Danae hesitated. “I can sneak past the guards.”
Manto barked a hollow laugh. “I’m not talking about the guards. I’m talking about the gods.”
16
The Wrath of Apollo
“You’re wrong.”
Manto downed the rest of the wine and threw the empty amphora to the side.
Danae did not move. “If the gods wanted me dead, I’d be on my way to the Underworld by now...wouldn’t I?”
“That’s what they want you to think.”
Danae opened her mouth then closed it again. Everything Manto said was infuriatingly vague.
“I’m going to need something stronger.” They reached into their bag and pulled out a pipe and a small pouch of herbs. “Don’t go anywhere.” Lithos whined as Manto lit the pipe from the fire, then sat down again and took a deep drag. Smoke curled from their lips. It had a sweet, earthy quality.
“I was a child when they took my father. The last thing he did was make me swear I’d become the watcher and when I found you, I was to help you at all costs.” They shook their head. “What a fucking disappointment.”
Danae tried to keep the irritation out of her voice as she knelt on the ground, pressing her fists into the earth. “I’m sorry about your father. But I have no idea what you’re talking about. I came to Delphi to be cured of a curse. I don’t know how I destroyed the oracle or who the Children of Prometheus are.”
Manto looked at her as though she’d just said she didn’t know who Zeus was.
“The Children of Prometheus are the enlightened outlaws who follow the teachings of Prometheus, the liberator of mankind. We fight for knowledge and free will. And it is our sacred duty to preserve the Titan’s prophecy and facilitate the coming of the last daughter.” They pointed their pipe at Danae. “You.”
She swallowed. Every child in Greece grew up hearing the story of the Titanomachy and the Titans’ eventual defeat at the hands of the Olympian Twelve. She could see her mother now, sitting by the hearth, smoothing her tunic as she prepared to tell the tale.
Before mankind walked the earth, the Twelve Gods were locked in a cosmic battle with the Titans. The stars wept and the heavens rang with the terrible cries of war.It seemed like the destruction would never end, for both sides were strong and fairly matched. But then Prometheus betrayed his evil brethren, telling Zeus of their secret encampment in exchange for his freedom. The gods staged an ambush while the Titans slept and threw their enemies down into the depths of Tartarus, a prison from which they could never escape. The war was won, bringing peace to the earth. As a gift for his new lord, Prometheus fashioned the first man’s body from river clay, and Zeus breathed his divine spark into him, creating mortal life. But by nature, Prometheus was devious. Ever seeking a way to gain power, the Titan stole one of Zeus’s thunderbolts and gave it to the kings of men, so they might revolt against their creator. But they were weak and even in possession of a holy shard of lightning they were no match for the might of Olympus. The rebellion was quashed, and as punishment Zeus chained Prometheus to the highest peak of the Caucasus Mountains at the end of the world, forever to be tormented by an eagle ripping open his stomach and eating his liver, only for it to grow back and be devoured again the next day.
“What’s the prophecy?” Danae whispered.
Manto took a drag. Smoke twisted from their mouth as they spoke. “When the prophet falls, and gold that grows bears no fruit, the last daughter will come. She will end the reign of thunder and become the light that frees mankind.”
The hairs on Danae’s arms prickled, as if an unseen breeze had blown over her skin. She shuddered and pushed the feeling away.
“Why do you think it’s about me?”
“You broke the oracle.”
“It could be referring to a different prophet.”
Manto fixed her with a sardonic stare. “Ah yes, because oracles are common and people destroy them all the time. And what did you say earlier about a golden apple tree?”
Gold that grows bears no fruit.
Danae pushed the words from her mind. “It’s a coincidence.”
“There are no coincidences. Ask the fates.” Another lick of smoke curled from Manto’s lips. “You are the last daughter, whether you like it or not.”
A weighted silence fell between them.
“Does everyone in Delphi know what happened to the oracle?” Danae whispered.
Manto snorted. “Of course not. You think the priestesses of Apollo would want the world knowing a fisherman’s daughter walked right into their sacred oracle and destroyed it? Think of the coin they’d lose.”
“Then how did you know?”
