The Trials of the Minotaur

Part Two: The Oracle's Mortification (Chapter Ten)

The Minotaur could sense the fear of those around him at what was occurring in the city at the hand of their benefactor, the mad king Thedeo. That he had gone mad seemed of little doubt now to the Minotaur, given his endless purge and the bottomless suspicion that fed it. Still, he had continued to counsel patience to Velthar and Galrice, hoping that they would do the same with the rest of the penitents. There was little else they could do but wait and hope. The Minotaur knew an opportunity would come to set them all on a better path; his dreams of blood had ended and he saw the day when Thedeo would come before him again.

Each day the barbarian king did not emerge from his palace, though, the Minotaur's doubts grew. The penitents were growing restless, fearful of what might happen to them should the siege continue, and when what little food remained was gone. How long before they turned on the god they worshiped, blaming him for what was befalling them? Worst of all was Velthar. He could no longer trust the man, which saddened him, though he knew he had never been deserving of the faith the Sufferer had invested in him.

From the first moments of the siege Velthar had come to his god with worries of what was to befall them, and the Minotaur had tried to assuage them to no avail. He had persisted, coming to him with each new rumor that reached the temple, asking again and again if Thedeo had forsaken them. Then, just as the Minotaur had begun to prepare for the man to turn against the god, the Sufferer came before him, stinking of blood and in agony, begging for forgiveness for doubting him.

“Thank you for showing me the light and the truth of my failures,” Velthar said to him, weeping in a fervent ecstasy as he did so.

The Minotaur was careful not to step away from the penitent, though his revulsion compelled him to. “What have you done?”

“I have given penance for my lack of faith. I had forsaken you in my heart, though I did not know it.”

“I am grateful for it.”

“The path was the true one, as you foretold,” Velthar said. “I have no doubts now. You have shown me and at last I am able to see.”

“And what have you seen,” the Minotaur said, being careful to keep the question from his voice, issuing it instead as a command.

Velthar began to weep again. “Oh, my god, my god. You have given me the greatest gift and the greatest honor. When you go from this body to that of the godchild, it is I who will be entrusted with your keeping. As you have said to me, and yet I did not believe.”

The Minotaur shivered at those words, for the seeds of his own destruction were plain in them. Had he somehow brought this madness on this city, he wondered, before dismissing the thought. He was not a god after all.

“I am glad of it,” he said at last. The Sufferer uttered his final blessings and then retreated, still on his hands and knees, chanting his prayers as he went.

That night the Minotaur again dreamed of Thedeo's return to the temple, though his sleep was fitful. When he awoke late in the night, in the midst of one of his visions, he realized he had been crying aloud, saying again and again, “The flower has gone to seed and they must all be rooted out.”

He shivered to himself and wondered what he meant by that. It seemed to him though that the price would be terrible.

--------

This is the eighteenth  chapter of the Trials of the Minotaur. I will post a chapter a week (there are over 30), but if you enjoy what you're reading and don't want to wait, you can buy this book at Amazon, Kobo, and Smashwords. Thanks for reading.