‘I explained about that,’ protested Ariadne. ‘I never meant for—’
‘We know,’ Alec assured her. He put an arm around her shoulders and directed a glare at Coates, warning him to leave the subject alone. Then he walked her a short distance away from the others. ‘Ari,’ he said. ‘Do you mind if I call you that?’
She shook her head.
‘I can’t pretend that I liked your father or respected him in any way – but I understand that what happened on this island was not your doing. Your father was ill, I’m sure he couldn’t help himself. I want you to know that I don’t blame you in any way for what he did to me and my friends. It’s important that you understand that.’
She nodded and her eyes filled with tears. He pulled her a little closer and let her cry, while he fixed his gaze on the fishing boat that was drawing steadily closer to the shore. A strange feeling settled over him. He felt in that moment as if his childhood had just ended. Despite the wild adventures of his previous years, he had still felt like a boy at heart – but what had happened here on Candia had changed everything for ever. It was as though he had aged ten years in just a few days.
The boat finally puttered close enough for them to risk wading out to it. The captain was shouting down to Lieutenant Sideras in agitated Greek, no doubt explaining how he had managed to survive the wave. One by one everyone clambered aboard and the captain turned the boat round and started back in the direction of Crete. Most of the passengers went to the bow, eager for their first glimpse of the island, but Alec and Ariadne stayed in the stern, looking back at Candia as it dwindled in the distance. Once again, Alec was struck by the irony of it all. Just as a mighty wave had ended the Minoan civilization back in the second millennium, so Wolfe’s kingdom had been brought crashing to its knees by the self-same phenomenon. But then, Alec wasn’t really surprised. He had learned long ago that history has a tendency to repeat itself.
‘What will happen to me now?’ asked Ariadne anxiously.
‘Don’t worry,’ he told her, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders. ‘I’ll take care of you.’
EPILOGUE
IT WAS THREE days later, and time for Alec and his companions to head back to the mainland. They strolled through the cobbled streets that led down to the harbour. Washed and dressed in modern clothes, their various wounds properly attended to, there was no outward sign of the horrors they had endured on Wolfe’s island. Lieutenant Sideras and Stephen walked with them down to the stone jetty. Stephen was staying on and would be returning with Lieutenant Sideras to Candia in the vague hope of recovering his father’s body. But for Alec and the others, it was time to go home.
‘I suppose it has been a memorable visit for you,’ said the lieutenant, as he walked beside Alec. It was another fine day, and out on the horizon the smoke from Santorini had dwindled to little more than a thin stream of grey vapour. ‘But I doubt that you will ever want to visit here again.’
‘It wasn’t Crete that was the problem,’ Alec reminded him. ‘All the bad things happened on Candia . . . and I never really did get the chance to study Knossos as much as I would have liked. Who knows? Perhaps I’ll be back some time.’
Lieutenant Sideras turned his attention to Ariadne. ‘And you, Miss Wolfe. Do you think we’ll ever see you in these parts again?’
Over the past two days the lieutenant had interrogated them all, getting them to remember every detail of their ordeal, noting it down in his small, precise handwriting. Ariadne had had the hardest time with her recollections, going back to memories of when she was little and both her parents were alive. She explained how Wolfe’s madness had come upon him gradually. It was only in looking back at the changes in him that she could fully appreciate just how out of control he had become.
Ariadne shook her head. ‘There’s nothing but bad memories for me here,’ she said. ‘I doubt that I’ll ever want to see it again.’
Lieutenant Sideras frowned. ‘A pity,’ he said. ‘I could not imagine leaving this island. I was born here and, I suspect, this is where I will die.’
They had come to a halt on the jetty and they all turned to say their goodbyes to the lieutenant and Stephen.
‘Will you continue your father’s work?’ Alec asked Stephen as they shook hands. ‘The Daedalus is a wonderful invention. It would be a real shame if you abandoned it.’
Stephen shrugged. ‘I can’t think about that just now,’ he said. ‘Whenever my mind turns to it, all I see is my father falling to his death. Perhaps when I’m back in England I’ll be able to think more clearly.’
Alec nodded. ‘I understand,’ he said. ‘I didn’t have time to say this before, but it’s largely thanks to your courage that we’re all still alive. It was an incredibly brave thing you did, setting out across the sea like that.’
‘I just did what I thought was right,’ Stephen said with a smile.
‘Well, I’m for ever in your debt. And if you ever need my help on any matter, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Goodbye, Stephen, and good luck with finding your father.’
They shook hands, and Alec climbed onto the fishing boat, reaching out to help Ariadne aboard. Ethan and Coates took the opportunity to have a last word with Lieutenant Sideras.
‘Thanks for all your help,’ said Ethan. ‘I’m very sorry about the man you lost.’
The lieutenant nodded gravely. ‘He died doing his duty,’ he said, as if that were explanation enough. Then he looked over at Alec, who had found a seat on the boat and was talking intently to Ariadne, an arm around her shoulders.
‘Perhaps you were right about the boy,’ he said. ‘About him attracting all kinds of trouble. Looks like he’s found the worst kind.’
Coates followed the direction of his gaze for a moment and smiled. ‘He’s at that difficult age,’ he said. ‘And I suppose she did save his life.’
‘I was just the same at seventeen,’ said Ethan, grinning. ‘And look how I turned out.’
Coates studied him for a moment, but didn’t say anything.
‘Well,’ said Ethan, ‘I guess we should get going.’ He jumped aboard and helped Coates down onto the deck. Then he went to the mooring rope and cast off. The captain fired up the engine and angled the boat away from the shore. Ethan and Coates stood in the stern, waving to Stephen and Lieutenant Sideras until they had moved a good way off.
Coates cast a sly glance up to the bow, where Alec and Ariadne were still deep in conversation. ‘I don’t know what Alec’s father is going to say when we turn up with that young lady in tow,’ he said.
Ethan didn’t seem too concerned. ‘Oh, I figure he’ll take it in his stride, just like he always does. He should be used to surprises by now. Lord knows, he’s had enough of ’em.’ He leaned on the side and stared into the water. ‘Coates, I’ve been thinking . . .’
‘Yes?’ Coates was unable to keep the note of suspicion out of his voice.
‘Next summer, when Alec goes up to university, I figure you and me are gonna feel kind of unemployed. Let’s face it, he isn’t going to want either of us nursemaiding him through that, is he?’
Coates frowned. ‘I suppose not,’ he said.
‘I’ve been thinking about heading back to the States. I figured I might get back into what’s left of the cattle drives, before they’re gone for good. It’s a great life, riding every day, sleeping under the stars . . . I was thinking maybe you’d like to come along. A man should see the world before he dies, and we make a pretty good team, don’t you think?’
He looked up to see that Coates had left his side and was sitting a short distance away. He’d pulled a copy of The Times from his rucksack and was studying the crossword puzzle.
‘Did you even hear a word of what I just said?’ Ethan asked him.
‘I heard everything,’ said Coates. ‘And believe me, Mr Wade, no offence, but I’ve seen as much of the world as I want to. From here on, I’m taking things easy.’ He studied the first clue for a moment. ‘Eight letters. Legendary bull-headed cre
ature from Greek mythology.’ He smiled with great satisfaction and filled in the answer. ‘Well, well,’ he said. ‘It’s a small world and no mistake.’
Alec and Ariadne stood side by side in the bow, looking in the direction of Greece, but as yet there was no sign of it on the horizon. A thoughtful silence had settled between them and neither wanted to be the first to break it. But finally, it was Ariadne who spoke first. ‘I’m nervous,’ she said.
Alec looked at her. ‘Nervous of what?’ he asked.
‘That your father won’t like me and he’ll send me away.’
‘He won’t do that,’ Alec assured her. ‘He’s a decent man and he’ll understand your situation.’
‘Even when he knows what my father tried to do to you and your friends?’
‘Especially then.’ Alec smiled. ‘You’ll see. He’ll help you. He’s already agreed with the authorities to take you into his care until we can contact one of your relatives and ask them to come for you.’
‘And what if we can’t find anyone? My father broke contact with his family years ago.’
‘Well then, you’ll just have to become part of the Devlin family,’ said Alec.
There was another silence, broken only by the restless sound of the water slapping against the boat’s hull. Alec was about to say something else, but his attention was caught by a dark shape flashing through the water, a short distance ahead of the boat. It broke the surface in a graceful leap and then crashed down again in a splash of foam. In an instant, more shapes were moving alongside it. Dolphins! Perhaps even the same ones they had seen when they set out for Candia. He remembered now that the sight of them was supposed to assure a good voyage, but clearly something hadn’t worked on the way here. Perhaps the omens would be better for the journey home.
Ariadne reached out and took one of Alec’s hands gently in hers. ‘What are you thinking about?’ she asked him.
He didn’t answer her, because he wasn’t at all sure what he was thinking right at this moment. Perhaps he was considering the irony of a man who had so much wealth, but had chosen to use it for all the wrong reasons. Perhaps he was thinking of the approaching autumn and how much he would miss Coates and Ethan when he went away to university. Maybe he was just glad to be alive on this beautiful sunny day as the boat plunged onwards across the great stretch of turquoise water. Whatever he was thinking, he kept it to himself while he continued to stare into the water, watching the lithe dark shapes of the dolphins as they leapt and plunged in the foaming deep.
Also by Philip Caveney:
Alec Devlin: The Eye of the Serpent
Alec Devlin: Empire of the Skull
Sebastian Darke: Prince of Fools
Sebastian Darke: Prince of Pirates
Sebastian Darke: Prince of Explorers
ALEC DEVLIN: MAZE OF DEATH
AN RHCP DIGITAL EBOOK 978 1 409 09895 9
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