Reluctantly, Alec started to go with her. Then he stopped and looked back at Lee. He was sitting against the wall, gazing after him through the swirling clouds of dust. He raised his good hand in a brief wave. Alec smiled back, then turned away and followed Ariadne up the steps to the ground floor.
Lieutenant Sideras gave a gasp of astonishment. He and Stephen were staring at the façade of the palace, which had just come into view ahead of them. ‘Incredible,’ he exclaimed, gazing around him. ‘Who would have believed that such a thing was here?’
Stephen didn’t say anything. He remembered his own sense of wonder when he had first seen the palace, but it had been short-lived, vanquished by the horrors that he and his friends had been exposed to. Now this looked to him like a place of death, and he wanted nothing more than to see it destroyed – stone by stone.
As they walked across the flagged patio they could feel the thick stone tiles vibrating beneath their feet. The great doors to the palace were open and as they drew closer, several people came running out in panic: a couple of armed guards and some servant girls. They saw the strangers approaching, but didn’t bother to put up any resistance. The men dropped their swords and held up their hands in surrender as they ran past the newcomers, heading for the beach. Clearly they wanted to be out in the open when the full force of the earthquake struck. Lieutenant Sideras grabbed the arm of one girl as she ran past and demanded to know where Tobias Wolfe was. She pointed towards the open doorway and then, tearing herself away, ran after her companions. Just then, one of the huge statues that flanked the entrance tipped sideways from its pedestal and crashed to the ground, breaking into several pieces.
‘I’m not sure this is the safest place to be right now,’ said Lieutenant Sideras wryly.
‘It’s where my friends are being held prisoner,’ Stephen told him. ‘I must go in. You stay here if you want to.’ He started towards the entrance and after a moment’s hesitation, the lieutenant followed.
As they passed through the massive doorway into the entrance hall, Stephen could see that the earthquake was already wreaking destruction inside. Several windows had smashed and more statues had crashed to the ground. He looked around desperately, trying to remember which way he needed to go.
He fixed on a doorway and led the way towards it. ‘I think it’s through here,’ he said. He had taken just a few steps when another tremor shook the ground and the stone tiles beneath their feet began to crack and splinter. Stephen ignored them and kept right on walking.
‘If this gets any worse the whole place will come down around us,’ warned Lieutenant Sideras; but no sooner had he said it than an eerie silence settled. The two men looked around. Dust sifted down from the ceiling, but it seemed – at least for the moment – that the earthquake had subsided. Then they heard another noise, somewhere off in the distance – an inhuman bellowing sound.
‘What in God’s name is that?’ murmured the lieutenant anxiously.
Stephen looked at him but had no answer. ‘Come on,’ he said, and led the way deeper into the palace.
Ariadne took Alec to the door of the room where Ethan and Coates were being held. Alec was uncomfortably aware that the walls around them were shaking and shuddering as more shocks rocked the palace on its foundations. He looked around for something to try and smash the door down with, but then realized there was no need – it was already being battered from the other side. As Alec watched, it shuddered beneath a series of impacts. On the fourth, the lock shattered and the door flew open. The front end of a metal table slid out into the hall and wedged itself in the doorway. Alec saw Ethan and Coates staring out at him in surprise.
‘Master Alec!’ cried Coates. ‘You’re alive.’
‘Just about,’ Alec assured him. ‘Come on, there’s not much time.’
Ethan and Coates clambered over the wedged table and dropped to the ground.
‘What in the name of Sam Hill is going on?’ demanded Ethan.
‘We’re getting out of here,’ said Alec. He fumbled in his pocket and found the gadget that Lee had given him. He pointed it at his two friends and flicked the switch. Each of them gave a gasp of relief as the hated collars of obedience slid open and tumbled to the ground.
‘Amazing!’ cried Coates. ‘Wherever did you get that thing?’
‘Lee gave it to me,’ said Alec. ‘It’s a long story, but he kind of helped me to escape from the labyrinth.’
‘And where is he now?’ asked Coates, looking cautiously around.
‘I don’t think he’ll be bothering us again,’ Alec assured him. ‘The minotaur got him.’
‘The . . . minotaur?’ muttered Ethan. ‘There really is one?’
Coates had just noticed Ariadne standing a short distance away. ‘What’s she doing here?’ he snarled.
‘She’s with me,’ said Alec. ‘She helped me escape too.’
‘But she’s . . .’
‘No time to explain. We need to get out of here. Santorini’s going up like a firework display on Guy Fawkes’ night.’
‘I thought you said there was no danger of that,’ growled Coates.
‘I was wrong,’ Alec admitted. ‘But there’s no time to discuss it. I think we need to—’
He broke off. Quite suddenly, the ground had stopped shaking and an eerie silence had descended. He glanced quickly around.
‘Maybe it’s finished,’ he said hopefully.
‘Or maybe it’s just the lull before the storm,’ said Coates gloomily. ‘Come on, I vote that we get out of this dreadful place.’
‘No, wait a minute.’ Ethan was shaking his head. ‘I have a score to settle first.’
‘Never mind about that,’ said Alec. ‘Wolfe has his own problems right now. There’s somebody else with a score to settle with him, somebody a lot more powerful than you.’ He turned to lead the way into the corridor and then froze in his tracks as a sound came from somewhere deep in the palace, a sound that seemed to echo along every corridor – a shrill inhuman scream that sounded like an animal in pain. Then they heard another sound mingled with the first, a yell of pure terror.
‘That was my father,’ cried Ariadne – and before Alec could stop her she was running along the corridor in the direction of the sounds. Alec raced after her and the others were left with little option but to follow.
‘Where are we going?’ cried Coates.
‘It sounded like it came from the bathhouse,’ Ariadne shouted back.
She led the way, turning this way and that through the seemingly endless corridors and hallways of the palace. They finally came to an arched doorway that Alec remembered from his last visit here and descended the stairs that led to the bathhouse. They went in through the entrance, not knowing what to expect.
Wolfe was standing on the stone walkway between the two pools, holding a sword. Blood ran from a deep cut on his face, mingling with his white beard. He was breathing heavily and looking down at another figure that was kneeling in front of him, a monstrous travesty of a human being that was gasping and slobbering as it fought to draw breath. The minotaur was clutching at its chest where a deep wound – a sword thrust – pulsed with blood. It appeared to be dying.
‘What in God’s name is that?’ whispered Coates, staring at the creature. ‘It’s some kind of . . . monster.’
‘No,’ Alec corrected him. ‘Just a horribly disfigured human being who has been locked down in the labyrinth for years.’
‘That’s Wolfe’s minotaur?’ gasped Ethan.
Just then Wolfe looked up and noticed the new arrivals standing on the far side of the bath. The expression on his face was one of regret.
‘You let him out!’ he cried and he sounded resentful. ‘My wonderful minotaur. You set him free and now I’ve had to kill him in order to protect myself.’
‘I let him out, Papa,’ said Ariadne. ‘I went to help Alec. I had no idea what was down there. You never told me.’
‘You wouldn’t have understood,’ snapped Wolfe. He studied his
daughter for a moment. ‘Perhaps I should have called you Pandora,’ he said. ‘She was a daughter with a gift for setting things free. Things she didn’t understand.’ He turned his gaze back to the minotaur. ‘If you only knew how hard it was to find him. I searched the four corners of the world; there wasn’t another like him in existence. He doesn’t belong up here on the surface. He’s a beast of the underworld.’
‘Where did you find him?’ asked Alec.
‘In a remote part of Italy,’ murmured Wolfe, ‘I happened upon a travelling freak show. They had a boy on display, a boy who had suffered terrible birth defects. He was billed as “Dario, the Beast”. I purchased a ticket and went in to see him. He wasn’t a pretty sight, but the moment I set eyes on him, I knew that he was just what I’d been looking for. The owners of the show were only too happy to sell him to me for a considerable sum of money. After that, all it took was a little training and a few . . . modifications. And I had my minotaur.’
In the better light of the bathhouse, Alec could clearly see how the effect had been achieved. As he had thought, the minotaur’s curved horns were a man-made addition, mounted in a leather helmet that was strapped around Dario’s misshapen head and secured by a padlock at his throat.
Alec stared at Wolfe. He had thought that, with everything he had learned about this man, nothing could shock him. He had been wrong. ‘Are there no depths to which you won’t sink?’ he gasped. ‘You purchased a disfigured boy and put him in that awful place, just so that you could boast that you had a minotaur?’ Alec shook his head in disbelief. ‘I’ve seen some terrible evil around the world, but you have to be the most despicable person I’ve ever met. How can you sleep at night, after the things you’ve done?’
Wolfe didn’t look in the least perturbed by these words. ‘I sleep very well,’ he told Alec. ‘Secure in the knowledge that I have taken what is my due – the tribute owed to a great king.’
Ethan bunched his hands into fists and started walking around the pool towards Wolfe. ‘I think it’s time you and me had a little talk,’ he growled.
‘Come any nearer and I’ll cut you down!’ said Wolfe, lifting his sword.
‘You’re welcome to try,’ Ethan told him. He took another step and then froze as two more figures ran into the room, both of them armed with weapons that seemed strangely out of place in this world of swords and spears. For an instant, Alec thought it was some of Wolfe’s henchmen coming to his rescue. But then he recognized the face that was staring at him from along the barrel of a rifle.
‘Stephen!’ he cried. ‘Thank God! We thought you were dead.’
‘And Lieutenant Sideras,’ said Coates. ‘So you did make it across to Crete.’
‘I made it halfway,’ said Stephen, lowering the rifle. ‘Had to swim the rest. Sorry it’s taken so long to get back to you.’
‘Better late than never,’ said Ethan. ‘And you’re just in time to see me give Wolfe the beating he so richly deserves.’
‘Wait,’ said Lieutenant Sideras. ‘You will do no such thing, Mr Wade. I need to keep him in one piece so he can answer my—’ He broke off as he noticed the bleeding figure kneeling in front of Wolfe. ‘What in God’s name is happening here?’ he cried. ‘What is that creature?’ He lifted his pistol and pointed it at Dario, as if intending to shoot him.
‘No!’ said Alec. He stepped over to the lieutenant and made him lower the gun. ‘No, please, can’t you see he’s already injured? He deserves our pity more than our hatred.’ He started to walk around the pool towards Dario. ‘At least let us make him more comfortable,’ he pleaded.
‘Stay right where you are,’ said Wolfe. ‘Man or boy, I’ll kill the first one that tries to set foot over here.’
Stephen shook his head. ‘After what you did to my father, I ought to shoot you down like a dog,’ he said, ‘but I think I’ll take sweeter revenge in seeing you imprisoned like the common criminal you are.’
Wolfe sneered. ‘You cannot call what I have done murder,’ he cried. ‘That is a word for ordinary men. When kings slay their enemies, it’s a different matter. People like myself are above such trivial concerns. We walk with the gods.’
Ethan laughed at that. ‘Listen to him,’ he said. ‘He still thinks he’s in control here. Look around you, pal. You’ve had a good run, but it’s all come crashing down. You’re looking at a short stay in prison followed by an even shorter drop with a rope around your neck. And you know what? I hope I’m there to see it.’
Lieutenant Sideras lifted his pistol again and this time he pointed it at Wolfe. ‘Throw down the sword,’ he said. ‘And raise your hands.’
There was a silence, broken only by the ragged gasps coming from Dario. His head was bowed, the horned helmet glinting in the light of the braziers that lit the chamber. The blood was now pouring out of him and Alec thought again about going to try and comfort him. But before he could move, Wolfe, staring defiantly back at his accusers, snarled, ‘Fools! You think you can make me obey your petty rules? I have the stuff of greatness about me. You should be on your knees before me, worshipping my power. Why, I only have to say one word and Lee will finish the four of you off at the flick of a—’ He broke off as he realized that none of his former captives was wearing their collars of obedience.
‘You can forget about Lee,’ Alec told him. ‘Dario has already caught up with him. But you should know that before that happened, Lee gave me the key to the collars. Even he was beginning to realize the evil of what you were doing.’
Wolfe’s face was a picture of dismay. He now finally understood how much his power had slipped. He looked desperately to right and left, as though seeking some avenue of escape.
‘I repeat,’ said Lieutenant Sideras. ‘Throw down your weapon and raise your hands. If you do not, I will put a bullet into your leg.’
‘Please, Papa, do as he says,’ Ariadne begged him. ‘Don’t make him shoot you.’
Wolfe glared at her. ‘My own daughter,’ he said, ‘siding with my enemies. Well then, go to hell with the rest of them, you’re no daughter of mine.’ He stared defiantly back at his accusers. Then he raised the sword as if to defend himself. ‘Come and take me if you think you can!’ he snarled.
There was a long moment of silence while they stared at each other, waiting for someone to make the first move. Lieutenant Sideras sighed and raised his pistol, taking aim at Wolfe’s leg.
And in that instant, Dario staggered up from his knees and with his last reserves of strength launched himself forward, his powerful arms outstretched, his muscles rippling beneath his dirty skin. He slammed into Wolfe, clamped his huge hands around his captor’s throat and propelled him backwards across the stone flags that separated one pool from the next. Wolfe’s eyes widened as the realization of what was happening struck him. With a strangled ‘NOOOOOO!’ the two bodies tumbled into the boiling water of the natural hot spring, and Wolfe’s final word mutated into a long scream of agony.
Alec put his arms around Ariadne and turned her away, pulling her face into his chest so she couldn’t see the awful scene in front of them. He did not want to look himself, but he could hear only too well the thrashing and screaming of the two men, one voice shrill and terrified, the other a deep animal bellow that seemed to fill the entire chamber. But neither cry lasted for very long. It struck Alec in that moment how ironic it was. Hadn’t the original King Minos perished in just the same way – tricked by Daedalus into taking a hot bath over which the wily old inventor had suspended a tank of boiling water?
When silence had settled, Alec allowed himself a brief glance over Ariadne’s shoulder. The two bodies floated side by side in the bubbling water. The others stood staring at them in numbed shock. It had happened too quickly for anyone to intervene. Alec was aware of Ariadne crying against his chest and he turned her towards the door. One by one the others followed him and they walked in shocked silence along the deserted corridors to the entrance.
They emerged into a day that felt more like twilight. L
ooking up, Alec could see that the sky ahead was covered by a dark-grey cloud of ash, billowing and tumbling across the horizon and obscuring the sun.
‘Oh, what now?’ groaned Coates. He glared at Alec. ‘It’s something to do with you, isn’t it?’ he said. ‘You attract things like this.’
‘It’s miles away,’ Alec assured him. ‘It can’t reach us here.’
They crossed the stone flags and began to descend the steps down to the jetty.
‘Are you all right?’ Alec asked Ariadne. It felt like a stupid question. She turned those dark brown eyes on him and opened her mouth to say something – but whatever she was going to say was interrupted by yet another deep rumbling in the ground beneath their feet, the most powerful yet. As Alec stared down in amazement, the thick stone slabs in front of him began to crack and splinter as though they had no more substance than balsa wood.
‘I think its high time we got out of here,’ said Coates and hurried towards the steps leading down to the beach. His companions needed no second bidding. Everybody crowded after him and followed him down to the jetty. Even as they went, they were horribly aware of the marble steps shaking and shuddering beneath their feet. They came to the curve that led round to face the beach. For a moment, Alec was back in the Aztec city of Colotlán, running from another volcanic eruption. But, he told himself, they had been right next to that one. This one was happening miles away across the sea; all they needed to do was get back on the boat and head for Crete.
Then Coates stopped in his tracks so that the others almost ran into him.
‘What are you stopping for?’ yelled Ethan irritably.
Coates was just standing there, staring down towards the jetty, a look of astonishment on his face.
‘Where’s the ruddy sea gone?’ he asked.
CHAPTER TWENTY
The Last Wave
ALEC LOOKED OVER his valet’s shoulder and saw that it was a very good question indeed. The deep blue waters of the Sea of Crete had receded for as far as the eye could see. All that was left was the seabed from which mounds of white coral stood up stark and clear. Here and there was the occasional pool of shallow water in which fish flopped and splashed helplessly. The foundations of the stone jetty went down into nothing more than mud and seaweed and there was no sign of the fishing boat that had brought them here. Below them, he could see a scattering of people from the palace, guards and serving girls, standing on the deserted beach and looking hopelessly out to where the sea used to be.
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