The Oracles of Troy (The Adventures of Odysseus)

Apheidas pointed to a path that led between high bushes to the centre of the garden. Helenus hesitated a moment, then followed the line of flagstones to a border of low shrubs surrounding a large, black square in the ground. From the edge of the garden he had thought it to be a pond, but as he got nearer he noticed there was no hint of reflection in its dark waters and that a flight of stone steps descended into its depths on one side. Realising he was looking at a pit, and that the strange hissing sound was emanating from its heart, he stepped closer.

‘Careful,’ Apheidas warned. ‘Fall in there and Priam will have lost another son.’

Helenus nevertheless edged forward and looked down. The darkness was deep and all-consuming at first, as if a hole had been torn from the living world to reveal the black chasm of Tartarus below. As he stared he became aware that something at the base of the Stygian pit was catching the starlight, causing it to glisten weakly in a hundred different places. Then he saw the points of reflected light were moving – faint, slithering signs of life that seemed to intensify and spread as he watched, until the whole of the void was filled with a hideous writhing. He stepped back and shuddered.

‘Snakes! So this is where you keep the sacrifices for Apollo.’

Apheidas nodded. ‘My ancestors have always been devotees of the archer god. We were warriors, not priests, but one of our duties before my father was exiled from Troy was to breed snakes for the temple. He carried it on in Alybas, after he fled to Greece, and I revived the tradition when I returned to Troy. Apollo’s priests place a high value on serpents as sacrifices, but they have other uses too. Their venom, for instance.’

He placed an arm around Helenus’s shoulders and steered him back towards the main hall.

‘You don’t need to kill Deiphobus with your own hands. The right kind of snake left somewhere that only your brother will find it; a quick bite on the hand; then Helen will soon be your wife and you’ll be next in line to rule Troy.’

Helenus shook off Apheidas’s heavy arm as they reached the cloister.

‘I don’t know what you hope to gain from this, Apheidas,’ he said, turning to face him, ‘but you’ve overestimated my abilities. I’m not sure I can do what you’re suggesting.’

‘Have you already forgotten your anger after you were humiliated in the palace?’ Apheidas said, forcefully. ‘Don’t you care that Priam chose Deiphobus over you, or that he just expects you to give him the oracles tomorrow evening? He and your brother treated you like a child, but it’s up to you to prove you’re a man.’

‘But I’m not a man!’ Helenus protested. ‘At least, I’m not the man you think me to be; nor am I the sort of man Deiphobus and my father are. I hate them for humiliating me tonight, but I couldn’t easily take their places. Even if I was to do all you say, murdering my brother and taking the throne when Priam dies, who am I to rule over such a great city as Troy? In peacetime it would be difficult enough, but with an army of Greeks laying siege to Ilium it’d be almost impossible. Besides, the walls aren’t as impenetrable as we thought. The oracles my … the oracles that were revealed to me predict Troy will fall if the Greeks can do three things – I told you that! If Agamemnon finds out what they are –’

‘He won’t,’ Apheidas said through clenched teeth, his impatience becoming evident. ‘And you aren’t as weak as you think. With my help Helen will be yours and you will be the one to inherit your father’s throne.’

‘Stop pressuring me!’ Helenus shouted. ‘Don’t you realise your words are treasonous, that I could have you killed for the things you’ve said tonight?’

Apheidas stared at him through narrowed eyes.

‘That would depend on whom Priam believed – a defiant, ambitious son with everything to gain from his father’s death, or a loyal captain claiming he was coerced into joining a plot against the throne. But let’s not succumb to our tempers, Helenus. Take some time alone, here in the garden, to think on what I’ve said. If you want Helen, I’ll be waiting by the hearth to discuss what we can do. If your anger and ambition aren’t matched by your courage, then you can return to the palace and neither of us will mention this incident again – to one another or to anybody else. Do you agree?’

Helenus gave a surly nod and turned to look at the dark garden, waiting until he heard the door shut behind him before releasing a long breath and letting his shoulders slump in despair. He quickly tensed again when he saw a figure emerge from the shadows beneath one of the cloisters.

‘Don’t be afraid, my lord.’ It was the servant girl, Astynome. ‘I followed you into the garden to see if you would agree to kill Deiphobus.’

‘The testament of a maid won’t help Apheidas if he intends to accuse me of plotting against my father.’

‘I’m not here on his orders.’