The Sibylline Oracle (24 page)

Valeria responded to his closeness by moving her head
against his neck. He knew he couldn’t keep her out of the water but her temperature was dangerously low. Pushing her legs back into the cold water, he held her body next to his for five minutes, feeling the warmth flooding back into her chest and limbs. Her temperature went back up to 99°. Then, with a shudder, he moved her back to the harness and lowered her. It was an action close to cutting off his own arm.

Suddenly, Valeria’s shivering stopped and her eyes opened wide in horror. “Dad, no! Don’t go in there. There’s spiders—the spiders!”

Mani had warned Alex that Valeria might hallucinate. But it was a shock to hear her like this. Still, the time was finally coming to an end. Maybe Ava was wrong and Aegemon wouldn’t show up. Maybe he had finally died. Maybe there was no more curse. Maybe they could survive this.

Alex went below and nuked some broth. He took it back knowing she was most likely still unconscious. Looking at his watch, relief ran through him when he saw that there were only fifteen minutes left before he could pull her out of the water. He could treat her as soon as Aegemon showed. Alex took her temperature one last time, 96°. Her temperature couldn’t drop any lower or she wouldn’t survive. There were only fourteen minutes left.

Unhooking her from the harness, Alex crawled back into the cold water with her. Valeria let out a loud moan. She felt so cold.

“Boat approaching!” came Lars’ frantic call over the radio. They had installed radar on top of the mast so that the family could watch out for Aegemon.

There was no time to hook Valeria back into the harness. He had to get the antibiotic. As he worked to get at least one of the hooks tied, he shook his head, angry with himself. Why had he unhooked her when they were so close to the three hours ending? The boat was approaching fast but Valeria had to have the shot. Then Alex ran to get the antibiotic.

When he returned, he sensed that something didn’t look right about her position in the harness. To his horror, he saw that her head had turned and was underwater. He climbed into the water with her and turned her head. She wasn’t breathing and her lips were blue. A cry escaped from him as he began to breathe into her mouth. Nothing happened. Pulling the blanket back, he placed his ear on her chest; her heart was still beating, but weakly. He breathed into her again. He had to be sure it was Aegemon before giving her the shot. How could he take the time to do that, he wondered.

He glanced up and was certain the boat was moving toward them. On the deck he could have sworn he saw Aegemon. Alex removed the lid from the needle and untied the harness, raising her leg out of the water. He needed to give her another breath. He breathed into her and, at that moment, the boat rocked again. Alex was tossed face first onto the netting. He scrambled to right himself, but the netting was slick and caused him to slip once again, dropping the injection. Alex saw it floating away and reached off the end of the netting. His movement in the water pushed the needle even further away. Alex leaned off the edge of the boat as the needle dipped below the surface.

If he’d had the opportunity to look up, he could have seen the occupants of the approaching boat. He tried one last lurch to grab the injection and lost his balance, crashing into the sea. He desperately grabbed for the netting, but the current from the approaching boat pushed him away. The needle was long gone. He would drown and she would die. The realization nearly made him vomit. He had to get back on the catamaran and get the other injection. One desperate grasp and he caught the rope. He pulled himself back onto the boat. Valeria was still blue. There was not enough time to go to her
and
get the other needle!

With his clothes weighed down with seawater, Alex moved
as quickly as possible to the cabin. He had placed the extra hypodermic needle in the drawer by the stove. He pulled it open to search for it, but it wasn’t there. A new ripple of terror ran through Alex. She would die without the injection! He pulled open every drawer and searched as his heart lurched into his throat. Maybe he had dropped it. Alex got down on his hands and knees and looked around on the floor, but there was nothing there. He could hear the engine from the oncoming boat. They would be boarding in minutes. He forced himself to take a breath. Where could it be? He focused. It had to be in the drawer where he had placed it. After one last search, he finally saw it. Holding it with an iron grip, he moved cautiously back to Valeria as the approaching boat tried to position itself alongside the Mariah. Alex prayed he could get the injection in and get her breathing before Aegemon stopped him.

When he returned, Valeria still wasn’t breathing. He removed the blanket from her waist and rolled her onto her side as he plunged the needle into her hip. His hands shook so badly that he was grateful it just needed to go into her hip and not a vein.

Immediately he dropped the needle, hoping that it would sink quickly. The three hours were still not up and the forty-foot yacht was now directly next to them. He breathed into her lungs over and over again. A voice from the yacht called to him but he ignored it and continued his desperate attempt to revive Valeria.

Suddenly, he heard the voice and an icy chill ran down his spine. It had been over 500 years since he had seen or heard Aegemon. But as Alex glanced up briefly, he saw him on the deck looking more like a wealthy yachtsman than a violent murderer. But then, he had been able to hide his murderous tendencies from Apollo who was one of the most gifted gods. Alex glanced at the name of the yacht, Oracle VI.

“Alexander! Let us help you with Cassandra!” Aegemon said in his most soothing voice. Alex knew that voice well—Aegemon used that voice to calm his soon-to-be victims just before the slaughter. The voice assured the victim that there was no immediate danger. Still, Alex knew that to be his deadliest voice.

Glancing up at the yacht, Alex thought how absurd it was that Aegemon had named his boat ‘Oracle’. He wondered if Aegemon’s intention was to announce to the world that he was an oracle—which he was not—or as a banner of his accomplishment in purging the world of Apollo’s oracles.

Between breathes into Valeria, Alex tried to count how many men were with Aegemon. He was certain he could take a few of them. He saw three on the bridge. Two were on the ladder and then Aegemon, himself. With at least six of them, Alex knew that a battle would simply result in his death—as well as Valeria’s.

Three men boarded the Mariah as Alex continued his attempt to revive his beloved. Her body felt so cold and limp. It reminded him of the same scene from all those years ago.

There was a tap on Alex’s shoulder. She needed thirty more seconds until she could leave the icy water. Then, Alex had the morose fear that perhaps she had already been taken by the curse. Perhaps that was why she wasn’t breathing and all of this had been for nothing—again the curse had prevailed. Valeria’s lips were still blue but Alex forced himself to abandon that thought.
Her heart had been beating!
Was it still? There was no time to check. He continued breathing into her mouth.

One of the men threw Alex aside and his face hit the corner of a rail. Alex rolled back to his feet, and lunged for them, desperate to provide Valeria the last few seconds. The man was pulling her from the water as Alex hit him from behind and knocked him off balance for a few precious seconds. Alex glanced at his watch and sighed with relief—the time was up! He
rolled and reached out to pull her into his arms and out of the water. Then he laid his head on her chest and panicked when he heard nothing. One of Aegemon’s men grabbed him from behind, but Alex clung to her as tightly, refusing to release her until...then he heard it—her heart was still beating! It was weak, but her heart was still beating. She was still alive! She had survived the curse. It had worked!

One of the men pulled Alex to his feet and slammed a fist into his face. Alex felt the impact but it was dulled by the cold and by his elation. As his head spun to the side and he tried to gain focus he heard Aegemon say dismissively, “Throw him in.”

It didn’t require much effort and Alex was treading water. He tried to pull up on the ropes of the catamaran. One of the men pulled out a black stick and wrapped it against Alex’s fingers. He heard the crunch and could feel that most of his fingers had been broken. As the man went to hit his other hand, Alex released it and dropped into the sea. He could not afford to have both hands broken! Broken fingers could heal in minutes but because his body was also battling hypothermia, he couldn’t risk that it might take longer.

Alex kicked his legs and arms hoping that would help to keep his mind sharp. He would need that if they were to survive. Then one of Aegemon’s crewmembers tossed Valeria over his shoulder and carried her onto the yacht. The brute tossed her down on Aegemon’s deck without a care. Alex watched her body and saw no sign that she was breathing. Had she survived the curse, only to die now? The man with the black stick crouched down by Valeria and slapped her several times and the sound made Alex shudder. Then he saw her begin to move. He watched as she vomited seawater and took a deep, gasping inhalation.

“Aegemon, please. Let her live. She’s done nothing to you,” Alex said between hard shivers.

Waving off Alex’s request, Aegemon said, “What she has
done to me is
none
of your concern!”

Alex’s feet went numb.

“But why? Aegemon, why can’t you let us…” A wave splashed Alex and he choked. “Why can’t you leave us alone? We are nothing to you. And you…” The shivering was overtaking him but as long as he could keep Aegemon talking to him, they still had a chance. Alex wondered again, if Aegemon, or any of his men, would get close enough to be infected or if all of this had been a waste.

As his arms started to go numb, Alex fought to keep his legs moving rapidly, to keep the blood flowing through them. He knew that he didn’t have long until he would sink. But perhaps, at least, she would survive.

The cold begged him to accept death. But he would not accept failure after all this time; his future was with her! He worked harder and fought the overwhelming seduction of the cold. Alex wondered how long it might be until he held her in his arms again. He wondered if he ever would. That thought created a rage of adrenalin that began to course throughout his body and kept him moving, despite the conditions.

Aegemon’s men tied the Mariah to the yacht.

A comforting darkness enveloped Valeria. She felt it and wondered if it was death calling. A kaleidoscope effect began around the edges of her range of light that was creeping under her eyelids.

She wanted to tell Alex. She wanted to see him and for him to know that she was all right. The effect increased and then she saw the vision.

The man was beautiful with light brown hair and soft blue eyes. His hand stroked her face gently. “Child, I must leave you.”

Valeria could feel the stroke of his warm hand on her face. But she knew it wasn’t Alex. Maybe she was hallucinating. She heard her voice but it sounded more confident.

“Lord, the world will be darker without you.” She bowed.

Apollo glanced to the horizon. “Cassandra, I must warn you that history will not be kind to either of us.”

She covered her mouth. “Lord, you are the god of poetry and music! How could otherwise be written?”

“Do not trouble yourself! Reason does not always play well with history or politics.” He looked up, wearily. “There will be books written that are said to be prophesies of my precious oracles. They will call them The Sibylline Oracle.” His eyes narrowed. “Child, there is only one book that is The Sibylline Oracle. Do you recall?”

“The visions that Myrdd recorded?”

Smiling, he brushed her shoulder. “Yes. It is close to your heart. Our dear friend Myrdd holds your secrets.”

His light blue eyes showed a tremendous sadness, “There will be a great war in Troy. I see hardships for you. I wish I could eliminate them. I cannot.” Apollo sighed. “I have come to tell you that you must leave Troy if you are to survive. Remember that the walls of Troy will be your key.”

“Lord, my family will not believe even my words that Troy would be unsafe.”

Glancing toward the heavens, Apollo said, “You must convince them, as that alone will lead you to your destiny.”

Apollo smiled as he stroked her head. “Child, know that you will always be in my heart!”

“And you in mine, Lord!”

With a furrowed brow, he added, “Until you forget…” Then he smiled wistfully. “My oracle, Alexander, will seek you out. He must take you to your destiny. Your destiny is not an easy path, but it is worthy of my most favorite of all oracles!” He smiled kindly.

Valeria saw a cold, muddy land with many tents made from animal hides. A community fire with large pots hanging over it blazed in the center of the establishment. She saw a reflection in one of the pots and, to Valeria’s surprise, she realized that it was her own.

She warmed her hands by the fire as she glanced at her surroundings. The warmth felt good. There was a woman romantically teasing a man and then kissing him delicately. Cassandra sighed.

A beautiful, older woman stood next to her. “You look at other girls and their lovers with longing. But, Cassandra, you would not do well as an ordinary girl. Ordinary girls are not princesses...or priestesses,” the woman admonished.