We passed through the maze of rocks for a time, until we came to a hidden hollow set into a steep hillside, like the crook of an elbow. The narrow defile was strewn with tumbled rocks and trees weirdly sculpted by the wind.

'This is where I leave you,' said Olympias. 'Find a place to tie your hone, and wait. The priestess will come for you.'

'But where is the temple?'

'The priestess will take you to the temple.'

'But I thought there was a great temple to mark the site of the Sibyl's shrine.'

Olympias nodded. 'You mean the temple that Daedalus built when he came to earth on this spot after his long flight. Daedalus built it in honour of Apollo, and decorated it with panels all in hammered gold and covered it with a golden roof. So they say in the village of Cumae. But the golden temple is only a legend, or else the earth swallowed it up long ago. That happens here sometimes – the earth gapes open and devours whole houses. Nowadays the temple is in a hidden, rocky place near the mouth of the Sibyl's cave. Don't worry, the priestess will come. You brought a token gift of gold or silver?'

'I brought the few coins I had with me in my room.'

'It will be enough. Now I leave you.' She tugged impatiently at the reins of her horse.

'But wait! How shall we find you again?'

'Why must you find me at all?' There was an unpleasant edge in her voice. 'I brought you here, as you asked. Can't you find your own way back?'

I looked at the maze of rocks. The descending fog swirled overhead and a low wind moaned amid the stones. I shrugged uncertainly.

'Very well,' she said, 'when the Sibyl is done with you, ride on a short distance towards the sea. Over the crest of a grassy hill you'll come upon the village of Cumae. Iaia's house is at the far end of the village. One of the slaves will let you in, if – she paused uncertainly – 'if I'm not there. Wait for me.'

'And where else would you be?'

She rode away without answering, and quickly vanished amid the boulders.

'What vital business draws her to Cumae every day?' I said to myself. 'And why is she so eager to be rid of us? Well, Eco, what do you think of this place?'

Eco clutched himself and shivered, not from the cold.

'I agree. There is something here that sets my teeth on edge.' I looked at the maze of rocks all around us. The wind moaned and whistled through the wormholes. 'You can't see farther than a few feet in any direction, thanks to all these jagged boulders. A whole army could be hidden out of sight, an assassin behind every rock.'

We dismounted and led the horses deeper into the crook of the hill. A bald band had been worn into a twisted branch, showing where many others before us had tethered their horses. I secured the beasts, then felt Eco tugging urgently at my sleeve.

'Yes, what do you-'

I stopped short. From nowhere, it seemed, a figure passed between two nearby stones, following the same path that Olympias had taken. The descending fog swallowed all noise of his horse's footfalls, so that the figure passed by as silently as a phantom. He was visible for only an instant, draped in a dark hooded cloak. 'What do you make of that?' I whispered.

Eco leaped to the tallest of the nearby rocks and scrambled atop it, finding holds for his fingers amid the wormholes. He peered into the middle distance. For an instant his face lit up and then darkened again. He waved to me but kept his eyes on the maze of rocks. By way of signal, he pinched his chin and drew his fingers away to a point.

'A long beard?' I said. Eco nodded. 'Do you mean the rider is Dionysius, the philosopher?' He nodded again. 'How peculiar. Can you still see him?' Eco frowned and shook his head. Then he brightened again. He pointed his finger as the arrow flies, in an arc that ascended and then fell, indicating something farther afield. He made his sign for Olympias's tresses. 'You can see the girl?' He nodded yes, then no as she passed from sight. 'And does it seem that the philosopher follows her?' Eco watched for a moment longer, then looked down at me with an expression of grave concern and slowly nodded.

'How odd. How very odd. If you can see no more, come down.' Eco watched for a moment longer, then sat on the rock and pushed himself off, landing with a grunt. He hurried to the horses and indicated the knotted tethers.

'Ride after them? Don't be ridiculous. There's no reason to assume that Dionysius means her any harm. Perhaps he isn't following her at all.' Eco put his hands on his hips and looked at me the way that Bethesda so often does, as if I were a foolish child. 'Very well, I'll admit it's odd that he should pass by on the same obscure path only moments behind us, unless he has some secret reason. Perhaps it was us he was following, and not Olympias, in which case we've given him the slip.'

Eco was not satisfied. He crossed his arms and fretted. 'No,' I said firmly. 'We are not going after them. And no, you are not going off on your own. By now Olympias is probably already in Cumae. Besides, I doubt that a young woman as strong and capable as Olympias is in need of protection from an old greybeard like Dionysius.'

Eco wrinkled his brow and kicked at a stone. With his arms still crossed he began to walk toward the tall rock, as if he meant to climb it again. An instant later he froze and spun around, as did I.

The voice was strange and unnerving – gruff, wheezing, barely recognizable as that of a woman. Its owner wore a blood-red hooded cloak and stood with her hands joined within the voluminous sleeves so that no part of her body was visible. From the deep shadow that hid her face the voice issued like the moaning of a phantom from the Jaws of Hades.

'Come back, young man! The girl is safe. You, on the other hand, are an intruder here, and in constant danger until the god sees your naked face and judges whether to blast you with lightning or open your ears to the voice of the Sibyl. Both of you, gather your courage and follow me. Now!'

XII

Very long ago there was a king of the Romans called Tarquinius the Proud. One day a sorceress came up to Rome from her cave at Cumae and offered to Tarquinius nine books of occult knowledge. These books were made of palm leaves and were not bound as a scroll, so that the pages could be put in any order. This Tarquinius found very strange. They were also written in Greek, not Latin, but the sorceress claimed that the books foretold the entire future of Rome. Those who studied them, she said, would comprehend all those strange phenomena by which the gods make known their will on earth, as when geese are seen flying north in winter, or water ignites into flame, or cocks are heard crowing at noon.

Tarquinius considered her offer, but the sum of gold she demanded was too great. He sent her away, saying that King Numa a hundred years before had established the priesthoods, cults, and rituals of the Romans, and these institutions had always sufficed to discern the will of the gods.

That night three balls of fire were seen hovering above the horizon. The people were alarmed. Tarquinius called upon the priests to explain the phenomenon, but to their great chagrin no explanation could be found.

The next day the sorceress visited Tarquinius again, saying she had six books of knowledge for sale. She asked the same price she had asked for nine books the previous day. Tarquinius demanded

to know what had become of the other three books, and the witch said she had burned them during the night. Tarquinius, insulted that the sorceress demanded for six books what he had refused to pay for nine, sent her away.

That night three convoluted columns of smoke rose above the horizon, blown by the wind and illuminated by the moon so that they took on a grotesque and foreboding aspect. Again the people were alarmed, thinking it must be a sign from an angry god. Tarquinius summoned the priests. Again they were baffled.