Titans of Chaos

She smiled an eerie smile. "My Lord husband, Trismegistus, is the Psychopomp. No matter whatsins I do on Earth, when this Flesh is dead, the guide who leads souls to underworld will lead meto no other place but to his marriage bed."

I said, "Don't you understand? There won't be any Heaven or Hell, no Earth, no underworld, nonothing! Trismegistus will die, too!"

Ethemea smiled thinly. "Perhaps you overestimate the powers Chaos wields. Trismegistus knowsyour art as well as his own. Your death may not lead to the universal apocalypse you say. Hisplans are deep and subtle___But, too late for any further talk! The maenads come to tear andslay."

I shouted, "But Parthenope said Trismegistus wanted to end the world! He must be lying tosomeone! Why not to you?"

But she had glided backwards, well out of way of the oncoming avalanche of maenads.

An inch-high flood of milk and wine flowed into the area, pushing a tide-ripple of grass blades,dead leaves, and litter.

The maenads splashed forward, screaming and yodeling. I saw how the calm nymphs each drew acircle in the grass around them with their willow wands. As if those gestured circles had createdtowers of invulnerable glass, the maenad horde spilled left and right around each unruffled andmysteriously smiling nymph, and none of the wild women, despite the press and the confusion,approached within a yard of them. Even the ripple of dirty milk parted and went around them.

I was looking at Colin during that moment. Maybe I was screaming to him. I don't know. But theshrilly shouting bacchants were between him and the undisturbed nymphs, reaching toward himwith long fingernails. He was closer to them than I was. He would be first.

There was an altercation suddenly. Perhaps two maenads both wanted to be the first to sink herfine white teeth into Colin. Perhaps it was just an accident.

One ran her sister through the stomach with her spear; the impaled girl ripped off the spear armof her attacker and flung it high overhead, forming a momentary rainbow of blood.

Because I was looking right at him, I actually saw it happen. The square slab of grassy stone onwhich he lay spun upside down. Colin was dumped into a square hole. The reverse side of this slabwas decorated with an identical plot of grass. The pattern of cracks on this side of the stone wasthe same as on the other side.