Praetorian Series [4] All Roads Lead to Rome (8 page)

Considering how easily I’d just smacked her, the last thing I expected her to do was run up beside me and grab my arm in response, digging her fingers into my biceps and causing me to pull up short.  I stopped, but instead of being angry, I turned on her curiously, wondering what could cause such a reaction from her when we’d had this conversation a dozen of times already.

“What?”  I asked.

She looked up at me sympathetically.  “Why go home at all, Jacob?  Why?  You have often spoken of how desperate and morbid it has become.  Why do you desire to return to such a place?”

“Because I have a responsi…”

But she didn’t give me a chance to finish.  “Why not stay here?  With the knowledge you have recently gained, you know your world will always be there, as intact as the day you left it.  It will always persist, and with the power of the orbs, remain a simple trip away.  But why not stay here?  Together, you and I could affect great change, bring about resounding prosperity to Rome, and lead it toward a brighter future.”

I didn’t even consider walking away again, suddenly interested.  I’d never really considered the notion of staying and directly taking control of this place because I’d never before known if doing so would lead my home toward an even more certain and earlier doom.  Nor had I ever thought someone with any actual power would ever offer such a thing to me… let alone Agrippina the Younger.

I turned to her.  “What are you offering?”

“I am not offering you anything, Jacob,” she said, her voice steady.  “Not yet.  I simply wish for you to think on it.  You and I, together, could do great things.  Your home will always be there, but I am quickly losing my own.”

I couldn’t help but think about it. 

But then Agrippina let go of my arm and wrapped her arms around herself, her demeanor shifting completely, as though everything that had happened in the last five minutes had never happened at all.

“What is it?”  I asked, already accepting her sudden change.

“It is growing quite cold, Jacob,” she said, looking off in the direction of our earlier sniper hide.  “What are we to do for accommodations tonight?  Finding dry firewood has not been easy in recent days, and ever since we lost the wind shield in that storm, your tent has grown quite cold at night.”

I nodded, remembering the cold nights the two of us had shared all too well, and looked off into the distance.  I scanned the low hills and wooded forests that surrounded us in all directions.  It was almost unbelievable how monotonous gorgeous scenery could become when there were barely any discernable landmarks to distinguish one endless field of grass or forest of trees from another.  Back home, unless one was truly trapped in the wilderness, finding a road or random cottage in the countryside wasn’t difficult. It allowed observant people, like me in particular, to immediately recall an exact location on a map as easily as a GPS device could offer it.  But the Romans hadn’t built that many roads out here, and in our current location there was nothing, just an endless sea of green and brown.

Luckily, after years of military training, all I needed to find my way was a compass and a vague idea of where I was on a map, which I didn’t have in any physical form, but the one in my mind would do just fine.  I’d never had an old friend’s innate sense of direction when in tight quarters, but out in the world, I was pretty good at finding my way around.

And I had been in this area before.

I glanced at my watch again, hit the compass setting, and turned myself so that I faced south.  I raised a hand and pointed ahead and just a little to the right.  I opened my mouth to speak but then closed it, swinging my head around to my left, an odd feeling creeping up my spine just then.  A sense that I could feel someone watching us overwhelmed me, but with nothing in visual range, I ignored it.

“There should a road in that direction,” I finally said, turning back around.  “When we reach it, we should be able to follow it to a small town.  Lutetia.  There should be lodgings on its outskirts.”

“Yes, I have heard of it,” Agrippina said, “but how do you know of it?”

“Oh, I’ve been there before.  Twice actually.  A couple of years ago and back when I was a kid.”

Her eyes widened in surprise and excitement, just as they always did when I connected something from her world with something from my own.  “The town remains two thousand years from now?”

“Sure does,” I said, almost having forgotten how great it felt when I got to play history teacher.  And it was nice that she was such an energetic student, which was also refreshing. “But it’s far more than just a
town
.  Many of your Roman cities still exist actually, although little of the original cities remain, but the location for their modern equivalents didn’t change much.  Would you like to know what Lutetia is called back home?”

“Of course!”

I smiled.  “Paris.”

She grew even more excited, and shot a hand out to grip my forearm.  “Named for the Trojan hero?!”

I looked down at the childish way she’d reached for me and almost chuckled.  “Sure.  Maybe.  I don’t know actually.  I thought it might have come from a local tribe with a similar name, but maybe you’re right.  They do call it the ‘city of love’ after all.”

Agrippina smiled as well, but with the return of those seductive eyes as well.  “As any city named for the lover of Helen would be.”

I looked away from her but then performed a quick double-take, the name
Helen
bringing back familiar memories of a woman’s face I couldn’t quite identify.  I shook my head and tried to forget about it.  “Sexual lovers, sure, but actual ones?  No.  Hardly.  They…” I paused and shook my head again.  “Never mind.  I’m sure we could debate Homeric verse until the cows come home, but that’s not going to get us to Lutetia before nightfall.  Come on.”

I walked away and it took a moment before Agrippina caught up, asking in a confused voice, “What cows do you speak of, Jacob?  Jacob…?”

***

Wherever the overwhelming might of Rome went, Rome itself followed.  Roman legions didn’t just conquer territory, they romanized it.  With them came the construction of roads, the establishment of new towns and villages, and once a territory was subdued and occupied, a more modern civilization was created.  Mail was carried through conquered areas, much like the postal system back home, aqueducts were constructed, and roadside inns popped up along Roman roadways as well, generally spaced so that travelers who put some thought into their trips could always have a place to stay for the night.

I hadn’t stayed in one of these motel-type establishments in years, but interestingly enough, Agrippina had been with me the last time that I had as well.  So had someone else, but I couldn’t remember who.  I shook my head as Agrippina and I led our horses toward the small, wooden establishment nestled in a small clearing in the trees a few meters off the road.  It was a fairly large building, far wider than it was deep, with maybe thirty open windows dominating its front façade; again, much like a motel.  In front were parking spaces in the form of hitching posts for horses, and a central door.

There were only a handful of horses out front, indicating maybe just as many residents for the evening, but there could always be a few that had come in on foot. The fewer the better. There weren’t any carriages either, so I assumed no one of any worth or value was present, which was also good since that meant fewer reasons for trouble to come knocking.  With the lodge at low occupancy and without any apparent visitors of note – well, besides the Empress of Rome and the most wanted man in the Roman Empire, that is – hopefully the two of us could have the first completely peaceful and warm night we’ve yet to have.

I gave Felix a little kick to urge him forward, and he complied immediately.

I smiled and thought of all the ways Felix was most certainly the greatest horse that had ever lived or will ever live.  I was also legitimately sure that Felix was immortal, and that he would live forever, playing the part of a noble steed for ruling kings before he retired from active service to become a Hollywood film star, where he would literally play every single horse character to grace the screen, both big or small.

Since getting to know him, I’d learned much about horses.  They were, quite honestly, the most intelligent creatures on this planet.  I now understood why Caligula had appointed his horse, Incitatus, as the head of the government.  I now knew who they’d hired to play the Horse of a Different Color in
The Wizard of Oz
– no special effects required.  And I’d finally met the horse they’d found to play a talking one on
Mister Ed
.

Felix had even changed color and shifted breeds to play the role.

Talk about a method actor.

It all made so much sense now.

I chuckled to myself as I was reminded of my insanely clever and astute deduction, not even bothering to answer Agrippina’s inquiry into what was so funny.  Besides, we were quickly coming up to the lodge, so with the easy grace I’d developed in recent years, I swung my leg over Felix’s rump and dropped to the ground – no easy feat without stirrups.

I still needed to get around to inventing those things.

I took Felix’s rein in my hands and then wrapped them around the hitching post a few times to secure him, even though I knew he wouldn’t go anywhere.  Stepping behind him, I grabbed the reins of the three pack horses trailing him. These I hitched as well, then turned to Agrippina and offered to help her down.  She accepted the gesture happily, so I gripped her waist as she swung a slender leg over her horse’s rump.  It was a fast motion, one that would have sent her straight into the dirt had I not had a firm grip on her, but I knew how to help a lady down off a horse or a carriage, so I was ready for it and gently lowered her to the ground.  She patted my arm and smiled at me sweetly, but then turned to head inside the establishment. 

I looked back at Felix and scratched behind his ear and patted his mane.  “Watch over your buddies, all right?”

Felix nodded his head and huffed at me.  “Will do, Jacob,” he said.

I gave him a smile and another pat for good measure, then turned to the other three horses.  “Stay out of trouble.”

“Yes, sir, Mr. Jacob, sir,” they all said, the three of them nodding in comic unison.

I gave them a distrustful look, then I pointed at my eyes with my pointer and middle finger before jabbing it in their direction a couple of times.  They huffed and stamped their feet in place for a moment before settling down, and I knew they got the message.

I shook my head and turned back to Felix, catching Agrippina’s horse out of the corner of my eye.  “And watch out for Clytemnestra over there.  I think she’s in to you.”

Felix gave me a bashful look as he shifted his head away from her, and I chuckled as I turned to follow Agrippina into the lodge.  Once inside, I took quick stock of the accommodations.  At the central point of the enormous room, a few strides through the front door, was a large fire pit with a smoldering fire that I knew could keep the entire structure warm and cozy all night.  Above was a square portico for ventilation.  Off to the left and right where hallways, and dotting both sides of these hallways were rooms cordoned off by little more than curtains, which I eyed cautiously as I entered the atrium, not trusting the security standards of this establishment one bit.

Agrippina was already speaking to the owner of the lodge, probably negotiating a rate for the night as I knew the shrewd woman was prone to do.  We didn’t have nearly as much liquid currency as I’d once had, as our mission to Britain had practically bankrupted me, but I still had a little left over, and of course we had what I’d just taken off our target dummies earlier.  But the idea was to remain as inconspicuous as possible, which didn’t seem particularly easy considering who we were, but it wasn’t like the Roman Empire possessed the internet or twenty-four-seven, round the clock TV news coverage.  Most citizens and non-citizens who called portions of the Roman Empire home probably didn’t even know the name of their current emperor or empress, let alone have any idea of what they looked like.  Agrippina was probably about as anonymous as an attractive bar wench – although I supposed it was true that she had a tendency to draw more attention than was needed for that very reason.

I pushed the thought out of my mind, but it quickly returned as I pulled up short just behind Agrippina. One of the old “Wanted” posters with my face on it was displayed on the wall.  It wasn’t a super accurate depiction, the art style sort of reminiscent of what you would find in an old Byzantine Catholic church, and like all the others I’d seen over the years, this one looked just a little bit different than all the others.  But what really drew my attention was that someone had scratched a beard onto my face. I wasn’t sure if the added facial hair was an act of simple vandalism, or if, somehow, someone already knew I was coming.

Trying to ignore the thought and remain cool and collected so that I didn’t appear guilty, I finally stepped up behind Agrippina.  She had her polite face on, which was one I rarely saw, and her voice was as deceptively sexy as I’d ever heard as she concluded her transaction with the portly owner.  He sat behind a counter and in something of a booth, just as one would find in a modern day equivalent of a shady roadside motel back home.  He eyed me suspiciously, but again I wasn’t sure if he recognized me from the Wanted poster or if he was simply wondering what this bearded, skinny, ragged-looking schmuck was doing with an ethereal beauty like Agrippina.