it take to get back to Aegina?’ asked Thrax.
‘Just two days and two nights, if Eurus, the god of the east wind, favours us. We’ll need to stop and hide for the night, though, or we might fall in the clutches of some other pirate.’
Eurus did indeed bless our little boat. His enchanted breath filled our sail and we made good progress, leaving Abantes and Belos far behind. At the end of the day we stopped at a small island where Theopompos assured us we would find water to drink and wild fruit to eat.
To my surprise, he ordered Carpus and Castor to take down the sail. The mast was then removed from its moorings and the ship hoisted up into the branches of a tree.
‘Ha,’ remarked Theopompos, stepping back and squinting up at the foliage. ‘You can’t see the boat from here, let alone from out at sea. We’ll be safe from pirates tonight.’
After a dinner of figs and spring water, Thrax, Fotini and I clambered up into another tree to sleep, while the children lay in the tall grass, cosy under himations the fishermen had lent them. Soon they were all fast asleep. Looking down at them, I thought how small and vulnerable they looked. None of them could have been over eight and I wondered if their mothers still hoped they would come home one day, safe and sound.
Then I thought of Abantes. He would have woken up at dawn to find the ring of the harpies had vanished and his precious cargo of young slaves gone. I was sure he would follow us and I prayed that we would get back safely to Aegina before he caught up with us.
I never wanted to see the ship with no eyes again.
CHAPTER 23
The Jaws of Charybdis
I woke up before dawn and helped the fishermen manoeuvre the boat down from the tree. The sea was smooth as a polished mirror as we sailed away, our chitons bulging with fruit for the journey. But shortly after the sixth hour of the day, Eurus abandoned us, leaving our boat at the mercy of his wilder brother Notus.
Notus is believed to be especially cruel at the end of summer, when he likes to flood the autumn crops and whips the sea up into horrific storms. He was churning up a storm around us now, as we sailed past a small peninsula.
The sky darkened with rain clouds. The sea started to heave and soon our little ship was being thrown about like a dice in a gambler’s cup. Rain pelted down, soaking us through and making the children cry out in panic. Theopompos furled up the sail and ordered Corpus and Castor to row for the nearest coast.
They’d hardly pulled out the oars when I spotted a dark shadow in the waves behind us. The ship with no name. Abantes had found us, and he was catching up. Corpus and Castor rowed as hard as they could but they only had two oars between them and Abantes’s ship had thirty. The trireme bore down on us until its prow was towering above our little fishing boat. The children screamed when they saw Abantes in his golden mask. Belos in his silver mask sniggered next to him.
The trireme bumped our boat with its keel, making it spin like a top and Abantes leaped off his ship. He landed on our deck, agile as a grasshopper. His eyes were blazing with fury.
‘The ring,’ he bellowed over the sound of the wind. ‘Give me back my ring.’
‘The ring is on its way to its rightful owner,’ shouted Thrax. ‘Gorgias, the merchant from New Sybaris.’
Abantes thrust out his hand. ‘That ring is MINE. I am
the only one in the world fit to wear it. Do you not understand?’ Suddenly he made a grab for the child nearest to him – Dido. ‘Give me the ring, boy, or I’ll throw her into the sea.’
Dido went rigid with fear. Her eyes stared at me, wide with horror.
I dug into my bag and finding the ring held it out. ‘Take it, sir. Just spare the girl her life. She is only a child.’
A look of pure triumph blazed in Abantes’s eyes. He grabbed the ring from my hand and let go of Dido to slip it on to his finger. A cheer went up on the trireme and we looked up to see Abantes’s myrmidons massed around the prow, their spears trained on our boat. Belos held an archer’s bow with a cocked arrow. It was pointing straight at Thrax.
‘We are ready for your signal, Father.’
Abantes raised the hand with the ring. I stifled a scream and a moment later I heard an angry roar behind me. Smilis careened past me like a shot out of a sling. His head rammed straight into Abantes’s stomach, and they both tumbled overboard.
The waves swept them away from the boat in an instant, lifting them high on a watery mountain one moment, sweeping them down into a valley the next. I saw Smilis’s thin arms battering Abantes’s chest, and Abantes trying to push the slave boy under.
‘The gods have mercy on them,’ gasped Theopompos. ‘We are very close to a deadly bit of coast here. They are being swept straight into the jaws of Charybdis.’
‘Charybdis!’ I cried. ‘Do you mean the sea monster?’
‘He means a whirlpool,’ said Thrax.
Theopompos kissed his thumb in the familiar sign of fear and respect. ‘This stretch of coast is famous for them. They form during bad storms and they suck anyone who comes close to them into oblivion.’
Thrax called to Fotini, who was standing by the mast. ‘Throw me a rope. Nico, help me tie it round my waist. I’m going after Smilis. Hold on to the other end and please don’t let go.’
Pirates of Poseidon Page 9