Ariadne s Brother 2

7/29/2019 Ariadne s Brother 2

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IIn the Lair of the Minotaur

1 The Wounding of the Beast

2 The Monster Responds

II

Daughters & Sons

III

The Offering

7 Continuance

3 A Bull in the House

4 Who Teaches Whom?

5 End Game

6 End of the World


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ARIADNE'S

BROTHER

I

In the Lair of the Minotaur


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2

Incense of sandalwood, because she liked it, and forhealing; of cedar, for justice; and old dittany. Ariadne's

smokes ascended and difsed through the darkness ofte centra court arou er, an as te aes n ertripods cast trembling light up the pillars o the shrine,she gathered the mes about herself with subtle spiralgestures o her hands, and breathed them, a comfort, acleansing bringing herself to llest presence. Then she

lied her pams outward to the shrine's three stout crimson pars and their crown of the Great Years os. Sestood quite still ths way or awhe and began to softlysuon all those Powers and ancestral persos shecalled our wild mothers, paused to listen listen and then

bowed with her face hiden in her hands: there seeed

sh a weight pon her ostue that I thought all of themmust have imposed their Presence on her communion,ntil he sholdes shook and a bitten-bak sob escapedhe She was onl weeing an animal sound like the aro a dog abandoned She starte again, an burned oerns. Crcets an nbrs e o r a ee

ng o te arness o garen and tree al around teLabyrinth and the night was so calm and springvoluptous that one could believe too well the wold would just

The Monster Responds


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108 JOHN DEMPSEY

go on, blithe as ever: now Ariadne called forcefully aloud,

with palms praised again, standing there naked and

wholly aware, tring to open herself or dsappear in orer

to ecome first daughter of our past, imploring the wis-

dom that had sustained the House thrugh all extremity.

I ul har hr brh uh I stod ao he

ickering court, up in the highest darkened colonnade offour rooms in the east wing. At last some measure ofstrain eased from er ody se wped her eyes in the

crook of her eft arm, and then cleansed and harged the

spce round erself once more with casts of salt and wa-ter. Finally she took herself before our brother's bier it

lay at the center of the court, the heart of a quincux ofa canes, eape w a te oo tngs of his life in

lieu of s ody. And her voice as always singularly cear,commenced the rites to bring his spirit home

-Come to your House

Pales Dionysos, e of spch light he re, pour th wine:e lotes that stil smel of your beingAre here, he linens of our bedAnd he good silver eangs,Th lil ship for your jou

And the foo you always raved set out in bowlso o your Hou,Palsus Dionysos, of ou the ne, make the oens

sould o ave een wacin. Everody ese had

abied her wish o begin these unprecedente ries insoitude: y ts r all doors n te Layrnt around s been cosed, n the frst-night custom the vaey wa


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ARINE'S BROTHER 109

silence but for animals, and Cnossostown a maze of emp streets. Across the countrside a single lamp marked

the door to each house, al obing in breezes like sea-re

ected stars, and under the waning moon the Koureteshad lit a beacon-fire high in the south atop Mount Juktas.

But I couldn't stand to e alone ak in the rooms roth-

er and I had shared: I was too tired for sleep that day, somany immediate councils. And I needed to se his soul

come home, perhaps in the shape of a bird that might

perch on the long-hafted Labrys by the bieror to open

myself and take healing from this dance of Ariadne's nowbelow, from this noumen turning and leaping through the

steps of the moon's sentath u and down the ickerin courtyard, holdin nothing back and our Dead holding nothing back from her

She slipped and went down hard near te courts south

nd. She got u and strode directly back to the illared

shin an took u h cuttngs rom al thirtn trs o

our year. Birch, rowan, ash, alder, willow; but only halfsinging through her anger, she raed, an droed eachmonth into th tripods' coals, and told our brother hcould not resist the turning of The Wheel. Grieving himnow, soon to be leaving him behind: it would've been thesam for myself or any man. I fel her resonsles,

eared how this oson n the wold would touhher brusquely she turned hr sips of whitethorn, oa,leaf of holl to smo ame

Bu how o us hs sure o nsn to proect hr wm life? I knew that was wh I'd ben born as I watch

her at prayer, et 'd stabbed a man, defied her in public,brough daner nearer our people. What sco in hr lat

r when ' trid to n mys wth Glaucus wordsabout usin one's power or losin it that is as far as


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110 JOHN DEMPSEY

you consider these things? she'd said. contest nobodywins? You hu my body when you did that, my body

And then she'd walked away, escorted to meetings

with mother and their women. Yes, once the man had

honor in fighting the beast at the mouth of the cave. Butis were different now, the cae and espeial te

beast, who would come back with purose redoubled andnot alone. Or were they different? What could it matter

for her to sayI have no enemies when a beast was comingwho showed no a qualm about urting bodies? Howcoul she look at our brothe's belongings and think any

vision or rite would sto a sear?

When she'd burned the final cuttings of yew and silver, e sgns o s eat an ineluctable rebirth; Ariadne

anonted herself from a bowl of minted water, tenoened out a ull-legth veil woven he by women of Me

los, one sheer sheet of diaanous violet She carried itacross court and then crouched almost below me, a

lifted er ees to ermes, guie of souls shining low inthe western night. Then she slowly rose from te veil that

had curle ron e ee ie a iole sea, an ueand chanted, enticing, imploring, rawing him home withall she ha. Eve now I eved im he. he sweet scolds.

estless seosessread she was stiving to

move er life beyod this and lied he voie to otestthat excet in union with Her e could do nothing

t was rest she intended for him rest among our

Dea, weter or not any of us were ready for it. Begino o io i: en she'd go away awhile o hemountains I'd just have to leave her alone, let her sonhe e a devote yself to Minos' prearations. A

terible timbre o hellessness filed riadnes vocenow as if se ally wantd to li a and ea e slabs


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ARINE'S BROTER 111

of the empty court. nd the best I could do was to leaveher alone

Coud she share none of our ather's cool malicious sa

vor for what we had in store for our brother's killers? Oh,

to hit the mainland armed for slaughter and treat with

th brbrin in thir own trm, yt nr xd

wht we alled (for the eole' ake) the Mther' whhat no harm be done-that had been the hru of Mi

no' rds th eveg, ol alce n h llen eye,

his voice a rhythm like a bullroarer's swung by a priest,

full of that heay dread, the ower that made things happen; but this without the roarer's prome of rain Hold

ing p, as he'd spoken, clay list after ist of ersonnel andhi and alles in our web to all uon, the nobility ofCnossos sitting forward on teir benches as ths man efre the, trken father an Law of the Sea, left no

doubt he meant to take larger action for Crete through

this one death He'd been careful, too, as High Priest, to

ask trutl indulgence fro te dubiou, ridne herse, aria's eder women and others, unconvincd that

we could tu so many hands t war and not get one We

v , Mnos , tr tide back Crete's way this season, or there'l be more deaths

of kn, your own, n the colones an at st, ght here n

Ct. A ele e, fhtee t leat the Layrnt' l f loo r perl brther'sudden utter vanishing: ta collector oered figures, of

ficias fro earby towships guessed how many ppl

they could pull from the fields for tempora serice nthe eet, n the yards, in the home guard we'd need whiler trength wa t Athen And pending Perides' retrn,

wom coud e ge o plo u up Aen Bay ou

onlght Adralt cer et p counils with Irs


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112 JOHN DEMPSEY

(dubious) and her Daedalae, to count the forges andweight of bronze that would quickly put a weapon in ev

erybody's hand

This had gone on in one of he lower eas wing's grea

council halls: at last my moter rose from her chair of in

lad olive d, il e vie o ugh a ad

console the conseratively pious with boodless rie ofprayr. This last, she said, was to make pain to Goddessonce again ha e ad nly Neesity's inenion of real

har she'd sen to the care and sequestering of Cadim

etes, and aleady her heralds were on the roads oMallia, Zakros, Phaestos and poins beteen wi ha

same message, requess for ships and bloodless oerings.But if most matrons of our clan-ith their gathered

powrs of birth and in te trades, the very mistresses of

the land's wealth-had long trusted Pasihae with their

chldren and their ineres, and rendered her silen gesures of onsent, Ariadne alone had gotten up and lef

he hall, every eye on he u he quie illed.Grandmothr Paria felt it but, fo nw nd eel,

had nly kep lening wih her bak o u, lighing can

es on oringbences round te roo. And the mothers groued before Pasiphae's erson looked amongstthemselves, anxius but finding Ariadne perhaps too

proud, and clung o the Queen who had guided hemthese years, our mother, sll he ener he realm

Had I beun to love iadne beaue Id een e

ng o o worls togeter n a way quite dierent thanPasiphae's? Ariadne could say, quite as plainly a ourQueen, that Goddess was for people, power for usye

Te Mother smed just the odl by whic Ariadne was

shaping powr, power to be hers with h hrone. Perhaswhere Pasiphae accepted naures brua progacy,


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ARINE'S BROTfR 113

adne brought to bear a strict solicitude that left not a single chil's fate out of her balances, that would not allowpain if there were other ways-Had this been the fruit ofer seclusions, her upcountry communion with thosewild mothers, montains, animls, ancestos an people, nw ort o win or t oo? rin' w not

the ecsta of suffering soughtout and drunkdee. Ithink she'd carried within her these years the way we'dfelt together in the mountains of our you, where yobreathed the clous and could stand eyeleve with eagles, ath the lazily lib beyond rows' reah outof a valleyShe wante to bear into this world a radiance

se remembere in her oo: hers ws a religios cause,though like Europa, se migt abandon any custom forthat radiance. For me, desiring her was only partly envyof her women's generations of learning. It thrilled e asnothing in lie to be near her as a Creat: I wante to benea her tomorrow when she started to work her owers

openly, to stand with her in ha wind that an beeenthe wors, troug one's wakng soul I onge to e ercomfort in this gief; to ave hers

Tere were oter pats or ot o us te commanerof those aran marnes, iona with the ealing neck

woun, got herself readmitted to the Labyrinth as it was

closng. On one knee before us she swore she'd fethback hel in lenty om the northern islands, and meeus with a thosand ighters at Callista. She raised thec too o mssng or contngents at tt sanih under Velkanos nose for the secret sail to Athens

et or a m ater's esh of the an, e reoed o

this woman's obvious hopesYou emember, Alxiona, that if you join this ventre

yo act in my name It is my name that will answer fo


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14 JOHN DEMPSEY

what comes of this. Accept our gratitude, but remembertha i you usurp the cause, you become my enemy.For a momen we thought she'd argue: hadn't Minos

publicly sworn to ight Aegeus himelf if need e, adwi Pasiphae's assen? Bu ate a glance at me (and mynie) se' deeed and le s y athe had oldd

his arms the ad smiled, the evil relish ack in his face-They say she has a small collection of aides' lefears on a string, he'd said. Bu I do't elieve that She'sshipped many seasons with us ow Why did she look atyou tha way, Deucalion? Out of your seaduy ogether?

I'd shrugged, but Pasiphae kew. In me, in he shadow

of my broher, Aona ad seen a re kng o her urposes agans a as ut os was aeay so caghtu in the plan hat he'd forgotten he'd not be among usext yea This cisis was takg him once more out intohe world and that was a radiance he'd not looked fo

riadne had raised three lumious yellowred coes of

ash in her tripods. She'd lef te veil behind and kneltdown wih her ack o me, beore the shrine; and thoughI co mae ot o o he wos fo he whiseingnde he sonds o nih, er oice was an equally ceaseless ow of ululaion and chan and assionae ayerH head ad torso ock gt wt cta ss

ad I knew she was beaing her breast. What wee thewords? What was it like, he pu communion wih ThePowers? he low, assionae murmur of the solitaroce, te st beatig in tim wh h hr, b-yle was only The God's desire to kow he, to hoor he

Az ickd ligh i the couar an n te

south the fire on Jukas leape hig, castig up a sprayo emes the Kourees heaving on moe logs to helpguide our bother home. I looked like wha old people


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ANE'S BROTIER 115

told of the sight of Velkanos years ago, sptting fire intonight s. Before my birth that catastrophe had happened,and here we were for t, father n possible combat wtAegeus, me with this Theseus. Did she exect me to iefor her uncomforted, conescended to, unessed? Moth

r rldl, , lg fr' rg r

her vision of Necessity. Maybe Ariadne was praying forme, for help: she knew as well as Aiona his plan's dependence upon the right Consort to help see it through

heard her tears, and cursed what had done. My siser A ere a Quee. In e sr r say, wat would people see in The Aridela, eestial ose

the ower of dark earth, the ancient vision of te world'sown ove ng, or more a gure wose eaut awakenspai of loss, of betrayal and bereavement a wonder thatshines espite some crime, despte some violation

o matter whch way turned in my heart there was avolene. Who Th Dad had tod e t da what te

heart felt? Trapped wanted her, but my duty againstthese gentlemen-pirates promised most to alienate here. W was she, that she c oject t the f

weaons being raise around her? Did she knw theymeant to tow er n the irt i they coul?

You wi stop them. You wi pay any pce! my brther's

sr cre eween w ars te coonnae odown on my knees in her posture, payed and beat andlstened. pretended was her for a ong whe, steedan praye; an ase o ll e power I cou e

with dom.at, a e I ave eae a ay

Se was still there between the wrlds as withdrew.

* * *


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116 JOHN DEMPSEY

Very next dawn Minos woke me himself with aggressive shoves, and we all got first sight of him n a war-helmof white boars' teeth. The man of lily-brimmed caps andpeacock plumes, Husband of Earth and Dancer of

Cs orc s rss to nd him a brown wool

tunic and a sword, too, for things other than rital. Thesegave hm te ountan man's ferce air, ut te heet'sstrap creaked under his aw when he yawned from hs badsleep, and with his lovelocks stuffed up into the crown helooked, in fact, gutted of power by the loss of Palesus, almost ghastly, a plucked bird in raw light

As these new rutal days went on, though, toward themassve move on Atens, te pane qups y wc people accustomed temselves to this unkown sde of myfaher died away. He made himself the heart and scourgeof our men's preparatons, from shipyard sawpits to bladeratie: rnning and drill, westling and swming and

sparring and more running and wrestling again, eve dayw more yoths sowng up in the mist-damened fieldsnear our military port o Katsambas to train or the homguad, or crew the shipspeople worred ow ongMnotaros' age could keep the pace. But helping Minoswas te smpe ou ta, reardess o wen dmiral

Perides' summons bought him back to us and he tookover, a few weeks at est wou dece ts matter. itherwe terrified Athens into capitulation using the dark of thenew moon jus over one mon rom now, or we ourselves in the first rank of a slaughter. e prospect ao hepe Mno to o eer orete' oeto to

ter g ress rua aror. On e Wes Roa out onossos ust byond Paria's vila th was a good spo

where yo cod oo up-valey over the wte ngs


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ARINE'S BROTHER 117

and roads among the trees and beyond toward MoutJuktas, its head a cloud of early mist above the stillness:there my father liked to stop the whole Cnossin runningtroop each morning on or wa ot o town, that hemight consecrate is strengt anew to the cty, align withTh Powr. nd Crtu nd othr would wt him

there, sulking, omplaining o a gesture that to themseee s usy, ae years roper e behnd herking t was no wsh or soft lvng: the Kouretes wereCretan men's men, hunters who irst of all ritualized ourlife of taking and giving-back with hono on the land. t

was just that they prided themselves on that reiproa re

lation (espeially since Achaia's comeppance), and Minos' becoming a warrorking lie the Lion was anathema. Lons gave ba ony brbes out o spos

Anger Te Dead, Deualon! he ped as we ledur umbers orthwest between orhards fr the seasdefields. You see that's why the are riests. The Dead

will be ar agrier if we stay ome ad ant, believe meBut you respet these fatios, they balane the shp. It'for he est to ave tese ol fellows arond, to tamedown new ones wth deas Do you hear? Le orselveshe hallaged, puing and looking bak to be seen forhis pace

was e e, u, as w sthe very things one felt ompelled to hallenge I wanteto show him ould learn, that what he'd loed in mroter ive n me, a ance I c eethese youths behnd us So when he spoe wth MontJuktas moings, I aske it to te way to ot vitoryand peae

T d suh , yong men we found watng us each mornng (mos of


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18 JOHN DEMPSEY

them my elders) in the scrub-elds, groups of them fromthe lages standing barechested under the misted treeswith their huting-spears, younger ones with stves rstickknives, banding each other's hair up in ightingcrests. he wel-born, the juior officers of my brother's

irles were onsisentl hee d the e it eve

boy's habi to rw their wes i hi til my thergve blessing. Whtever their birth, most ha kin sme

experience in the merchant or militry eets, ad nowthese raw ones saw for themselves why we kept these op

erations as separate as we could: they woked as hrd sMis emne beuse the elieve their fmiies'

se eee urs, ut n m hem e e rdene Cretn n Cin oicers heding up thedills, men with ur lks t the rk hi ees, but

who seemed reilin beings, livig on to nimte theirashing wargear, the crests and tsselled boots n stud

ded armguards. These picked trainers spoke in barks, ha

no mer fo fiure exuse, browbeat ever mistke with sure deth: I hardened mysef to the meaning ofBu's hs ss u Huse's rofs, but at night our

youg men's eyes and anoher rea wor within themwu eu e, the ewee e beraya somewhere. t was like a purchase of shalow

stregth t he price pisnsickness, spredignumbnessDy fter d we hd to b brokn out of aanm inertia, starte out of a reoccuation with hebright feel of he seaside morning ad its reeom, withthe herbs in bud t ou feet d the bbits i the wetshortgrass. Fawess elsumer ys f sun wih

south ind had never been disractions before. Most othese uths, ise their mtrihs t h thigso mprtn s g teni d hves,


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ARINE'S BROTHER 119

want to become cracks like these trainers in their faces.There were fights when the ridicule went too deep, ay

for getting oneself mock-illed while stepping around ahome-bound toad in te weeds No, they wanted to striken one mad spasm if tey had to strike, but otersCre

tans of course, but that blue-eed mainland refugee

Orneus toowould mock village notions of war, andterd be more fght. And thn the trainrs would comedown on this vioence wit teir own (Pair Move,

fools, on your life!) and we'd find out wat a meaure of

training might mean. I mightve spoken out if Id stillthought thi concerned only trade and foeign fneies

Bt now since Cdimetes, clearly i was orselvs tis o wor wou ovrun. I sum my ohe officers and learned. In these proceedings you needed to get beaten onl once; so it ws life to learn to exploi differnt weapon and shield; how to suck yourman n, dance him round with feints and insults till ou

coud wr un in i y ow on you i xpec to stay up with hs or that bodypart bleeding

Truly thee first days in the world without my brothewer ik dh of y own, th pr o dd h aas ooke orhim omeih s o waos upand down he sea' roads, or tat looked to catc t from

im f I didnt do ths or that. But now I stood as close tote throne as he'd stood; and as our father rplenished n in wi o zlw concs amo or ousnouses, er s e o y in ror' pc I m wi yout ofour Kndre Id not seen since our manhoodrites nd

our u Danc; and, wie tere was no ac of younggenlemen fitter than myself (by age at least) to reign at

Aadne's sde especay i th hoss of or nls


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120 JOHN DEMPSEY

Rhadamanthys of Phaestos and Saedon of Zakros, itseemed tha someone, mother or Paria or both, had gonebefore me, and turned my youth and chest-wound andrescue of carusnot to mention the stabbingintoprodigious signs of deeds to come from Cnossos Laby

rnh Mae e too ir ples ehin s jus so that

Cnossos coud earn their ong-ived fealies; bu if heyfreted about Ariadne's aoofness these days from bothinoauros and mysef, and stil found me approved andenroute to the thronethis promised them somethinuncann. They sheltered their own disquiet with this warin what Pasihae had given them, a sese that something

fatefu about Deucaion woud justi so much kiingti, hw, w nw on Qen. Iwasnot the ony one seeking peace and victor and i wasone deft course being steered by Paria and Pasiphae,boh rousin u the rea whie eei ode

eanwhile it was exected too tha, as further reassur

ance of the pubic, we shoud take eisure wherever wecoud I had a rape arbor of m own in h southeast ardens that I lied pn n ain nd ss with but itneeded sma attenton just now: I tried taing Icarusdown to work on our boat more han once but, for hesedas a es, h ss h t o i ta we

wold Moe an moe i ws only the rshops acoud aci his convusive mods and sii. is tauhthim ca and he immediate rouced ive o-earedog th h p n to oo a over tstai bu if he then ruey ignore the shop-stafs praises,Icarus coudn't get the iece fire fas enouh. He wan

ed to tae i ohr Sh nod he sae o ndulncs toward him and the curious iand airs he'dchirp to her sitti o he ested ee But sh' -


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ARINE'S BROTHER 121

ways have to ask me or a priest to relieve her of the boy,so much to do, and then his fits (or his tantrums) wouldresume. The shops were not a nursery and it'd take a fewdays with Tukato up at Archanes to calm this wild oneagain. What to do with him? The priestesses said we

might trace his home islndby hi ialt but it wa out of

te question t put im n a ship right way: I tried keeping him with me to sleep because I needed someone myself, but he was utterly restless, would go roaming thehalls for Pasiphae, get st and waken the whole Huse. It

was strange to care for him but nt rust him, there wasto much cnsistency in his fits

At the same time, what Mins had begun t call teGuet Lst was tang sape. erever acrss the seasour builders ha gone, our painters and potters, healers

and priests and priestesses; wherever laucus had wedforeign queens as Minos' pro or there was a debt of anykind t Crete, tere we nw quiety called fr a ci

gent of ships, and so far this meant about thirt cities including Crete's own, five ships each our expectation withmaybe thirty hands to a boat. One aternon wa sentout to Katsabas concerning these figures, and a little

surprise we ha in stre for Athens was t brig back final estimates on the number of merchant-ships our

wrights coud refit o the plan, how many warshis newfrom-the-keel they'd have finished this moonad deliver te rder tat five tousan trces were t be cut andreadie to bu within the month. But i te total gurefor new ships in ur and seeed meagern mrethan ten, perhaps three hundred mre gers n te

sathen possibly all we needed, if this was a bluff, wasmaximum illusion of numbers. We coud wtu aship or two and double the number f trce fr ten'


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122 JOHN DEMPSEY

surprise They'd catch more terror of the sack from the

threat of footsoldiers than from seamen, so I gave thi or

der before I took it home, the yard-master said he could

work with it, and it turned out that the throne approved.

It was then that mother took e into the sanctua and

confided that, after the fneral or our brother had

cleared the way, and after my Queen had spent sometie in the mountains, well, I might find that indeed she

cared for e. Mother was prou (in a way) of this defi

ace of Ariadne in favor of what was best for he family.

The choice of Consort, she said, would be he Queens as

ever, but she did not thi my Bull Dae and so much

ese would be in vain As I walked outsde hrough theoen oorays I ou ave we or e rgt sm

plicity of the sunshine, the feeling that aer all, soeone

very much wanted was near

And I saw Glauus again, as usual by way of his lates

briefing and travel. More than anone o the Labrnth it

was Paria who knew the cities of the Eas and the housesand names hat Glauus would find most responsive: sheoae is sip wi bronze aens an oxe ges an

exies xes of iany and exquisie vases of rorysta, and then laid out his voyage within our plan I pu its

stations learly in my heart beause he and I swo o

eep brothers across the sa throgh hi moon an ielpe me rouh te days to sare his rials On he

sabbig Glauus would oly say done t righ hing

wrongl , and for that looked the ore to his retrn

Wen you saie you ugge te land From Cnossos to

Zaros, usual two das; rom Zakros to prus, igure

o; om Cus o Bybos, aow wo as, and hen an-oer four ays a leas o asa eeaies BeweenCanaans rites round eir nearyone ares of wea


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ARINE'S BROTHER 123

and the movements of local milita in Pharaoh's wae,there might be some disorder in the cities just now but

Glaucs and his aides should nd troops available:

Et's inest lied to go home for their holy days. Spendthe riches and promise more but brng eve ghter you can

ara old hem hn (wih lk bearing giants) rhaps

seven days' sal bac to Zaros, where they'd all ln upwh ontngens om Rhods d pus from Ugart,Pharos and Gaza to days later Glaucus' host would jonall h Ctn shps lyig o Amos nd by hen theWhtethorn Moon would be ll, a very strong tme or the

ships to move north At last there'd be a sace o ten days

to assemble our northern and sothen eets at Callista;ree moe to hd h clades n masse; an uswe'd reach Athens on the irst day of our seventh monthof he year, when h Thunder Moon was new, and asdar as the heart behind o bl So h was time letall throuh the lan or mistaes and hagln wt

anaan's Baals, or roble with the winds and seas ndtime, es, to e attaced ourselves But we'd onl grow

stroner with the dy d beome more a sectre to temainland by waitng Let the wait for us break their sleeps,grandmothe sad wt ox-smle as vl s or fth's

Inevabl hogh, the worst o the sho and fear ot

o rote's assassnaton usdd eough to mae dscline roblem and in-ights ncrease on the traininglds o, hold o oce and the so

lutions, decidd to put it abrad tat nossos Layrn

had conrmed the secret buldng o a eet up north, ofwarships, there was no doub any lon ha Aan

wee onstructng shp n ther smllst ove and adswere we Cretans rarely called This was true in the senseh lwy en tre the'd alwas ben blding


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124 JOHN DEMPSEY

to follow us toward wealth, but to hear i hese days onleading lips proved effective, for awhile. Blade practicewas better attended, and orderly. Then one morning asour running-troop arrived before he lifed blades o my

brother's circle, hat youh Orneus took i upon himself en a can somehng no doubt his own (givn how

lame it was and how obviously his own hear was not init). He was rying, like some hopeful royal page, to enlistall these men in deeper commitment to his would-belords: Orneus shook his spear igh and sang some borrowed fragmens about Hs Glo ke the Sun and Fiingthe foe's mouh wh dus, all sots of fodder hed pick

up learning our ciphers now under he Foreign Office.Ad my aher, colorin with angry embarrassmen, immediaely disowned and humiliated him was sor ha

hs Blue Eyes' exle s moer r e manlandhad made his life a hing of homelessness and cozenagebu not everybody believed ha Oeus had had

no promptings, an net day numbers of youhs were neier wih us nor home in he villages. Very much as in heoldest stores of our people whod come here from Eptbeore here were armies to sere he'd abandonednaively enough) his whole contest or he mounains.And now since hey couldn be easily cagh, a leas

some penaly for heir villages was necessa and here weere caugh up in he world's de again Minos ssuedvague threas for the nonce o ive hem ime o retuan I saye w I staye ar wh to shame hose

whom he couldnt frihen an know m brosfriens rew te fiercr for it, seing in yuner brheronce more he pries hey mighve preferred themselveso e, hese as seen he more wa t cos us breakmanlanders' sleeps


23/112

ARINE'S BROTHER 125

Our trainers with one trick or another were slaying useach more than once a day, which defeat you could scorn

because they ere cracks. But one day when we'd grown

skilled, four of them sood back to back before us and

told everybody to do our worst against them, and we saw

h numb o popl fou diiplind ight ould

handle. It made you feel impoten and stupid and i therewere youths here less eager than myself, we learned to

want what they had. So long as they held their formation,

and so long as we feared getting killed, they could moveas tey pleased aroun the ield, it was power, and its

simple price was coping with protest and not caing what

you spped on And it all gan to confuse us worse beause te etter we got at this, the more one felt dead: so

we'd find ourselves in rage, and each time we got up tere

was more of a strange tingling enervaion in one's limbs,

in one's chest, a mortiication and the only thing to bing

back feeling was a harder swing of the sword. I felt ths in

others' blades I crossed with, harder and harder; wichae e nmness wse, an e nger nse t ngr

er lke son sreaing through you

How I prayed that she'd speak ith m soon -Would

she not because pehap he had no position except dis

proval? I hated what was hening and sought om

munions o my own in te shrines of our great Dead,even in the cts of Europa's tomb u the inland roa

rom Cnossos But for our riests' help in grasin the or

acles' meanins there was only the answr ha ha ur

eople became, the House would answer for

he mist o all ths one o ou ounges Kourts

naed Ym, rght t eore the tne tt s

leagues-the six new young riess and sx riestesses un

de riadne's ocome adminisraion were willing o


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126 JOHN DEMPSEY

dance Bul again, as part of the impendng rites to betrothe their Queen anew. Bot my parents sat forard:

the man was oering risk of his life, and of a ard-won f-

tre in the clergy, and so wold they all be. But, said this

Yamowho'd come as close as any in our Dance last

yr to hn h ron ilfbd h f

the exape of our bothe's Oeg ad bee stoeom the peope, it was a time whe the House soud

most display its depth of strngth; and my parents imme

diately consented, glad to have te Dance to match the

fears the'd put abroad. I soke more with Yamo later,

though, a rough-looking cat-like man of tenty-to with

exertise n erbs and the b-roarer rites of his omeea Mout a. He a s os aost oveoe sstece o te grad gesture and e tod me, Oh, the dea

for another Dance ad been Rusa's, his ove among the

new priestesses The to hd been one sne Bul had

chosen out all of s, and when I jokingly asked if he were

really jst ot to imprss hr again, Yamo said he wasn'tsure We must all he now he said. But shei Goddess to

me, Deucalion, I would dance Bul alone and blind for

Rusa

Anoter evening alone amd many peope, wt te

blisters ad aches of blade practce hady sooted by te

bath y nd would not leave off asking if all were thatsmple. We caed some chosen one Goddess ad tecae rug ourseves o serve obey and rembe before

hr l h d o? And net da all hoh

blad practic I sed to have soethg to ove ad

acll knocked m aie dwn once, though when I

et wt te fe e sd s sed asde ad tee

was hs sword point-up. Wthout hs oot to my cest Id

ave rn upon t. He auged, ad sad 'd ear to fgt


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ARINE'S BROTHR 127

coolly; but I wanted to hurt him, slap his face. My fahersaw tis ad ended te session and had me take a group

down to te sea: I gave us a painful run ful of deours

and obstacles and ten I left tem for Cnossos, and next I

knew I was back i Tallay, in te House of te Horae.

W did no rinkin or ttin r games ti tim nd I

pulled her rit in on top of me in the bathtub: Oww, shesaid, It' tiht you hav to play with it frt but I kept pushin and kissin er deep to disrac her and soon she likedit, a the birthing-hips and ass and nipples of her, she

liked it that way didn' she, Don't you I said but she

oand, quit distan n communon of her own. Enou

of that! I squinched myself round to get on top but insa e u went over and we spie out-Igor it! Isaid and she looked a little afrad, bu it was onl the ana solier's force in me now ha was ean o roecher, its kowedge of frihtenig and hurtin other bod

ies at wilI grew inoxicaed as if I'd breaed too long

nar a heavin vat of fermenin spiris and I bi a hr inkissing ad at least that, tat pain brought her awake o

who she was with lio-awesome I was, she averted her

fac and I kept on, pounding into her. And I reached mynd, but witout any shiver of Th Presence or delicious

loss of mind she didn't, and put my hand to er pearl.

Wll, u up could av slapped wos an aCarian somehow and it showed by he time I left, morifed and angr was I so much smalr than sh reyes knew my same an still se sad not a wor

Outsi. on on t causeay, the sun falling coolind th res. It was srange ow I'd had al I wand,and yet still wanted a anting not of the body

Deucal-ion!T voc was Tukao's, saunern down e inlad


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128 JOHN DEMPSEY

road from Archanes. I let him catch up: Come on man,what

-Excuse me, sir, he said as usual he wore the smell of

horse, and there wre sloppy stains of his latest decocted

medicinal weed on his bright lowcut robe. Everbody

hd o ook upwd o m Tuo' n

m uneasy just now, not o mention is standing oundte town

-Ive been waning a wor wt you, sr Were s

Icarus?-So far as I know, round the shops wth Kudru and

Iris. Good day

-ait, Tuato answered touching my elbow, andwen I turned is eyes looed darr than a moment agobeneath is bald head sunspecled brow

-Ver we for one bo ten, e sa, -bu Ie been

after you days on dys now about tose orses.-W os

-The horses you used to entertain hose ofyou You lft tm rigt ter t te Gus Hous

srin, did ou not Do ou man to sa you cannot r

memberHe was pointng tat way n is dainty robe wit te

and on whic e wore his ring of rare iron, a gift from a

ee o e d eled once n he nor s arlessfeaures colod, oo, as saed own a me eeeen of (womans) ner n s wors, and e u

that was my min recile-Was this all he figure I hao hin about

Srug nd nod to mWl you lef em ng,

by , uato said halftuning toward he sprngn o efeence, en bc o me. -Yo on do

a, sir, afer heyv ben usd to pull three peope


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ARINE'S BROTER 129

the way om Amnisos. The horses became sick, do youndestand? The House sta here sent or us. never!

was wholly at a loss

-Oh, it's aright now, Tukato said. -Jst a touch othe cholic. But protest, sir, you may be losing touch with f

Scold me like one o his chages? looked aound, andtook pause; bt (admirable elow) Tukato waked away.

Yes, was osingmany things, but irst, in my esh,al the sweetness o wanting he.

* * *

iadne seemed almost at ease when she came to myooms ater sunset one evening later, she ooked reshlybathed and oiled, ested and stong om any numbe ohelpul ites with her priestesses. She'd swept he haiwith its strong dark roots down over one side o her headn a alss a that to m as nticinl wil, and itends just touched the colla o he looseitting dak blueobe: he ease seemed to say that she had what comortsshe neede, an i oe a es on o see obothe's eatues in hes. Yet, by tadition, men came to

he, and hee she was a my doo waning o alk couldo et m same an conuson ep m rae as Iasd n.

Oside pillared pr e n was p abv

gadens, hoed, waning there was light on the ive heand hee and the houses up an on he agan vae

stil wore thei lamps bright, minl o te neral tocome. Mang erse comorae ane soo oongo on t a or som oments an ten sat own precisey next to me on my kincoeed b, it t


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130 JOHN DEMPSEY

ush with my left. Her scent was sadalwood onight and,keeping her eyes to the painted wall before us, she

breathed deep, apparently waiting for me to offer words:then she ran one hand through her hair and shook it out

I guessed I was to watch, and desire, which I did, but the

Lab pndan bwn h ba wihin h o'

dcoag p oth as pren wih us- was noproud o myse, and ept sti

W, he began, we've worked out th rits or

him, brother Tomorrow the town wil search or himthn the second day, whether a bird comes to Labrys ornot we' announc him ound and creae his imag. The

third day we'll raise him of course, that will b our momnt and our ra nt to pubi li, Duaion. I know

you want to honor him as I do. Ad then when I go away'l take him with me to a lovely place I know, in themountains

nd after that, iadne added with a gentle palm to

n, and eeing up some friendly sparkle in heryes, I'll be back to do everthing I can for this business. Considring what that Yamo and Rusa plan o oer

wih our young cergy, ou coud ay ha we have heas rk, do' o hk?

I l o od, i olud nx o h dponddbrightness, even in grief clergy, she'd said. Howsrang o el so much of my being dead, after days andnihts of wantin! I onl asked her innion o thisbune.

man 'v dcided o ou etotha, she answered.We need unity, and mothr and Paria hav sown yourna h. Bd, do ou now ha ju noyou ar he ony on o our kindred who tands sanctiied

Bull I'd thought i was onl healthy ival beteen


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ARINE'S BROTHER 131

you and our brother tht ou so insisted on sharing theDance with hm and our group. But now-here you are,brother, and Im glad. We can resolve our problems. Wecertainly don't have time to choose out another, thismoon at least! Ariadne halfjoked, letting me share (Iguessed) her councils' considerations. -I ean m ure

wel wo wel togete, wont we.With so man oid tatel eaons, I idPea ou dont quite understand yet, she said

with eyes hadening teir loo to search my own. f ouhad killed that man Id have chosen someone else ndquicl too, l and lood f te indred aide. Tee

are things a woman lean out on Dia Isle that show cusom o r or wa t won ette gnt ttonif its called fo. I dont ean to teaten nthing, I tell

ou so hat o know. But even with our deing me inpublc, I have to admit it looks as if our sort of halaygesture wll brin you grugn support from most fac

tions. Yo bled the anger some, I grant you that, teEarth ha been calm, and the animals bette than atelyee te t w n to wok toget, o

er, because besides our fathers socalled Guest List andhis own elation, were going to need to keep tings cam,ee eole calm when the oldies bgin to gth elnumbe here. Let him tin a e lie fo now ha hecan act as sefi as te sun Th fact is, we cannot handlea wa wit te mainlan, n e e n l

mercy Well beween us brher have a showinortof my own in stoe, but I expect you to work that way till I

come back. hen well do wha we have to doSon e woneful nion, I i, the deltnding W dont I fetch a cibe nd hve all os et own


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132 JOHN DEMPSEY

-I don't want to marry anybody! Ariadne exclaimedto my back now she herself rose up and headed for the

pllared porch as if to call upon the lights and te scents

out there, and thus we stood at opposite ends of my main

room. I'd never meant to eave and began to pace ben h sn was: sh ook a eah o exas

peration for us both before she turned and gave me hereyes anew

-Yes, I've een hard, she said, -ut it wasn't all

about you. So many plans he and I made have been crashing dwn. Nt year w wer goig to sail all arund hisland and bring the townships together ike never be

foreWould you mae that trip with me? ou're the only one I've asked, Deucalion, Ariadne offered and I knewit was real pain that knit her rows together for an instant. -We'd chosen a pace or a new house up in Lasihi, too, and when I go to the caves there now I'll haveto see it. I'm sorry. No, brother, stay there, becaus I

wan you o hea me ou, wha hse moons eo heroe ave bee ie.

She was ging to cry and fought it wih frcis

eort-You can't imagine how od and thickasblood

things are among our women. Maybe it's the same with

you fellows, but we are expectedThey've taught me ally if o bom our wid ohs, o b n n od t tn tt k u wt w r. Ad fr vn self to that, I've wated my hies gamos to make the

world nw So d in unon I mean wth our Dad and

or past that there won't even wha we cal ysrdaor tomorow. Maybe our old sister Perdix is losin herwts with age, bt she says she remembers a Crete ietha, he rete her mohers sai they knew hen it was


31/112

ARNE'S BROTHER 133

all people cared about to lie in the bosom of their familis in the old clan-toms, before Cnossos rose. You e

member the tale of Pandora llGiver, who rises up one

day with Her jar of gis and simply pours them out for

the taking, Igve you ain, Igve you love-I wanted to be

h Fo my hildrn, ridn sid rchn on plm

gently to the wall at her le, and for that I did everything asked of me, to get the power to give people whatthe ant

nd whee do I find myself, down here in the towns,Deucalion In a race that as killed our brother. Maybe it

happened because the House wouldn't see any other way

the dozens of others it kills, whose names we hardlynow. Wa powers o ou want, en? Te one au

cus sees that destroy the world Or what is truly impor

tant to ou I wok and work to find m ow feet, seeingwhats ahead of us. But I tell you this: I willnot allow you

or abod else to keep this Hose rui ate ext

yea according to mother's defaulted drems She is atrue Queen of Paria's line, and her stle does intiue me,e gea o, e ato game, bse is

o on hi ha w a js b his Posidon, hs

piel ad io he Houe ad ot be chaned Hernam ans She Wo Shs For ADon you ink

o a o ather's bed have changed her Is he crazy now for letting

all that pass I know, I know you do your best for me, she

tred to conclude u I canno ave ucerany a my

ac No now. oee ee a e o o pea

awa, tou m eat eat ow ae eereeqa uene oe a oe I

tanked her fo her wods and asked if we might sit down


32/112

134 JOHN DEMPSEY

together again: we did; and if I still felt unt to be nearher for what I'd done wih Tallay, my soul thrilled for her

touch as she took up my left hand, and just looked at it

beteen her own palms. Willing to hear me out .

-Priest, brother and man, I love you, I always have

nd will, I id -Wt do it mn, touh, tt bro

er and father and so many have come to the same conclusion about Necessity? I haven't enjyed these days withany clear heart. Bu you haven't been to sea. Our crac

trainers say it's quite likely that this old gray Aegeus andhs son will meet us on thei beach rea for glor, ready

to die just for the honor of hitting us. They've been pray

ing to the sun too long, the young man dies most beautifl-, they sn. n hy te us or ns ar oos. rane,if on' ive myself o his an a fih breaks ou upnorth, he's going to kill me sound aaid am afraid,

and it's not the same as fearin Bull or The Oerin beas mans yo' nx, an vroy n

House. I want to stop it. ur brother's spirit will drve memad if don't try.

-Then we av o n aay awon' driv us mad.Grandmother's is a good plan, hin. All h animals

luff that way And I love to see you strong, your hand

fels like leathr Bu our fahr is consd, Duaion. I

owe him ve much for all his life tauht me of seeingthrough things in the shadow o death. Death has its

ace in the realm, but he's lost sight of what it is

I as oong; but if the mn we cled o whose h' harro he Unerorl, for love o Goddess

an te sake o one's eo, los soulsThen what you're sayin i, if i com bl,

ysef beha's what it will come to, Aiadne, andsoon after that hey'l be at Amnisos. Bull is the power


33/112

ARINE'S BROTHER 135

or family has not been afraid to use, and I don't knowow ele o honor the trust in which we receive the House

-Bt asked you wat's truly important to you, Deucalion. Te question is, ave you lost your sol for not

lookig far enoug. However you must do it, I want younot t kil in rn for our ror ' no y

where e Ofering is madeIt's the love you bear yourpeple through me, your people who remember andlat ad buid for the ones to come, because you'vemov te. Your choice to Step Forard makes theirpain smaler, and the worldHear m ou, please. ouknow that we take the same news and rumor, and that in

or lands ever year now, these spriests are puttin tei ees of the sun and suchlike, and calingthem the holy places. What does that make the rest of theword? Profan. Unhoy. So the peope go inside thesepaces and speak the most noble sincere intentions foronable lives. Ad what happens when they go bac

otsid Its ot the sacred world they see anymore.Teir lifeeternal is decided elsewhere. So they becomee gain teir st rts. ut tre tey he toe pactical. A troug t iie comes wat iona's sisters ll the Night Mare. hey shoud now.hey fall asleep. hey foret it's heir own doing because

for ome and r some thin they've sold awayGoddess.I an they've sod of he Powers that, once, they believed would ae care of them, lie the od can resin, i courage o o te rgt tng cost tem aome, out of a world of omes. r one le, out o mlons of lives, Deucalion, riadne said squeezing our

joind hands as I looked to the running spiras ang theoom's walls. Don' fall asleep, brother. I search andseach for bet understanding, for wht to do, but righ


34/112

136 JOHN DEMPSEY

now please old onto me ad try o believe me ha no

one can realy urt us-I's hard enoug to be always in

te middle. Give me te chance o find ot wa we

shold do Tas al Ive come o ask you for onigt

Ad ow you smile at me?

No no, I sai quky -I js-ee a d Europa's sory at a undred gaterings bu I never o

dered beore wat eople back in te Eas ms haveoug of her wen se told them teyd beer ake to

te sea Ad hen to tik ha dolphins met tem and

led tem here and a wole new

Suddenly Ariadne droped my and ad ulled me

close and kissed me for te fs time as over is unbelievably so slperyswee as te seaurcs roe er

ogue shy but tere and ickling he corer of our melded mous

Water o a hearts dry soil she sad But eras

our poers wil be greaer and beterspent if we wait

for te betotal ceremoies Don you tik Mm dlike muc moe You mstt foget tat m callengingyo o be braver tan any Carian offcer will sband

Can you make yorself as errbe as e plan nees to

work and not become a lost soul Yor much mo a

thkig ma tan or boer bu must say a litle hes

iancy becomes a felow tese ays she smiledOh, te beau ta san i e wen she ke ha

py: er visions er lips her pain her ower d never felso ea of eg ale o mae a radian wor wi

someone for me there was no one lke hr for serousness or wodrous intelligent dreams and she was even be

coming a litle layful now ex o me on e bed brushing a my hair and smiing and oucing me wit a firehat wit ase cald my sou r. B al thi


35/112

ANE'S BROTHER 137

things wouldn't sit right yet. There had to be real peace

between us and I asked her to cleanse me of Talla's of

ense. I tried to epan wat I'd done to insut those

women who brought love into our communit, tried to

sa how this poison deranged one-Ariadne listened, and

then in keepng wth her own chaenge, prescribed no

rite except m gin to Talla with these same words, andan apolog Then, Ariadne said, the girl woul be wiserwith others so aicte Now she rose to go, an tol me

plainl that desire was the reason.

If it's better for the fields, alriht, I halfsmiled.We can plan our trip when I et back from Athens I'll

let that dream purge the poison.Yes, , se nsere r rnessperhaps none hd seen for awhile: a dream coming ack

to her, I hope. es Deucalion, good! Ariadne said.

* * *

Our brother's unera lled the next three das withdrinking and the traditional chaos of a search for him, all

through Cnssos and rousedup valle: together the wineand the ritual's builtin confrontation with his absenceured eole's rief, while b niht there were hue

bnires and singing and dances round them, persons oee e (u rnmther t, n less) juminthrouh the me with riotous ells, the o o it ll to

fth our brothr hom. That no bir no sin o his soulcame to perch atop the Labs b his bier was like one

ore sgn o sothing fading in our old world beteen

te worlds; but the third da's westlin and boxin ndother competitions honore roher's intensi, n inthe oies of nossos' outh it was plin wht stenth


36/112

138 JOHN DEMPSEY

outlived him. When our final procession with his mocksarcophagus wound u Mount Juktas to the sanctuary

there, and Ariane departed with it to find him our king'stradtional secret grave withn the bosom o the a, I

cried bittery for hs murder: when ths assed, the way

was clear o dra comfor from h ttr undrstndng

wth her, and I'd never felt so determined to sere my kinIn the days' mxure o rage an ove I even ound myselsashing my arms ith my father and our priests before

the altars o Juktas, and as we danced, the blood-dropsew from me like seeds till I dizzied and ell I had not

known you oud become more oerully yourse by

losing it and my granmother talked to me much aouts, s a I seeme o ave a new tongue beteen us,by way o radne, no dout O Parashe ept everyboy's eart u beuse eole new she as ung athe evil strigs she could for the lan among her eder

women's societies, even while runkenly hurling outra

geous satirical coulets at people (the higherbo thebeter, for her). Amid our cousins and clan of haestos

ad other houses she and asihae ket on workng acetng conoence an armng out anger

My ater though mostly itched to get back to thismoon's busness. I think the wildness around hm un

bured the act tat ngs wou be nex year oo,out m. I as rou tat he too care to rotate tehome guard's peope though shares o the rites but next

morning ater ther closure he ws ll hon of ppoan ha te Kouretes begn brngng foregn embsses

before him and Pasiphae. We'd keep to all the drilling we

could but t as becoming high dlomac season anhe Gues House was near overu

ur r org aars oug to e t


37/112

ARINE'S BROTER 139

ambassadors of the ittites and Eypt quartered separately: Egypt's couriers were much like the man Payare

but with more wealth on show, while the Hitites neverseemed to own their spendor, a people of harsh woodenmanners for all their slks and elaborate curls. Stil for

our ta' ort wit tir wo ntion w (in n

that beonged to neithe) you'd see them trading thei accusations and watchin each other wherever their Cretanaths crossed; but if Aiadne would've caled them menasleep, we were quickly roused ourselves by some newsfrom Hatussas

s soon as the season's formalities were done the Hit

tites told us that a self-proclaimed Sacker of Cities wasroving the islans o their Aegean ontiers: accorng oreports this was an especially lare hosing too, a thouan men with even horses and charos aboar My father sat up straighter, and Pasiphae with him. Where

were hey from? Where were they now? The Hittites an

swered that a few weapons capture in skirmish with seacoast garrisons suggested a northernisland origin, theyknew of these Achaian followers in our radeships'

wakes so, w at Cnossos mightwish to dispatch a continen or wo from our mighty eet and enure the continue taiity of so many ong-aing n ell-ehve

selemens of our own along he Ain fronier, Cunu,Cnidus an uch Their own invincible troops were a trie occupe inlnd just now, driving barbarian invadersbac sout o yra. And n rr oke of Haussas'goodwill (snap of ngers), these ittites had brought tous hree ingots of most precious iron, gi of the very

CloudRider. No metl woud ee one's cuse ke thione, hey en on, n no eoe u ce n he oge


38/112

140 JOHN DEMPSEY

-Well, Minos, said my mother when she'd dismissed

them, don't look so shocked to find something substan

tial behind your own words about eets building n thenort. At least it looks a safe wager that a thousandman

hosting will fetch your young men back to the lowlands.

-F rw, Dc, Mnos noddd, try

ng peraps not to think that Aiadne'd ad to do wit iswords' unpeasant offspring. We'll have two iron

swords for ou talk with Aegeus. One blow across tisand your man of bronze olds a stump! We cannot lose, Itel you

But a thousand rovrs, fathe. Tey could turn up

anlace-S one now. Oror ey cou eep

alles from sending te ships we need. Blast Mykenai! ask ou, what u is a High King lik t Lon? ll hisbarons and prncs abroad at play nd suppose he'll

now nothing about it. Trading more waterpots!

-You old our course and let m work on omeguad numbers, Pasipae counseled

acker o Cities Ptolpoho: a title of high regard up

north. You coud almost imagin soia vnings whne Lon's citadel. Ah, here coes Lo Yeo Beard.s it six cties h's raped now, dear? at m nar the

groaningboard and don't urn your bac when the wine'sgone. Not for a god, no for raderoutes, but for god andsilver, booty of orses or kine and, above all, beautfulwm dos who' hav ou bv ths th wa o the

world for geng walth, avaning: onqus bringsices bns fae bins foos brings bigger

quet, and all ts brings a name to outlast you corpse.Reeer e a te ea e spread toethe. nossos

n fea for te fst tme to our shame


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ARINE'S BROTER 141

-Have those swords made for us, my father orderedI think you'd better, said Pasiphae. Our son's

knife demands it now

We saw what was happening to urselves, and soon,

some mornings when her bad joints allowed, grandoth

lc l l A ccc

that rest of the West Road, where m father oftenstpped our runningtroop Not a word: ater all, it wasarias own plan; ut not even grandmther had epete su disupon o ou noal as, and se seeto possess in just her yes all she knew of ontempora

foreign houses fates Cratus and his fation of priests

had mer on my father and let her sustain their ritiquefor awhile, but as we ran past and le them standing

there together it seemed that this at of our bodies was

exatly where we'd lost ontrol To a man, we'd have saide e n o d s, an ee e en, don

was a sedutive mrng plasure and I lied mysel

tat, a ays o plomati altrut, t as good oome bak to the simpliities of weapons It got easier topt the plasurs prie f numbness beause I trust

ed iane to heal i somehw later, and she trusted me

And as that rumor of the thousand rovers spread, mans o a s m, non was sa o

hemhe season's delegation from Siil was yet another

knd of ment In the irst ears of mother's rein

she'd shipped them no just jars of olive oil, and leathere o our ne attle: plannng to gve tem an exort

onomy rathr tn al wit tem as obstales to oursps eang tn rom te Baeas an eyon, se

sen them whole treegrafts and paired ows and bulls,an ts year teir pett kng Kokalos sent er oil o is


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142 JOHN DEMPSEY

own and two prime calves, to show what they'd learned.Trouble was, they'd alo developed their own small eetfor patrolling western waters in our web, and this yearthey were less subtle than ever concerning remunerationsfor this. They hopedwe could work out new terms of partnship but, not, thy ght ( s

unclear) to take their pay in tin. King Koalos embassies,however, bore a proposal: we could send him that slandreowned painter of ours, Iris by ame, let her and somestaf perorm their wonders n hs house and teach hisown people for a ter. Were we supposed to believe this

would sate the little mans ambtions? Grandmother

warned us ot to repeat old mistakes with the mainlandy parnts od Kokalos to keep order out wes, let thetin ships pass and wat for more thorough reply-End ofaudience. The embasses did not look eager to get homewith hs. There was a mountainofre or two on Kokalos' very island, it was said, and we wondered if he wor

shp h o h th hudr hs ow. Buno one felt e should tust hi and so e put no call upon him for shps best to put him off till we'd dealt withthe north.

nd meanwhle a womanmerchant wih a sraghenough ongue arrvd o Rhoes, addng into herbusness here a selfapponted compant ha to us wasamar: new money rom the manand was helngAchaian tades to hon in on the business there in ev

eryhng rom rosehps o wne. y ant te Larton somthng, she ased beggng pardo), since t wasclearer ve season how our rivas mean o set up a gaeo he Eas or themseves? Generatons of abor hadade ou saton there at ana only an ss t Cnssos but thee ws on to be toube, n her ew o .


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ARINE'S BROTHER 143

She said that Achaian oarsme were usually warriors aswell, they could ofte do their busiess without eitheraskig or chagig for military escot, ad those kids offees wold soo be too sweet for old parters to pass o.Thigs were comig slowly udoe i the East a(, o) o '

better soo draw te lie. We were aware that Achaiaswe ow eve scoutig a statio of thei ow i Rhodes,at Ialys? The woa hersel poited ot Rhodes oFaas tapsty ad said They're eveplace, like shadows

This woa did ot lack blood-ki i Crete ad hadhe well-eat audacity to repeat e complaits outside

te Lay oo atr, at gh, we hea aoyosjibig voices beyod the courtyards, Do somtng Mino-taus! ad ore tha oe oble origially dubious ofthis pla requested audiece: You Conso so ttth, Geat Lady, tee is tub in t coonies, stretch

for your and and quicky

ed give them expectatios, ad they kew less tha sl B e ee o as, ral Peries beached, ad behid is aos were o fewertha elve Caia aships ot o Cidus ad Milts,s rom each Our message had set a shock alog theAsia frotier, he told us; but twelve ships were all hed

be able to pull from Carias patrols out there, becauseof reports of a acer o Cities o e roam My fathr eoce tat eve so e sos o Goess a a se scstregt: at Asos we watce ts rst cotietlad, three hdd fit squited glas slasgs sk t -ead shis to th each,all o th jst like o taies ith cested hls alath cosets, shot slashig-swods ad shields withpatches hee ad theea seasoed compay Peries


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144 JOHN DEMSEY

greeted me gruy and checked the scar at my rib: withmy arm-slashes healing he seemed to see other change in

me he could approve and, after bloodsacrifice at the al

tars up near mnisos cave, we marched together to camp

the Carians close by Katsambas' drillinggrounds

Beched here this once rin eople wo ee

a i, Perides told my father for now that was as mch ashed touch my brother's loss. Oh, for a tub of hot wa

te! Give me the pln, roer, we o we ove?

Talk later, my father said waving blessing to people

along the road. But this time 'm coing myself.

What How can you Have I faile you sir, or my

sister the Queen?Of course not, but we wont get the numbers we

need for an Admiral's sake. Ad youre no

negotiatorthat's what wee out to do. I like you to

spar me when you've rested, brother. Deucalion, show

him your blade.

-Sparyou? ar, tats iron! here i you get it?The biggest lump Ive seen is on our own ukato's finger.

Negotite with tht, eh Look t ll these reen marines

falling in with us hav yu s n s I pu ou, Mi

nos?

So we saw these squadrons camped where there ws

hunting and fishing for thm rugh wa h oaskept eyes on the game hese strangers took but slept easir fr thir resence. M father invite

ces to et e e evei i eries,

aer he was bathed and shave an attene, grew oreconversant an cou scarcely beieve my brother was

gone For tht he wanted action an lost no worktime

over the brooding mood among h Ku. Ou

had diientl devised rites or Mnoos oeo


43/112

ARINE'S BROTHER 145

even as they scowled at him in regular duties-it wasther lves to reassure the land and The Dead that The

Offering would be accomplished, and thus not a one

would leave Crete wth him. But as my father went overhis Guest Lst wth Peries, he realzed there were only

ln mo ds to p, n C n others

took a snde satsfacton seeng hm wrng hs hands wthanxet

Peries suggested drll in the morning for this but the

chance never came. Hppeus and the rest of Cnossos'heralds were fetching back more and more tokens of assent and cooperation from towns large and small across

the sland. Each had to be answered, rtuay thanked,paced wthn the pan, and hurred: offcia figures fromPhaestos and Malla came n, they'd each send the fveshs asked for, and Para soothed my father for thosehouses' tightfsted concern with a home guard (Maa,after all, sat rght on the shore that was no longer safe).

Where was Gaucus? Would he make t back, and whatwould he bring d before ts afternoon was old,

Podes' cousn Cordax came up from Amnisos with wordthat fve new warships lay eady to be christened andcrewed. And, he said, the Lban contnent was come

It was happeningIn the seasde brllance of late sn t as k

tval of colors down there, xcet that a daththrat wasa the heart of it Lba's orttowns had sent ten shs

neary three hundred of their best ncludng the Nuwic ad nown m roers seps, and he woe con

tnent was led by a nnetwoman vanguard When ourfamly arrved at Amnsos my mother herself remarkedon o t o mly n mn reakn down, vn if ths allis w ing only o e


44/112

146 JOHN DEMPSEY

assure people: the so-called new warships were actuallythe refitted merchanters, too, the truly new ones just

weren't ready. But his was forgotten as the Libyans'

leader strode forar. Her name was Itir, a black woman

my height in the prime of her twenties, and for e softba ys i eire fmation sappd s

she gave them one sa of her raised fst. Her muscledlimbs were scarred ad painted oiled and decked with

brilliant crpped feathers and bracelets, she wore thegoatskin bib of a Lbyan priestess tight round her torso,and withou going to oe knee or any gesture of submission she presented Pasiphae her wickededged, double

bladd ax My moher tok it to her brast, the laid itbac i ii's alm d ssd the woma n bohcees tiri gestured again and a startling percussion aattlng rose up from ibya's numbers, axes and bows andlances beatng on zebra-striped shieds, pumed ankles

jinging as they sang cal-and-answernot a few of our

c ac w w s

Now we re come

ith pounding he

for he ncient lince

evil yyh!

Ay-yahyah!

Smoked monkeyhead talismans dangling from belts

red coal earrings, lion-tot necklaces, brws scarred

were the healer stuck smoldering wig to cure a

ec i bbi-f mxd winettes

I'm glad they're on our side! Podes told Cordaabv the din


45/112

ARINE'S BROTER 147

Up at the altars we oered a single sheep in honor ofour timeless ties of kinship ad cult: then the Libyans

(with smiles of their own for our new men's greenness)became gracious witnesses to my mother's work, in which

she gave our altered shps new names and bestowed for

ml ms u u f ur yous

om drill. I noticed that young fellow Oeus and greeted him yself but, if he'd been eager for he ams of aCretan marine, now he looked distubed to alize thepossible ferocty of forign foes. He was not alone. Still,

he did take shp as smartly as the others and they pusedo fo a maiden voyage round Dia Isle: when they'd

rqunded the isle's western end theNut set out uickl theothe way, to give the their first mocambus as achrisening-gift. Later we herd that our neophytes didn'tfae t badly; bu now i was ur pssss' u t beafonted by such play, so close to The Grove

o our to strongest alled eets ad sent their due.

Crete's contingent was sure to be the biggest, maybe shundred ghters in tntyodd vessels whle Pasiphaeswelle te ome guard with the tooyoung, and elders.nd already a kind of jocular militance began to perade

the supperhalls and the steets of houses round theLabyith S rsist th prsn of just

ared mn by matcing th with stolls about town in , sll bs w scs ter these: at nigt small rts w u wt

fies lit atop the valley hills, it was ecoming a novel gae hear people joking on Ahens' d Mykeai'sobv-

ous dplmatic asence this season, Iris told me one dy,

and how the est manland houses will degenrat ifour artists don't visit anore. I'm inclined to agree By

y, uc, o eea my thans to te te


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148 JOHN DEMPSEY

for not sending me to Kokalos in Sicily. Their ambassadors never menton his queen's name, what does that

tell me? I never liked beards anyway.

-I heard one fellow the other night, Cleite put in,

-that if we have lost the Laurium mines up north, we

j S S ll l

has a motherlode of siver scarcely dug yet Ths had better end soon or we could see our old friend behindmeyo kno, she ended carefuly

Cleite dd not look round northward with her wordsaout Velkanos' crter, but went on picking her way

across a broad limestone pool caed by the waves, wad

ing among the sharp black spnes of the seaurchins sheand Iris liked to gather and eat when they talked affairs

beteen their professions. I'd brought Icarus wth me to

Katsambas this day as I'd checked on the cutting of torches or the lan, and we'd met Cleite and Iris along the

shore road: it was a rare tme when Cleite lacked a

irthing or burial to ociate, Iris an artisan or shipmentn om nd of n e somemes los tooand might've wanted prvacy but Icarus had told them he

liked to colect urchnshells for ter brght pentacles underneath the spines I'm hun too, hed said, theydsru an hre we were, mse lounn rbdee

against one side o te pool. See ow the roe are bier and

tastier with the moon wing Icas? Cleite told him now: v f y pl l-

mention of the moon made me edgy. Wen t was u,come Glaucus or not, we were departng. I bathed mym ge me e moe to a th heseeegant shorebirds at their pleasure, Icarus ie ther ang young one crackcracking uchins open with my knife

hlt


47/112

ARINE'S BROTHER 149

-In any case I have word that your Queen will be backtomorrow, Cleite informed me. We're told she's well,

but it was no rest for her, beteen clearing her heart inthe caves and ting to keep a lot o farmers rom comingdown with their pruninghooks. They change their minds g lll , see

in erwell. It wll be ood for her to visit with thatwoan tiri just no, a wild other i tere ever was one!

Kack!

Kkals ater my ris, tis oher man invaingSifnos, Cleite growled. -Why can't you men be like Itiri?She doesn't turn into a frothing do for a little power

Civility please eoe te Heir and te bo, dear, rissmiled. -It's good we met today anyhow, we can discusse cissis, Dcalin, se si squining over eglare o the pool beneath er croppedeather headband.

e've had sme eetings and the aedalae are eagerto do something fresh for hieros gamos. They only get the

chance every nineteen yearshough you ndestand,ris ae (catcing a lo from Cleite to emember mylie was at issue). -I know Ariadne loves her dolphinsand goas and irs, wat about you? Vine? Thatmakes lively borer. Or now, trees o pillars wrapped

wi it A Great Year symbol, very sugesve, hat dyou tink?

d lke t see that, sid as cas n e asmall moutful of urcinroe: ine av n ys s

gong to enoy my regn, r as mht be that I'd otreceived personal word abot my Qe. It o old angry thougt at maye was only te rigt man or theis ig nw: I sa as o eo o eriss, an wace e ligts wiggling tapezoids play in

the pool


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150 JOHN DEMPSEY

-You should also know that Im coming with you toAthens, Cleite announ_ced as she knifed another one freefrom the rocks at her feet. -Yes I am. Im old, Minotauros, and I want to be where something is needed we Ican. You may well need an old healingspecialist up

tee. It's so y cnce t lst fo nd of evg fo

the takeover of Delph. I studed there two years, agesago wen I was a grl and the orcle was pure Donysosand Goddess. If I have my way t wil be so again. But between usthank you, Icarus!at a counci with ourQeen it was suggested, you know, that Diamat go aong,for her skil putting rites together, and she declined.

ind, some of your younger sisters ike Clio vounteee, ut Psphae se me next as an ede, sncpoor Perd gets very sick at sea Her mind sD youknow, though, Diamat took me aside later and I thoughtshed say Good Luck, or Avenge us alland she saidCleite dear, whie you're at Caista woud you pick up

some pumice-stones for me? She can gt more than shewants right here, I told her. Oh but Caista umicecomes in such nice coors! she said. Is that wats on thewomans mind these days, her rough skin? I may be toodour mysef but I remember Diamat from our own BuDanceshe was like tat young whatsername up atrcanes, Phaedra, you know, utterly devoted, ha n aconstant trance. Wel, so muc or the Layrnts goodlife, I suose. ere boy, open this one. I thought youd o

-Phaedr hes me, Icarus sd Kak-k-Because why Because you clng to her skirt like a

child Iris askd him: it appeared she ws losing affectionfor hm wth his behavior round the shop -Spea oArchanes, Iris went on (not waitng for Icarus answer ut


49/112

ARINE'S BROTHER 151

reaching out t lp Clte st t r sde te pl'srm), -we r yu sstrs gg t cme dw ttfreg fellw Rzrclm? I d't tk e suld be lled t drss lk prst f tt srt uss 's, wll,d rt ds. I ' lp tkg t's tu lk l l

dys. I erd t Quen yesterdy g ck fr tLbs' rrv s My, aren't they cel-looking? Wemust have a handl peanenty for the House uard.

Frgv m, I d' t gssp, but s is ur expe. I must b rd fr Ard t b lss w r r, f t s' dlg w

rd t wy Psp ss rll s.Irs tckg wy fr y tr: I gt ve

grd, bu dd r wr sl ssbud fr Sly ts ss crus, ewle, prked up s ers fr ll ty sd f sp

I bdger Tukt but tt fllw, ys, Clt

swrd, d s pu r r rud Irs' wst v s rs dscrd tugt. -Bu , w sy wt

wrld ts wll b e t fr w. Wt Ym's dRus's spdd ffr t D g w d't kw

w t ew u lr wll b. t's p Bull kps w ! Bu umbr f sults fr

g uss ve sw up cllg t g.W'r y lttg bk t ts te s w rel d ut ur d ur brter's Ducl.es d tt, I sure yu'll gre.

m wt Ardn, nd t D ts t br w st sl, ls s tt ws. Qu yr fr. Ad I'd y begu t gt t kw t lfdze

yug prsts s w prstsss. E Grt Yr Bull u lf w Kures d


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152 JOHN DEMPSEY

one-third new priestesses: as my father had sad, our system retained more ld conservative blood behind theConsort than behind the Queen. Young ssters, so the

wsdom went, would be less lkely to press for radcal

change. Tey hadn't barained for radnend how

many of my Kouretes rankled at this as sometimes did?

Most had kept well behind Cratus since the stabbing,watcng thr stps awl

But listen, my beautl Osiris, Cleite said o me

now, rsng up and comng wth unexpected graviy acrossthe pool to stand driping over me. here is another

reason go with you. You are aware that, f anything hap

pens to your fatherI needed a deep breath to nod her answer Ariadne

herslf had not spelled out like this who woud take his

place on The ree next year, if necessary. Why not?Wouldnt it ive me reasn to eep im fro strin the

first blow? did feel fear, but all arond it in my chest,

pride, that she'd tougt enough of me not to pnt tout. And the chll reminded me meanwhle wy was get

tng ts new regar m our knr vbrant young mnwho wanted to stay that way

Well, my dear rs, said Cleite tuing, the Queen

herself st ass aay lie her lvr, r better r worse.

Where's or winesn t?She'll be Queen as long as it takes! cars scolded,

sabbn at e lmson so tat I a t wrs m kne

from hm before t bent; but we all notced these words,suly not hs own.

As ln as what takes? rs asked him no answer hisoble face was gloweig, ve ed

inotars, I drin t your Great Year, sad Cleite,troubled.


51/112

ARINE'S BROTHER 153

-And a moon full of honey! Iris smiled.

* * *

The rites of our betrothal waited, though, anotherh dys of hs nmnabl monh unil h

Whtethorn Moon ban to w in earnest. This spreadmore auspicious energes about the new throne, as ourcr said, u it also lef jus wo das aer til our eetcast off, so that ol might ot overthink the game. So

wth each our own duties and privat peparations I didnot see Arane throuh the wait, but fed on her pres

ence back in Cnossos and drove myself was ow thmo demned w shoud win (whatee ha mean),or I knw the rst of my days should want for nothin if

we did. The worst of this time was the wait on Glaucus,since one bad sume squall could turn him and so anyshps to wrack on soe beach and we'd neer know it

Sill, w'd b oin; and I dank al the neca I couldrom te ays n my ans.

Bir, nitiation, Maiae, Rest, ad Death: thesew th fv statons of h le bewn ou Quen andConsort, and for each Ariadne ad I had a betrothaldayto ember. Unde h fist day's sunrise vry able

boid female that could get hee folowed Paa andaspha sawad wh a swch of ch and do all badluck and malevolence out of ou ecincts at the seasege the en bhn th beat shields and drums andblw conchs (wh a ea fshnss o han don sous as oon, an hen he Oh-lo-lo os up aan asThe Aidela appead, swimmig inshore this tim on themorning tid. This was Hr Rising and it semed to metha as she walked fom the mild white surf befoe us


52/112

154 JOHN DEMPSEY

wth the seawater sparklng and dawn's rose tnge overher body, her quet smile was to say that the gref f the

ages could be cleansed away one only need let go-at

least t seemed possble as, am ths vson, notce Tal

lay gvng me a smle frm the crowd's edge follwnghouh on h n. K n

resented me (t was my place to answe He rused desr ke the great serpent made by Godess n th sto

res) and laughed wth nrous joy as they turned meabut, dslayng the robust sgn of my health efore te

people. Bullroarers swung ther heay hummngsound

thlled the air beneath the drums and bawdy praises:

ee swed us now wth young aryspkes fgos an tny votes as the cegy wp u ghty wthn q f eaonn, all to ruse the frutfu Pof the land and a fine processon then rouht us toether ack to Cnssos, where we wre bathe and annand robed to rcee frmal trbutes. Aradne saw that

was all ut overwhelmed, and showed me ways to bgnto forget my name as father had

You wll see the hard reasons why lnger here over

tese glores at the tme took them to my sul as prestand lovr. h t cond da, all Cn al cackled and smoked wth burning furze on e and I

tre n t t ta ntatncus wth elder men o each cln tending them, givin and tainmy stann an en of ran exortaton tnwith one man rom each clan led them up Mount Ju

tas pfgurng tomorrows trp to The Holy ount, andmade my plic cnn Ong. y throat

thckened wth what was promisin before these peoplean rnc a o our ng th cd nbackingout latr; but when a s st as


53/112

ARINE'S BROTHER 155

adne'd said, you looked at the s and could think thevery pattern of the clouds the same as a thousand yesterdays'. All was now

From there we marched again to the sea, where Itossed that greatest of moters a golden rig and, havingjust surrndd my lif, I did l ad o to ed

her: as og as we were struttig so much strength I triedto ndo y brote's gestre toward or Achaia gestsin the bargain, asing my priests to initiate that felowEphenor if he wished He didn't mind, and even aheonce at the duckings and hazings that were part of theday; and as the men got me more and more drunk (it was

oor for each to have me drain a cup n is ose, ande wee a o) peor's rig sobriey dawned as astrength to me. His bearing helped me to hod to a bit ofresere. It was a thing I grudged to admit but our owCretan felows seemed to admire it, ee as te akthemselves oblivious

By te thid day y whoe beig ached for her, a Irose up early in te more uncomfortale sense. But themoon a gone own n te sout, a tings wer in ar

be sadow a st bt fo sods of nng waterand the moon ad aid down so tick a dew that, in morning's rst warmth, the whole uminous Layrint steamed

and glistened among its ower-eds atop our hil, theKephala. My od would not sleep so I jst walked theouter colonnades awhle, broodin on the rocessionamurals, the valey's slopes and the own eneath the laststar bo's attee wat a se sot ae

witn my s and I togt te goo gree ses o evaley kene tis orng, a soeow o e Tobreathe was a rivat comunion a deeer accetanceo at as mai, as e as wom here was no


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156 JOH DEMPSEY

use trying to imagine what they intended to do to mesomeday: that was for others to contemplate as they sa

me live my ife in the face of its sure coming, and if peo

pe foresaw their own deaths ith less fear for sharing

mine, then I ad sered. What ould it be ike, to besown ak into the lie te ord, t e eeere,

nourishing all as I dreamed the orld like od Mount Juktas, puey a part of the stream o things? The strands of

wite vapor ising o the paace hi amid its myriad gardens and creepers made the pace look so ancient, yet

steaming like a newbo in the grass, and the presence o

our Dead fet stronger than ever I spoke o the grandfa

thers I'd never knon, and to my rother, and as Ipromised anew we' not ail them there was a stirringamong the birds in the misted ress trees

Aradne came graey to te rites of our third day We

ere to make our first kiings and oerings togethe benea te nn sun, an thu he srokes w Larys

were clean and unhsitating, there was simpy more regard in her manner for the beasts than our mother

soed before the atars We count kno i Pasiphae

ha egun her rign thus, or gron hader; but in the wayiadne aid er ands to Bul's brow; th way she caxed

te sgns f consnt om h-goat and ram, took th cock

partridge rom d erdx's armsceay er regnwod b no time f exraagane in b She was bent

down t k straigt into the ees o each anima as I

un unnnmace ar e of t

eads se woud not take abrs from the sisters til shewas sure they were oy in seep She was making it

pain tat for her blodrites were a thing to nmized. This ight make The Oering the moe deadl

in pubic eyes, but I think she wanted people to see these


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ARINE'S BROTHER 157

traditions as she did, a kind of apology for something elselost through time. Grandmother, though, had counseledher that you could not take custo safel away wihout

repacing it; so Ariadne gave the more weight to whatcame aftr these deaths. As people bore their house'sbt yo ull o t blood-poto bo ,

anointed them at brow, breast and loins, and then theyolowed s together in stroking it over the Hose's master-pillars, on te columns and orns of he cenralcourt's great srine: it was th Circle riadne loved best,te fact that these animals had come from the people

and, as they gave teir strngth to te Hos, she was re

ciprocally ntrusted wih thir inrsts, pac with tland, with the all-important Dead. People go to notieher bended pid and sensitivi and, aeptig it, thysow r mor confienc, or surely lan an T

Dead ad to ove this daughter, would speak to he heirscrts of our omorow? And now affairs passed onwar

to he highest ommuna rits o the betrothal, as ederswee shr into our innermost shrines, took seats along

stone benches and accepted ibations rom each other asGoddess or God Some took this with morta sriousness,oers wih a smile, but te lit in eir faces was morethan the sun's as tey came out onto the cort again nd

if Elphenor and is Acaian fellows kept a blaspemyearl distance from rites like tis, well, hey ha to beallow ever ri o conine emsvs a wa

t ast dckd wt nckacs smboic o th

ieds and orchards ruits, and the capriing dance ofo lov w coe I th cntral ourt ocal clanfolkand rprsntativs from all our othr townships lad otcutings and provender and ps of soil around s weld ands rigt-tolet, leftto-right in he foreversin


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158 JOHN DEMPSEY

and began to improvise a lively progress around the circle, moonwise of course, exciting lust in each oher and so

in evehing. We trned and spun within the turs,kissed and body-caressed each other, rubbed our anks

together laughing: our cler raised a wild music and I

thouht 'd burt unl I jond wih hr soo, wa

the way she threw her head back ad her breass pressedtogether beee her arms, her black tresses ying as weturned She looked tranced and happ whiling and ducking in close to nibble and caress, her eyes hal-open withdeepening want, and the people around us beyond the

cuttngs ket up clapping and cheerng, the men's

strapped-n leather ingses wagged rhthmically andwomen e evroy bites of vvashaped honeycakes,claping more and feeding, exhorting al things to give,

gve. And now they fetched out the squill-whips again and

(we'd been tod) hat was our moment to hal once morehey ice an snappe abou our bodes and at last

Aradne coud hold no longer, she gave a wonderful crand we broke ot of the circle o loose he Power into theworld She took off and snapped her necae oo, an I

aer herL my ravin enitals fet bull-big and

ounced like a drunken clown as we ran out the aby

rinth's north gae

And or a heir nee o assurances, eole le us runoff o it now, though every field we passed had a furrowhoed p in the hope ta our ove would take there Ihav spent te day makin sure nobody was dsapon

ed, but when she finaly took me (it was in a plae whereshe saw butteries at the dugup soil, it felt like for al

the world She had ore to tach han I coul a a not care where shd learned it, I was asonishe by

he hunger the mouth and heart and body could sustain,


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ARINE'S BROTER 159

the burst of the sun within the animal shudders, a songlike something out of the Moon in my ears as we smeledand tasted Earth together in and throug and or eachother, our entire race behind us, before and with us. Sheshowered shivery handls of tilth across my back as herbod ontrtd nd hr tth t hrd bhind hr mi,

and she let out an uncntrolled moan: Oh, if I'd been apae od wandering ghos I'd've ked see hat ceature made sounds like hers, a daemon drinking hneperhaps: I coud not get clse and deep enugh and alast she reached underneath o cax forth my seed and oured into her, a first litte death for the land and The

Ones Below her And Oh, that's a good si! she aughedas I immediately sid down er belly to devour her deiciousness and my snake resurrected as did, and we started aain: her gentl-closed ees and smile gave her juste ook of ranqui ecstac I'd seen in Canaan's imaeso Mother of the Grain, and gave her all the lovingwild

pleasure could and rocked with strophes of rowingsongs as we plouhed, on and on

And aer we'd een athed once more we came to terite y which I became Crown Prince beside my Goddess: father shoed me his pride as the tied (for toda) hisgo ae acrss m rw, bu e cre our

or riadne's radiance as Paria and Pasiphae place onher head a chalet of roseleaves worked n milgolelecrum, and Ariadne stood to bess, attired in an openrease own o assona eaer-re, case wt sver Theyd wound her hair u too in a sacral knot, tose sn e es e e ee e

now ane urne e sne's s a ps ake her own hanks and slen s nd, as loke n,somehow most loved that delicate tangle of loose hairs


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160 JOHN DEMPSEY

under the knot behind her neck, touched so finely by lightand airWe slept (now and then) late on that next day of Rest,

mainly holding customary first audience together to hearpetitions, oversee healings. Help our clan bear anotheril-hild; u y ply; bi ou on ho fo ptol;

send a priestess to break ground for a new well. Itmiht've been easy to thin you could do everythin foral, but Paria's elder women had a Crones role to play inalmost evey high moment of these days, inglie ow

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Ariadne s Brother 2