She tried to use her powers on the dying woman, but felt Tamis struggling against her.
It was close to midnight when the old priestess finally died. There was no movement or sound to indicate her passing. One moment her spirit flickered faintly, the next it was gone. Derae did not weep, though sadness filled her. Covering Tamis’ face, she returned to her own room and climbed into bed.
Leucion had left by the bedside a jug of water and a bowl of fruit. But neither hungry nor thirsty, she drifted into a deep sleep.
The sound of music awoke her and she opened her eyes to an unfamiliar scene. She was beside a great lake sparkling in a natural bowl at the centre of a range of tall, snow-cloaked mountains. Beside her sat a woman of wondrous beauty, tall and elegantly formed, wearing a long chiton of shimmering gold.
‘Tamis?’ whispered Derae.
‘As once I was,’ answered the priestess, reaching out and
tentatively touching Derae’s arm. ‘What can I say to you?’ she asked. ‘How can I ask for forgiveness? I should never have lied, nor should I have meddled. Pride is not a gift of the Source and I fell victim to it. But we have little time, Derae, and I have much to tell you. Those ancient gateways I showed you, across continents and oceans—you must not use them. You must not pit yourself against the Dark God, or his servants. They will corrupt you.’
‘I can fight them alone,’ said Derae. ‘It is what you trained me for.’
‘Please, Derae, listen to me! Go from the Temple. Find Parmenion. Do anything you will—but do not follow my path.’
Derae laughed then. ‘Where were your doubts, Tamis, when you led the raiders to me, when I was tied behind the leader’s horse? Where were they whenyoufloated above me, blocking my fears, urging me to rut with Parmenion and be damned for it?’
Tamis fell back from the Spartan’s anger. ‘No, please! I have asked forgiveness of you. Please?’
‘Oh, Tamis, my friend,’ said Derae softly, her eyes cold. ‘I give you my forgiveness. But I saw how you prevented the last Dark Birth. How clever of you – to enter the girl’s mind and get her to leap from the tower. Perhaps that is the method I will choose this time. I will think on it.’
‘Stop this! I beg you, Derae. I was wrong. Do not continue my folly.’
Derae closed her eyes. ‘I must stop the Dark Birth. You took away my life, Tamis -you lied, deceived, manipulated. If the Dark God succeeds, all is for nothing. I won’t have that! lama Spartan and I will not surrender in this fight. Now,’ she said, taking the woman’s arm, ‘tell me allyou know about the Birth.’
7 cannot!’
‘You owe me, Tamis! For all I have lost. Now tell me. Or I swear I will bring death to Philip ofMacedon, and all other servants of the Dark God.’
Tears welled in Tamis’ eyes. ‘You are my punishment,’ she whispered. ‘You are Tamis born again.’
‘Tell me what I need to know,’ Derae urged.
‘Do you promise me you will not kill?’
‘I promise you I will never stoop to murder.’
Tamis sighed. ‘Then I will trust you, though my soul may be damned if you betray me. You have seen the events in Macedonia? Of course you have. The rise of Philip, the birth of a nation. That birth heralds the coming of the Dark God. His body of flesh will be conceived in Samothrace, during the Night of the Third Mystery at High Summer; it is all arranged. The mother witt be Olympias, daughter of Neoptelemus, King of Epirus. The father will be Philip of Macedon. He has been primed, bewitched. You have but one real opportunity to succeed. In order for the Dark God to live, the conception must take place when the stars reach a certain alignment which will last for only an hour on that one night. If you are determined to go on with this quest, then you must journey to Samothrace and disrupt the ceremony.’
‘High Summer is only ten days from now,’ said Derae. ‘How can I reach Samothrace in time?’