Chapter 17
Flight
As Danae stared at the burning city, the flames licked away the last of her resistance, leaving the truth gleaming like bones on a funeral pyre.
The power that had awoken in her the day she found Alea’s body was no curse.
It was fate. Her future was tied to Prometheus’s prophecy.
And with that rush of realization, a voice spoke.
It was inside her and yet not hers. It came from the part of her that knew things she did not yet understand.
This is only the beginning. You cannot hide from your destiny.
A thrill rippled through her body. She let it take her, and for a heartbeat she flew above her fear. She felt as though she was dissolving, while at the same time becoming part of something larger that she couldn’t quite comprehend.
Then the reality of their situation came flooding back. Manto’s network of Children of Prometheus members in Delphi had been destroyed. They had said it themselves, the rest of the organization guarded their anonymity. There was no one left they knew who could help her.
No mortal.
She turned back to Manto. “Is it true that Prometheus is chained to the highest peak of the Caucasus Mountains at the end of the world?”
They nodded. “That’s what my father said.”
Danae drew a deep breath. “He made the prophecy, and I think he might be the only one who can help me fulfil it.” She looked down the right fork of the road. “You say that way leads to a port?”
Manto nodded.
“Then let’s find ourselves a boat.”
It didn’t take Danae and Manto long to reach Cirrha.
The town was a small cluster of low stone buildings, built on a protruding leg of Mount Parnassus.
After the last row of houses the cliff fell away to a sheer drop below.
The port itself was only accessible by deep, wide steps carved into the rock face.
Woken by the commotion, the inhabitants of Cirrha emerged from their homes to see a flood of people pouring through their little town. Most ran back inside and bolted their doors. Those who stayed to stare at the burning sky were absorbed by the throng and dragged with it.
Danae heard the screams before they reached the cliff. People were spilling into the ocean as the crush of bodies forced too many onto the steps. Manto tucked Lithos under one arm and grabbed her hand.
“Whatever happens, don’t let go.”
She nodded. Then, a dash of crimson darted across her vision.
She scoured the crowd ahead and spotted the red dress of a priestess.
The woman’s veil and headdress were gone, her dark hair pulled loose.
Something about the tilt of her head made the tendons in Danae’s neck clench.
As though the priestess could feel her gaze, she turned.
It was the woman who’d interrogated her with snake venom.
The priestess’s eyes met hers and ignited with recognition. The woman dived against the current, fighting her way toward Danae. She tried to turn back, but was penned in by the tightly packed bodies.
“Manto,” she shouted, “the priestess!”
Just as the woman’s fingers stretched close enough to touch her, they all reached the top of the steps.
Manto lunged at the priestess but was shoved to the side by the crowd, and Danae’s hand was wrenched from theirs.
With a grunt of triumph, the woman latched onto the fabric of Danae’s dress.
She tried to prize her off, but her grip was hard as iron.
“You did this,” she snarled and yanked Danae toward her, then faltered as her heel slipped over the lip of the first step. She fell, dragging Danae with her, and they both tumbled across the steps below.
Danae heard Manto call her name as she was trampled under a stampede of feet.
Through the rush of legs, she saw the priestess crawling toward her.
Then Manto dropped Lithos and hurled themselves through the mass of bodies toward the woman.
The priestess let out a guttural roar as their knife sank into her thigh.
She grabbed Manto by the hair and dragged them toward the edge of the steps, knocking several people, screaming, into the sea.
“No!” Danae yelled, fighting her way toward them.
Manto disappeared over the edge. Then Lithos was at the priestess’s neck, a wild mass of teeth and claws.
The woman thrust her arms up to protect her face and lost her balance.
She teetered for a moment, then Lithos’s attack tipped her back and she fell, still fighting with the fierce little dog as she tumbled toward the rocks below.
Danae crawled to the edge of the step and there, clinging by one hand, was Manto, their other clamped around Lithos’s tail.
Lightheaded with relief, she grasped their arm and pulled them both up. Manto bundled Lithos into their arms, and together they all crawled through the crush of people toward the inner wall, flattening themselves against the rock while bodies battered past.
“Are you all right?” rasped Danae.
“I’m alive.” Manto managed a smile.
“Thanks to Lithos.”
In response the little dog proceeded to lick the grime from Manto’s face. They squeezed him tight then turned to Danae.
“Come on.”
The pink of dawn cracked through the burnt crust of night as Danae and Manto reached the bottom of the steps and ran toward the port.
Several ships, laden with fleeing pilgrims, had already left their moorings.
The pair joined a clamoring group trying to board a merchant vessel.
The ship’s captain stood in front of the gangplank, physically restraining people from climbing aboard.
Manto elbowed their way to the front. “We’re seers! Let us through.”
The captain’s head twitched in their direction. Then the crowd surged, almost toppling the man into the sea. He clung onto the mooring post and unsheathed a long knife, sweeping the blade through the air like a sickle.
“If anyone shoves me again, no one boards my ship!”
The first clutch of people backed into the row behind, chattering with desperation.
“Who said they were a seer?” the captain called over the racket.
“Us!” Manto pulled Danae through the throng, Lithos tucked under their arm.
The captain’s brow creased as he took in their filthy faces, tattered black robes and the ragged dog.
Manto drew themselves up to their full height.
“The Twelve see you and know you. I am the Seer Melampus of Mycenae. This is my apprentice, Daeira.” The lies rolled effortlessly off their tongue.
“We were in Delphi on the orders of King Eurystheus. I guarantee our master will reward you generously for our safe passage home.”
“All right,” said the captain. “You two can go aboard, but the mutt stays here.”
Manto’s eyes flashed. “How dare you. This creature is sacred to Apollo.”
If it weren’t for the severity of their situation, Danae would have laughed.
The captain’s eyes narrowed. “It’s only got one eye.”
“So do the fates.”
Danae could hear the blood thumping around her skull as the captain appraised Lithos. As though playing his part, the dog lifted his head and gave an imperious bark.
“Hmm.” The captain pressed his lips together. “Go on, then.”
He moved aside to let them hurry up the gangplank, leaving cries of outrage in their wake.
The ship was so crowded, people were packed like sardines onto the platforms at either end. There was barely an inch of wood that wasn’t filled with soot-covered refugees. Behind them, Danae could hear the captain shouting that there was no more room.
“Dion!” the captain called to the helmsman as he hurried up the gangplank. “Get us out of this gods-forsaken place.”
As he jumped down between the rowing benches, two crew members hauled in the plank. There were screams from those who’d climbed on after him, as they tumbled into the sea.
Once they were both ensconced on the stern deck, Manto turned to Danae. “End of the world is it then?” They smoothed Lithos’s fur as he curled up between their legs.
“You don’t have to come with me.”
Manto snorted. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily. I made a promise to help you fulfil your destiny. And after seeing how clueless you are, I don’t like your chances of reaching the Caucasus Mountains without me.”
Danae offered them a tired smile.
“You know—” an idea glowed on their face “—to reach Prometheus we’ll have to cross the Black Sea.”
“Yes?”
“That’s where my father is.”
“I thought your father was killed?”
“No, he was exiled somewhere along the coast of the Black Sea. If we can find him, I know he could help us.”
Hope sprouted wings in Danae’s chest. For the first time, light chinked through the cloud of terror that had clung to her since the oracle’s vision.
There was someone out there who understood what was happening to her.
She might have to travel to the end of the world, but she would find answers. And she didn’t have to do it alone.
She curled her hands into fists. One day, when all this was over, she would see Naxos again.