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quietly. "There's no use waiting longer. I see no reason to think that I'll
be
stronger tomorrow, or the next day, or that he will be weaker."
"Are you strong enough to stand against him?"
"In daylight I think I will be. But there is no certainty about the outcome.
He
has hurt me badly in the past. You must do all you can to see to it that he
gets
no help from his allies."
"I will do all I can. I am I was a soldier. But Dionysus isn't . . ."
"I understand."
"Can we count on help from anyone else?"
"Hephaestus is my friend, and would stand with us if he were here. I know of
no
other Olympians willing to risk their necks." Apollo paused, then added, "I
think that we can win, but I will need all the help that you can give."
"You can count on that."
"Let me tell you, my colleague," said Apollo, "that I have sworn a great oath
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to
foil Hades wherever and whenever I can, in this great game that we and others
play."
"I see it as no game, but war."
"It can be both. A war whose first battles were fought so long ago, that the
gods themselves can scarce remember. A game, with the whole world at stake."
Thirty-three
At dawn on the morning following the arrival of Dionysus, Shiva returned to
Corycus, with Theseus riding behind him on his flying bull.
Nestor had climbed to the roof of the temple of Apollo, intending to get a
view
over the city as the sun came up. He observed what appeared to be a mob of
angry
citizens, more or less spontaneously marching on the palace.
Nestor was about to report this to his two divine allies, when his eye was
caught by a startling image in the sky. Looking up, he saw in the distance
Nandi, with two man-shaped figures on his back, air-trotting downward as if
intending to land. Nearly as Nestor could tell, the creature was coming down
close to the edge of the Labyrinth opposite the palace.
The mob dispersed in panic, and the mercenary captain ran to tell the gods
who
had now become his companions.
Grumbling and discontent had been gradually becoming more and more open among
the officers and men of the Palace Guard, and most of them were now ready to
join the revolt. Unfortunately much of the Guard's strength had been
dispersed
to distant regions of the island, as Perses became doubtful of its loyalty.
Wild rumors had been flying regarding Shiva's whereabouts. There had been
speculation that the God of Destruction was really a coward, and had fled the
island altogether at the first hint of serious opposition.
Others feared that Shiva was only standing back a little, to encourage all
his
enemies, mortal and divine, to raise their heads, that they might be more
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readily and thoroughly cut down.
And still others feared, with good reason, that an even stronger and more
terrible god than Shiva might now appear on Shiva's side.
* * *
When Nestor had reported Shiva's arrival to Apollo and Dionysus, Apollo took
leave of his two allies, saying he had to try to find out what Hades was up
to.
He hoped he would be able to rejoin them soon.
Dionysus and Nestor rode the chariot back into the Labyrinth, there to join
Sarpedon and the other loyal soldiers in defending Daedalus.
On the way, they wondered who the second rider might have been, on Nandi's
back.
Alex observed, "Well, I don't like him or her, whoever it was. Shiva is very
powerful indeed. But Shiva can only be in one place at a time."
Also Shiva tended to treat people with an arrogance that quickly made
enemies,
if only secret ones, out of the majority of those he met.
The bull Nandi had come down to land inside the Maze, only a few hundred
yards
from its very center. "The Face of Dionysus will yet be yours," said the God
of
Destruction to his human client, nudging him unceremoniously to the ground,
so
unexpectedly that Theseus failed to get his feet under him in time, and sat
down
hard. "Stay right here, so I can find you quickly when I need you. I will
kill
this God of Many Names, this Great Party-Goer, again, and as soon as he is
dead
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