Ante's Inferno by Griselda Heppel

Author:Griselda Heppel [GRISELDA HEPPEL]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Signs on the Wall

Ante wheeled round. Instantly two hot hands clamped over her face, the sweat stinging her eyes.

‘Let go, Gil!’ she yelled, rearing her head. ‘We’ve got to get Florence, she’s in pain!’

‘If you think I’m going to allow you to wreck it all right now, when we’re nearly through, you’re making the biggest mistake of your life,’ he shouted back. ‘Now, face ahead and keep going. I’m not taking my hands off your eyes.’

What else could she do? Sobs racked her chest as she stumbled on, blind save for the red glow through Gil’s palms. Eventually the glow darkened and cooler air fanned her cheek, the hot wind dropping behind her. Gil released his hold. Blurry-eyed and exhausted, she sank on to the hard ground.

‘Hi.’

Her head shot up. She swivelled round on her knees, barely noticing the tiny stones scraping her skin.

A few paces away, outlined against the flames, sat a slight figure. Its face lay in shadow. Yet light from the bough caught a gleam in the eyes fixed on hers.

A gleam of recognition.

Waves of relief flooded through Ante. She flung herself at the figure, burying her head in its neck. ‘Florence. Oh, Florence.’ Her breath rushed out, flattening the ends of her bushy hair against the pale skin. ‘Gil, you’re a – a genius!’ She choked and could say no more.

The thin shoulders stiffened under her touch. The chin jerked away. Ante raised her head. Eyes, large and blue, glittered in sunken sockets. Dry, swollen lips moved but no words came.

‘Water,’ panted Gil, from the ground nearby. ‘She needs water. Badly.’

Crawling over to Florence, he removed the cork from her waterskin. She let the warm liquid touch her lips; she spluttered and gulped but finally drank deep, her eyes closed, her face relaxed.

After a moment he pulled the waterskin away. ‘Enough for now. We mustn’t use it all up.’ With a sigh he sat back on his heels and drank from his own supply.

Ante followed suit. Letting her head fall back, she closed her eyes for a moment. They’d done it. Florence was shaken, her clothes torn, her skin raw and streaked with blood, but the blankness had gone from her expression. She was going to be OK.

Florence sat up and put her arms round her knees. ‘Why is Gil a genius?’ she asked. Her voice cracked slightly, still hoarse from the flames, but the words came out evenly enough. ‘Did he rescue me?’

Ante nodded. ‘Yes, he – ’

‘What?’ Gil’s eyes shot from Ante to Florence. ‘How could I?’ he cried. ‘I was in the same fix as you, thanks to your scheming.’ He paused, watching Florence.

Ignoring his gaze, she continued to look straight ahead.

‘Ante rescued us both,’ he went on. ‘Though getting the Furies to release you was hardest of all, until I remembered about Orpheus and Eurydice. That’s what Ante means.’

‘Orpheus.’ Florence echoed. A line furrowed her smooth brow, then cleared. ‘Oh. I see. That’s why you wouldn’t wait. Or even turn round.’

‘You know the story, then.

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