by L. M. Roth
“Perhaps there was in the past, Kyrene, and you feel the lingering memory of it,” he told her. “Yet, I also wish to explore further.”
Cort and Dag chimed in agreement. Elena moved closer to Felix as if for protection. Kyrene hesitated, yet ceded to the others who clearly would not rest until they solved the mystery.
They entered the outer ring of stones. Once they were inside the outer circle, they discovered that the interior stones were not in a ring, but set in some kind of a maze that led them first in one direction and then another. There being several groupings of stones that led into the hillside, they were quickly confused and lost their bearings of direction altogether. They could not ascertain whether they were headed further into the interior or back to the outer perimeter.
They were soon separated into smaller groups as panic assailed them. Dag kept a protective hand on Cort, Elena broke away from Felix as she attempted to scramble back to the outer ring, and Marcus found himself paired off with Kyrene. They frantically called out to one another to ascertain each other’s whereabouts, but the confusion abounded the more.
“Cort, move back from that stone,” Dag’s voice cautioned the young boy.
“I was not going to touch it, Dag,” Cort replied.
“Why do you tell me that?” Dag asked him.
“You told me to move away from it,” Cort answered. “So I told you I was not going to touch it. Why would I touch it?”
“I did not speak to you,” Dag frowned in puzzlement.
“Yes, you did. I heard you. You did speak to me!” Cort exclaimed.
“Do not lie, Cort,” Dag admonished him.
“I am not lying!” Cort protested.
“Kyrene, let go of my arm,” came the voice of Marcus.
Kyrene answered indignantly.
“I am not holding your arm, Marcus,” she huffed at him.
“I did not say you were, Kyrene,” Marcus answered as he looked askance at her.
“You just told me to let go of your arm, Marcus!” Kyrene cried out.
“I never did!” Marcus claimed. “You are not even holding my arm.”
“That is exactly what I mean!” Kyrene insisted.
Marcus stared at her, and put a finger to his lips.
“Some wickedness is astir; I feel it,” he whispered to her. “Come; let us solve the mystery of this maze. But first, we must find the others.”
Chapter XXIX
The Hideous Secret
Marcus raised his voice and called out to the others. They answered one by one. He asked for their positions in the maze, and instructed them all to continue toward the hillside.
After about a quarter of an hour, and with many twists and turns to the right and the left, they all met together in the inmost ring of stones. They linked hands to keep together and continued walking into the heart of the maze.
At last the green hillside faced them. In the center of it was a cave with an opening partly blocked by a heap of boulders. There was an opening of perhaps two feet wide, just space enough to permit them to enter one at a time. A foul smell greeted them from the door of the cave.
They paused and glanced at one another. One by one they looked to Marcus to lead them.
Something troubled him about this place, yet he earnestly desired to solve the mystery of it. He pondered for several moments, then looked at Felix and nodded his head.
“Let us enter,” he declared.
Felix obeyed and quickly followed Marcus into the opening. They had scarcely entered and were inside for no more than a moment or two when they suddenly retreated and fled from the entrance.
“Run!” Marcus shouted. “We must leave this place at once!”
“Wait!”
He stopped himself.
“Dag, Felix, help me,” he commanded.
He stooped to the mouth of the cave and rolled a large boulder toward the entrance. Felix divined his meaning and helped Marcus roll it. They pushed another to join it. Dag asked no questions, but rolled an even larger boulder atop the other two. When they had finished, the door of the cave was sealed from the bottom to halfway up, leaving merely a narrow opening through which only a child could enter if he first scrambled up the slippery boulders.
Marcus ordered everyone to join hands and follow him back through the maze. As they left the cave door and entered the maze they heard a bellowing from the cave as if some creature cried out in rage. But so pale were the faces of Marcus and Felix that none asked questions: they decided to save their breath for running.
They twisted their way through the torturous maze, none daring to look behind, and at last reached open territory.
“Run to the beach,” Marcus instructed. “We gather our packs, take the boat, and leave this cursed island at once!”
Sensing urgency in the command of Marcus coupled with the silence and ashen face of Felix, they obeyed without question. They gathered their bundles, wrapped the salted fish in branches and stowed them in the empty cooking pot along with the extra berries they had gathered that morning.
Packing all in the boat, they ran with it to the shallows. They seated themselves within; all but Dag, who pushed it into deeper water, then jumped in. They once more rowed with their hands until the boat carried the current and bore them far away from the mysterious island.
They wasted no energy in seeking explanations for their hasty departure from Marcus or Felix: they saved their strength for rowing as rapidly as they could to clear the island. Not until they rowed a distance of at least two miles from the vicinity did they stop rowing and permit the current to take them.
Only then did Dag address Marcus.
“What did you find in the cave?” he asked simply.
Marcus paled and flinched visibly, and Felix shuddered. Neither could speak for a moment; then Marcus addressed his friend.
“Horror unspeakable,” he said as his eyes slowly filled with tears. “Bones we saw strewn all about; the bones of children.”
Marcus trembled and bowed his head to his chest, as if overcome by what he had discovered.
Kyrene gasped involuntarily.
“Sacrifice,” she whispered in tones of utter horror. “Child sacrifices! But, when, how…”
“What was the sound we heard as we fled; like that of a great beast gone mad?” Dag inquired.
“That I do not know,” Marcus replied. “We saw nothing. But the cave was deep, and appeared to go down into the earth, rather than farther into the hillside. It was of rock, and we heard the sound of hooves echo in the chamber coming toward us; like that of a horse or a bull or a goat. We heard no bellow until we blocked the entrance. I wanted no escape access for whatever it was to follow us from its lair.”
The others paled as they listened to Marcus. Elena covered her face and sighed deeply. Cort looked slightly ill. Dag bowed his head and shook it slowly.
Only Kyrene spoke.
“A bull, perhaps?” she said slowly as if deep in thought. “I have heard tales from long ago about a people who sacrificed their young to a great bull. They were great leaders of commerce and trade. All who carried cargo in their ships had to pass through the waters of their country. They levied a toll; either pay the toll or give their firstborn son or daughter.
“The child or youth was then sacrificed to the great bull which was kept in a great stone labyrinth. The child was led and sealed into the labyrinth without knowledge beforehand of its evil inhabitant. A game, it was told, a game played in the dark to test its courage. Poor child; it had no inkling that it would never again see the light of day.”
They were silent as the hideous tale was narrated, and more silent still after it was recounted.
“I thought it was only a tale,” Kyrene continued. “That land fell into decay long ago, their people enslaved and scattered from their island home. So, who carries on this barbarous practice?”
“We saw no evidence of any habitation on the island,” Felix remarked. “Therefore, it must be that some people
from an island nearby take their young people there to sacrifice, or they have vanished and the animal remains.”
“However,” Marcus interjected, “they cannot have vanished very long ago or the animal would not still live. There is nothing it could eat on the island, provided it could leave the cave. And remember, we had to enter single file into the narrow opening, so it may be that the creature cannot leave due to its size. Therefore, it might be that someone does indeed bring food to it when they do not have any young to offer as a sacrifice.
“For my part, I thought it best to seal as much of the opening as possible to prevent its escape: and to leave as quickly as we could to prevent meeting its keepers. And, this may be the meaning to a strange vision I had in the night watch…”
Marcus rapidly related the vision of the five eaglets and the serpent that lay in wait for each one to flounder and fall into its clutches, only to be rescued each time by the great eagle that beat the serpent back until it lost its grip on the tree and fell into the sea.
“And each little eaglet flew higher and higher to escape the grasp of the serpent, but the great eagle beat it back until it finally lost its grasp. Hmmm, I wonder if the vision and the maze are connected. Perhaps we were to be the ones sacrificed this time? But the Spirit of Dominio gave us warning by the uneasiness we felt, and saved us from whatever monster it was who lay in wait in the cave? And any who might have arrived to sacrifice us to the creature?
“Yet pity the poor children who were not so fortunate in the past, and have been sacrificed to the loathsome beast; and by their own parents!”
“Ugh,” Felix grunted in disgust. “How I loathe those who sacrifice their young. Can anything be more evil than such a vile practice? Even Valerians only serve offerings of fruit and grain to their false gods! Who would serve such a deity that would demand the blood of one’s children?”
“I also cannot comprehend such a practice,” Marcus agreed. “Yet are not all blind who offer libations to idols? We must pray for those whose minds have been blinded, Felix. Compassion, not condemnation, is what we must extend.”
“Yah,” Dag chimed in. “I too was blind. I too, with all of my kin, bowed down to the Bear. Praise Alexandros, who set me free!”
“Yes, Dag,” Kyrene nodded at him. “Praise the Lord of light and life!”
Then softly at first, but with increasing passion, Kyrene lifted up her voice in praise:
“I was in the depths of despair, and He heard me,
He brought me out into the light, into the light He brought me.
Where is the fear that once I felt? Where is the sentence of death?
It is gone, gone with the coming of day.
He heard me; He rescued me, and saved my soul,
And now I follow His way.”
Chapter XXX
Customs
They sped on swiftly as their small craft was caught in the current and carried them westward. Each day dawned with such dazzling clarity in skies of such a vivid blue that it seemed nothing could weigh down their hearts for long. Even the horror of the little island with its gruesome secret was quickly erased from their minds the farther they traveled from it.
They spent their days on the waters entertaining one another with tales of their homelands and customs that seemed foreign to each other’s ears. Dag and Cort spoke of the autumn hunt when the men left the women of the village to trek deep into the forest to stalk the bear and the boar. There they used their long spears to bring down the great beasts. After butchering them they salted the meat to provide food through the long frozen winter. The furs were saved to be tanned into pelts, to either be sold or used for cloaks, or kapakes, as they were called, or for coverings for warmth in the bitterly cold nights.
The return of the men was celebrated with a great feast. The children gathered nuts and berries, and the women collected the last of the honey and baked hearty loaves of bread. Some honey was saved and stored in the cellars for winter’s use, but much was lavished on the fresh slabs of new bread to be eaten with the festive meal.
It was, said Dag, a time of great joy, as the village rejoiced in provision for the winter. There was much laughter and dancing, with the young ones playing games while the elders sat apart and watched the festivities.
Cort chimed in and related that a favorite game with the children was Staerkes, which meant Sticks in their language. To play it, one needed to collect many small sticks and make a square formed out of pebbles. Once the square was formed sticks were laid in a criss cross pattern within it. The children took turns walking on the sticks in the square, being careful not to break any. If a stick was broken, the offender was dismissed from the game and had to sit down. The last person left without breaking any sticks was declared the winner.
Felix chuckled as Cort gave his recital.
“But tell us, Cort,” he laughed, what is the object of such a game? For it makes no sense to me.”
Cort smiled at Felix with his usual good nature.
“Why, you see,” he explained, “it is to train us for the hunt. For in the forest one must be as still as a mouse to creep up on our prey. If one steps on even a twig in the woods, all the animals hear it and do not show their faces. One must be quiet if one wants to eat.”
“Yah,” Dag nodded his head. “In my tribe we have one lad who grew up known as Staerke Kuete, or Stick Snap. To this day he is called by that name. He is not good at the hunt. He is not yet wed for no maid will give her hand to one who can not feed her. Now he is known as Skiene Leages, or Lean Legs, for there is not much weight on him. Our maids look at a man’s build to choose a mate. If he is lean, he does not hunt well. They will not wed one who does not bring home meat.”
The others roared with laughter, long and loud. Felix wiped his eyes and turned to Dag.
“What a practical lot your maids must be! Tell me, do none of them ever wed just for the love of a man?” he chuckled.
Dag flinched and quickly turned his head away. Marcus saw it but before he could intervene Kyrene, who also noticed their friend’s discomfort, came to the rescue.
“Well, at least they may choose their husbands,” she interjected. “In my land our marriages are made for us. If a man wants to wed a lady he speaks to his father and makes his wishes known. His father then calls on the lady’s father. If her father is willing for the match, he must make an offer to provide money or land or a home for her to bring with her to the marriage. She is bartered; if the price is not enough for the young man’s father, she is rejected and must wait for another offer for her hand. It can be discouraging if a young lady loves a young man only to be rejected by his father.”
A shadow crossed Kyrene’s pretty face as she uttered these last words, and Marcus wondered if she had suffered such a fate. He judged her to be about twenty years of age, a little past the time when most young women were wed. And she was certainly a fair young lady from a respectable family, albeit a tradesman; as such, why was she not given in marriage by now?
“Yes, that must be very hard,” Felix concurred, as he nodded his head in agreement. “Now in Valerium, we are free to choose our mates. If a man desires a particular lady he is free to woo her at will. He is at the mercy only of the young lady herself, whether she will have him or no.”
“How does one court a lady in your country, Felix?” Kyrene inquired.
She appeared to be recovered from her momentary introspection, and turned to Felix with eyes alight with interest.
“I am curious; does he make his intentions known, or does he keep her in suspense as she waits for him to make a declaration?”
“He can do either,” Felix answered. “Truly, it depends on his confidence, I deem. If he is certain of her heart, he openly woos her with gifts and words of love. If he is not certain that his love is returned he may wait, and choose to meet her only in the company of others before pursuing his courtship.”
“And what kind of gift does a man bestow on his beloved?” Kyrene asked. “Is there
a traditional way for a man to show his intentions to a lady?”
“Yes, I think so,” Felix said. “A gift of flowers is one of the customary ways. For by giving those he pays tribute to her beauty, declaring her to be the equal of any blossom that ever graced a garden,” Felix sighed.
Marcus remembered…a warm spring day shortly before his capture and bondage when he and Tullia had walked together in her father’s garden, and how she had delighted in the fragrance of the roses. He had picked a full red one for her that grew too high for her to reach, and she had received it with smiling thanks, and lifted the sweet smelling bloom to her nostrils, eyes closed as though to shut out any distraction from its enchanting scent.
Marcus thought of the other rose he had given to Tullia, and how quickly she had dropped it in the river at his proposal. Was it due to surprise? Or did she despise him for daring to ask for her hand when he had nothing to offer but his heart? His lips twisted in bitterness at the thought.
“How lovely!”
Marcus heard Kyrene exclaim and quickly jerked his attention back to the conversation.
“Does he offer any gifts?” Kyrene continued. “Or do the flowers reveal his intentions so that other gifts are not necessary?”
“Oh, the flowers clearly reveal his heart,” Felix assured her. “But he may present other gifts just to show his affection. He may, for example, bring back a memento if he has traveled from home. Perhaps not a valuable object, but some small thing that reveals his thoughts of her while on his journey. Mayhap nothing more than a sea shell or a necklace of beads; still, it shows her that she was in his thoughts. And that is no small thing when courting a bride!”
Kyrene joined Felix in his laughter, and remarked that the customs of Valerium must be very pleasant indeed. Marcus could not bring himself to join in the merriment. For him, the wound was too raw, too tender.
He glanced again at Dag, who remained silent. The great man did not appear to be listening, but sat staring into the waves in rapt solemnity, one tear coursing down the rugged contours of his face, and stealthily wiped away.