The Island of Delos of Greece, AD 990
Panagiotis had had better days.
Thrown out of the house on his ear by his wife, he’d had to trundle down the street under the prying stare of his neighbours and children, only imagining the comments the former would whisper to one another that night. Threw him out at last! If that were me, I’d have done it years ago... He’s a strange man, a poor man, pity the life of his poor wasted woman... Panagiotis had taken a human for his second wife after the death of his first fairy one, and he’d regretted the action from the day of his marriage. The woman, beautiful and from a wealthy background, may never have married beneath her if Panagiotis hadn’t ‘persuaded’ her, and that fact was plain in every look and manner. Her primary concern was in her respectability and in others’ opinions of her; her husband had never quite had the courage to tell her he wasn’t human, and between him and his three fairy children from his first marriage there were numerous ‘strange happenings’ in the household which became the talk of the town. The tension and dwindling love had obviously become too much to bear for Agathe, who had finally banished him from her life, claiming the house for her own.
The children had long since grown up and moved on so at least he didn’t have to worry over them, but being cast on the street without a possession to one’s name is difficult, even for an independent fairy. Resolving that he would have to move in temporarily with his eldest son, Panagiotis had deterred this awkward reunion by making the pub his first destination. Now he sat at the bar with a pint of beer pressed gloomily into his hand, duly ignoring the rowdy crowd gradually increasing in size behind him. Every year, his town competed with neighbouring towns in a series of micro-Olympic games; the tournaments were extremely popular and a good excuse for the men to drink and be merry. Earlier that day his town had won the short sprint event, and almost every male resident was out celebrating.
A movement outside the window behind the bar caught Panagiotis’ eye. The slow, quiet nature of the shadow aroused his curiosity; who could be outside skulking about at this hour, when the rest of the town was either tucked quietly up in bed or celebrating its victory? Leaving a coin at the bar, Panagiotis crossed the room and slipped unnoticed out of the door. The first breath of the fresh night air reawakened his beer-dulled senses, and he felt quite refreshed as he crept around the edge of the building to where he’d seen the shadow disappear. Perhaps it was a thief, but Panagiotis doubted it; crime was rare on this island, since it was small enough that everyone knew everyone and nobody would ever get away with anything uncaught. Then again... who else would dress like that? Cloaked loosely in black robes which hide his form and make it impossible to guess his identity, for he could have any size or shape or face; the mysterious figure is certainly taking great pains to keep his presence unknown as he slinks along the wall, slowly and silently. He’s so quiet that Panagiotis knows he can never hope to sneak up on him – the only option is one quick, bold attack. A fairy’s wings are faster than his legs; Panagiotis throws himself into the air and throws himself at the figure, grasping it firmly by the shoulders and ripping its hood off.
“Lefteris!”
The fairy population of the Greek islands was relatively small. Eleutherius, affectionately known as Lefteris, was one of the few others – but he’d disappeared off the face of the island about two years previously. Like everyone else, Panagiotis had assumed that he’d emigrated to one of the other islands, probably because he’d found a lady friend. He’s never seen his old friend look worse; Lefteris’ face is grey and drawn, his hair has thinned out and the dark circles under his eyes scream of severe sleep deprivation.
“Panos, my friend – thank Aura it’s you,” Lefteris’ thin, hard fingers have an unnaturally strong grip on Panagiotis’ robe. “I cannot cope with this any longer. I need... I need a god, Panos. I need divinity.”
“What do you mean?”
Lefteris hesitates. Glancing nervously around to reassure himself that they’re alone, he slowly undoes the clasp of his cape with trembling fingers and unwinds it. Panagiotis doesn’t need the full unveiling to see the problem; once the first few layers are off, it’s painfully obvious. Lefteris hasn’t lost weight; quite the opposite. The great dome of his stomach looks even more unnaturally odd on his spindly legs and under his flat, male chest.
“Mallos is the nearest deity,” Panagiotis says slowly. “If we fly, we can be in Spain in perhaps a few weeks...” He breaks off as he sees Lefteris shaking his head.
“Tsi is visiting the Greek islands. That’s why I came back, to try and find him. Help me find him, Panagiotis, please – please, help me.”
There’s no question, not for a moment. As he hurries his friend away, Panagiotis reflects grimly that poor old Lefteris could not have chosen a better day to return. Perhaps it’s true and that all things happen for a reason; perhaps it was the gods’ will that he be thrown out of his home today, so that he could be here for the unfortunate man.
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