The Firebrand
Marion Zimmer Bradley
 As the destruction of Ilium approaches, Kassandra foresees catastrophe and does all in her power to prevent it but is not listened to. Helen is abducted by Paris. This disaster is foreseen by Kassandra.Paris is her twin, and she has a psychic link to her brother, even when he was living in exile. Agamemnon, Menelaus, and Achilles soon follow with an army, and the war for Troy is begun. As these happenings spin out of control, Kassandra rediscovers the ancient worship of the Snake Mother and takes up residence in the Temple of Apollo, the god who has replaced her goddess. There she is assaulted by Khryse, a priest disguised as Lord Apollo himself. The priestess sees through his trick and fights him off. Khryse, angry and rejected, spreads the rumor throughout the city that Kassandra is cursed for refusing the love of Apollo. Ultimately, it is Kassandra herself (donning the mask of Apollo) who puts an end to Akhilles’ bloodthirsty reign of terror. Her arrow finds its mark in his unprotected heel. Rather than allowing a legend of the Styx to bring down the great hero, Bradley gives us a much simpler solution: a poison-tipped Amazon arrow. Feminism has seemingly triumphed over male chauvinism—for a time, broken by the brutal rape of Kassandra and her foster-daughter, who is about three at the time, Honey. The Fall of Troy comes and goes. Kassandra suffers her horrifying fate as the concubine of Agamemnon but is freed at last by Klytemnestra, her master’s wife and murderer. She makes her way back Asia Minor, where in the desert, she hopes to recreate a kingdom of old—one ruled by a powerful queen, as it should be.