Chapter 13

Later Athena looked up from her pad to find Artemis bending over her.

"Did he suspect anything?"

Athena blinked and rubbed her fists in her eyes. "I don't think so."

Her father had had other things on his mind. Once he knew his daughter was safely in the camp, he strode off to deal with the myriad organisational problems this new world presented him with. But first he went to visit Hephaestus.

The engineer was now back in his own tent, sedated and comfortable, his wounds dressed and his legs supported in a sling suspended from the roof. Zeus stood looking at him for a long time. He had seen the shattered legs when he was brought into the civic hall. One of his feet had been half blown away and the other was nearly as bad. He was overwhelmed with guilt.

"Will he ever walk again?"

Apollo laid his hand on the Captain's shoulder. "Of course he will. I have taken a culture and am right now growing replacements. It will take a few months, but when they are mature I can graft them on and he will be as good as new. In the meantime, maybe we can fix him up with a wheelchair or some kind of crutch."

Zeus turned haunted eyes on the young doctor. "I really thought we'd killed him," he said. "After all we've done, after all we've achieved, I thought we were going to lose a man to a stupid accident."

Apollo grinned. "It'd take more than that to kill Hephaestus. He's got the constitution of an ox."

He checked the drip supplying his patient with painkiller, picked up his bag and left the tent.

Zeus remained for some time, silently thanking whatever gods there might be for keeping Hephaestus alive. Then he also left the tent. He had to decide what to do about the primitives.

The girls huddled together at the breakfast table, whispering together.

"Aphrodite's going to be livid," Artemis said through a mouthful of bread. Hestia had finally got her stores sorted out and they were eating real food at last.

"I don't see why she has to know."

"When she finally makes contact with the primitives, she'll find out that we contacted them first."

"No she won't," said Athena, licking oil from her fingers. "Not unless I tell her. I'm the only one who can talk to them, remember?"

"What about her thought enhancer?"

"Oh shit! I forgot about that. Do you think it'll work?"

Artemis shrugged. "How do I know? I'm just trying to decide whether to keep quiet or come clean."

Athena mused for a little while, running a finger round the edge of her plate. "If they do tell her, it'll all be about this goddess that came with her handmaiden and raised their queen from the dead. Do you think she'll work it out from that?"

Artemis gave her a withering look. "She's not stupid, Athena."

"Right then." Athena pushed herself up from the table and stood up. "We'd better face the music. Who do we tell first? My father or Aphrodite?"

Actually, Aphrodite wasn't at all livid, just interested. She had calmed down once Hephaestus had been properly treated and now she was at a loss for what to do. She had soon become bored with sitting at his bedside while he slept, and the catastrophe seemed to have made her lose interest in the project of building their new house.

"We want to do it together," she said, "and anyway there isn't enough stone ready for us all to start building at the same time. And Hera's nicked all the robots to work on hers."

When Athena and Artemis confessed their interference with the primitives, it seemed to re-animate her.

"Can I come?" she said.

"Of course, but I've still got to think of a good excuse to tell my father."

"Easy-peasy. You spotted them yesterday and told me where they were. I want you to come with me to show me the exact place and I need Artemis as back-up."

Athena gazed at her in admiration. She really was brilliant at deception.

Athena was afraid the primitives might have moved on, but they were still there in the cave and Prometheus came out to meet them as soon as the pod landed. His eyes widened slightly when he saw there were three of them, but other than that he showed no sign that he was concerned, just bowed his head in greeting when Aphrodite was introduced.

He led them inside. The little fire was still glowing in the alcove and there seemed to be rather more people there than there had been yesterday. In the corner one of the dogs whined.

Prometheus answered her unspoken question.

"More of the men came in last night. The dogs found us. But Atlas and some of his cronies would not come. They are afraid of the wrath of the Mother.

"He was the one who threw the stones?"

Prometheus nodded. "He is dangerous. He wants too much. He wants to be King."

Prometheus heaved a great sigh. There were all sorts of undercurrents there that Athena half-grasped but she decided to wait till later to find out. Right now Pandora was approaching.

She wore her great cloak of fur and her feather headdress, and she held some sort of staff with a carved serpent. Her face was stony and devoid of expression and she made no obeisance to the newcomers.

"Welcome," she said, and her voice was different, remote and hollow. For a moment Athena was gripped with terror. This was not the girl she had rescued yesterday. There was another being inhabiting her body and that being was old and powerful. It is the Mother, Athena thought, and suddenly all their superior technology was as nothing compared to the ancient power of this creature. She felt an almost overwhelming urge to bow down before it, as the primitives were doing, but a sideways glance showed her both Aphrodite and Artemis were still standing and staring back at the figure in front of them. So she controlled herself and merely gave a stiff little nod of acknowledgement.

"I have brought my friend, Aphrodite," she said, waving towards Aphrodite. "She is a great healer. She wishes to ensure that you are completely recovered from your fall." Inside she was trembling at the temerity of suggesting that anyone should interfere with such a terrifying being.

Pandora glanced haughtily at the other two. "I am completely recovered, thank you. You may return to your people. And we shall return to our winter camp."

Athena realised that she was being offered some kind of truce. The Mother would leave the new gods alone if they would leave the Tribe to go in peace.