Shadows on the Aegean Read online

  Also by J. Suzanne Frank

  Reflections in the Nile

  COPYRIGHT

  Copyright © 1998 by J. Suzanne Frank

  All rights reserved.

  Warner Books, Inc.,

  Hachette Book Group

  237 Park Avenue

  New York, NY 10017

  Visit our website at www.HachetteBookGroup.com

  First eBook Edition: October 2009

  ISBN: 978-0-446-93014-7

  Contents

  ALSO BY J. SUZANNE FRANK

  COPYRIGHT

  GLOSSARY

  THE CLANS OF AZTLAN

  FOREWORD

  PROLOGUE

  PART I

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  PART II

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  PART III

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  PART IV

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  PART V

  CHAPTER 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  CHAPTER 23

  EPILOGUE

  AUTHOR’S AFTERWORD

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  In memory of my grandmothers:

  Katrina Hawthorn Roy, 1907–1996,

  who taught me a love for beauty and kindness,

  and Irene Mings Green, 1911–1998,

  who taught me a love for God and a zest for life.

  GLOSSARY

  Suggested Ancient Pronunciations

  adept—name for scholar-student

  agape (ah-gáh-pee)—a Greek designation of divine, unconditional love

  akra (áhk-rah)—Greek for tip

  Alayshiya (ah-láy-shee-ya)—ancient Cyprus

  al-khem (áhl-kim)—literally “from Egypt”; the precursor to alchemy, and ultimately chemistry

  Apis (áy-pis)—the name of the region’s bull god

  ari-kat (áh-ree-khat)—Egyptian term for synthetic, used most often in reference to stone

  artemisia (áhr-tee-mee-ja)—the Greek name for wormwood; the herb distilled into absinthe

  Arus (áh-russ)—son of Zelos

  Atenis (ah-tín-is)—daughter of Zelos and Ileana; chieftain of the Clan of the Muse

  athanati (ahth-áh-nah-tee)—Greek for “immortal”

  athanor (áh-tha-nor)—a beehive-shaped oven used by alchemists

  atmu (áht-moo)—Egyptian for dusk

  Aztlan (áhst-lan)—the fictional name of the empire inhabiting the Aegean in the mid-1800s B.C.E.; also the name for the central island

  Cheftu—(chef-too)

  cubit—measurement equaling eighteen to twenty-two inches

  Daedaledion (dáy-duh-lée-dee-on)—the astrological/astronomical observatory in Knossos

  Daedalus (dáy-duh-lus)—inventor of the Labyrinth, the air sail

  decan—chronological measurement, roughly an hour

  Dion (dée-on)—son of Zelos; chieftain of the Clan of the Vine

  eee—Greek exclamation

  ellenismos (ell-ín-ees-mos)—term for the enlightenment of Greek culture

  eros (áir-os)—a Greek designation of carnal, erotic love

  Etesian (i-tée-sjan)—Greek winds from May to October

  Golden—term for the ruling Clan of Aztlan

  hemu neter (him-óo-nee-ter)—Egyptian designation for first among the physicians

  henti (hín-tee)—Egyptian measure of distance

  hequetai (héck-a-tay)—Greek for political advisory board or cabinet

  Hreesos (hrée-sos)—the Golden One; title for the ruler of Aztlan

  Ileana (ill-ee-án-ah)—the Queen of Heaven; Zelos’ wife; Kela-Ileana

  Irmentis (er-mín-tis)—youngest daughter of Zelos and Ileana

  ka (kah)—Egyptian word for the soul

  Kalo taxidi (kah-loh-tax-ée-dee)—Greek blessing on the dead, wishing “good journey”

  kefi—Greek for a time of revel

  Kela (káy-lah)—derivative of kalos, Greek for beauty; the ancient mother-goddess

  khaibit (kháy-bit)—Egyptian word for vampire

  kheft (keft)—Egyptian word for demon

  kollyva (kóll-ee-vah)—Greek dinner of the dead; favorite foods are prepared and shared

  kreenos—lily-derivative drug

  kur—Egyptian measurement of dry weight

  Ma’at (may-aht)—Egyptian representation of justice and universal balance

  maeemu—Greek for monkey

  mafkat—Egyptian word for powdered turquoise

  Manoula—Greek for Mommy

  mastic—an adhesive from the lentisk tree

  Megaloshana’a—the Great Year

  Megaron (még-ah-ron)—an audience chamber

  mnasons (máy-son)—Aztlan priests who specialize in building and architecture

  natron—an Egyptian salt used in embalming and chemistry

  Neotne—a female survivor of the Mt. Calliope eruption

  Nestor—son of Zelos; Aztlantu ambassador/envoy

  neter—physician

  Niko (née-koh)—friend of Phoebus; of the Clan of the Spiral

  nome—the districts of Egypt

  okh (óhkh)—an exclamation

  Pateeras—Greek for Father or Papa

  Phoebus (fée-bus)—son of Zelos, the heir to the throne

  pithoi (pl.)—Greek for large clay storage jars

  pothos—a Greek designation of ambitious desire where the object is conquered

  prion (pree-on)—a specific type of protein

  psyche (sí-kee)—Greek for soul

  Ptah—(tah)—Egyptian god of craftsmen

  rekkit—Egyptian for the common people

  rhyton (rí-ton)—a vase or flask used in offerings and at state functions

  sa’a (sáy-ah)—son of the heart

  sem -priest—the highest rung of the Egyptian priesthood

  senet (sin-étt)—Egyptian board game

  Sibylla (si-béll-ah)—Greek for prophetess or seer

  skeela (skée-lah)—Greek word for bitch

  skia (skee-áh)—Greek word for a shade or phantom

  Sobek—Egyptian crocodile-headed god

  Spiralmaster—title of the clan chieftain of the Scholomance

  tenemos (tín-i-mos)—sacred enclosure

  Theros (théer-os)—Greek word for summertime, name of the lagoon

  Therio (théer-ee-o)—Greek word for beast

  theea (thée-ah)—Greek word for aunt

  tholos; tholoi (pl.) (thó-los)—an underground grave

  tsunami (sóo-nam-ee)—Japanese term for tidal wave used in geology

  udjet (ood-jét)—the Eye of Horus symbol

  ukhedu (ook-hay-doo)—Egyptian concept for a physical/spiritual source of illness and discontent; transmissible to the body through the bowels

  ushebti (oo-shéb-tee)—an Egyptian funeral statue that served as a proxy for the dead in the afterlife

  w’eb -priest—the lowest rung of the Egyptian priesthood

  w’rer -priest—the second rung of the Egyptian priesthood

  Yazzo (yáh-zoh)—a Greek cry to move forward, to follow, to come

  Zelos—the king, the Golden Bull of Aztlan

  THE CLANS OF AZTLAN

  Clan of the Horn—Hydroussa and Tinos; capital Kouvari; chieftain Sibylla

  Clan of the Vine—Naxos; capital Demeter; chieftain Bacchi, Dion

  Clan of the Wave—Siros
and Myknossos; capital Ariadne; chieftain Posidios, Iason

  Clan of the Stone—Paros; capital Pluto; chieftain Nekros

  Clan of the Flame—Milos; capital Prometheus; chieftain Talos

  Clan of the Spiral—Aztlan; Spiralmaster Imhotep, Cheftu

  Cult of the Snake—Nios; capital Basilea; Kela-Ata Embla, Selena

  Cult of the Bull—Folegandros; capital Atlas; Minos

  Clan of the Muse—Delos; capital Arachne; chieftain Atenis

  Clan Olimpi—Aztlan; chieftain Zelos, Phoebus

  FOREWORD

  The Elixir of Life. The Fountain of Youth. The Philosopher’s Stone. Under different names and guises, we have searched for immortality throughout time. Using religion, science, and myth, we have sought eternity. But are these all the same: dawn, noon, and evening of one day? Are they different facets of the same truth? What determines myth, and what defines fact? Is truth hidden in the shadows of fable? Hidden, because ultimately we believe only what we see.

  PROLOGUE

  THE WORLD EXPLODED IN LIGHT and I felt myself freed—the constraints of skin, blood, and bone slipped away and I knew that the core of my person, my ka, had left its ancient Egyptian shell.

  No longer was I wearing the flesh, the mind, the persona, of the priestess RaEmhetepet. For the first time in more than a year I was purely Chloe—a twentieth-century diplomatic brat; an artist; a retired air force lieutenant; a Levi’s-wearing and coffee-drinking English-American. I was no longer ancient or Egyptian. None of RaEm’s thoughts or perceptions clouded my mind.

  I had no curiosity about RaEm’s missing Egyptian lover, Phaemon. Instead I wondered about my Egyptologist sister, Camille. I thought in English, then Egyptian. The order had been reversed. I had vivid recollections of traveling at fifty-five miles per hour, of transatlantic flights, of chocolate, coffee, and cigarettes. Of diet Coke.

  I was once more only myself.

  Before this concept settled, a scream of unbearable agony followed me through a channel of fire. It ripped at me, shredding a heart that beat only in a metaphysical sense.

  The fire burned me, consumed me, but did not destroy. My senses were jumbled so that I heard it and tasted it, instead of seeing it and smelling it. Through it all a cry, a plea torn from deepest soul, encircled, echoed around me.

  “Chloe!”

  I recognized the voice. My husband, Cheftu—my lover—taken from me by fate, or circumstance, or the divine. I felt his grief through the void. His pain was so intense, a cleaving ran down to my marrow. I wanted to join my voice to his, to reassure him … but what reassurance was there? Was this dying? Was this the end now, my battle service done and death really nothing more than not being?

  Yet I was!

  Suddenly, in the midst of the dreadful, pressing loneliness, I was comforted. A tangible sense of love, acceptance, and rightness flowed around me, billowed me up, carried me. It gave me ease. For a time—for time was meaningless—I rested.

  The physical pain that time travel brought surrounded me in an instant. I was taken from cool refreshment to the fire. I understood in a flash how gold felt. Heated, cooled, beaten, and molded … perfected.

  Tension coiled all around me, radiating from me and through me. I was being reduced, expanded, in an agony of displacement. My spirit self hunkered down, bracing, preparing to roll.

  A face appeared before me suddenly, a woman with blank blue eyes, curling black hair, a woman of striking beauty. A body to let, I realized. No one was home. Before I’d made a decision, I was flowing through her wide, empty stare. I screamed, and as her flesh became mine, my fear was given voice. Her skin shaped over me, stretching to my height, adapting to my blood, my DNA. Like a wetsuit, this new body tugged over my spirit, clothing it. A hundred million pins pressed into me as the carnal casing grew tighter, closing over me, my atoms readjusting, my cells merging into the empty carcass.

  The sensations were wrenching, too much to endure. As I gave myself into the drift of black peacefulness, I felt the rage, the hating frenzy, of another spirit, outside me.

  It shrieked, furious, lethal … and hopeless. “That body is mine!! ”

  PART I

  CHAPTER 1

  SIBYLLA?”

  They were gathered around her, nymphs and matrons, their heads clustered so that Sibylla could barely see the stalactites that hung like drops from the top of the cave—or the red lintel that cast a faint shadow on her face. Feeling uncommonly chilled, she allowed two of the Kela-Tenata healing priestesses to help her to her feet. They solicitously walked her out of the cave and into the fresh air.

  The beautiful land of Caphtor! It was the Season of the Snake, when the earth renewed itself as a serpent sheds its skin. Rains had fallen, misting the whole valley. In the distance, sunlight glinted off the distant dark waters of the Aegean. Faint winter shadows were cast in the dormant olive and grape groves surrounding this sacred mountain, the dwelling place of the oracle.

  Residence of the Sibylla.

  It’s my winter home, she thought. Breathing deeply to purify her body after the ecstasies of prophecy, she felt something cut into her ribs and looked down. Attire that seemed both ordinary and foreign clothed her. She wore a brightly patterned belled skirt and a tightly fitted, short-sleeved, waist-length jacket with very little front. An embroidered waist cincher pressed her full breasts up and out, blatantly visible through the sheer blouse she wore in winter.

  A curl of dark hair lay like a comma on her tawny breast … yet it looked odd. What was a comma? Sibylla shook her head, dispelling the strange impressions. She didn’t feel completely herself. Was a vital element of her psyche still traveling for the goddess Kela?

  Sibylla looked out then and shuddered. Instead of seeing the fields where olive and fruit still slept until spring, she saw destruction. A veil slipped over reality for a moment, and once again she became the oracle.

  The tiny village at the foot of the mountain was nothing more than a smoldering pile of ruins. White and gray particles fell from the sky, covering the ground, suffocating the vegetation, standing as deep as a child was tall. She looked at the faces of the women around her and saw them disfigured; blistered, bleeding, with charcoal tongues protruding from lipless mouths. She looked at a nymph, a bride-to-be, and shrieked in fright. Swollen with child, the girl fell into the flames, her screams rising momentarily above the roar of fire.

  “Mistress?” One of the charred bodies moved. Sibylla was rooted like a vine. “Mistress, the Kela is upon you?”

  “Flee!” she cried in a voice stronger, deeper, than her own. “Your days of peace and joy are limited in this valley! Beware the Season of the Lion! In his days, all will die, the earth itself will feel his wrath!” She looked over to the sea and saw a wall of water crash onto the land, stripping away henti of earth as if they were grains of sand. “Days of darkness, nights of fire! The earth will vomit you up, the sea will swallow you! Protect yourselves and your loved ones. You must flee, you must flee!”

  Shuddering and weeping, Sibylla collapsed to the ground. They clustered around her, no longer corpses but deeply frightened women. Respectfully they carried her inside to rest on her makeshift couch. Sibylla felt a malevolence stirring in the shadows. A skia dwelt here, an angry spirit with no body. She wept, her eyes closed. Sibylla wanted to beg them to stay, to not leave her alone with the skia, but exhaustion had sealed her mouth.

  “The Kela is still upon her,” she heard a woman whisper. “Her eyes are still green.”

  Green? Sibylla knew that she should be frightened by the news that her eyes were the wrong color, but she was heartened. Her eyes were green. My eyes are blue, she protested. Not anymore, said another voice inside her.

  Fleet steps pounded away from the mountain toward Knossos. She knew that other Kela-Tenata would arrive and take her away into the quiet of the Daedaledion. Nay! She must say more, tell about the mountains coughing blood and mortar, of skies where no stars were visible, of sunrises filled with gore, but
she was too tired, too weary. Your days are few, Sibylla wanted to say to the villagers. Please, please, you must go. The Lion comes, he will ravage. You can return, but you must go. Flee before the Lion.

  Flee!

  She awoke in darkness, her heart pounding as though she had run to Knossos. Sibylla stumbled to the mouth of the cave. Exhausted as usual after a period of prophesying, she accepted wine and preserved fruit from some of the village women. They worshiped her as an aspect of the Great Goddess. She spent the Season of the Snake, when she had fewer clan chieftain responsibilities, dwelling in this lonely cave fed by the local women. Here she administered wisdom and acted as the voice of the Kela.

  The Great Goddess was the giver and taker of all life. With one hand she created, with the other she destroyed. She was a pentad deity, represented as maiden, bride, matron, midwife, and hag. She was the progenitor of the bull god Apis, she was his seducer, his bride, his wife, and, eventually, his slayer. She was the moon, he was the sun; she was the odd numbers, he the even; she was serpent, swallow, and ax, he was lion, bull, and boot. The lives of the gods paralleled the life of the land; soon the land would reawaken and Sibylla would join the other priestesses in welcoming Kela.

  Sibylla would return soon to Kallistae and the palace. The seasons of growing and reaping would be upon the Aztlan empire and she would step once again into her position and authority. The chaos of Aztlan Island would all but erase the memory of these cool, quiet fields, the snow-capped mountains in the distance. This was the nineteenth summer, the summer of great change in the empire.

  Aztlan Empire? the voice inside her said. Where am I? Is this a Mexican resort? Please don’t tell me I’m an Aztec.

  Sibylla shuddered at the voice and forced her thoughts to this summer. Her cousin Phoebus would become Hreesos, the Golden Bull, while his father, Zelos, would be made athanati, immortal. Phoebus was nineteen; this summer the sun and moon would stand as one. This summer the new heir to the throne would be conceived. This summer would mark the end of the reign of Zelos and the beginning of Phoebus’ nineteen summers on the throne. The annual midsummer festival would be fourteen, not the usual seven days.