“Ah.” He gave me a lazy smile. “My mistake. Come with me, Glaucus of Calydon. If you truly must steer clear of those Spartan princes, you’d better get aboard the Argo now, before the whole encampment’s awake. Zetes and Kalais and I will work with your master and great Herakles today, letting the other Argonauts know your name and your need to avoid Castor and Polydeuces. We’ll hide you from them so well that it will seem you’ve borrowed Hades’ own helmet of invisibility.”
Orpheus left me to scramble up the Argo’s side unaided. Once aboard, I looked over the beached ship’s side and watched him stroll away along the tide line. He paused halfway back to our campsite and faced the sea, where the sun was just beginning to show a sliver of rosy light on the horizon. Raising his arms in salutation, he began to sing a hymn of praise to Apollo. The clear, perfect notes climbed the cool morning air like the fragrant smoke of burning incense. I’d never heard a man’s voice so blessed by the gods.
I was still lost in Orpheus’s song when I sensed that I wasn’t alone. I turned to see Hylas at my back, as fascinated by the Thracian’s voice as I.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Hylas spoke softly, with the reverence a pious man might pay to the gods. “They say that Orpheus has the power to calm storms with his songs.”
“Is it true?” I could believe it.
“If he can’t calm the storm itself, he certainly can calm our fears. That’s enough of a gift for any man.”
“That’s too bad.” I ran my fingertips along the smooth wood of the rail. “I would have loved to see him sing a storm away.”
“So, you’ve got a taste for wonders?” Hylas smiled at me. “We’ll see some marvelous sights together on this voyage.”
“Together—?” My breath caught in my throat. It was silly, but no matter how much I told myself that Hylas was a boy like a hundred others, I still couldn’t look at him for long without feeling my face grow warm. “I—Yes, that would be—I’d like that,” I finished lamely. An awkward stillness fell between us, putting me on edge. “What are you doing up so early?” I asked, wanting to fill the silence.
“No choice,” he replied cheerfully. “I had to re-hang the ox hide Herakles tore down last night.” He gestured aft to my shelter beneath the steersman’s post. “I can’t complain about the work. If I hadn’t told him about you, I wouldn’t have had to—”
“You did what?” I don’t know how I kept myself from shouting loud enough to bring the whole crew of the Argo running. “Hylas, I trusted you to—”
“Glaucus, don’t be mad.” He was genuinely distressed. “I did it to help you. I kept thinking of you and Milo trapped in that dark place for days to come. That’s why I spoke to Herakles, begging him to be your champion. Once he promised me he’d protect you, we fetched Iolaus, not before.”
“Oh. Well…well, no harm done,” I said, my anger fading.
“I’ll make it up to you,” Hylas said. “Today I will bring you some wine, and the best cheese, and—”
If he said he was going to bring me food and drink, it could only mean one thing. I glanced aft to my hiding spot under the helmsman’s post. “I thought we didn’t have to stay there anymore.” I’d joined the quest for the Fleece in order to taste freedom. I didn’t relish the thought of spending another day as a prisoner.
“Not for much longer, Glaucus, I swear. Just until we’ve set sail and Herakles has the chance to tell your story to the rest of the crew…with two exceptions.” His smile glinted with mischief. “If it’s any comfort, you’ll have the space to yourself. You said the Spartans have no grudge against your sour-faced friend. He’s free to come and go as he pleases.”
“His name is Milo.” Even if Hylas was correct about my friend’s bad disposition, I felt he didn’t have the right to criticize him.
“From the way he looks at me, you’d think my name was Worm. Did I do something to offend him?”
“It’s only a mood,” I said. “He’ll come around.”
“He’d better,” Hylas said. “It’s going to be a long voyage.”
4
BIRDS WITH THE FACES OF WOMEN
Eunike as the Pythia had the gift of prophecy and I suspected that Orpheus did as well, but Herakles too turned out to be an oracle, in his own way. My life aboard the Argo worked out just as he’d predicted. Prince Jason’s ship was indeed large enough to hold my secret safe. When I emerged from my hiding place the next morning, word of my supposed quarrel with Castor and Polydeuces had spread through the rest of the crew. Herakles made his wishes in the matter clear to everyone. You didn’t need the Pythia to predict your future if you crossed him.
From then on, I knew my brothers wouldn’t see me unless I allowed it. It was easy enough to avoid them. Each crewman sat on his own sea chest to row. The sole exception was the white-haired man who’d slept on board that first night. He seemed to jump from spot to spot on the ship like a flea. My brothers had the two right-hand places closest to the ship’s prow, so I haunted the Argo’s stern and never went farther forward than the mast amidships if I could help it.
Of course, the men didn’t row all day long. When the winds favored us, my brothers and the rest shipped their oars and gave thanks to the gods, leaving the Argo’s fate to Tiphys, who handled the steering oar, and the men who governed the great sail. Even when the winds failed and the crew bent their backs at the oars, there would be times called for them to rest, drink, and wipe the sweat away. I learned to stay alert for those moments. Just because my brothers didn’t wander far from their chosen bench didn’t mean it would never happen.