father, crafted by a master bowyer at mind-boggling expense. Diotima hadn’t the strength of a man, so the bowyer had cleverly scaled down the pull to the level of a healthy woman. Her bow had inevitably lost power, but within her range, Diotima was an absolute dead shot. I’d seen her consistently bullseye at fifty paces.
Diotima frowned. “The shooter must have been someone from Athens who got ahead of us on the road. Who else knew we were coming?”
“Doris, and everyone at the sanctuary,” I pointed out. “Plus anyone
they’ve
told.”
“So you think the sanctuary called us in to help them, and then tried to kill us to stop us from helping them. Yes, I can totally see that.”
“No need to be sarcastic. But you have to agree, the attack happened much closer to Brauron than Athens. In fact, we’re almost there.”
Indeed we were. We’d traveled as we talked, with a wary eye to each side of the road for any more ambushes. After we rounded a blind corner, there lay before us a small river crossed by a stone bridge, almost as wide as it was long. On the other side was a temple, new-built in good stone and brightly painted, and beside it, another new building in stone. We’d come to the Sanctuary of Brauron, where lived the most marriageable girls of the highest families of Athens.
Some of those girls saw us before we reached the bridge—I guessed they’d been sent to look out for us, since the sanctuary knew we were arriving today—and they quickly ran off, to return with a figure I recognized: Doris the priestess.
“Welcome,” she said as we pulled up.
“Did you know there’s a naked woman running around in the woods?” I said, by way of greeting.
“A naked woman?” Doris said, surprised. Then, “Oh! That’s just Gaïs. Don’t mind her. She’s one of our priestesses.”
“Oh, really?” I said, my interest quickened. “I may need to meet her. For the investigation, you understand—”
“Did you know there’s also someone out there with a bow? He tried to kill us.” Diotima quickly blocked any attempt to meet naked women. Instead she told Doris of the encounter with the bowman.
“Oh no!” Doris said. “It must have been robbers. We do get them on the main road from time to time. I’ll warn Zeke to keep an extra lookout though, in case they come this way.”
“Zeke?”
“Our chief maintenance man. There he is.” Doris pointed to a tall, thin man loping across the green grass.
If Zeke was the sanctuary’s first line of defense, then they were in big trouble, because he was sixty if he was a day. Maybe even older, with white hair and white whiskers and skin that had seen the sun every day of his long life. Zeke smacked his lips and looked thoughtful when Doris told him our story. “Soundsto me like a poor attempt at highway robbery. Not a professional. Probably some local who thought he’d try his luck.” He shrugged. “It happens. There are poor folk in these parts. Too many of them are desperate.”
“Then why didn’t he try to waylay us on the much narrower tree-lined path to the sanctuary?” Diotima asked. “He couldn’t have missed us there.”
“ ’Cause most folk are on their way to Brauron town,” Zeke answered. “Besides, the sanctuary’s too well respected, even by cutthroats.”
“So you’re not worried?” Doris asked.
Zeke shook his head. “Not now this feller’s had his taste of highway robbery and failed. I doubt he’ll try again, not if he ran away. He’ll go back to scrabbling in the dirt for a pittance, like all the other poor folk.”
I could see Doris’s shoulders relax with Zeke’s very reasonable explanation. I couldn’t fault him, but somehow I doubted he had it right.
“Come,” Doris said. “The High Priestess commanded me to bring you to her private office as soon as you arrived.”
T HERE WERE ONLY two buildings at Brauron: a small temple to Artemis, before which Doris stood when she greeted us, and a larger
Diotima frowned. “The shooter must have been someone from Athens who got ahead of us on the road. Who else knew we were coming?”
“Doris, and everyone at the sanctuary,” I pointed out. “Plus anyone
they’ve
told.”
“So you think the sanctuary called us in to help them, and then tried to kill us to stop us from helping them. Yes, I can totally see that.”
“No need to be sarcastic. But you have to agree, the attack happened much closer to Brauron than Athens. In fact, we’re almost there.”
Indeed we were. We’d traveled as we talked, with a wary eye to each side of the road for any more ambushes. After we rounded a blind corner, there lay before us a small river crossed by a stone bridge, almost as wide as it was long. On the other side was a temple, new-built in good stone and brightly painted, and beside it, another new building in stone. We’d come to the Sanctuary of Brauron, where lived the most marriageable girls of the highest families of Athens.
Some of those girls saw us before we reached the bridge—I guessed they’d been sent to look out for us, since the sanctuary knew we were arriving today—and they quickly ran off, to return with a figure I recognized: Doris the priestess.
“Welcome,” she said as we pulled up.
“Did you know there’s a naked woman running around in the woods?” I said, by way of greeting.
“A naked woman?” Doris said, surprised. Then, “Oh! That’s just Gaïs. Don’t mind her. She’s one of our priestesses.”
“Oh, really?” I said, my interest quickened. “I may need to meet her. For the investigation, you understand—”
“Did you know there’s also someone out there with a bow? He tried to kill us.” Diotima quickly blocked any attempt to meet naked women. Instead she told Doris of the encounter with the bowman.
“Oh no!” Doris said. “It must have been robbers. We do get them on the main road from time to time. I’ll warn Zeke to keep an extra lookout though, in case they come this way.”
“Zeke?”
“Our chief maintenance man. There he is.” Doris pointed to a tall, thin man loping across the green grass.
If Zeke was the sanctuary’s first line of defense, then they were in big trouble, because he was sixty if he was a day. Maybe even older, with white hair and white whiskers and skin that had seen the sun every day of his long life. Zeke smacked his lips and looked thoughtful when Doris told him our story. “Soundsto me like a poor attempt at highway robbery. Not a professional. Probably some local who thought he’d try his luck.” He shrugged. “It happens. There are poor folk in these parts. Too many of them are desperate.”
“Then why didn’t he try to waylay us on the much narrower tree-lined path to the sanctuary?” Diotima asked. “He couldn’t have missed us there.”
“ ’Cause most folk are on their way to Brauron town,” Zeke answered. “Besides, the sanctuary’s too well respected, even by cutthroats.”
“So you’re not worried?” Doris asked.
Zeke shook his head. “Not now this feller’s had his taste of highway robbery and failed. I doubt he’ll try again, not if he ran away. He’ll go back to scrabbling in the dirt for a pittance, like all the other poor folk.”
I could see Doris’s shoulders relax with Zeke’s very reasonable explanation. I couldn’t fault him, but somehow I doubted he had it right.
“Come,” Doris said. “The High Priestess commanded me to bring you to her private office as soon as you arrived.”
T HERE WERE ONLY two buildings at Brauron: a small temple to Artemis, before which Doris stood when she greeted us, and a larger
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