The Sea King’s Daughter

by Barbara Michaels

  “Your eyes,” I said, horrified. “What happened?”

  “The fumes, I suppose,” he said fretfully. “Let go, Sandy. I’ve got to find Chris.”

  “You can’t even see! Are you crazy? What’s to prevent them from picking you as their star performer instead of Chris? You fit the part better. You’ll blunder right into them.”

  “Unlikely,” said Frederick. “If the performance takes the form I anticipate, it will resemble the bacchic orgies, with some form of circling dance. There will be considerable noise.”

  He got up from his chair and went to the window. Jim was making feeble attempts to free himself from my grasp. I hung on with both hands.

  “The air seems to be clearing,” Frederick said. “However, our young hero is in no condition to go out. I see I shall have to assume the role, ill as it suits me.”

  “You!” I exclaimed.

  “Don’t misunderstand,” said Frederick. “I am immensely curious. The chance of seeing such a survival may never come again. Kore’s contributions cannot be denied, but she must have worked with a residuum of folk memory handed down in these islands for millennia. Fascinating.”

  In that instant, on that last word, my feelings for him died. Oh, I had felt them, much as I wanted to deny them; I had hoped he might have some tenderness buried under his cold, formal manner. I had deluded myself.

  “Go ahead,” I said. My voice was as flat as my emotions. “Go on, watch the women dancing and cheering and tearing their victim limb from limb.I hope you will take notes. You may find it a little difficult to write left-handed, but if I know you, you’ll manage.”

  “I will.” He put out a hand as Jim surged toward him and shoved him back. “Keep that young fool here. Naturally I will interfere if matters go as far as he suggests, which I don’t expect for a moment. The victim will be a goat or a sheep. I shall return in good time.”

  Jim had fallen into a chair and was struggling to get up. I sat on his lap to hold him down, and tried to calm him.

  “Just let me bathe your eyes and fix you up a little. I promise you can go. Later. After you feel better.”

  As I spoke, Frederick left. I heard the front door close.

  Keller helped me work on Jim. We found a lantern that shed more light than the flashlight we had been using. The eyedrops seemed to help.

  When Keller had finished, he rolled his shirt sleeves down and buttoned them neatly.

  “I too must go,” he said. “I must find Kore.”

  “She’s in no danger,” Jim muttered. “ Sandy is the one I’m worried about.”

  “Me?” I said, pretending surprise. This was not the time to tell him what I knew about Kore’s religious doctrines, especially the ones that concerned me personally. But I underestimated his intelligence.

  “Why do you suppose I keep coming back here instead of looking for Chris?” Jim demanded. “I have a pretty good idea what Kore is up to. When I realized that the women were gone from the village, I started putting the rest of it together. Kore’s talk about reincarnation and her references to a female deity-whom we naïvely identified as the Virgin Mary-your dreams, the hints the priest threw out… Keller, for God’s sake-youought to know what’s going on in that woman’s mind, if anyone does. What will she do?”

  “She never spoke to me of that,” Keller said. “It was her private affair.”

  “It’s not private now,” Jim said.

  “But I tell you, she will harm no one.” Keller was standing just beyond the light; it left his face in shadow, but shone on his hands. They were tight, white-knuckled fists. “You young fools, frantic about imaginary dangers… There is danger walking abroad tonight, but it will not be from my poor Kore. It will be for her. And for others.”

  Jim took the wet cloths off his eyes and sat up.

  “I think you had better tell me,” he said.

  Keller slumped into a chair as if his legs would no longer support him.

  “Yes, I must tell you. For thirty years I have kept this burden on my soul. I can bear the weight no longer.”

  Jim glanced questioningly at me. Was Keller about to go through the same old story again?

  “I know about your guilt feelings,” Jim said. “But you’re mistaken if you think anyone harbors a grudge about that. A murderous grudge, anyway. The idea of revenge-”

  “Revenge!” Keller’s voice cracked with emotion. “I do not speak of a motive so juvenile! I speak of treachery and fear! How do you think your uncle fell into our hands? It was not by accident, or by our cleverness. He was betrayed, I tell you-given over to us by a man he trusted like a brother, in exchange for immunity. Would such a man hesitate to kill now, in order to keep the secret of his shame?”

  Chapter 14

  I

  “SO THAT’SIT,” JIM SAID. “I WONDERED… WHO ELSE knows this?”

  “Myself. Kore.” Keller laughed shrilly. “The traitor. Judas, Cain… What I did was badenough. But he-”

  “All right, keep calm,” Jim said quickly. “All these years you remained silent. Why?”

  “Why should I speak?” Keller’s face was shining with sweat. “At the beginning silence was part of the price I paid for his services. It was war. One does many distasteful things to serve one’s country. Then, after it was over-to whom should I speak? Was it part of my duty to betray this man, as he had betrayed his comrade in arms? Whom could I serve by doing this?”

  Jim’s voice cut through the high-pitched monologue.

  “And besides, he might have a few secrets to tell about you. I’m sure you did other things, ‘in the course of your duty’ that might have embarrassed you. No”-as Keller made a wild gesture of protest-“never mind, forget it. Let the past die!”

  “It won’t die,” I said, breaking the silence shock and horror had induced. “Keller said it this afternoon: the labyrinthine prison of time… Jim, why don’t you ask the important question? What are you afraid of?”

  “A mutual pact of silence,” Jim said, gesturing me to be quiet. “And you came here-my God, you came here to protect his find from the man who betrayed him. Was that it?”

  Keller nodded eagerly.

  “That at least I could do.”

  He looked hopefully at Jim, as if expecting approbation. The man was mad, all right, but only part of the time. There was a single flaw in his thinking, and even that had its own bizarre consistency.

  “I understand,” Jim said. “So, this year, when it appeared that the secret was known, you tried to stop the work. The avalanche, that day you saw us on the hill, was no accident. You wanted to put Sandy out of action. She was the diver, the one who was looking for the ships. You planted the amphora, with its booby trap, hoping she would be-”

  “No!” Keller’s eyes widened. “What do you take me for, that I would harm a young girl? Was I not the one who saved her? She might have died, in the water, if I had not-”

  “You didn’t plan to kill her,” Jim interrupted. “Only to immobilize her. I’ll give you that much credit. The mere fact that you were there in time to bring her in is suspicious. How could you have been on the spot unless you expected an accident?”

  “Stop it,” I said, as Keller began to protest. “All this is beside the point. We sit here talking, while… You don’t have to protect me, Jim. Iknow who the traitor was. It must have been Frederick.”

  “You’re jumping to conclusions,” Jim said in a strained voice.

  “It was your boss or mine,” I said. “Take your pick. Who has the kind of ruthless self-interest for such a filthy action? Why did he volunteer to go out just now? It wasn’t altruism, you can be sure. He’s never done anything that didn’t serve his own interests. What’s he doing out there? Who is he after?”

  “My God.” Jim got to his feet. He pointed at Keller. “You were shot at yesterday afternoon. Was that-”

  “Nein, aber nein.” Keller’s eyes had a queer shine as he looked sideways at Jim. “I am not such a fool. I have taken precautions. A state
ment, to be opened at my death. He has the strongest reasons to keep me alive.”

  “You stubborn fool, can’t you see the situation has changed?” Jim shouted. “Maybe your precious statement has protected you all these years, but it isn’t doing the job now. He’s going to kill someone-you, Kore, Sandy-I can’t tell, I don’t know all the facts!”

  “Let them kill each other,” Keller said listlessly. “What does it matter?”

  “You won’t get any more out of him,” I said to Jim. “Why are we standing here playing Sherlock Holmes? We’ve got to stop him.”

  Before Jim could answer, a ghastly quavering shriek rang along the dark hall.

  “It’s Kore,” I gasped. “Quick, Jim.”

  The sound aroused Keller from his apathy. He jumped up and ran out of the room, calling Kore’s name. Jim went after him, as another, fainter cry shivered the air. Jim yelled at me, something about staying where I was; but I couldn’t remain passive while a cry like that one assaulted my ears.

  The result would have been the same, whether I remained alone in the room or was alone somewhere else in the house. I made it a little easier for them, that was all. But I didn’t expect that particular kind of danger. A howling outraged mob couldn’t have broken into the house unheard.

  When they surrounded me, I was taken by surprise. I got out one scream, but it was quickly stifled by calloused work-hardened hands-a web of hands and arms, wrapping around me like the tentacles of an octopus, dark bodies pinning my arms to my sides. One of the hands thrust something against my nose. The sharp fumes made me sneeze, but not for long. I pitched forward into blackness, and into the eager, waiting arms of the women of Zoa.

  II

  I awoke to the worst nightmare I had ever had-the worst, because it wasn’t a dream. Yet there was an air of unreality about the scene, and the fact that I was alone made me wonder whether I might not still be dreaming. For a while I wavered back and forth between the two theories.

  I had a terrible headache and my stomach felt queasy. I was sitting on the ground; hard pebbles pressed into my posterior. My physical sensations suggested that I must be awake. But when I tried to move, I couldn’t, and immobility is one of the signs of nightmare. It took me a while to figure out that I was tied to a tree. My feet were tied too. The ropes were padded; when I pulled against them I felt no pain, only constriction. I tried to squint at the ropes on my ankles, but I couldn’t see clearly; my eyes took some time to focus, and the shadow of the tree enveloped me.

  The immediate source of light was a fire burning in the middle of a wide-open space. The sky overhead was a ghastly unnatural crimson. Without stars I had no sense of direction, but I knew where I was. I recognized it from an earlier nightmare. Low, uneven ridges of ashy rock surrounded a flat space about an acre in area. The worn, stone-paved surface was the one on which my bare feet had bruised themselves, dancing, the night before. A rehearsal, no doubt, for this evening’s performance.

  The sickness in my stomach wasn’t solely the result of the drug they had used on me. I would almost have welcomed a band of shrieking maenads; the crimson silence, broken only by the faroff rumblings of the tortured earth, was worse than any human threat. My mind was quite clear-too clear. I was remembering a lot of facts I would rather have forgotten.

  Score one for Jim. He had been right, and Kore had been training me for the leading role in her lunatic drama. Even the tree-it wasn’t much of a tree, all gnarled and straggly, but trees and their man-made derivatives, pillars and columns, were sacred to the goddess in ancient Crete. The Minoans sacrificed bulls and let their blood flow onto the pillars. I looked around the little amphitheater. No bulls. No sacrificial animals visible-except one.

  I made myself relax. I had been straining uselessly against the bonds, and all I was doing was tiring myself. Whoever had tied me up had been considerate of my comfort, but she had done a thorough job. My hands were free, but my elbows were pinned by the ropes that held me half erect. I couldn’t reach behind me to undo the knots there, and even if I could contort myself into a position where I could touch the ropes on my ankles, untying my feet wouldn’t do me much good.

  The emptiness was getting on my nerves. Where were they? Howling along the hillside in pursuit of some other prey? The maenads had done that in ancient Greece, and in the still more ancient homelands from which that particularly gory cult had come. The chase culminated in the diasposmoi, when the young male victim who represented the god was caught. It was amazing that I remembered the word, but I knew why my mind had produced it-I didn’t want to think of the English equivalent. But I couldn’t keep it down. Dismemberment. And worse. Ritual cannibalism, to absorb the qualities of the god.

  It is surprising how clever one becomes under pressure. I didn’t want to remember any of this. I couldn’t have remembered it if I had been facing an exam; but now the words stood out in my mind as if I’d just finished reading them. The Orphic rite, the Mysteries of Eleusis, the Sacred Marriage… I wondered if Kore had included that little item in her agenda. Was that what the women were seeking, a mate for the goddess instead of a victim? They couldn’t kill him if they wanted him to be of any use in the former role.

  A big choking lump rose to my throat. It was no use trying to keep cool and telling myself horrible black jokes. This was no joke. The worst of it was not knowing what was in store for me-and for others. I told myself that surely Kore wouldn’t carry the dark rites to their bloody conclusion; a goat or a chicken killed, a wild dance and a lot of wine… But I remembered how easily I had beencaught, and I thought of Jim, almost as vulnerable, with his weakened eyesight and bruised body.

  A vast network of lightning scored the sky. I cowered against the tree, closing my eyes. When I opened them again, the western sky was a brighter crimson. I knew what the signs meant. Violent electrical storms had accompanied earlier eruptions, and the red glow was the reflection of red-hot lava against the clouds of smoke and ash. In spite of my terror, something in me responded unwillingly to the majestic violence. Kore couldn’t have chosen a more fitting setting for her play. Nor could I entirely blame the village women for seizing any means possible of propitiating outraged nature. This was enough to turn anyone’s mind.

  I pulled my feet up and tried to wriggle around so that I could reach the ropes. I had to do something or I would go crazy thinking. I was still trying to stretch my fingers two inches beyond their proper length when another web of lightning blazed out, followed by a crash that made my ears ache. Thunder, or maybe another eruption; I couldn’t tell. The whole world was going insane.

  I didn’t hear them coming. There was no music, no wild chanting. No organization, either; they sauntered down the slope in small groups, two or three of them together. One group was larger. In the middle, prodded along by the sheer number of them, was Jim.

  They had wound ropes around him, but his legs were free. The women pushed him across the floor and sat him down-they weren’t rough, I’ll say that for them-and then tied his feet. We sat there looking at each other for a while.

  “Are you all right?” Jim asked. “They didn’t hurt you?”

  “Not yet,” I said. “How did they catch you?”

  “Ambushed me, just outside the villa. As soon as we realized you were missing, we started to look-”

  “It was stupid of you to separate,” I snapped. “You and Keller together could have fought them off.”

  Jim accepted the rebuke without comment; he knew it was prompted by frayed nerves.

  “Keller didn’t go. Your father came back while we were searching the house. He went toward the village to look for you.”

  “He wouldn’t be much help anyway,” I said bitterly.

  Some of the women were piling up stones on the paving to the right of the fire. The structure was long and low-as long as an outstretched human body.

  Jim turned on his side, raising himself on one elbow. He started to speak. I cut him short.

  “Look!”

&
nbsp; The high priestess had arrived.

  The flames were burning high and bright; I could see her clearly. She didn’t look very happy. The golden diadem that crowned her black hair was slightly askew, her clothes were rumpled, and I had a feeling that she wouldn’t be there except for the escort that hemmed her in. I recognized one of the brawnier women: Helena, the wife of Angelos, the hotelkeeper.

  When Kore caught sight of us, she pushed her guard of honor aside and ran toward us. They made no move to stop her. She dropped down on the ground next to me, her ample bosom heaving with haste and agitation.

  “They said they would bring you, but I did not think you would be so stupid to be caught,” she panted.

  “Let’s not start out criticizing our behavior,” Jim growled. “This whole thing is your fault. I’m glad you seem to be coming to your senses, but it’s a little late.”

  “They are mad,” Kore moaned, clutching at her hair and knocking the diadem even farther askew. “It was a game, a little game… Oh, yes, I pretended to believe, at times I pretended so well I almost did believe. But something has gone wrong, they are not in my control now. Never would I permit such happenings-”

  “No sacrifices?” Jim asked.

  Kore shrugged.

  “A chicken, a goat…” She must have heardmy gasp of released breath; she glanced at me, and grimaced in sympathy. “Ah, the poor children-you did not think…? No, no, there is no danger to you. This is bad, wrong, but it is not what you fear. They wish only to see the Sacred Marriage consummated.”

  My head turned stiffly, as if on a pivot, toward the low stone structure the women had built. It was long enough for a human body, certainly-and wide enough for two. The women had spread it with an embroidered cloth and were now decorating the structure with branches and wilted wildflowers.

  I turned back to stare at Kore. She was still babbling.