Gladiatrix (30 page)

There was a price printed underneath each position, and they weren't cheap.

Beneath the panels a plump, black-haired woman reclined on a red plush couch. She was gossiping with a thin, bald man sitting on the wooden chair next to her. She was wearing enough white and red make-up on her face to choke a cat, and very little else.

Something gold and spangled glinted in the folds of skin under her stomach and breasts. She may have been wearing a bikini but it'd obviously lost the battle to restrain her curves earlier in the night.

From the rumpled state of his clothes, the man next to her had already used the house facilities, and was enjoying a relaxed debriefing with the resident expert. They both looked up with sharp interest as we moved into the foyer.

The woman patted her towering hairstyle. ‘Well, darlings, what do we have here?' She had a voice like Humphrey Bogart, but spoke like Zsa Zsa Gabor. Deep, rough, and professionally seductive.

The man sitting next to her winked at Alex. ‘What you have, my dear, is two horny boys looking for a good time.'

He perused me with a patronising gleam. ‘But one of them's a little bit shy. Now I wonder why that is?'

A loud shriek zinged through, from the next room. It broke into a laugh, then back into a shriek. A stringed instrument twanged, as though for emphasis.

‘Hurnis must be doing the sea bass trick again,' remarked the man with little interest. ‘I hope she remembered to buy more of that green ointment. We ran out last night.'

Zsa Zsa ignored that, more interested in assessing the new business. She scanned my covered face, checked my body, then went back to my face. She was suspicious. ‘And what are you trying to hide, sweetheart?'

Alex stepped slightly in front of me, and gave her his fourth-best grin.

I snorted.

That was all that was needed. The madam immediately dropped her attention from me in favour of a full-scale examination of Alex's charms.

No inhibitions here, she was beginning to drool.

He nodded over his shoulder at me. ‘Don't worry about my friend here. It's his first time, and he's pretty embarrassed.' He grinned again.

She started fanning herself with a feather. He could have said anything, and she'd just agree.

‘He's afraid that he won't be able to do it. He'll take the head cloth off if he's successful.'

I choked back a comment. Then remembered Caractacus and the Hierophant could be just around the corner. Alex had these two covered, so I passed him the remaining gold coins, and headed for the next door.

Zsa Zsa didn't even watch me go. By now Alex was fanning her with her own feather.

‘Excuse my friend's impatience,' he said, as I went. ‘He's afraid he'll lose momentum if he doesn't act quickly. So tell me, beautiful, how does the deal work here?'

The madam responded with a full-bodied cackle.

Sheesh.

Inside was one big room. Walls adorned with
Rubenesque paintings giving advanced sexual advice, and one wooden staircase running up the middle to the top floor.

The music and the shrieking were coming from the space to the right of the stairs, where an exotic dancer was performing in the middle of a ring of lounges.

Now she was doing something uncomfortable with a series of vegetables, all the while balanced on one hand. The sea bass, or whatever it was, was back and swimming around in the big wooden tub next to her. It looked slightly dazed. Next to it was a bucket of outsized green crabs. They just looked irate.

They probably knew what was coming. I was glad I wasn't staying for the rest of the show.

About ten customers reclined in the circle. Some were shouting requests, mainly involving the selection of cucumbers over carrots, while others were too busy making their own fun.

Didn't see the allure of salad vegetables myself, but there was no sign of my two targets.

To the left of the staircase was empty except for a lounge suite and a cluster of chairs around a padded sofa. Either Caractacus and Argos weren't here yet, or they were upstairs.

Alex arrived with Zsa Zsa on his tail. Literally. He came over to me, while she peeled off and up the stairs.

‘They're not down here.' I watched Zsa Zsa disappear behind a curtained doorway on the floor above us.

‘That's fine, I've just paid for us to get upstairs. She's sending down one woman for both of us.' His eyes glinted slightly. ‘I said you needed coaching.'

He nodded to the lounge. ‘We make a selection down here. Once we're up there we can bribe whoever we pick, and have a look around.'

‘Sounds like a plan, but they'd better get down here soon. It's taking far too much time. They could've been and gone by now.'

‘If Argos or Caractacus are upstairs, the only exit is down those stairs. So it's better to wait.'

‘Now you're Mr Patience?'

‘Compared to you I'm …'

Before he could finish that thought, the resident line of sex workers began swaying and slinking their way down the stairs. Each had their own particular gimmick, which they played to the hilt.

The first woman had dark hair and eyes, and a military thing going on. She wore a stylised metal helmet and leather armour, carried a silk whip and had a steely quality to her gaze.

Hmm, some things never change. From the way she was flicking that whip, this must be the resident dominatrix.

As she passed she looked into my shadowed face and said, in a deep smoky voice, that her name was Minerva.

Ah, the goddess of war.

Alex just got a flick on his leg with her whip as she passed. He didn't seem too impressed. But then I didn't imagine many slaves would be, by that particular caress.

Next was Venus, a tiny blonde in feathers, and little else.

The feathers were a bit worn and droopy, but she knew how to use them to advantage. She ran her pink boa up my inside leg, batted her eyes at Alex, and then swayed over to Minerva swinging her hips for all she was worth.

She peered back at me from over her shoulder and winked, then turned to face us in line with Minerva.

Six more women filed past, each using a different
method to gain our attention, and each dressed as a different goddess. Alex came in for some extra-heavy-duty sales talk.

Well, he did look like sex on a stick.

Just as the last woman filed past, little Venus suddenly emitted a squeak. ‘I know who you are!' She rushed forward, and pulled away my head cloth.

They all took one united gasp of breath.

Crap.

‘I knew those legs weren't male! I knew it!' said Venus.

‘Told you it wouldn't work,' said Alex.

Venus started jumping up and down, which made her feathers tickle my arms. ‘You're Bellona, the new gladiatrix! You're the one the Ludi boys have been talking about.'

The other women crowded around, and a startling number of soft hands began roving over my skin. Minerva was busy checking out my arms. She said, in a low husky voice, ‘Mmmm. Strong, but so smooth.'

I looked over their heads at Alex, perplexed.

He growled, ‘A fan club. I don't believe it.'

‘You just wait till I tell the Ludi boys you've been here!' said Venus. ‘They spoke of nothing else this afternoon. I had to lend Minerva my other blonde wig, so they could re-enact the fight.'

Minerva nodded vigorously, and flexed her biceps to emphasis her suitability for the role. Then she dimpled. ‘We actually re-enacted five different versions of the fight.' She chuckled warmly at the thought. ‘The boys couldn't agree on how it ended, so the final version involved all eight of us girls.'

I didn't have time to ask how that last statement could even start to make sense, so I just ignored it. Unfortunately the others then decided to give us their versions of what went on before the Ludi men staggered
home content. Two of the dancer's audience wandered over to see what the fuss was about, and the noise just escalated.

We had to move before Caractacus found out we were here, so I picked up Venus and headed for the stairs, leaving a chorus of sighs behind me.

She happily waved at the others all the way up, while the two men gave me a series of unwelcome recommendations.

Alex followed us muttering to himself, but I couldn't hear what he was saying.

Venus showed us into her room, where I explained what we wanted. She was smart enough, and friendly enough, to go with the change of plans without a fuss. She didn't know Argos at all, but instantly recognised Caractacus when I got to his garish tunic, saying that he'd come through about ten minutes before us. He was in a privately booked room, just down the hall. She didn't know who else was in there, as she'd been busy for most of the evening, but offered to find out downstairs.

‘I'll ask Salacia.' The bikini-clad madam at the front door. ‘But be careful,' she warned. ‘You don't know what they could be doing in there.' She grimaced, ‘Those private rooms get some pretty kinky use.'

I winked at her, and turned to go.

‘Gladiatrix,' she took my hand in hers, ‘come back when you can. We'll all be waiting. We hate Lucius. He broke a girl's jaw here, two months ago. And he enjoyed doing it, the creep!'

Yeah, that was Lucius.

Alex and I headed down the hall, but just as we reached the right door we heard the sound of breaking pottery.

And screaming.

I kicked it open to find a hysterical slave standing in the middle of broken platters of food. The walls in front of her were sprayed with blood.

When she turned towards us, I could see past her to the source of the gore. Caractacus was sprawled in a chair, his throat cut open through to the bone. As though he had a hinge in the middle of his neck. Below him, Argos lay in a pool of blood on the floor, his throat also cut open.

Butchered!

Alex dealt with the girl. As he touched her on the shoulder, she stopped screaming to melt into loud sobs on his chest.

I knelt down by the pool around Argos. It was still congealing. The only way out of the room was the door we'd come in. We must have just missed the Hierophant while we were in with Venus!

By now a crowd of semi-naked women ringed the doorway, shouting for the bouncers. Alex asked the sobbing slave, ‘Where's the other man who was in here?' She shook her head.

‘Can you tell us what he looked like?' I asked.

She started to hyperventilate. She was working her way back into full-blown hysterics.

‘The Hierophant could still be nearby,' I said. ‘He's certainly going to be easy to identify.' The spray on the walls told me that much.

I pushed my way through the crowd at the door, Alex following.

Outside, half-dressed clients were rushing down the stairs. The two bouncers, clubs raised, were pushing their way upstream.

Venus stood at her door with Minerva. She moved forward to clutch my arm. ‘What happened? Are you all right?'

‘We were too late. The two men we were following are dead. Their throats cut.' I described Argos to her. ‘Do you know what the third man looked like?'

Minerva burst out with, ‘I know who you mean! He arrived before the others. He didn't give his name, but he was shorter than you, with dark brown hair.'

That seemed to jog Venus' memory. ‘You mean the one with the ugly nose?'

Minerva nodded.

‘Alex! That's the same man who searched Victoria's apartment!' I turned back to Venus, saying in a rush, ‘Do you know who he is? Have you got any idea how we can find him?'

Venus shook her head. ‘I've never seen any of them before tonight. I don't know how …'

Excited at being able to help, Minerva burst out with, ‘Salacia said Lucius booked that room for tonight. He must have booked it for them!'

Lucius?

How convenient. Now I knew how to find the Hierophant. And Victoria.

Minerva, looking over my shoulder, said, ‘Here comes trouble. I think you two'd better go!'

I followed her eyes to see a stream of heavily armoured men charging in through the ground-floor entrance with swords raised. Salacia led them, up the stairs.

Venus said in a rush, ‘There are some very important men here tonight, and their guards were waiting in an inn just down the street. Be careful, they have the reputation of attacking first and asking questions later.'

Just as she finished speaking the two Nubian bouncers emerged from the far room. The serving girl was with them, and she was pointing at us.

The guards at the Crassus house were horrified. We looked dreadful and smelt worse. Nothing like diving into an open sewer to lower your level of social acceptability, but there hadn't been any time to make other escape plans.

As soon as the bouncers at The Bird targeted us, Alex had lunged forward to hold them off. I had other ideas, so I'd sprinted in the opposite direction, and ripped the boards off the window.

Immediately the fetid fumes gushed in. The window overlooked the sewer running right next to the brothel.

Alex, meanwhile, had knocked the two bouncers to the ground and had been waiting, barehanded, to meet the crowd of armed men surging up the stairs.

I ground my teeth. He was such a bloody hero!

Okay, it was a two-storey jump, plus we had to clear the three feet of concrete pathway and railing, so we'd need some momentum. But not too much.

All in all, it was a safer bet than seeing how many armed guards we could both take on before one of us
was wounded. So I ran back, hooked onto the back of Alex's tunic and dragged him to the window.

The jump had worked. We cleared the walkway nicely, and landed with two solid plops right in the middle. The sewage added buoyancy and softened the fall in a way I'd personally never like to experience again. Fortunately, no-one had felt strongly enough to follow us into the canal.

Unfortunately, now the Crassus guards were taking some convincing to let us in. They knew who we were, that wasn't the issue. They just couldn't fathom why we'd turn up at the richest mansion in Rome in this condition.

They had a point.

I wouldn't have let us in either. But if I didn't get clean soon, and I mean clean to the point of scraping off at least one layer of skin, I was going to start making the wrong moves.

Things like losing my temper, losing my mind, losing the plot entirely. There was more than shit in that sewer and half of it was still clinging to my tunic.

But they adamantly refused to let us inside the gate.

While this was all being argued out in increasing strident voices, a distraction arrived in the form of Domitia's teenage son, Proculus.

Who no-one, Constan included, had bothered to mention.

And he wasn't alone.

Proculus was short, swarthy, and stinking drunk. So much so I could actually smell him over my own stench, and that was saying something.

He had half of Rome with him, and not the clean half either. He'd obviously decided to bring some friends home, and the crowd had snowballed as they swept through every gutter on the way back from the
Forum. Half of them looked as though they'd never been in this part of the city before, unless it was to case their next burglary job.

From the wilted garlands around his head and neck, Proculus must have attended the fertility festival we'd passed about two hours ago. From the spackled state of his lime green silk tunic he'd been a very busy devotee.

The guards had their hands full keeping the drunken crowd out, without actually using force. So they couldn't let us by either. After five minutes of unsuccessfully trading threats with the guards, and egged on by his stable of new friends, Proculus started to yell. He was just like his mother, he wouldn't take no for an answer, and he didn't care if he woke the whole neighbourhood. Augustus included.

He was bringing the whole motley crew in, and that was it!

A delicate matter for the guards. Mama would not like them roughing up sonny boy, but she sure as hell wouldn't want this lot roaming free around the family compound. It was all too hard, so the guards just shuffled their big sandalled feet and looked confused.

That did it. I'd had enough.

Alex, meanwhile, had leant up against the wall, and was watching the commotion with an air of resignation.

I leant in and grabbed the head guard, his eyes bulging as I pulled him close enough to whisper a crisply worded suggestion in his ear. When I released him, he took in a deep breath, nodded, and trotted up to the house.

Horace arrived in less than a minute, wearing a creased sleeping tunic and puffing like a steam train. He took one shocked look at Alex and me, but waved
us through anyway. Then, with towering dignity, he turned to Proculus and the waiting crowd.

As we left, Proculus was receiving a startlingly forthright tongue-lashing, and as far as I could hear he hadn't answered back. Good old Horace.

We trudged up the pathway, by-passing the main house to head straight for the little villa. It was the early hours of the morning, and by now all I wanted to do was to lie down somewhere, anywhere.

As we walked I flipped the vest and scarf into the bushes. They were more compost than clothing now, and I couldn't see anyone really wanting me to take that stuff inside.

Alex was still muttering to himself, and pulling squishy things out of his hair. I avoided meeting his eyes — he had not gone into the sewer willingly.

‘Oh, for God's sake, Alex. Give it a break. I stink too.'

He just grunted.

My head was aching, but even so I couldn't just lie down and sleep. The smell was so bad it was burning my nostrils. After thoroughly dunking myself in the fountain outside my room, I lit an oil lamp, grabbed a clean tunic, and sleepwalked towards the main house.

Alex was right behind me. Still muttering. And not in a friendly way either.

He'd taken a little convincing to get into the sewer. In fact it had taken an Aikido throw.

The muttering had started just after we got out the other side. My translator failed to recognise most of the words he was using, but I still got the message.

It was the middle of the night, so the bathing room was pitch black. Shining the lamp around showed that it was also deserted, but the rising steam meant the water heater was still on. Thank you, Jesus!

I lined up two big buckets full of hot water next to me, and stood directly over one of the drains. I could hear Alex doing the same thing on the other side of the room. The first bucket went over me fully clothed.

I turned my back to Alex and then peeled off the rest of my clothes, dumping them in a heap in the corner. Nothing was stopping me from getting clean again.

After a serious all-over scrub, and another eight buckets of hot water, I was finally done. Now I could relax. I slid into the small hot pool, the water dissolving any possible desire to do anything but float there. Bending my head back into the water, I relished the feel of clean hair streaming over my shoulders. A heavy sigh forced its way out of my chest. Hmm. Clean. This was much better. Much better.

I closed my eyes, arched once to wiggle out a kink in my lower back and then sank back into the water again. Ahhh …

When I opened my eyes again, Alex was in the matching cold-water pool a few feet away. He had his head back against the far side, eyes shut, and his wet hair curled around his strong neck.

Immediately above him was the mural depicting the first meeting of the hunter and the goddess Diana, they watched each with an intense mixture of fascination and fear.

Below, Alex shifted his shoulders into a more comfortable position, and then opened his eyes straight into mine. He watched me silently for a moment.

Suddenly my pool was unbearably hot.

Relax, I told myself, closing my eyes again, and sinking deeper into the water. Don't start anything you can't finish.

This lack of sleep was really doing strange things to my mind. I needed to let everything go. Relax. Just for this moment. Just to recharge.

‘So. Why do you think the Hierophant killed Argos and Caractacus?' His question echoed ever so slightly.

I opened one eye to check his expression. It'd changed. Notched back its intensity. Back down to almost normal.

I wiped my hands across my face, hoping that it'd help me clear my mind as well. Then said softly, ‘Good question.' That same point had kept me occupied on the way back here. ‘I think he's desperate to find the dagger, but he's trying to cover his tracks at the same time. I think he killed them when he found out I'd escaped. He obviously doesn't want anyone to find out who he is. And he knew he could be traced through Argos and Caractacus. That's the only explanation I can think of. Why, how do you see it?'

‘Much the same. If it got out that the high priest of a foreign cult, powerful community or not, was practising human sacrifice in the centre of Rome …'

He shook his head. ‘He'd be lucky if he was just executed. Augustus would probably have him tortured to death. In the middle of the Forum. Still,' he said. ‘You must be pretty pleased with what's happened. If Venus is right, this is your big opportunity. Lucius can tell you who the Hierophant is.'

That's what I'd thought at first too, but on the walk home doubts had arisen.

‘Yes. If he's still alive. If the Hierophant doesn't get to him first. Because he must know the girls at The Bird can make that link for me.'

Seeing those bodies tonight made me realise why he was still anonymous after all these years. The
Hierophant had no qualms about making sure his secret stayed that way.

‘I'll have to warn Valerius to be very careful too. Am I right in guessing he keeps that team of bodyguards around all the time. Not just at his office?'

‘They all do. Business in this town is risky at the best of times. That's probably why the gang went for you instead. You replaced Victoria in the deal with Crassus, so there was a chance you might have the dagger too.'

‘That seems very strange though … Wouldn't Victoria tell them Valerius had it?'

Alex's eyes softened. ‘If she's anything like you, then she won't tell anything.'

Hmm. ‘Then why keep her alive if she won't cooperate?' Or even if she does?

I pushed that thought away.

‘Stop torturing yourself, Kannon. There's no point. You just have to keep following the leads you have. And hope. What else can you do?'

I sighed. ‘Yes I know, Alex. You're right.'

I slapped the water, wishing it was Lucius' head. ‘If I can just get hold of Lucius tomorrow, then I guarantee I'll make that sadistic moron tell me things he doesn't even remember he knew in the first place.'

‘Good. And I'll be happy to help.' Alex nodded. ‘Now you can cut loose from this place …'

‘Wait a …'

‘Once you have Lucius you don't need Crassus any more,' he insisted. ‘Presumably, he can tell you how to find the Hierophant. Or at least who he is. So you don't need to go through with the initiation …'

‘Hold on there, Alex! I'm not jeopardising that option, until Lucius has personally taken me to Victoria. You know he can't be trusted …'

Alex exploded at that. ‘After tonight you're still considering going through with the initiation?'

He sat upright so fast he sent a wave crashing against the tiles and slopping over the side.

‘You saw what he did to his own men! Or don't you remember, Kannon!'

He did a graphic slit across his own throat with his thumb.

‘You think the Hierophant won't do exactly the same to you?'

My hackles went up too.

‘I'm not an idiot, Alex! If I can find another way to do this I will. But I may not have a lot of choice here. If Lucius doesn't come through. Either because the Hierophant got to him first, or for some other reason, then I'm bloody going to do the initiation. So get off my back about it! You're not helping!'

And once again we were at loggerheads.

‘Don't give me that crap, Kannon. The initiation has to be off the menu. You've got other options. What about the note from the dagger? That might give you another lead.'

‘Yeah. Yeah,' I said, too tired now to argue. The secret text. Big deal. I was beginning to think it was a lot more trouble than it was worth.

‘Let me make it clear for you, Kannon.' Alex gave me a blistering glare. ‘Whatever happens, I'm not going to help you do the initiation. So get that out of your head.'

He stood up, turning his back as he rose. Water sliding off his sleek, muscular back. Down his …

I looked away.

He towelled off with savage strokes, then put on a clean blue tunic. He stalked out.

What was I going to do with him?

I sat in morose silence for a while after that.

I was already hoping like hell I didn't have to go anywhere near the initiation. I didn't need Alex telling me I'd be a fool if I went through with it. I already knew that.

The Hierophant had slashed those two men's necks open just like sacrificial lambs.

By the time I made it back to the villa, lamp in hand, Alex was sitting outside in the courtyard.

As I passed, he said, ‘Why do you call me Alex?'

I felt a prickle of embarrassment, I hadn't even noticed I'd started doing that. ‘Ah, we … er, Australians … do that a lot. Shorten someone's name.'

‘So you shorten the names of … who?'

‘Friends. Family.' I was starting to feel more uncomfortable.

‘So Alex is a kind of nickname?'

‘Yeah. That's right.' Where was he headed with this?

‘So, what kind of nickname would Victoria have for Celeste? She was, what, two years old? She'd have given her a baby name.'

Ah, that was it. ‘You're thinking about the password for the phactor?'

He waited.

‘You're right. Calling a toddler “Celeste” doesn't sound right.'

Alex handed me the phactor.

I looked down at it and felt a pang of remorse.

And something else less easy to identify.

He was a slave, and he was helping me? He was actually searching for ways to help me.

He'd tackled armed men tonight in my defence. He'd more than proved his loyalty at The Bird. And now he was trying every way he could to help me safely find Victoria.

And leave.

I sat down next to him and opened the phactor.

‘How would you shorten Celeste?' asked Alex.