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bird,
without any visible means of support, though its shape was all wrong for any
bird that she had ever seen, in dreams or waking life.
Shiva had flown within a hundred yards of the ship before the princess
recognized him. Ariadne had seen the God of Destruction only once before, and
had paid him little enough attention on that howling autumn night, as he
stood
in the background while she crouched over her father's corpse.
Now the whole crew, eyes wide and jaws dropped in consternation, were
watching
the god approach.
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Some of them still did not understand. "What in the Underworld is that?"
"There's only one thing it can be."
The crew were absolutely in awe, and Ariadne shrank back in terror of this
being
who had played a role in her father's murder.
When Nandi made his first pass over the ship, most of the crew went down on
their faces, prostrate on the deck. One or two got no farther than kneeling.
One
actually hurled himself overboard, convinced that he personally was the
target
of divine vengeance. But Shiva ignored the man, and a couple of his shipmates
fished him out.
Shiva had never taken a close look at any of the youths and maidens of the
Tribute except for the two or three who had actually been used up. But now,
making a rapid survey of the assembly on the deck, he had no doubt from the
first moment which of the men was Theseus. Only one still stood erect, and
had
actually drawn a short sword.
And there beside her lover stood the Princess Ariadne. True to her heritage
of
royal blood, the princess was standing as straight as she could on the
pitching
deck.
Shiva flew low, hovering for a moment only a few yards from the ship,
studying
the man he had come to see.
The young man holding the drawn sword called out in a clear, loud voice,
"Dark
God, if you mean to claim me as your sacrifice after all, I don't suppose I
can
stop you. But I mean to try."
There was a long moment of silence. The bull-figure, posing in the air, was
steadier than the wooden ship riding the light waves below. Then the god said
in
his harsh voice, "I have chosen you for greater things than that, son of
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Aegeus.
Perhaps I want for you exactly what you want for yourself. You have not been
easy to locate, but as you see, I have taken the time and trouble to do so."
And
Shiva on his wonderful steed swooped low, and, disregarding the drawn sword,
seized the prince of pirates by one arm, and snatched him up into the sky
full
of low-scudding clouds.
Ariadne and the others watched them go, and she expected her lover to vanish
at
any moment from her sight and as soon as that happened, she would hurl
herself
into the sea.
But that was not to be. Shiva was circling the ship at no very great
distance,
holding before him on the bull's back the larger body of the mortal man, as
he
might have held a child. Theseus seemed to have sheathed his sword again.
Several minutes passed before the wingless bull, hooves gracefully and
powerfully treading the air, swooped low again, slowly passing directly above
the ship, and Theseus was deposited casually on deck, so smoothly that he
needed
only one brief running step to keep his feet. Then the bull with its divine
rider once more shot high into the air, and this time soon disappeared into
the
distance, in the direction of Corycus.
Theseus waved after it, the gesture of a man speeding some departing friend
on
his way. But the rider did not look back.
"What happened?" Ariadne breathlessly demanded of her companion. "What did he
say to you? What did he want?" Around the couple, most of the crewmen were
daring to raise their eyes.
Theseus was standing with his fists on his hips, still gazing after their
departed visitor. He had a look on his face the like of which the princess
had
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never seen there before, and had never imagined he would wear. As if he had
been
stunned, then treated to a vision of glory before he had quite regained his
senses.
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