Kindle Edition
Amazon
Category:
Historical Fiction
Publisher: Wings ePress, Inc.
ISBN-10: 9781613092880
Type: Fiction
Pages: 375
Copyright: 2017
ISBN-13: 97811613097083
Price: $3.99 (eBook)
It was just a bit of gold and a map etched on an ancient medallion; gifts from Poseidon, found on the ocean floor, neither enough proof to convince anyone to search for treasure. That is—unless you are a runaway Helot slave with nowhere to run or a pirate with no place to hide. Then the promise of finding Jason’s fabled treasure with the woman of your dreams could only be good fortune beyond your wildest dreams. That is—until you realize your closest shipmate is the Spartan who is hunting you and the love of your life may be an incarnation of Medea, the monstrous witch.
Crimes of an Ancient Mariner Brought to Life
The novel is set on the ancient Mediterranean Sea, circa 480 BC.
Belerion Odyssey is a thrilling, fast moving adventure with
mythological overtones and a strong element of romance.
The story tracks the adventures of a runaway Helot slave, who falls in
with a band of pirates after he kills the Spartans that were sent to murder
him during the rite of Krypteia. Like William Russeth’s other tales, the
story blends fiction, history, and mythology to create compelling
characters, intriguing plot lines, and a narrative that takes readers to the
ends of the ancient world.”
Background:
In 480 BC, the Mediterranean Ocean was a dangerous place. Greece and
Persia were at war, Greek colonists on Sicily were facing the full might
of the Carthaginian Empire, and the entire region was rife with pirates,
raiding coastal towns for slaves and riches. Yet—trade thrived
throughout the known world with Greeks and Phoenicians colonizing the
Mediterranean and establishing trade routes beyond the Pillars of
Hercules, across the Sea of Atlantis to Belerion, the land we know as
Cornwall today.
Excerpt
Lykaon and I approached the swarming mass of birds. Soaring above us, their brilliant white bodies glowed in the sky. Black tipped wings spread like fingers catching the breeze. Several birds rested on the sand, sardonically grinning at us with their long beaks and featherless faces. Lykaon kicked one out of his path disdainfully. It screeched defiantly. Beneath the birds, a soft pale mound came into view.
“By the thunder of Zeus, it is a woman,” I exclaimed.
Lithe and white, her arms and legs were stretched taut, wide apart, tied to stakes with braided hemp. Hair, black as night, snarled about her head, and curled over her breasts, a mere vestige of modesty. Vultures jumped aside as we proceeded, but refused to take flight and stayed fearlessly close. Several shrieked trying to keep us away from their feast. Her shrill song became a wail making my mind reel. As I knelt down close, her eyes rolled up into her head, showing only white. The song became shrieks of anguish.
Lykaon covered his ears. “Best cut her throat and end her misery—and mine,” he said.
I moved closer to the garish face, painted white, eyebrows and eyes lined black with kohl, red suns marked her cheeks, like faces on the walls of sacred places.
“She is painted like an ancient queen,” I said, “and still very much alive.”
Her head thrashed from side to side. She howled like an animal.
“Someone staked her out for a reason,” Lykaon said. “Leave well enough alone.”
I leaned over and grabbed her arm by the wrist. She hissed and spat; arms and legs flailed. Her thin body thumped up and down on the sand.
“She’s delirious. Perhaps the gods brought us here to save her.” I slashed the rope at her wrist and the wailing abruptly stopped. Silence pierced the beach. The flock of vultures started to depart, first one, then two, then three and five. They lifted into the air, catching the wind, abandoning their feast. I freed her other arm and then her legs. The tension drained from her rigid frame, and I could not help but gently stroke her milk smooth shoulder. I pulled her shadowy locks away from her face. My eyes lingered on her painted face. For a fraction of a heartbeat, I could have sworn the corners of her mouth smiled. Dark eyes opened wide and caught Helios as if he sent the ray of daylight just for her. Black pupils amid lustrous, violet disks glistened with the starry highlights of sapphires. My arms slipped under her limp form and lifted her off the sand. She weighed nothing. Her soft cheek nuzzled into my neck and her arms weakly tightened around my shoulders.
I whispered softly, “Do you have a name?”
“Leucosia”
|
