Honey Eater
Laura Gill
Published by Phaze Books
Also by Laura Gill
Claiming Ariadne
Honey Eater
This is an explicit and erotic novel
intended for the enjoyment
of adult readers. Please keep
out of the hands of children.
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Honey Eater copyright 2010 by Laura Gill
All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Edited by Paul Hudson
Cover art © 2010 Amanda Kelsey
eBook ISBN-13: 978-1-60659-950-1
First Phaze Edition – May 2010
Printed in the United States of America
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SMASHWORDS EDITION
Author’s Note
In 1700 B.C., a swarm of earthquakes devastated Crete, destroying the palaces at Knossos and Phaistos. At some point during this seismic upheaval, the desperate Minoans appealed to the gods with the ultimate sacrifice: a human being.
The site at Anemospilia was excavated by Yanni and Efi Sakellarakis in 1979. Within the ruined hillside sanctuary, they discovered the remains of four individuals. In the chamber used for the blood sacrifices lay three skeletons. A priest lay on his back with broken legs and his arms instinctively raised to shield his face as the ceiling collapsed. A priestess lying face down in the corner suffered from sickle-cell anemia. The third individual, a young man of about eighteen, lay on what had been an altar; his bones were discolored on one side, indicating that he bled to death before the earthquake struck and the structure burned.
In the corridor outside, a fourth individual whose age and sex could not be determined had been caught attempting to flee after dropping a libation vessel containing the young man’s blood.
After the earthquake, the survivors apparently made no effort to excavate the site and recover the dead. The sanctuary remained undisturbed for thirty-seven centuries.
Prologue
Still no sign of them.
Staying away from the damaged walls, Merope set three platters by the makeshift hearth in the courtyard, covered them to keep off the flies, and sat down to wait. She’d been doing that all day: waiting and trying to calm fraying nerves until her gut roiled. Rusi kept her company, but there was only so much the servant girl and her grandmother Nona could do.
After today, she would no longer have a twin brother.
Aftershocks continuously jolted the ground. Dust clouds wreathed the hills where the shaking dislodged dirt and loose stones. Once the initial temblor passed, the women had braved continuing shocks and falling plaster dust and debris to fetch cooking utensils and blankets. Merope watched the grapevines tremble as the wooden stakes vibrated, and behind her the house rattled with each shock.