Chasing the Star Garden: The Airship Racing Chronicles (Volume 1) (20 page)

“To be honest, I expected to find an Englishman in your tent, Professor,” Sal said then, sipping the hot tea.

I pick up the cup, nearly burning my fingers. “Bloody hell,” I grumbled under my breath.

“Like this, dear,” the Professor told me, demonstrating the correct grip as he held his glass with his fingertips by the rim. “You’ve just missed them. They packed it in two days ago and headed back to Constantinople. Good riddance. No offense,” he added, smiling at me.

“None taken.”

“Would you mind, Professor, if we have a look around?” Celeste asked.

“My dear, with eyes like that, all you should do is look around,” he said with a laugh. “Drink up. I’ll give you a tour,” Professor Herzog said and then hurried us along.

We polished off the hot tea, which made me sweat in the early morning heat, and headed outside.

“Come, I’ll take you to the shrine of Apollo,” the Professor said, taking a walking stick with one hand, and his strange disked device in the other. “Where is your ship—Gott, is that an airship?”

“We travel in style,” Sal said jokingly.

The old man laughed a long, hard laugh. After a moment, it became clear that it wasn’t Sal’s comment that had amused the professor.

“Professor?” Sal asked.

“Ah, my Italian friend, I laugh because you have docked your ship—isn’t that the wine god on its balloon—directly above the ancient temple of Dionysus. I guess the old boy knows where he belongs,” the old man said and led us back across the land bridge.

As we walked, I eyed the landscape. I was trying to find the image I had seen in the kaleidoscope. It seemed that the image I had picked up in the lens was oriented from the land side of Knidos. As we hiked up the hill along the seaside to the shrine of Apollo, I shaded my eyes with my hand and looked out at the water. The kaleidoscope had clearly indicated there should be a small island just off shore, but I saw almost nothing on the horizon. All around me, however, pieces of the ancient city were found in plenty.

“Here is one of the east-west roads through the city,” the old man said as he pointed his walking stick toward a flat area carved into the mountainside. “And a row of houses. Some shops are still under the dirt along there. No doubt the Dilettanti will dig them out.”

Sal and I exchanged a glance.

The old man, who was soon breathing hard and sweating profusely, led us to a section of wall quite near the sea cliff looking out over the ocean. Below us, on the city side, a pit had been dug into the earth. Marble stone floors and a pedestal had been unearthed.

“Here we are,” the professor said, flourishing his hand toward the dig. “Besides me and my workers, you are the first eyes to see the temple of Apollo in more than a thousand years,” the old man said then, his voice rich with satisfaction. “Are you pleased?” he called, facing upward toward the bright morning sun. He turned back to us again. “Granted, not much to see, but once we get the earth moved there will be more!”

“Congratulations on your achievement,” Celeste said with a smile. “It is quite moving.”

“Moving indeed! Ten years on this cape and more years than I can say buried in the archives of my university chasing Apollo,” the Professor said then took Celeste’s hand. “I must say, my dear, my heart nearly gave out when I saw that old stone floor. It was like passion.”

“Passion is something I understand well,” she said flirtatiously. She then turned back to the dig. “It is like a miracle,” she whispered.

“Yes, yes indeed,” the Professor agreed.

“What led you to this location?” Sal asked him.

“This,” the man said, patting the strange instrument he carried.

“I did indeed notice this device, Professor. What is it?” Sal asked.

“Ah, you see, it is a device of my own creation! I began to wonder if there was some way to sense the presence of marble structures, walls, temples, under the earth without having to dig. I realized I could find them if I look by vibration! I have employed the use of crystals in what I call my clockwork dowsing rod. The vibrations given off by raw earth opposed to the linear lines of cut stone, manmade objects, are different. Using crystals, I catch the resonance. As such, I found the structure.”

“Quite amazing,” Sal said. I noticed that several times Sal’s hand had moved toward the device as the professor waved it about.

The old man, lost in his thoughts, had not even noticed. “I tried to assist the Brits, but they think they know better, mucking around in the mud. They are not even looking in the right place for their Aphrodite.”

“How do you know?” I asked.

The old man laughed. “It is written in the
Erōtes
exactly where she can be found.”

“On a hill above the harbor. Aphrodite
Euploia
, the lady of safe voyages, blesses the ships as they pass, and she can be seen from the sea. She has a rotunda, an open air temple, where laurel trees grow and fruits and flowers. It is a place where lovers meet and practice her art under the eyes of Apollo,” Celeste said dreamily.

“Indeed, by Apollo, she has it,” the old man said, smiling at Celeste appreciatively. “One would almost think you are an Aphrodite scholar. Now, young lady, if that is an accurate description of the temple, where would you look?”

“Somewhere high. At the seaside. Somewhere visible from all around. Somewhere where laurel trees still grow.”

“The Dilettanti have been digging this site since 1812, yet you’ve put it together with more logic than all those so-called experts combined!” he said and pinched her cheek.

Celeste grinned. “Do you know where the Aphrodite temple is?”

He smiled. “Come with me.”

He led us away from the Apollo temple and upward, following the sea cliff, toward an impressive rockslide that had shifted from a nearby crag. We crawled carefully around the rocks until we were standing at the cliff’s edge. It was a steep drop to the water below. I noticed that mature laurel trees dotted the location. A soft, warm breeze floated in.

“What better place from which to see the Aphrodite?” the old man said. “I nearly broke my neck trying, but I explored that heap with my dowsing rod. Looking. Just looking. And do you know what is under all the scree?” With his walking staff, the Professor drew a large circle in the dirt. “Something large, round, and manmade.”

“The temple of Aphrodite?” Celeste more breathed than asked.

The old man shrugged. “What do I know? I am just an old man chasing Apollo. Let the Dilettanti take the next hundred years figure it out!” he said with a laugh.

I had to join him. British prattishness, of which I was sometimes prone when it came to talking about racing, was an unflattering quality. I stared out at the sea. The view struck me. I recognized it immediately as the view from the kaleidoscope.

I nudged Sal. “Nice view,” I said, looking out at the blue-green water.

Both he and Celeste turned. Celeste had been staring intently at the pile of rubble; her eyes had a faraway look. I imagined she had been envisioning the ancient temple of the goddess lying underneath. In a world where Catholics and Protestants burned one another at the stake every other hundred years, it was a dangerous thing to have a faith so far beyond the pale. Her faith revealed, Celeste surely would have gone to the stocks, glossy hair and all. Her eyes widened as she looked out to sea and realized that we were seeing the image from the kaleidoscope.

“Looks pretty clear out there. Any islands offshore?” I asked. On the far horizon, Kos rose from the sea like a gray-green shadow.

“Just rocks. Not much to see. Except, of course, Aphrodite’s fingers,” the Professor said.

“Aphrodite’s fingers?” Celeste asked. I could not help but hear the excitement in her voice.

“Just a pile of rocks, really. Five rocky fingers sticking out of the sea, waving” he said and wiggled his fingers. He then pointed toward the horizon. “North of the harbor. You can see it from here. Look,” he added. And where he pointed, I just made out a small island that looked to be exactly where the kaleidoscope had indicated.

Celeste released a small, excited “Ahh!” but held herself in check.

I noticed then that the old man looked rather gray around the lips.

“Can we help you back? The heat is rising,” I said.

“Ah, yes. We’ve been in a duel, Apollo and me. Either I’ll find him, or his sun will kill me. Seems I am triumphant,” the Professor said with a laugh.

Sal gently took the old man by the arm, and we walked back to his tent. Along the way, I noticed that there was a small sailboat docked in the harbor.

“Is that ship yours, Professor?” I asked.

“Yes, but I haven’t used it in ages. I used to like to sail around. Lots of lovely beaches along the shoreline. Fit for the foam-born daughter herself,” he said, patting Celeste on the arm.

Celeste raised an eyebrow at him.

“I hate to impose, but would you mind if we borrowed your boat? We would love to take a look at the shoreline, but the weather is too rough for the airship,” I said.

“Have you got any ale on your dirigible?” the old man asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

I turned to Celeste.

“Yes, there should be some there,” she said.

“Then you have a deal! The boat is yours to use. Just bring the ale with you when you come by tonight for dinner. We’ll drink to Apollo!”

“Of course,” Sal said.

When we reached the tent, Sal helped lower the old man into a chair, and the Ottoman assistants came at once to remove his boots and give him water.

“Thank you for the tour. It was an honor,” Celeste said, kissing him on the cheek.

“Ahh, you smell better than the Goddess of Love herself,” the old man said, whisking a handful of Celeste’s long locks toward his nose.

Celeste smiled and kissed the old man playfully once again, allowing him to stroke her hair once more before he let her go.

“We’ll be back at sunset… with ale!” I said.

The professor was fanning himself with his hat. “Now, that is something to look forward to!”

We left the Professor’s tent. It had grown extremely hot in the midday sun. The sea breeze cooled us to some degree, but there was little by way of shade in the ancient city.

“The boat… what do you have in mind, Lily?” Celeste asked.

“Well, it seems the Aphrodite is literally waving us in, but it will be practically impossible to explore by air,” I said, knowing it was the truth. I scanned the teal colored waters. While the vista was striking, a lump rose up in my throat. I knew I had to try to put my fears aside. We were too close to stop now. Besides, we had a boat. It would be fine. It would be safe. I turned to Sal: “Can you sail?”

He shook his head. I was surprised. I guess I’d come to think that Sal knew everything.

“I can,” Celeste said. Again, I was surprised. She caught my expression. “I grew up on an island,” she explained.

“Well then, shall we set sail?” Sal asked.

Celeste looked out at the sea. “That’s why we are here. Let’s pray Aphrodite gives us safe voyage.”

Chapter 26

W
hile I clung to the boat and pretended I was not frightened to death of the water, Celeste showed a side of herself I’d never expected. Her hands moving quickly, she readied the small boat and guided it out of the Knidian harbor with finesse. The small white sail, discolored with age and disuse, flapped in the breeze. Part of me thought that even if Celeste had not known how to sail, she still would have helmed the ship. She was a woman on a quest that was nearing its end. In those moments, a person will risk anything to win what they love.

Sal panned his spyglass across the water as we set out of the harbor. We had not gone far when he spotted Aphrodite’s fingers. “There,” he said pointing. “I can see the rocks jutting out of the water.”

Celeste adjusted the sail, and the small ship pushed through the waves.

I gazed down into the turquoise colored waters. You could see the sea bottom. Below, I saw the dark shapes of rocks and the quick movements of silver fish. The water was beautiful albeit terrifying.

It was not long until the rocky island came into view of the naked eye. To say it was an island was a bit of an exaggeration. In reality, it was five tall rocks sticking out of the water. Like a hand waving at the shoreline, the rocks really did look like fingers. The back of the hand seemed to face the sea, its dark black stones looking like knuckles. The palm faced the coast. The rocks looked like slim fingers jutting out at different angles.

Celeste guided the boat toward the rocks, all of us looking intently for any sign of a cave or anything else.

“Let me drop anchor here,” Celeste said as we came within several feet from the rocks. “I don’t want to risk damaging the boat. We can swim over,” she said. Sal nodded in agreement while I looked at both of them like they’d lost their minds. They didn’t seem to notice.

Once she had the ship anchored, Celeste began pulling off her boots, and Sal tied his hair back and pulled off his shirt. I sat perfectly still, gripping the rail of the boat as sea spray splashed over its side.

“Lily?” Sal asked. His forehead furrowed with confusion.

“I’ll stay and mind the boat,” I said.

Celeste and Sal both looked questioningly at me.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

I nodded. “Fantastic. I’ll just stay here and mind the boat,” I said again. I could feel that all the blood had drained from my face.

Sal peered deeply at me. “Very good. We’ll take a look.”

“Be careful swimming near the rocks. Don’t get pulled under,” I told them both.

Celeste nodded, and with a jump, she splashed into the water and started swimming toward the stones. Sal slipped off the side of the boat and followed her. A few moments later, they appeared on the rocks, helping one another get a handhold. The rocks were much larger up close, perhaps twice the size of a man. I looked at the rocks, taking in the surroundings, as I sat on the rocking boat. I pulled out Sal’s spyglass and examined the shoreline. In general, the coast had high cliffs, but I did spy one small cove nestled into the curvature of the land. There was a small, private beach.

“I don’t see anything,” Celeste called.

“No, me either,” Sal answered.

“It’s all stone. Just wet, slippery stone. You see any carvings? Anything? They might be faded from erosion,” Celeste called. She sounded exasperated.

“Not yet,” Sal answered. “Maybe there is something under the water. Look for a chain or something leading below,” Sal called to her.

I gazed up at the fingers. Professor Herzog was right. The Aphrodite’s fingers did seem to waggle, almost like she was waving toward the shoreline. I then noticed that one of the fingers was bent lower than the others, more lateral to the ocean. Given all the fingers seemed to be pointing, just in different directions, I didn’t think much of it at first. But then I realized that the lowest and most lateral finger was, in fact, the ring finger of a left hand. I lifted the spyglass and looked. Following the line of the finger, it seemed like it was pointing directly to the small, hidden cove.

“Sal?” I called.

“Nothing yet, Lily. Are you all right over there?”

I took a deep breath, reached down, and grabbed Celeste’s satchel. From inside, I removed the kaleidoscope. Getting my balance as best I could, I stood, aligned myself with the finger, and aimed the kaleidoscope toward the shoreline.

“Sal?”

“Lily? Everything okay?” he called from the other side of the rocks.

“You and Celeste should come back to the boat.”

“Why? What’s wrong?” Celeste called.

I smiled. “Nothing. It’s just… well… I know where to find the Aphrodite.”

In the kaleidoscope’s colored glass, clear as day, was the image of the Aphrodite of Knidos.