We left Marissa with a plan. We’d sail to Chios and spend a night at the Goodness city there, Theodoros, the gift of God, and then sail on to Lucia. We should arrive there just before the festival began. Aristomache asked if she could sail with us, and so did half a dozen other Marissans. They only had one ship, and so moving between islands only happened when the Goodness called. In addition, the Goodness made a circuit of their eight cities, so taking a voyage meant being away from home for a long period. We intended to return to Kallisti immediately after the festival, and could bring them home to Marissa on the way. There was also talk of sending a diplomatic mission to Kallisti. I happened to be present when this was discussed. “Won’t that be for Lucia to decide?” Caerellia asked Deiphobos, who was one of the elected Kings of Marissa.
“Oh, I don’t think it would be a problem if we want to send somebody. They can send somebody too, if they want to. We wouldn’t speak for them, only for ourselves. We’re not subject to Lucia. Though of course, we know how much we owe them, and we’re all good friends.”
Our sailing plan did not allow for bad weather. The weather, which had been good all the way from Kallisti, now let us down badly. The first day I was reminded of the storms in the Aeneid and the Odyssey. Many people were sick, and we had to manage the ship short-handed. I fell once wrestling sails, and did instinctively fly for a moment until I could regain the yard. I don’t think anyone saw anything more than a well-recovered stumble; they were all too busy with their own tasks. The second day, when there was no letup in the gale, it reminded me of my dream where the ship was history being blown out of control by stormwinds. After that the days blurred together and the storm didn’t remind me of anything except itself. I was quite sure we were going to founder, and worried about how long I could fly and how many people I could carry. There were just too many people aboard I loved. I finally understood Father not wanting all of us to come. It wasn’t even possible to stay near one person I cared about. Too much of the time, if we’d breached I wouldn’t have been able to save any of them. I decided that Phaedrus and Kallikles could save themselves, and if Erinna and Maia and Ficino and Neleus and Father weren’t near enough I’d just grab whoever was and save them, even if it was sarcastic Caerellia or grumpy Phaenarete. I slept in exhausted snatches and took water to those too weak to fetch it for themselves. I discovered I had no divine abilities to heal, no sense of what was wrong with people the way Phaedrus described.
When I woke on the fourth or fifth morning to smooth sailing, and clear skies with visible stars, I actually wept.
18
ARETE
We had been blown in all directions, too far from safe harbors, and had sailed with the wind, avoiding islands as hazards. We were sure we were far to the northwest of Chios. We had no idea where we were. We hadn’t seen any islands for days except as chaotic shapes whose rocks could destroy us. Now we had an even wind, and we were sailing east. Some people said we should head back to Marissa, or home to Kallisti, but Maecenas was set on visiting Lucia.
So, to my surprise, was Father. I wanted to talk to him about my powers, but the first time I caught him anything like alone he was standing at the rail with Neleus, looking out at the waves. Neleus had been extremely ill all through the storm and still looked wobbly. He was one of the very last people I wanted to know about my powers. It was unfair enough as it was. “I want to go to their city to see Kebes. Or Matthias if that’s what he wants to call himself,” Father said, as I came up to them, sounding as grim as ever I had heard him.
“But do you really still think he killed Mother?” I asked. “They don’t have any of our art, and they said they avoided Kallisti until now for fear of Athene.”
“Perhaps he didn’t kill her,” Father agreed. He looked at me and then at Neleus. “I still want to know where the Goodness was that day. The Marissans may not know everything. But even if he didn’t—I didn’t want to tell you. But she wrote in her autobiography that he raped her.”
“What?” I thought for a moment that he meant Kebes had raped Mother on the day she was killed.
“When? Before the Last Debate?” Neleus asked.
“Yes. At the last Festival of Hera.” Father was staring out at a shadow of a shoreline on the horizon. Before I was born, I thought, and only a few months after Neleus was born.
“But if it was the Festival of Hera, weren’t they supposed to…?” Neleus asked.
“They were supposed to try to make a baby. He wasn’t supposed to take her against her will when she was saying no.” Father sounded vehement enough to bring the storm back. I saw people turning to look from across the deck.
“If they’d been married in front of everyone…” Neleus trailed off again.
“That’s why she didn’t tell anyone. She didn’t tell me.” There was a lot of pain in his voice, but it was quieter now. “It was rape, and he hurt her, and I’m going to kill him.”
“Right,” Neleus said. “I’ll help.”
“The punishment for rape is flogging,” I said. I had been reading the laws in preparation for my adulthood tests. “And it would be very hard to prove now, even with her direct written testimony.”
“We’re not going to take him to court in the City, we’re going to kill him in Lucia,” Father said, looking irritated. Neleus nodded.
“But—” I opened my mouth and then stopped. But the rule of law, I’d wanted to say, but the terrible things that happen when bloodfeud replaces it? And why had Mother kept quiet about the rape except to prevent exactly this? Then again, the idea that she had been raped and hadn’t told anyone for so many years was awful. The thought of it made my stomach churn. “I want to kill him too. I think rape should be considered a more serious offense.”
“When you’re an adult you should argue that in Chamber,” Father said. “Lots of us would support that. It has the death penalty in the City of Amazons.”
“Maybe we could drag him back and try him there,” Neleus said. “And look for the head at the same time.”
“No. I couldn’t bear being on the ship with him for that long. I’m not sure I’m going to be able to bear having any conversation with him at all. I’m going to kill him as soon as I possibly can.” Father bit his lip hard, but even so tears ran down his cheeks. “I hate the thought that he’s still alive and breathing after he did that to her.”
So did I. “But what about trade agreements and diplomatic relationships between us and the Goodness Group?” I asked.
“Once Kebes is dead, we can make agreements.”
“But you can’t just walk up to him in the street and run him through, and then carry on with the others as if you didn’t do it,” Neleus said. “You’ll have to either make it seem as if you didn’t do it, or else tell everyone why. Unless you could find a pretext. Or fake an accident somehow.”
“You’re right,” Father said. “I need to find a way of killing him that’s personal and acceptable and doesn’t destroy all possibility of friendship between our cities later. I wonder whether they allow duels?”
“It doesn’t seem likely,” I said, appalled.
“Kebes probably wouldn’t agree to one anyway. He’s fought me before, he knows I’m better.”
“Does he know that you hate him?” I asked.