The Oracles of Troy (The Adventures of Odysseus)

‘My daughter is against you, though that would encourage most to decide in your favour. I sense Apheidas and others also remain sceptical, and their opinions are less easily dismissed. As for myself, I’m inclined to believe you, Omeros.’

‘Thank you, my lord,’ Omeros replied, kneeling.

‘I only said I’m inclined to believe you,’ Priam warned. ‘There are still things about this horse that sit uneasily. Perhaps you can explain why the Greeks went to the effort of dragging it to the top of the ridge? And if they meant for us to accept it as a gift to be taken into the city, why did they make it too large for the gates?’

‘Because Odysseus is a cunning man. He can anticipate how others think and creates his schemes to meet their expectations. The horse was brought here so that every person in Troy could see it, so that there would be a public debate about what to do with it.’

‘What’s it matter to the Greeks what we do with it?’ Apheidas interrupted.

‘Because this isn’t just a gift to you or an offering to the gods – its head contains the Palladium, the key to Troy’s safety, and the Greeks put it in there for a reason. They daren’t destroy it, for fear of increasing Athena’s wrath and making it impossible to ever return and resume the siege – which Agamemnon still has a mind to do. And the last thing the King of Men wants is for you to take the Palladium back inside the city walls and ensure Troy’s invulnerability once more. That’s why the horse was built too big for the gates. But if the Trojans destroy the Palladium, you’ll bring a curse down on your own heads and guarantee a Greek victory if they come back. You see, Odysseus had calculated you would burn the wooden horse and the Palladium with it. He just hadn’t accounted for me in his plans.’

As he spoke, a loud crash echoed across the valley. Every head turned towards the Scaean Gate, which was shrouded in dust. As the brown mist blew away in the wind, they could see that the large wooden portals had been removed from their hinges. Above the exposed archway, teams of men were standing around a hole in the parapet. On the ground below was an immense block of stone, the fall of which had caused the booming sound they had heard. Deiphobus had not delayed in carrying out his father’s orders and was already dismantling the walls so that the horse could be taken inside the city.

‘In the name of Apollo, stop them!’ Cassandra wailed. ‘Father, please believe me. There are men inside the horse. I have seen it!’

Astynome heard the words and turned to look up at the horse. Now she understood: Odysseus had hidden warriors inside the large wooden body, and among them was Eperitus. She looked at the faces all around her, staring up at the great effigy as it towered over them and pondering Cassandra’s desperate warning. Surely they would see that they were being tricked, that Omeros and his story were just another part of Odysseus’s scheme to smuggle armed men into the city – to have the Trojans themselves carry out his plan. Within moments they would be calling for firewood and torches from the city; the horse would be transformed into a blazing pyre, consuming the hopes of the Greeks – and her beloved Eperitus – with it. And Astynome was powerless to stop them.

Then the silence was broken – not by angry shouts, but a long, low laugh. Priam was staring at his daughter, with her wide eyes and torn black robes, and laughing. With his shoulders shaking, he laid his head back and laughed out loud. Idaeus joined him, then Omeros. The crowd followed, slowly at first but with growing mirth as the absurd idea of a horse full of soldiers took hold of them. Even Apheidas was infected by it, his amused smile broadening until he broke into billows of laughter, holding his hands to his sides.

‘Take the horse into the city,’ Priam ordered, still smiling.

Knowing Apollo’s curse had defeated her again, Cassandra threw her hands over her ears and ran as fast as she could to the ford.

Chapter Thirty-six

VOICES FROM HOME

Eperitus was woken by a hand gently shaking his shoulder.

‘Won’t be long now,’ he heard Odysseus’s voice say in a dry-throated whisper.