by Amy Lignor
Not wanting any more arguments, Leah obeyed. It was obvious neither one of them wanted to talk about the fact that there was a mercury-laden floor and some pretty terrifying serpents in a building that hadn’t been used for centuries.
Storing Gareth’s knapsack with Athena’s helmet buried inside under the bench, Leah placed her own leather duffel holding the goddess’s spear right beside it. When she felt moderately sure that the objects were safe from any nosy passengers who might be lurking about, Leah dropped her head down on the pillow and closed her eyes.
The pictures still danced inside her brain at such a rapid pace that it looked like she was staring at a swirling poster made up of every psychedelic color associated with the sixties. But she refused to acknowledge any of it. Instead, she squeezed her eyes closed and began to take deep breaths, forcing the images into their own drawer of the card catalogue she counted on. When she’d cleared them all out, Leah slammed it shut and let herself be taken into what she hoped would be a normal, boring sleep.
Right before the mighty lion could finish his job and rip her throat out with his razor-sharp teeth, Leah re-opened her eyes to the world. So much for normal, she thought.
Voices came from behind her. She looked around, trying with all her might to place the baffling scene. A couple walked by, their heads were together, laughing, as if sharing a private joke. Sitting up quickly, she searched the deck for the blond-haired, green-eyed guard who’d been beside her when she’d fallen asleep. “Gareth?”
“Over here,” a familiar voice called out from only a few feet away.
Leah stood and stretched, hearing her bones scream in protest, reminding her for the millionth time that she was not a teenager anymore. Walking over, she studied the man she loved. A feeling of dread swept through her when she noticed that his usually tan skin had gone pale. Following his frozen gaze, she looked out over the water and searched for the danger he must have spotted. Finding nothing but tranquility as far as the eye could see, Leah turned back to him. “What is it? What’s the matter?”
She waited impatiently for him to answer. His hands were wrapped around the railing so tight that his knuckles had turned white under the blazing sun. Suddenly, without warning, Gareth bent over and became ill.
Leah turned away quickly. When the vile retching noises came to an end, she looked back at her hero who now had skin that perfectly matched his green eyes. “Wanted to leave a part of you behind in Pergamon?”
Gareth took her hand and let her lead him back to the bench. “Nerves got to me, is all.”
Leah chastised herself for the added stress she had placed on his shoulders by arguing about going to the hospital. It was hard for her to remember, with Gareth being so strong and brave no matter how terrible their situation was, that he was also very much human. His love for her was strong, and worrying about her health while also fighting battles that would be unbearable for any other person had to take its’ toll. “I’m sorry.”
When he released a breath, Leah turned away. “I think I’m going to go to the little café on board and get us something to drink. Okay?” Turning away, she tried to hold back her own nausea. “I think it’s time for something way stronger than caffeine.”
CHAPTER 26
Passing by a giggling group of revelers, Leah glanced at the same young couple who still had their heads locked together. She began to wonder if the duo was stuck with some kind of adhesive and their families and friends were just too drunk to notice their dilemma.
When she returned to her husband, Leah pulled out one of the small bottles of liquor from her leather coat. “Here you go. It’ll clear your throat. Maybe freshen your breath a little.” She winked.
Gareth drank the liquid down in one gulp. Turning, he exhaled directly into her face. Unfortunately the mixture of alcohol and illness didn’t quite blend like chocolate and peanut butter. “Better?” he asked.
Leah’s stomach revolted. “Have one more.”
She watched him polish off the second miniature bottle. Wanting nothing more than to get his mind off thoughts of her own demise, Leah began a new conversation. “Tell me about Crete.”
“It’s an island.”
She rolled her eyes. “Thank you, Mr. Wise Ass. What else?”
“You know all there is to know, Leah, I’m sure. You usually always know all there is to know.” A small smile appeared on his face.
“Humor me. Give me some details besides weather and real estate reports.” Leah squeezed his hand. “I can’t explain it to you, Gareth, but I know this is the next step. Your father went from Pergamon to Crete.”
“Why choose Crete?”
“Well, did he have any links there at all?”
Gareth closed his eyes. “If you mean, did he have people who could help him in Crete, then yes. He’s been there before.”
“And he’s also as smart as his brilliant son, I would assume,” she added, trying to get Gareth to stop thinking about her health. “Is there anything you can think of about Bauer or the crown that also links to Crete?”
Leah watched the question reach Gareth’s brain. “The Nazi’s were there.”
“That’s a good start,” she said. “But they were everywhere.”
“Crete was important. It was a strategic target.”
Leah nodded, remembering some information. “Right. Hitler sent in a group of elite paratroopers to take Crete over so he could have access to all the ports.”
“And find religious artifacts of power.” Gareth extended her thoughts. “There were a lot of sites on Crete to excavate. However, because of its defenses, Crete was a location Hitler couldn’t claim very fast.”
“Which is why one of the biggest losses for the Reich was in Crete.”
“Exactly,” Gareth said. “The locals banded together and fought Hitler’s army like a pack of angry wolves. They defended their land and Hitler lost a lot of his own in the battle. But they couldn’t hold out forever, having no weapons and supplies, so the Germans did end up occupying the island for about four years.”
“Which means the Nazi’s excavated it for four years,” she said. “Maybe your father was even brought here from Pergamon by Bauer’s new administration, so to speak, as they followed in the footsteps of the Fatherland. Would there have been stories circulating about the stone or crown being buried in Crete?”
Gareth shrugged. “Bauer’s mom and her group could’ve sent my dad to Crete to look for them, I suppose, while…”
“…others were trying to dig the pieces up somewhere else,” Leah concluded. She sat back against the railing, trying to understand why one word was bothering her so much. “What about Kissamos? Why did I hear that? I scanned my memory banks and I don’t remember the Nazi’s being connected to that place. Did they dig something up there?”
He sighed. “There’s not much there; beaches, that church in the picture—it’s a beauty spot more than anything else. There’s a coastal road people can drive and look out at the red poppies in the fields.” A smile finally appeared on his face. “Girlie stuff like that.”
“But no powerful artifacts to rule the world with.”
He shook his head. “Not a one.”
Leah saw a solid outline begin to form in the distance. “Where are we making landfall?”
“Heraklion; the capital. Even though it has ancient buildings, I think it’ll be more your speed than Pergamon.” He smiled. “Definitely more of a cosmopolitan city.”
“Sounds like you’ve been here before, too.”
“I have,” Gareth replied. “I came with my father when I was really, really young.”
Leah’s eyes grew wide. “Then there’s a definite link between this place and your father.”
“That was just regular work. Came here for a week or so. A company asked him to work on the Phaistos Disc.”
Leah nodded. “Anything else that would be familiar?”
The dark shape loomed larger as the ship closed in on Heraklion.
; “Just your favorite animal,” said Gareth.
“Excuse me?”
“The Minotaur’s from here.”
Leah laughed. Pushing him on, she tried her best to make Gareth relax. She decided to focus on the myth in order to delay the unknown reality they would soon have to face. “So, the Minotaur. Tell me all there is to know.”
He stared at her.
“Okay, tell me all there is to know from when you were a kid. You were running the streets here with your dad, having fun. I’m sure you learned all the cool legends.”
She felt relieved as humor sparked in his gaze. “Well, Poseidon got mad at King Minos of Crete,” Gareth began. “For punishment, Poseidon told him to sacrifice a pure white bull to the God of the Sea as his penance. Trouble was, Minos’s wife fell in love with the bull and wanted to keep him, so Minos chose to sacrifice a lesser animal.”
“A politician?”
Gareth laughed. “Would’ve made sense.”
“Boy, it’s easy to see these people didn’t have television back then,” Leah said. “Talk about your tall tales; they had one for everything. I should’ve lived in ancient times. All books and no cell phones; a perfect world.”
“Lot of libraries back then,” he agreed. Tilting his head to the side, he stared at her with a bit of confusion in his eyes. “Speaking of libraries, I still can’t figure out why you haven’t been fired yet.”
Leah chuckled at the question that came from left field. “Little perk you get when you never take a vacation.” She grinned. “I can now take a sabbatical without anyone blinking an eye because I have all kinds of time built up—from sick to holiday to medical—the latter of which I intend to use for the hundreds of psychiatric appointments I’ll need when we get home.”
“Make sure to keep the maternity leave,” he said with a wink.
Leah turned her gaze away and sent a whistle into the air. “Here, doggie. What a nice pit bull you are.”
“You’re not funny.”
“Neither are you.” Leah erased the motherhood thought from her mind and moved on to something far less fearful. “Go on.”
“Go on, what?”
“You were talking about a bull.”
“Oh, right.” Putting his arm around her shoulder, he continued, “Seems the King’s wife liked the bull so much that their offspring—”
Leah let out a huge laugh. “Oh, she really liked the bull.”
“Darn right,” he snorted. “Anyway, Poseidon was outrageously angry that they didn’t sacrifice the creature as he had ordered them to do. Some people say that it was the god who took the bull’s form and mated with King Minos’s wife. And when a son was born…”
“Kid came out with a bull’s head on a human body,” Leah concluded.
“The Minotaur.”
She shrugged. “When you think about it, the legend isn’t really all that far-fetched. I’ve always said men have heads full of bull. This creature was just another confirmation.”
“Be nice.”
She grinned. “If I remember correctly, however, the Minos household did not become one really big, happy family.”
“Would have been a nicer story,” he said, “but, no. They kept the bull because Poseidon said they had to or he would raise his trident and release the power of the sea, wiping Knossos out once and for all. The Minotaur was King Minos’s penalty for being a jerk and disobeying a god.
“Then Minos hired Daedalus, a skilled architect, and gave him the task of building a huge labyrinth underneath the Palace of Knossos—King Minos’s luxurious home. And the Minotaur was hidden deep inside that underground maze so he couldn’t find his way back out again.”
“Which I always thought was just mean,” Leah commented.
“I thought you despised children?”
“Well, sure, but he was a kid bull…very cool, when you think about it.”
Gareth kissed her on the forehead. “I knew there was a maternal instinct hidden in you somewhere.”
She stuck out her tongue, as he continued, “Because Daedalus built it, he was the only person who knew how to get in and out of the labyrinth, so King Minos banned him from leaving the island. Minos was afraid that he would share the secret with someone.”
“Of course. Not convoluted at all.”
“Very realistic.” He nodded his agreement. “And every year seven girls and seven boys were sent from Athens to Knossos to feed the Minotaur. The children would go in…and they never came out.”
“And you’re afraid of dogs. It’s not like I’m asking for a Minotaur to come live with us.” Leah smirked. “Maybe the Minotaur’s still at Knossos. Maybe Bauer grew up and sent people here to get the drop on the bull.”
Gareth’s eyes darkened. “I bet Bauer wishes he could have…the sick son of a bitch.” He cleared his throat. “Of course, he missed the boat on that one. Theseus, the son of Athens’ king, volunteered to go in and be one of the bull’s snacks. But when he first entered the Palace of Knossos, he met Ariadne, King Minos’s daughter.”
“And they fell in love.”
“Right.”
“Hoping for a happy ending, but I don’t remember there being one.” Leah’s mind was so exhausted, she found it hard to call up the details of this mythological tale.
He smiled. “The princess wrapped a ball of string around the wrist of Theseus and placed a sword in his hands. That way, after her love killed the Minotaur, he could follow the string back out of the labyrinth to safety.”
“Never say she didn’t do the least she could do,” Leah said. “So he killed the bull, got the girl, and the people were saved. The end.”
“As far as the people being saved,” Gareth commented, “no one really knows. All anybody seems to have found out is that sometime around 1450 BC, a catastrophic event destroyed the entire Minoan civilization. Everything and everyone was just suddenly gone.”
“Gone,” Leah repeated.
“Some scientists say that an earthquake took them all out; others say it was a volcanic eruption. All that’s left are a few broken palaces here and there.”
“But the Palace of Knossos has been built up again over time,” Leah reminded him. “After all, you need those historic locations to bring in tourist money.”
Pausing, Leah added a serious thought, “I don’t think that story has much to do with the deceased Bauer or his pal, Hansen, though. Although they’re both full of bull, I don’t think a half-man, half-bull was something they were after.” She leaned her head back against the railing, trying with every brain cell she owned to figure out where Gareth’s once-dead, now-presumed- missing father, could possibly be. “Anything else in Crete that has ties to Pergamon?”
Gareth remained silent for a long time, as Leah listened to the warm waves lap against the side of the ship. “Marc Antony.”
“That guy was all over the place, wasn’t he? I don’t know how he found the time to even have an affair with Cleopatra and bring down the Egyptian monarchy.”
“Medieval Viagra?” Gareth laughed.
She grinned, secretly loving the fact that Gareth’s own sarcasm had appeared. “I don’t remember Marc stealing from Crete, like he did in Pergamon, in the history books.”
Gareth shook his head. “He didn’t. But he did begin a campaign for the Romans to try and gain control of Crete. He met resistance from the locals during his time, too, but was finally able to bring Crete under Roman control.” Gareth continued, “Then, Crete flourished. They became tops in education, art, literature…everything. They were very prosperous, peaceful people for a long time.”
“Until the next batch wanting to play God showed up,” Leah added. “It never seems to end.”
“Probably never will.” Gareth stood up and stretched his legs.
Standing beside him, Leah’s gaze took in the scene. “The walls were built around this port to protect people a long time ago. I remember that. They were not exactly a welcoming crowd.”
“Would you be if you’
d been attacked that many times?”
Shaking her head, Leah stared out at the city. The sun reflected off the many windows of the unique buildings, making it look like a hundred spotlights were aimed directly at them. People walked along the docks with faces that wore happy looks, yet Leah couldn’t feel their contentment. For some reason, she couldn’t get past the gigantic walls that bordered Heraklion. To her, they read as a huge warning—a shout out to everyone, from excited explorers to invading warriors, that they should turn around and go back where they came from. Because if they chose not to, they would face the wrath of a sleeping, hungry Minotaur. “God, I’ve been around this crap for too long,” she whispered.
As the ship slowed down, Leah couldn’t help but feel anxious. They were about to enter yet another in a long line of ancient locations built to keep secrets in…and strangers out.
CHAPTER 27
Anippe closed her eyes against the pain, as her mother and uncle hovered around her in the small kitchen.
“What the hell happened?” her father demanded from his spot in the corner.
Aaron’s voice remained calm. “Anippe was walking around the museum checking for damage from last night’s storm and cut herself on a broken window.”
“What were you doing playing with a broken window?” David Tallent’s angry, worried tone grew louder.
Neith carefully finished her small, perfect row of stitches and went to the stove to remove the now-cooled pan. She stuck her hand inside the pot and came out with a clump of gooey, off-white paste.
“What is that?” Aaron said in a disgusted tone, backing away from the horrible smell.
“It looks like burnt oatmeal,” David added.
Neith just smiled at the men as she went about her work, spreading the gel on top of Anippe’s wound. She rubbed the concoction carefully into the skin, completely covering the bright green eye that was now sliced in half. “It’s an old family recipe.” Neith winked at her. “It will help the cut heal and leave minimal scarring.”