As my mind wandered, I suddenly heard a thunderous crash come from Ganymedes’ lair. Diokles’ horse had pulled part of the back room’s wall down, partially collapsing the roof while Segalus fired two well-placed arrows through the structural damage into the chest of Meric, Ganymedes’ eastern monster, who writhed on the ground in pain, gasping for air. My uncle quickly ran out of the rubble and was given a sword by Antagoras. Much shouting and commotion came from behind Ganymedes’ door while Leandros immediately stabbed the guard closest to him, took the house money and threw it onto the floor where the few derelicts surrounding him fell to their knees to fight over it. Kleomenes, who was now an arm’s length from the stairs, produced a dagger and stuck it deep in the side of the creature of Pontus who fell to one knee, where Kleomenes cut his throat. This brought forth a shriek from his house girl, who he promptly threw aside to make his way towards Ganymedes’ door.
These actions occurred so rapidly the colossus did not have time to react. When he gained his bearings to see Kleomenes and Leandros coming towards him blades drawn, he passed right by me to face them. I grabbed the iron blade from my tunic, cautiously walked behind the colossus and buried my dagger deep into his back, severing his spine. He immediately fell limp to the floor where Leandros dispatched him through the neck. The three of us now looked at each other panting, covered in blood and surveyed the establishment. The urchins at the dice tables where quarrelling with each other over the loose coins while the other remaining patrons had fled. Seeing that our rear was clear, we made our way to open the door to Ganymedes’ lair.
Leandros kicked the flimsy slab of wood down and we found ourselves in between the two factions who were staring each other down exchanging oaths. Meric’s body lay at our feet, thrashing from side to side with two arrows protruding from his chest. His apparent inability to breathe pointed to one arrow puncturing his lung. Our arrival emboldened our party and dashed all hope of rescue to the three remaining villains. The seven of us now approached Ganymedes, Pasicrates and Druz with swords and daggers drawn. They had overturned the large table to shield themselves from further arrows and now found themselves cornered.
As Leandros approached, Pasicrates revealed too much of himself over the table as he attempted to flee and Segalus put an arrow through his neck. Now only Druz and Ganymedes remained. Druz made a crouched dash towards Leandros, who parried and threw him into Antagoras’ blade, which lodged in his stomach. The eastern snake then stabbed Antagaros directly in the heart with a dagger before Leandros could finish him off with a slash to his temple and both men fell lifeless to the ground.
Ganymedes now threw his sword away and stood up from behind the overturned table with his hands over his head. He began slowly clapping as he understood the futility of his situation and congratulated my uncle on a well-executed plan of treachery. He then turned to me, “Had I known the level of deceit you were capable of, Andrikos, I would have had you in my employ years ago.” Such words would have been as valuable to me as a pronouncement from the Oracle of Delphi only days ago; now they were a stinging reminder of my errant path. “So let us talk of an agreement, shall we?”
This question was answered with a swift strike from Leandros’ fist, sending Ganymedes to the compacted earthen ground. “Damn you Leandros! Have I wronged you in the past?”
“You threaten my family and our way of life and therefore must be eliminated,” was Leandros’ cold reply. “And just in case you were wondering, Andrikos here is going to kill that little shit brother of yours tonight as he lies feebly in bed, still battered from his pathetic performance of soldierly.” The near sinister way Leandros delivered this macabre message gave me chills and instantly weakened my determination to commit the act. Ganymedes turned to me with eyes that could melt Medusa’s face clean off and spit on me, “Fuck you swine!” With that, Leandros opened Ganymedes’ throat with a dagger, and he let out a choked gurgle of blood. I noticed a faint smile pass Leandros’ lips as the body fell lifelessly to the floor.
The remaining six of us stood in a circle around the last body, all bloody and breathing heavily. “Good work men,” Argos declared. “Diokles and I will look after Antagoras’ body. Andrikos, you and Nearchus tie up the last loose end.” I felt sick thinking the ordeal was not yet over but nodded my consent and walked out of the hole in the back wall with Nearchus. We turned our tunics inside out to mitigate the appearance of violence upon ourselves and covertly made our way to Theon’s home. Argos and the others wrapped Antagoras in a small rug, strew his body over the horse’s back, and departed via back alleys.
Nearchus and I walked silently through the darkening Ilandran streets, making certain not to draw any attention as it was still early and people were walking about. All colour had left Nearchus’ face and he was in a sweat. “I don’t know if I can do this anymore,” he admitted as he slowed his pace. He then supported himself against a building wall and vomited.
“It will be over in another minute,” I assured him as we arrived at the dwelling. I looked in a window to see an older woman, probably Theon’s mother, cleaning and skulking about. I moved to the front door and gently rapped it three times. The woman opened the door a crack and Nearchus and I pushed our way inside. The force of our entry threw her to the floor and she yelled out. Nearchus grabbed her and placed his hand over her mouth while I moved quickly to the back room to find a dazed Theon getting out of bed in the direction of a dagger lying on a table. I closed the distance to him and stabbed him in the side. He let out a scream as I removed the dagger and brought it violently down onto his chest several times. He began grasping at me, unable to establish a firm grip due to the large amount of blood now covering both of us. I fought off his death throws and exited the room where the woman now saw I was covered in the blood of her murdered son and let out another muzzled scream. Nearchus and I looked at each other, knowing what had to be done and, given Nearchus’ deteriorating condition, I buried the dagger into her heart and carefully cradled her lifeless body to the floor. Nearchus’ eyes were now tearing as I took my tunic off and donned a garment from Theon’s room.
Nearchus and I again walked silently through the dark streets, coming to our neighbourhood fountain to wash the blood from our skin. I inspected Nearchus after this was completed and wiped away any remaining blood stains. He did the same for me and we embraced as brothers with the knowledge our lives would never be the same. We made our way to my sombre home to find Argos and Leandros sullenly sharing a jug of wine in the dark. Argos looked up as we entered, “Any problems?” Nearchus looked at the ground and I shook my head. “Good, come sit a while so we can discuss our actions tomorrow.” I complied, but Nearchus announced he would retire for the evening.
After he departed, Leandros advised that I needed to watch him. “I’ve seen the effects killing can have on men not accustomed to it.”
“Is that what I saw in you tonight?” asked Argos. “Has my son returned a killer too accustomed to the act?”
“My experiences have taught me a great deal about myself. Most important is my knowledge that violent situations do not frighten me. Most men live their whole lives not truly knowing themselves; how they will act when faced with a life-or-death situation, if they will rise to the occasion when faced with insurmountable challenges, whether they can lead men in battle. I am grateful for knowing these things. Andrikos, to a lesser extent, acted bravely and learned something about himself tonight. These experiences have emboldened my natural instincts to protect my family and when facing a villain with murderous designs on those I care for, you will get the result you witnessed tonight. Now, in the morning Andrikos, you will fetch Nearchus and I will help guide him out of the dark corridor he is entering. For it leads to a morbid end if not checked, do you understand?”
Satisfied with Leandros’ answer, Argos now guided the conversation towards tomorrow and what was to be done with Nearchus and myself. “Tomorrow I will speak to the ruling council about the situation as well as promoting L
eandros to be recognized as a hero of Ilandra. His involvement in this night’s activities will be concealed. Despite being threatened, you and Nearchus will face scrutiny by the ruling council and possibly receive punishment. I am going to tell you now that leaving this city for an extended period of time is your only option at this point. I am not going to force the path you choose but given your lack of skills, I am strongly suggesting a stint with the Greek army in Ionia under the command of Lord Regent Perdiccas and his general in Asia Minor, Eumenes. Leandros will provide instruction on how best to accomplish this and I will tell the council you and Nearchus have already fled the city. I will also perform the unenviable task of telling your mother of the necessity of your extended departure, which will be a more difficult task than staring into Medusa’s face. You can take this night to think over your course of action but remaining in Ilandra is no longer a possibility. Tomorrow you and Nearchus can talk it over and assure him that Leandros and I will look after his family despite his father’s best attempts to undo it. Leandros and I will stay up till daybreak to ensure no attempt of retaliation is made by any surviving members of Ganymedes’ syndicate.”
I nodded in compliance, finished my cup and retired to my bed. Sleep did not come easy that night as my mind relentlessly replayed the events of the evening. It finally shifted to the unbearable task of informing my mother of my imminent departure and rationalizing my deeds lest the gods think me a villain and send me to Tartarus. My lack of confidence now surfaced as I was faced with the impending fear of joining the army. Leandros’ description of harsh initial training did not bolster my resolve.
Chapter 8
My father was waiting for me at Pasicrates’ that night, drinking a jug of wine in the back room. Only the body of Ganymedes remained, lying lifelessly in between two chairs that my father and I now occupied. “You had some night,” was his salutation, looking at the corpse and whistling in acknowledgement of the enormity of the situation. “Your uncle was right, however; this was the only way to ensure the safety of the family and thus he can’t be faulted for setting you all on this path. I can’t say I would have had the nerve to pull it off, but it needed to be done,” he concluded as he raised his cup to me.
“I feel sick over it,” I confessed.
“It should not be an easy thing to kill a man, for that is what separates us from the animals and the righteous from villains. Your internal pains stem from good morals, despite what your uncle tells you. When the act is committed in the face of great danger to one’s self or in defence of those he loves, it is just. Living with the emotional repercussions is a burden you must now bear. Your cousin Leandros didn’t look like he has much issue killing anymore did he? Well, seven years of warfare can do that to a man.”
“And now I am to join the army. I feel I am destined for Tartarus.”
“This provides you an opportunity to leave behind your errant path and pursue one of honour. I never diverged from my course of selfishness and irresponsibility and have been barred entry to the Elysian Fields. But remember, simply joining a noble cause does not make one noble.”
I woke the next morning not remembering having fallen asleep and experienced the sickening feeling that last night was not some terrible dream. I closed my eyes and drifted back to sleep when I heard a loud scream and commotion in our front room. My heart began to pound as I ran to the noise to find Nearchus’ mother covered in blood sobbing in my mother’s arms. “What is this?” I exclaimed.
“Nearchus is dead! He opened his wrists in his room last night,” my mother replied, crying hysterically. The sickening feeling in my stomach now metastasized into a revolting pestilence as I ran upstairs to find my brother’s lifeless body lying in a pool of dried blood with a long vertical cut in each wrist. Tears came uncontrollably as I held my face to his and muttered his name several times.
A feeling of disbelief settled over me and the tears ceased. I covered his body in the blood-stained blanket and slowly walked across the hall to my uncle’s apartment. He and Leandros both had heard the tumult and came rushing out to see me standing in a daze outside their door.
“What happened?” demanded Argos. Words did not form. I weakly pointed in the direction of Nearchus’ chamber and the two pushed me aside to investigate. Argos yelled several expletives and was generally angry at the corpse for taking its leave from this world prematurely. He and Leandros entered my apartment and consoled the women; I remained motionless in a chair. When the emotional fervour began to ebb, Argos sat the women down and told them a version of last night’s events he deemed most suitable to their fragile ears. “It is important we conceal the manner of the boy’s demise so his name is not sullied and Greek funeral rights are bestowed. We will claim he was killed by Ganymedes when I speak to the Ruling Council today.”
Nearchus’ mother blankly nodded in agreement while my mother looked at me with glassy eyes that I feared could never view me the same way again. Argos pushed my mother over her emotional threshold when he told her I would have to leave Ilandra for an extended period and would likely join the Greek armies. She let out muted sobs as she retired to her chamber and shut the door. Helena remained immobile in the corner, completely overwhelmed by life’s cruelties that were once blockaded from our home but now pervaded its every facet due to my actions. Argos and Leandros departed for the Ruling Council and instructed me to look after the women and children. When they returned they would discuss my future.
I approached Helena and hugged her. Her body remained stiff and did not return my sentimental overture. I released her and she quietly walked into my mother’s chamber with Nearchus’ mother and closed the door. I understood they blamed my actions and behaviour for Nearchus’ death and in many respects probably thought I deserved his punishment. I sat catatonically, staring at my front door, waiting for Argos and Leandros to return. I was so unable to think coherently that I would have marched directly off a cliff had my uncle instructed me to do so. I kept trying to open my eyes wider as if to wake from a nightmare.
Argos and Leandros returned from their meeting and brought me up to their apartment. Argos then spoke with my mother while Leandros gave me instructions on travelling to Sardis including where to stay, which individuals to seek out, what to bring, where to purchase food, where to drink, and where to find decent company in the evenings.
Argos calmed my mother and prepared her for my impending departure. He assured her that while I had made several mistakes in the past that led to last night’s events, what transpired was the fault of a villainous network that had harassed Ilandra for years and that my actions were noble. He recommended that she and Helena take all the time they wanted after I departed to form their final judgment regarding my culpability in Nearchus’ suicide but for my final evening with the family, they should put last night aside and enjoy a dinner with our family for the last time. His logic reiterated my coming exodus, which brought her back to a low sob but also set her to his purpose. She and Helena would prepare dinner for me and love me this evening no matter what the future held for us.
Argos then escorted Nearchus’ mother upstairs and assisted her in preparing Nearchus’ body. He instructed her to wait in their front room while he used a dagger to create the appearance Nearchus had been killed in a conflict as opposed to a suicide. Argos instructed me to return to my apartment where both women in my life embraced me with glassy eyes. The three of us prepared dinner and forgot about past transgressions. That evening, my mother, Helena, Argos, Leandros and I enjoyed our last meal together. Argos, Leandros and I finished off a jug of wine before I retired and drifted to sleep.
When I woke the next morning, my mother had packed all my belongings neatly in a sturdy sack. She was surprisingly calm and collected. Argos and Leandros arrived and all present embraced me and wished me well. Argos shook my hand and Leandros warned me to not stand out during my basic training. My mother waited till all had said their goodbyes to hug and kiss me. “You come back to me,” were the only
words she could summon and, with that, I crossed our apartment’s threshold to begin the next chapter in my life.
Chapter 9
My journey to Sardis was uneventful. My mind wandered along the way from Nearchus’ death, my unceremonious farewell to my mother and sister, my insecurities of joining the army, and the loss of my close friends Alexandros and Patrochlus. I was alone and nervous. Upon my entry to Sardis, I had officially travelled farther from home than at any other point in my life.
Following Leandros’ instructions, I reserved a room and located an army recruiter. I procrastinated enlisting, however, and decided to get more information about the process and obtain news from the east. The city was large, expansive, and dirty. Its population had swelled since the Battle of the Granicus with countless Greek travellers flooding its streets everyday on their journey east. The city’s infrastructure had not kept pace with this influx and evidence of squalor was always in the periphery if not directly in your face. Remembering conversations of several Ilandran travellers as well as Leandros’ guidance, I made my way down to Sardis’ drinking, gambling, and prostitution houses. This neighbourhood was especially vibrant in the early evening and I entered a small, crowded tavern. I drank my wine quietly and listened to the animated conversations occurring around me. The main topic was the growing tension between Lord Regent Perdiccas and his general, Eumenes, versus Antipater, ruler of Greece and Macedon during Alexander’s absence, along with his ally Antigonus. Craterus, a well-respected general within Alexander’s infantry, had also crossed the Hellespont into Greece with ten thousand returning Macedonian veterans and allied himself with Antipater and Antigonus. These competing poles contributed to an ominous mood and I was unsure which army I would be recruited into.
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