The Sibylline Oracle (25 page)

“Ordinary girls fall in love.”

“There would not be a man so unwise as to love you?”

“There is a man. But he cannot approach me.” Cassandra added softly to herself, “But if I do not find him soon, it will be too late.”

“It is just as well! You are Troy’s oracle and your visions are required! That is more important than a silly boy.”

“I must find him,” she insisted.

Cassandra saw the vision of Aegemon on the horse before he arrived.

“Lord Aegemon wishes to speak to me in private,” she said to her mother.

The woman shook her head. “He may not meet with you in private! I will witness the meeting.”

“This must be done alone.” Cassandra exited, hearing her mother’s desperate cries of impropriety trailing in her wake. But Cassandra knew that her mother would never intrude on the meeting, fearing Aegemon’s wrath.

Walking into her dark tent, Cassandra awaited his arrival. She knew what must happen and that it would serve her plan.
Aegemon stepped in, his brown robe wrapped loosely around him. In his late forties, he was still an attractive man. It would not be as bad as it could be, Cassandra thought.

Aegemon wasted no time pulling her into him and forcing his tongue into her mouth. She didn’t fight him and he mistook this as an invitation. He unwrapped his robe to reveal his desire and offered her a knowing smile. “You do not fight me. Could it be that this is what you are hungry for?”

“Yes, my lord.” Cassandra responded as his mouth and body enveloped hers. She knew his intention; Apollo was no longer there to protect her. Once she was no longer a virgin priestess, she would have no value and she could find the one who had been promised to her.

∞

There was not much that Cassandra would require; she took only her bedroll. The walk through the village would be the worst of it and then she would be free to find him. She tossed the flap aside and forced her way through the angry mob as they spat on her and called her a whore. She held her head up and made eye contact with those who had picked up stones. If a stoning began she would not be able to stop it. With a strong, confident glare, she reminded them that she was Apollo’s most favored!

This was all to be expected and the reward was well worth the price. Cassandra had known that Aegemon would betray her. But now she was free. She would walk across the northern section of the Adriatic. That was where she had seen Alexander in her visions. Troy would fall. Even if she had stayed, she had seen that she would not be able to prevent it
.

∞

Awakening from the beautiful dreams of her life to come, Cassandra stretched and smiled. It had been two days since she had left. Sleeping under the brilliant stars that held her future, she was at last free from the titles that had burdened her. Freedom and hope filled her heart.

She saw that Aegemon was again approaching. He would not find her so accommodating this time! He had gotten what he wanted. And she would tell him what he needed; she would tell him about the wooden horse. She would not be believed. She knew that history would write her as insane and damned by Apollo. That meant nothing to her.

Walking directly to Aegemon, Cassandra offered him a cold smile. “I have what you want.” She continued, “Sparta will invade Troy.”

“Impossible! The Trojan walls are impenetrable. Myrdd assured us of that!” Aegemon laughed.

“Troy will accept a gift from Sparta…a horse. That will be the fall of our great city.”

Aegemon shook his head in disgust. “A horse? Preposterous!” He looked at Cassandra and narrowed his eyes. “I could…take care of you. You would not starve.” He hesitated. “I could, if I wanted to…”

Cassandra’s face filled with loathing. “You have nothing I want.”

Turning her back on him, she gathered her bedroll and began walking down the road. He followed her. “What you seek, you cannot have!” he yelled angrily. Cassandra ignored him. “I tell you the truth!” he said, grabbing her arm and yanking her around to face him. Then he held out his hands to prove his words with a transference.

Looking at him with disgust, she snapped, “I don’t require contact!”

“He is not there!” Aegemon said arrogantly. She glared at
him, realizing that he knew about Alexander.

“What do you know?” she challenged.

Aegemon stood as if to tempt her desire for him. As if she would have ever wanted him! She spit on him.

The slap came hard from the corner of her eye and when she became aware of it she was already on the ground ten feet from her previous position; not that she hadn’t expected it.

One thing Cassandra knew was that although Apollo was no longer there to protect her physically, Aegemon would be wary of suffering Apollo’s wrath should he harm her. If the other oracles were harmed, as many had been, Apollo would not be pleased. But harming Cassandra would be a completely different matter.

She crawled to her feet. Though it would leave a mark, it hadn’t hurt. There was nothing he could do that would hurt her. The side of her face was numb but she could feel the moisture of blood.

Aegemon, realizing that he had crossed the line, scrambled after Cassandra. “He isn’t there!” She knew his tricks and pushed past him. He wouldn’t hit her again. “I can help you.”

“You have nothing that I want!”

“You will want to forget.” She stopped. There was a memory…there was something about needing to forget…it was Myrdd—and Apollo! Myrdd had said that she would want to forget. But her journey and its goal were far more important.

Aegemon held out the bottle of liquid. Cassandra glared at him and waited. “He is gone. The boy is gone.” No. She would know if something had happened to Alexander!

“I did it myself. I bound his limbs and tossed him into the sea.”

There was no trusting Aegemon. She turned, her eyes narrowing. “Tell me again what you did to Alexander.” She had to see Aegemon’s eyes when he spoke.

“I killed him!”

The transference showed her the many years that Alexander had been sentenced by Aegemon's to hard labor. It made her heart ache for him. That explained why he had not come for her.

She saw the faces of men and women, stored like animals in the hole of a ship. Aegemon gave the order and they were taken up onto the deck. There were over thirty faces with the brilliant blue eyes of a true oracle. Aegemon looked down the line of oracles until he came to her Alexander, his defiant look matching that of her own. She watched in horror as his arms and legs were bound and he was thrown overboard.

The cry came from her before she had even accepted it. Cassandra fell to her knees in pain; why didn’t she know? How could Alex be gone and she didn’t know? Long, hard sobs wracked her body.

Dropping the bottle by her, pleased with his effect, Aegemon climbed onto his horse. There was nothing else he wanted from her. There was nothing else she would give. Troy would need her information, although they would not believe it. They would blame the insane Cassandra if it was not true. If it was true, he would be the hero. It was over.

The bitterness of the bottle and the nebulous mist moved insidiously through her mind and over her memories as a welcome relief. She wandered…to the sea.

The kaleidoscope effect ended abruptly, leaving Valeria confused. She sensed that she was not with Alex.
Where was he?
She heard a voice and realized that it was Aegemon. She glanced around and could see that Alex was not on the Mariah. She saw Aegemon speaking toward the water.
Alex was in the sea!
He would not have much time. She had to find her voice. But she had no control of her muscles.

“Aegemon?” she called with all of her strength. She would
need to use her voice to save them.

With confusion breaking his calm demeanor, he said with disgust, “Girl, you don’t remember me.”

“I do.” She fought without luck to get her body to respond.

Leaning his head back in the water, Alex frantically struggled to keep the limbs that still worked moving, to keep their blood flowing.

He must be hallucinating…did he hear Valeria’s voice? She had been unconscious for hours. He wondered for a moment if he was losing his mind. But then he saw Aegemon’s expression. Valeria was alive and had spoken!

Knowing there were only moments left to get Aegemon’s attention, Valeria cried, “The drink…it wasn’t enough. I wish…” Her eyes softened and her voice became a whisper. She suppressed the need to cough.

“What did she say?” Aegemon asked.

A crew member knelt beside her. “I can’t hear her, sir!”

“Bring her to me!” Aegemon barked. They picked her up by the shoulders and dragged her like a rag doll to him. Could she withhold the cough? She held her breath as her lungs convulsed. Aegemon leaned his ear near her. “You have something to say?”

Valeria smiled softly. Her hand had some feeling and she moved it toward his face. He slapped her hand away from him. “Aegemon…”

Narrowing his eyes at her, he decided that it was better to trust his instincts. Aegemon turned to leave. It was better that she died. She had haunted his dreams since he had first met her as a child. Maybe that was Apollo’s wrath!

“Aegemon!” Her voice was louder and more confident. This time he turned back to her, hearing the voice of Cassandra. He moved closer, she couldn’t cause him any harm now. And this time, Alex would be dead for good. Aegemon moved inches from her and she touched his face as he leaned in closer to her.
The cough erupted from her in violent convulsions that racked her body. She looked up to see the blood splattered across Aegemon’s shocked face and she closed her eyes and smiled.

Alex’s left arm lost feeling. Waves crashed into his face and he swallowed the seawater.

Rage and disgust overtook Aegemon as he saw the blood on his hands and shirt and wiped it from his face. He said in repulsion, “You are…diseased!” Without hesitation, he ordered his men, “Throw her in. Let them both be out of my life.”

Valeria smiled, then coughed again as blood ran down the side of her mouth. The crew moved her to the edge of the boat and threw her into the sea.

Her body crashed through the water at least twenty feet from Alex. He tried to get his limbs working to swim toward her. Her face came up for a moment and she looked at him with so much love as if the eons had disappeared. Then she disappeared under a wave. The yacht’s engines turned and Alex realized that he was between the boats! The exhaust from the yacht hit him in the face and he lost his bearing. Then the Mariah began to lurch forward with the yacht. Alex dove to avoid being hit by the catamaran. Under the churning water he found the strength to dive deeper. Although he missed most of the Mariah, a piece of the rudder hit his head and disoriented him. When he came up for a breath and looked for her, but she was gone.

The realization sunk into the pit of his stomach. He had failed her again! They would drown alone in the cold sea. No, not alone. They would die together.

Alex forced his limbs to move, discovering the blanket that had been wrapped around her. He fought. Knowing his time was running out, he dove down for her. Immediately, he rose back to the surface. He took three deep breaths and then dove again. He followed the bubbles until he saw the white flesh of her hand reaching for the surface, her hair curling delicately around it. He touched her fingers, giving him a new sense of hope. Her face stared into his with love; she grasped for him and he pulled her body into his. She kissed him and then her lungs convulsed as she choked in the seawater. Alex held her close to him fighting for the last precious minutes that he would see her face, fighting the coldness and fighting to hold on to the last of the light that was them.

There was a calmness that came from knowing the inevitability of their future. Suddenly, the cold blackness soothed his anguish. Alex could still see her eyes looking toward him with so much life, so much love, despite her lack of consciousness. For Alex, at that moment, she would never die, she would never suffer, and his heart and hers were one. He pulled her closer to him, feeling the last of their lives and the last of his hope.

In the blackness, Alex saw a light. It was a trick. The light drew nearer and there were shadows. Something hit his face but in the cold he couldn’t fight it. Out of breath, Alex tried to kiss Valeria, but something barred his access to her. He turned his head, believing it must be confusion from hypothermia. Then he drew the breath that would end it all.

It didn’t hurt. If fact, he was still conscious. In his shock, she slipped from his arms. Alex fought to get her back, but something stopped him. There was the light again. Through the darkness he heard a joyful laugh that was so familiar to him...Caleb!

Caleb loaded a tank onto Alex’s back. Alex used his remaining strength and dove deeper, searching for Valeria. He watched for air bubbles in the blackness. Then he saw the flashlight’s beam moving through the vegetation, where her face appeared, as he had seen it all those years ago. Something rose through the water…Alex realized it looked like a rubber dinghy. Caleb used a knife to free Valeria, and they all rose to the surface.

Rolling Valeria’s body into the dinghy, Caleb boarded and then helped Alex. Valeria was blue. Alex worked to pull his body up to a sitting position.

“Lean her neck back!” Alex said and Caleb moved her so that Alex could listen for a heartbeat. When he didn’t find one, he pounded on her chest, hearing it crack when he did. Unable to control his strength, he had broken her sternum. He wouldn’t let himself think about that now. Alex pounded on her chest repeatedly and breathed into her mouth. He watched her chest rise and fall, but she remained blue.

Caleb removed his mask, leaving bright red lines around his face. “Ava had an idea,” he said, pulling the gloves off his hands. Alex nodded and ripped open Valeria’s shirt as Caleb placed his hand over her heart. There was a spark and a jolt. Caleb removed his hands and looked on with hope. Valeria had a burn on her chest, but Alex listened and heard no heart beat.

“Again!”

Caleb concentrated for a moment and then brought his hands down on Valeria’s heart. There was another jolt that left a burn on her chest, but Alex sensed that something had changed. He listened and heard the faint beating of her heart.

At last, Valeria coughed and Alex turned her head to the side as the seawater and blood came out.

Caleb began paddling.