It appeared that for the present at any I was to have my in the pyramid. The up in the great square which the building, and itself in groups. The was the doorway, and when a had been brought, the sounded, and we three who had in the half-castle under the of snakes, to the ground.
It was plain that we were going from the open sky to the which the of the pyramid, and without thinking, the of and that had part of my nature me to turn to where the of the Sacred Mountain above the city, and make the obeisance, and offer up in the prayer. I say I did this thing unthinking, and as a of common custom, but when I rose to my feet, I have I a of from in that of onlookers.
I in the direction of the scoffers, enough, and then I to Phorenice to their for the disrespect. But here was a thing. I had looked to see her in the act and article of from an obeisance; but there she was, erect, and had touched her to the ground. Moreover, she was me with a look which I not fathom.
But was in her mind, she had no plan to about it then the people in the square. She said to me, “Come,” and, to the doorway, for entrance, the word for the day. The blocks, which the porch, on their hinges, and with she passed out of the into the beyond, with the fan-girl at her heels. With a to at my heart, I too the pyramid, and the doors, with a thud, closed us.
We did not go just then. Phorenice in the of waiting. How well I the place, with the pictures of kings on its red walls, and the of earth-breath which from a of in the middle of the and gave it light. The old King that was gone had come this of his when he me as I set out twenty years for my vice-royalty in Yucatan. But the air of the was different to what it had been in those old days. Then it was pure and sweet. Now it was with some scent, and I it and oppressive.
“My minister,” said the Empress, “I you of insult; but I think the air has you a very man. Such an as you to that not a minute since has not been since I was sent to over this kingdom.”
“Your Majesty,” I said, “I am a of the Priests’ Clan and was up in their tenets. I have been taught, entering a house, to thank the Gods, and more our Lord the Sun, for the good air that He and They have provided. It has been my more than once to be by of fire and air the one of their boils, and so I can say the prayer upon this from my heart.”
“Circumstances have since you left Atlantis,” said Phorenice, “and when thanks are now, they are not at those old Gods.”
I saw her meaning, and almost started at the of it. If this was to be the new of things, I would have no hand in it. Fate might with me as it chose. To a monarch, that I was prepared for; but to with sacrilege, and accept a swineherd’s as a God, who should prayers and obeisances, my manhood. So I a crisis.
“Phorenice,” I said, “I have been a from my up, the Gods, and with their mysteries. Till I for myself that those old are false, I must by that allegiance, and if there is a cost for this I must pay it.”
She looked at me with a slow smile. “You are a man, Deucalion,” she said.
I bowed.
“I have others as stubborn,” she said, “but they were converted.” She out the of her hair, and so that the light of the earth-breath might on the of her and form. “I have it as easy to the as to them. Indeed, there has been little talk of burning. They have all to conversion, I would or no. But it that my looks and are wanting in to-day.”
“Phorenice is Empress,” I said stolidly, “and I am her servant. To-morrow, if she me leave, I will clear away this which the walls. I must to prove my uses.”
“I am told you are a fighter,” said she. “Well, I some small skill in arms myself, and have a that I am something of a judge. To-morrow we will take a taste of together. But to-day I must through the I have planned for you, Deucalion. The will be set soon, and you will wish to make for the feast. There are here for your use, and with what is needful. Ylga will you their places.”
We waited, the fan-girl and I, till Phorenice had passed out of the of the light-jet, and had left the of waiting through a the of its angle, and then (the girl taking a lamp and leading) we also our way through the narrow of the pyramid.
Everywhere the air was full of perfumes, and the passages and and through the solid of the pyramid, so that might have hours—yes, or days—in search they came to the they desired. There was a about those who set up this pyramid. They had no mind that kings should by the hand of who might come in from outside. And it is said also that the king of the time, to make sure, killed all that had the pyramid, or the of its stones.
But the fan-girl the way with the lamp in her hand, as one to the mazes. Here she doubled, there she turned, and here she stopped in the middle of a blank to push a stone, which to let us pass. And once she pressed at the of a on the floor, which up to the of her foot, and us a and narrow. That we descended, to the of an way which us again; and so by we came the which had been for my use.
“There is in all these which by the walls,” said the girl, “and and in that coffer. They are Phorenice’s presents, she me say, and but a small of what is to come. My Lord Deucalion can his now, and himself out in to the fashion.”
“Girl,” I said sharply, “be more with your tongue, and me such small advice.”
“If my Lord Deucalion thinks this a rudeness, he can give a word to Phorenice, and I shall be whipped. If he it, I can be and him. The Empress will do much for Deucalion just now.”
“Girl,” I said, “you are nearer to that than you think for.”
“I have got a name,” she retorted, looking at me from under her black brows. “They call me Ylga. You might have that as we here on the mammoth, had you not been so up in Phorenice.”
I at her curiously. “You have me before,” I said, “and the you are those that might well trouble to yourself. There is some object in all this.”
She and pushed to the that in the of the chamber. Then she put her little on my and me away from the into the corner. “I am the of Zaemon,” she said, “whom you knew.”
“You me some message from him?”
“How I? He in the priests’ on the Mountain you did to. I have not put on him these two years. But when I saw you step out from that red they had at the side, I—I a for you, Deucalion. I you were my father’s, Zaemon’s, friend, and I what Phorenice had in store. She has been it all these two months.”
“I cannot against the Empress.”
“And yet—”
“What?”
She her upon the of the floor. “You must be a very man, Deucalion, or a very one. But I shall not further; at least not now. Still, I shall watch, and if at any time you to want a friend I will try and you.”
“I thank you for your friendship.”
“You to take it enough. Why, sir, now I do not you know my power, any more than you my motive. You may be man in this kingdom, but let me tell you I rank as second lady. And remember, high in Atlantis now. Believe me, my is a that has been with and industry.”
“And as I say, I am for it. You to think little of my gratitude, Ylga; but, me, I have it on a woman before, and so you should it for its rarity.”
“Well,” she said, “my lord, there is an education you.” She left me then, me how to call when I for their help, and for a full minute I at the I had spoken to her. Who was the of Zaemon that she should me to the of a lifetime?
The came at my bidding, and themselves to me with a thousand in the of and gauds, and (what to be the modern fashion of their class) out the of a score of and unguents. Their manner me. Clean I was already, and shaved; my was trim, and my was unsoiled; and, these pressing of theirs something of an impertinence, I set them to one another as a punishment, promising that if they did not do it with thoroughness, I would hand them on to the to be marked with which would endure. It is strange, but a common can often a in power of one.
I had many that day, and many new sensations; but of all the which came to my notice, Phorenice’s manner of the guests to her me most. Nay, it did more; it me profoundly; and I cannot say at her profanity, or wonder at her power, was for the moment in my breast. I sat in my the summons, when gradually, out of nothing, a upon my ear which in with small graduations, till at last it a which the ear with its fierceness; and then (I what was coming) the whole of the and and shook, as though it had been a child’s toy about by a man’s sandal.
It was the out yearly by the of the Priests’ Clan on the Sacred Mountain, when they all the world take count of their sins. It was the that from roaring, fire, and from the of earth-tremors, man had been born, and that by these same he would be up—he and the his breast. And here the Empress was its into a call to gluttony, and for and display.
But how had she the authority to do this thing? Who was she that she should with those powers, the that the liquid of our mother earth? Had there been treachery? Had some of the Priests’ Clan his vows, and to this woman the mysteries? Or had Phorenice a key to these with her own brain?
If that last was the case, I continue to her with conscience. Though she might be none of my making, at least she was Empress, and it was my to give her obedience. But if she had some of the Clan on the Sacred Mount, that would be a different matter. For be it that it was one of the of our to our and inviolate, and to with the man who had to them, and the of his confidence.
It was with very feelings, then, that I the of the earth-shaking, and the lead me through the of the to the great banqueting-hall. The there was dazzling. The with its was with a company out with all the and that conceive. Little they of the which had them to the meal, of the death and that openly through the city without, of the which in the walls, of the neglected Gods and their of on the Sacred Mountain. They were all for the of the moment; it was their fashion and to look at nothing beyond.
Flaming of earth-breath the great to the of midday; and when I out upon the pavement, blared, so that all might know of my coming. But there was no of welcome. “Deucalion,” they with voices, themselves to the ground so that all their and might and swish. Indeed, when Phorenice herself appeared, and all sent up their and obeisance, there was the same in the welcome. They meant well enough, it is true; but this was the new fashion. Heartiness had come to be a by this new culture.
A pair of posturing, took me in charge, and me with their to the at the end. It appeared that I was to on Phorenice’s divan, and eat my meat out of her dish.
“There is no to the the Empress puts upon me,” I said, as I and took my seat.
She gave me one of her queer, looks. “Deucalion may have more beside, if he for it prettily. He may have what all the other men in the world have for, and what none of them will get. But I have of my own accord; he must ask me for those favours.”
“I ask,” I said, “first, that I may the clear of this which is against the city walls.”
“Pah,” she said, and frowned. “Have you only for the of life? My good Deucalion, they must have been in that of yours. Well, you shall give me news now of the of this feast.”
Dishes and were us, and we to eat, though I had little for so and so spiced. But if this and these did not to me, the other in that it all to the full. They sat about in groups on the the light-jets like a of for colour, and according to the new they into and over their enjoyment. Women and men both, they over each of the as though it were a of the Gods.
Phorenice, with her quick, eyes, looked on, and occasionally one or another a her talk with me, and now and again called some up to a of from the dish. This the one would eat with gesture, or (as twice) would put it away in the of his as a too dear to be by lips.
To me, this appeared and disgustful, but Phorenice, through use, perhaps, to take it as her due. There was, one had to suppose, a in her somewhere, though to the none was apparent. Her was enough, and it was also, and, moreover, it was comely. All the in the banqueting-hall about Phorenice’s and the other of her and limbs, and though not to in these matters, I not but see that here at least they had a for their admiration, for surely the Gods have woman more highly. Yet though she might be, for myself I to look upon Ylga, the girl, who, of her rank, was to on the us as attendant. There was an in Ylga’s which Phorenice’s lacked.
They did not eat to their bodies, these in the banqueting-hall of the pyramid, but they all ate to themselves, and they new with every and bowl that the brought. To me some of their manners were closely on disrespect. At the of the meal, a popinjay—he was a of an out-province into the by a in his own lands—this fop, I say, walked up the groups of with and gait, and did the divan. “Most Empress,” he, “fairest among the Goddesses, Queen of my heart, hail!”
Phorenice with a him out her cup. I looked to see him libation, but no such thing. He set the drink to his and it to the final drop. “May all your troubles,” he cried, “pass from you as easily, and as a flavour.”
The Empress to me with one of her quick looks. “You do not like this new habit?”
To which I that to out at a person’s had through to be a mark of respect, but that it to me self-indulgence, which might be anywhere.
“You still keep to the old teachings,” she said. “Our newer us life first, and order other so as not to with our more pleasure.”
And so the on, the guests their and their absurdities, and the to their arms the of the as and as as the in the white them. But a term was put to the with something of suddenness. There was a at the of the banqueting-hall, and a clash, as two of the joined their across the entrance. But the man they to stop—or it was to pin—passed them unharmed, and walked up over the the lights, and the groups of feasters. All looked at him; a him words; but none to stop his progress. A few, chiefly, I see, as he passed them by, as though a had come over them; and in the end he walked up and in of Phorenice’s divan, and on her, but without making obeisance.
He was a old man, with white on his shoulders, and white beard. The of in on his and legs. His was save for a single cloth about his and his loins, and he in his hand a with the symbol of our Lord the Sun at its tip. That to his caste, but in no other way I him.
I took him for one of those of the Priests’ Clan, who had the life of the Sacred Mountain, and who out in the lands the hills, where there is daily from rocks, from fire streams, from vapours, from of the ground, and from other movements of those territories, and from the and other which them. These keep in the memory the might of the Holy Gods, and the of this earth on which we have our resting-place, and so the there in the spirit, and power over which the most and learned of other men can to attain.
A the room when the old man came to his halt, and Phorenice was the to it. “Those two guards,” she said, in her clear, voice, “who the door, are not equal to their work. I cannot have servants; remove them.”
The soldiers next in the rank their and them home, and the two who had the old man to the ground. One once, the other gave no sound: they were both.
The old man his voice, thin, and high, and broken. “Another added to your tally, Phorenice. Not your army have my entrance had I to come, and let me tell you that I am here to you your last warning. The Gods have you much favour; they gave you by which you above your fellows, till at last only the above you. It was good by those on the Sacred Mountain to let you have this last ambition, and on this that has as long and been by the kings of Atlantis.”
The Empress sat on the smiling. “I to these as I chose, and in of your friends’ teeth. I may to you, old man, a small parcel of thanks, though that I offered to repay; but for my the priests, their permission was of small value when it came. I would have you that I was as on the of Atlantis as this upon its when your worn-out came up to give their benediction.”
The old man her interruption. “Hear me out,” he said. “I am here with no message. There is nothing about the threat I can at you, Phorenice. With your fire-tubes, your of troops, and your other clevernesses, you may not be easy to by means, though, forsooth, these who against your city have to their ground for long now. It may be that you are enervated; I do not know. It may be that you are too up in your feastings, your dressings, your pomps, and your debaucheries, to to turn to the art of war. It may be that the man’s has gone out from your arm and brain, and you are a woman once more—weak, and pleasure-loving; again I do not know.
“But this must happen: You must the you have done; you must give to the people who are starving, if you take it from these in this hall; you must Atlantis to the in which it was to you: or else you must be removed. It cannot be permitted that the country should into the and from which its kings have it. You hear, Phorenice. Now give me true answer.”
“Speak him fair. Oh! For the of your fortune, speak him fair,” came Ylga’s voice in a from us. But the Empress took no notice of it. She on the of the with a brow.
“Do you to me, old man, what I am?”
“I know your origin,” he said gravely, “as well as you know it yourself. As for my daring, that is a small matter. He need be but a man who to say that the High Gods put on his lips.”
“I shall this as I choose. I shall from no on this earth, or it, or in the sky above. The Gods have me to be Their in Atlantis, and They do not me through such as you. Go away, old man, and play the in another court. It is well that I have an for you, or you would not this place unharmed.”
“Now, indeed, you are lost,” I Ylga from behind, and the old man in of us did not move a step. Instead, he up the Symbol of our Lord the Sun, and his curse. “Your the reply I asked for. Hear me now make of on of Those against you have your insults. You shall be and sent to the Gods. At cost the land shall be of you and yours, and all the that has been done to it you have the of its kings. You will not amend, neither will you tamely. You that you as on your as this on its base. See how little you know of what the carries. I say to you that, you are yet Empress, you shall see this which you have with your from tier, and from stone, and as spread a wind.”
“You may the pyramid,” said Phorenice contemptuously. “I myself have some knowledge of the earth forces, as I have this night. But though you every above us now and it into and dust, I shall still be Empress. What can you against me that I cannot and destroy?”
“We have a that was in no smithy,” the old man, “whereof the key is now in the Ark of the Mysteries. But that can be used only as a last resource. The nature of it is too to be told in words. Our other powers will be against you first, and for this country’s I pray that they may you to wince. Yet assured, Phorenice, that we shall not step once we have put a hand to this matter. We shall it through, though the cost be a and destruction. For know this, of the swineherd, it is the most High Gods that you are too full of to continue unchecked.”
“Speak him fairly,” Ylga from behind. “He has a power at which you cannot guess.”
The Empress to rise, but Ylga to her skirt. “For the of your fame,” she urged, “for the of your life, do not him.” But Phorenice her aside, and the old man in a of passion. “You call me a blasphemer, who yourself? You upon my birth, who am come direct from the most high Heaven? Old man, your you in part, but not in all. You shall be whipped. Do you me? I say, whipped. The shall be from your bones, and you shall away from this place as a red and example for those who would their Empress. Here, some of you, I say, take that man, and let him be where he stands.”
Her out enough. But not a those in his place. Not a soldier the from his rank. The place was in a terrible silence. It as though no one the so much as to a breath. All that the very air was big with fate.
Phorenice, with her forward, looked from one group to another. Her was working. “Have I no true servants,” she asked, “amongst all you lip-servers?”
Still no one moved. They stood, or sat, or like people fascinated. For myself, with the he had uttered, I had the old man by his voice. It was Zaemon, the weak who had the Empress her step power; that into the mysteries, who more of their powers, and more about the forces, than any other on the Sacred Mountain, at that time when I left for my colony. And now, his life, how much more might he not have learned? I was by duties. I much to the Priests’ Clan, by of my and membership; it I no less to Phorenice. And, again, was Zaemon the of the high of the of the Sacred Mountain? And was the Empress of a truth by the High Gods above, or was she still Empress, and still the of my duty? I not tell, and so I sat in my seat what the event would sow.
Phorenice’s was growing. “Do I alone here?” she cried. “Have I you out of all touch with gratitude? It that at last I want a new to my guards. Ho! Who will be of the of the Empress?”
There was a shifting of eyes, a hesitation. Then a great up from the end of the hall, and a up from all the others as they him.
“So, Tarca, you to take the risks, and of the yourself?” she said with an angry scoff. “Truly there did not to be many to you of the office. I shall have a up of places in payment for this night’s work. But for the present, Tarca, do your duty.”
The man came up, timorous. He was a fellow, but not unmartial, and though but little of his above his beard, I see that he as he came near to the priest. “My lord,” he said quietly, “I must ask you to come with me.”
“Stand aside,” said the old man, out the Symbol in of him. I see his on the soldier and his with a of will.
Tarca saw this too, and I he would have fallen, but with an he his manhood, and his summons. “I must the of my mistress, and I would have you remember, my lord, that I am but a servant. You must come with me to the whip.”
“I you!” the old man. “Stand from out of my path, you!”
It must have been with the of that the soldier to use force. But the hand he out to his the moment it touched the old man’s shoulder, as though it had been by some shock. He almost to have some such repulse; yet when he up that hand with the other, and looked at it, and saw its whiteness, he let out of him a like a beast. “Oh, Gods!” he cried. “Not that. Spare me!”
But Zaemon was at him still. A the man’s face, and he put up his hand to it and at his beard, which was and after the new fashion of the day. A woman near as the of the came off in his fingers. Beneath was over his face. Zaemon had him with a that was past cure.
Yet the was not ended then. Other took him on other parts of the body, and he off his and his clothes, and always where the showed, there had the its white mark; and in the end, being able to no more, the man to the and there writhing.
Zaemon said no word. He the Symbol him, set his on the door of the banqueting-hall and walked for it directly, all those in his path away from him with open shudders. And through the of the door he passed out of our sight, still wordless, still unchecked.
I up at Phorenice. The of her was and haggard. It was the great reverse, this, she had met with in all her life, and the of it, and the of what might after, her. Alas, if she only have at a tenth of the terrors which the had in its womb, Atlantis might have been saved then.