Lives of Alcyone

lackmailer, and therefore fell into his power. He was so mercilessly
rapacious that she had to sell jewels to satisfy him.
However, one of her sons, Helios, a boy of fourteen,
accidentally overheard one of her conversations with this
extortioner, and, stung by a rude remark of the blackmailer, sprang
out upon him and killed him. The mother was much shocked and
startled, though of course from one point of view relieved also.
There was great trouble as to the disposal of the body, and mother
and son finally conveyed it by night to the river. The dread of
discovery weighed heavily for some time upon Alcyone’ s heart,
though, apparently, not at all upon her son’ s. Nothing further was
heard of the affair, for the blackmailer’ s body was not found, and
he was supposed to have travelled away again, as usual.
When Alcyone was thirty-seven years of age her father,
Sirius, died. The loss was a great grief to her; indeed, a child about
to be born then died in consequence. One of her other children,
however, proved to be mediumistic, and could see and speak to the
dead father, and this brought great consolation to Alcyone. Through
this child (Demeter) Sirius was able to give her much good advice,
and to reconcile her to his absence from the physical plane. During
physical life he had been much interested in the service of the
temple and its magic. And he had often conversed with her about
such matters as he was allowed to share with her. Even after his
death they still spoke of these things. Her husband, however, did not
understand them or care for them, though he was usually king and
proud of his wife. He was a successful man, and had considerable
influence; his ideas were more worldly and less religious than his
wife’ s, though he often deferred to her judgement about certain