Wolf’s Empire: Gladiator (81 page)

Without the collegia's support craft, we had only the emergency survival shelters in the chariots. Carbo, in true Viridian style, insisted that we make our own tatty microcosm of a proper Roman camp with the resources we had at hand. My uncle occupied the command tent with Carbo, and the rest of us shared the remaining three tents, with Crassus stripped of his weapons and put into one of the men's tents with a survival blanket but denied his armor and its life-preserving heating element so that he could not flee in the night without fatal exposure to the cold. Crassus seemed all too happy to comply, not offering the least resistance, which made things easy but left me feeling a little uneasy. A serpent, coiled and waiting to strike, that's what Julia said, and that night, now that I was officially a Viridian again, I had difficulty getting that thought out of my mind.

My uncle ordered me to put Lumen and Concretus in the center of the camp. They didn't need shelter as we did, and Nervo was ordered to take first watch. I tried to convince my uncle and Carbo that they didn't need a guard, that they wouldn't go anywhere, but Uncle insisted the guard was for their protection, not to constrain them.

The sight of her helps,
Lumen said.
She sings to both of us, can you hear her?

Not only could I not hear the song, but Lumen's voice in my mind seemed to be weakening, but when I mentioned it to Lumen, he didn't reply. He seemed very inwardly drawn, mesmerized by the mountain on the horizon.

Concretus didn't seem to mind as long as he was by Lumen, and Lumen was fine as long as we were moving toward the mountain. But I minded. None of the Caninines actually tried to talk to Lumen. They just passed on instructions to me to pass on to him and Concretus, as if they were animals and I were the trainer. It seemed perfectly natural to Carbo and my uncle that they should risk their lives for us. We'd fought them earlier in the games and now they were prisoners, slaves who must come to heel and obey their Roman masters. A lifetime of habit, my countrymen would never see it any differently, I knew that. The old Accala couldn't have seen the injustice of it either, but now it stuck out like a sore thumb.

While we set up camp and prepared for the nexy day, I talked with Titus Flavius. I liked him. He was friendly, despite our dire circumstances, and he injected a light note into the serious Viridian atmosphere.

“The empire has teeth,” he said. “It always has had and always will, I suppose.”

“And a good thing too. A lion without teeth, an eagle without claws, what good would they be?” Carbo snapped.

“A sheep is still useful without killing parts,” I said.

“Useful for eating,” Carbo said. “Who wants to be eaten? You want to be a sheep, be a sheep. I'm no sheep.”

“We all play our part,” my uncle added. “We're all lambs to the slaughter, trust me. The only trick is: Can you be a wise sheep and move to the back of the flock when the farmer comes with his sharp knife?”

“What you did back there was a brave thing,” Titus Flavius said to me, pointing to my hand. “I resented you before, but when I saw that, I knew you couldn't be with them.”

“It is the will of the gods,” Crassus said.

“You believe that?” Titus asked me. “That you're the champion of the gods?”

“No. At least not in the way you just meant it.”

“Good. We Flavians are practical people. We tell it like we see it.”

“They killed your father,” I said. “I'm sorry.”

“He was a good man. A pain in the ass, but a good man. I'll miss him. Could be we'll be reunited in Hades in the near future.”

“Then tell us. Will we live these games out? What does your Flavian all-seeing wisdom have to say about that?” asked Pavo.

“To be honest, I don't know. I'm sick of the cold. It's all dry where we come from. All this ice sends fear into my bones, and I can't seem to shake it.”

“That's a coward's talk,” Pavo interjected.

“No, it's honest talk.”

“The gods will judge who shall live or die,” Crassus intoned.

“Shut the fuck up you piece of hawk shit,” Pavo growled at Crassus. “What's all this talk of the gods. I thought your kind didn't believe in them.” He turned to Titus. “What about you Flavians? You believe someone's looking out for us? The gods?”

“About the gods, I can't say for sure,” Titus replied. “But I know a real Roman when I see one. Been so long I almost forgot what one looked like.” He winked at me and smiled.

“She's no real Roman,” Carbo sniped. “She's just a woman.”

“So are you for the meantime,” Marcus said. Carbo stared him down, but he seemed so ridiculous posturing and puffing himself up, trying to display how manly he was, that we couldn't help bursting out laughing.

Carbo had sent Caninus out on a skirmisher to scout out the Talonite position before we settled for the night, and he returned just as the sun began to set. Although the wind was low, it was still bone-numbingly cold.

“They've camped about four miles to the north, between two hills,” Caninus said. “We're in no position to threaten them. They have a full camp—sentries, boundary markers, weather shield, sensors, command tent, you name it—but they're not close enough that they can cover the ground once the night weather sets in.”

Nervo and Caninus made no attempt to hide their dislike of me. They were still put out about my killing of Mercurius and blamed me for Darius' death as well.

“Better not say too much,” Nervo said as I approached. “Tomorrow she might decide she's a Hawk again and kill us.”

“It was at Proconsul Severus' request,” I stated.

“That you kill your own kind?” Nervo asked. “Your own blood?”

“In order to infiltrate the enemy, yes. I gave Darius the chance to let off, but he pressed the attack and so I had to defend myself and my mission.”

“Shame he missed,” Nervo said.

“Was it your mission to bring down the emperor?” Caninus asked. “It seems to us that if you hadn't gone berserk in the tunnels and exposed Aquilinus' mining operation, then he wouldn't have been forced to make his move on the stadium.”

I had been wrong. I wasn't home. Not yet. Even now that they understood why I did what I did, they would never see me as one of them. Merely a woman, a traitor, a double agent.

“Don't mind them,” Marcus said as he passed by. “It's a hard time for everyone.”

“I'm sorry about Darius,” I said to Nervo. He scoffed and bumped me as he walked away. Marcus' hand lashed out and slapped him on the side of the head.

“Apologize,” he said simply.

Nervo was about to talk back, but when he saw the fire in Marcus' eyes, he swallowed hard and bowed his head. “I'm sorry,” he mumbled. Marcus had reminded him of his duty but also shamed him.

But Caninus was not as easily convinced. “You won't get anything from me except a sharp blade,” he said, his hand drifting to the knife at his side.

Marcus stepped in quickly, his hand gripping Caninus' wrist, stopping him from drawing his weapon.

“You'd think your own plight would give you some sympathy for others who face a difficult path,” Marcus said. “Darius disobeyed a direct order when he attacked Accala. Mercurius failed in his duty. He chose to be an amateur, and it's as simple as that.”

“Difficult path?” Nervo growled. “Accala-of-no-house lost no one today. Nor did her allies, the Sertorian and the Vulcaneum immune.”

“Aquilinus did that on purpose and you know it,” Marcus said. “He wants to split us, to get us arguing within the ranks. Tell me you're not so stupid that you can't see that?”

“Stop that,” my uncle said, coming over. “Accala has made difficult choices under difficult circumstances. This is a challenging time—the empire is in flux, but there is also great opportunity. If we can hold together, we can come out of this stronger than ever, our great enemy felled and at our feet. Now stop squabbling and get on with your duties.”

They bit their tongues but were none too happy about it. It seemed that they were looking for a scapegoat to make them feel better about the situation we were all in, and I was it. If I were a man, they would have looked at me differently. Still, now that my uncle had chastised them openly, perhaps a degree of common sense would stay them from seeking vengeance. We all needed each other now. Even Crassus. Every pair of hands could mean the difference between life and death.

“Come with me. Now that we have a moment, I need you to debrief me. Tell me your version of events,” Quintus said to me. “Tell me everything you know about these Hyperboreans, and then we'll see what can be done.”

What could be done for whom? I was not sure what he meant, but I suddenly felt uneasy, as I followed my uncle into the command tent.

Quintus had taken a seat in a simple chair behind a collapsible desk, his muddied and bloodstained robes spilling from his arms as he surveyed a holographic map of the terrain—the mountains and tundra that lay between our current position and the ruins of the old city. A red blip flashed, just before the last, vast tundra opened out on the way to the crescent mountains. My uncle quickly shut down the map with a wave of his hand. He looked at home, easily able to fit back into his old life as a military field commander, my father's comrade-in-arms.

I told him what he wanted to hear, the same thing I'd told Julia. Something told me not to talk about the connection between Lumen and Aulus. It was still too close, too personal.

“So these Hyperboreans, they believe that when they reach the mountain beyond the ruins of Lupus Civitas, they'll be free?”

“Yes. Their queen lies in wait,” I explained. “She can transport them.”

“A ship? They have a ship?”

“Of sorts,” I said. “Lumen explained it to me. They'll transform into energy and travel far from here. Back to their home.”

“With the gods?”

“I don't know,” I said. “That's what Mother said. As long as it's far away from here, and no one can possess the ambrosia, what does it matter? Mother was right: For the good of the empire, the ichor must go.”

My uncle hung his head when he heard me talk of my mother and her efforts to aid the Hyperboreans. “She had her heart in the right place,” he said, “but your mother was always so headstrong, too willing to commit to her research without thinking of consequences.”

“She tried to warn you,” I said.

“Yes, yes, but this talk of the gods and this nonsense treaty with the aliens. It's all tales designed to get an impressionable young mind to carry out her plan, but things have changed. She knew only the Accala of two years ago. How much have you matured since then? How much have you grown through your ordeals? You don't need to hear children's stories, nor should you feel obliged to honor any hasty treaties your mother struck.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. “We must transport the Hyperboreans to safety. They saved my life. I've sworn to aid them. It's the decent thing to do.”

“That's part of the problem,” my uncle said. “We seemed to have an understanding based on mutual need. Even you going off plan, I understood. That Accala was angry, filled with rage, she wanted her revenge, and in a drug-addled state she became a wolf that tore out her enemy's throat, her I understood. But you've changed. This new Accala, I wonder at her loyalty. You bring a Sertorian into our midst, treat him like one of us, you give commands without thinking of your superiors, and now you're making treaties with alien powers and insisting that I honor them. You've been out on your own for too long. You have much to prove if you wish to reclaim your place within the family fold.”

I swallowed hard. It was not easy coming back to rein after my recent adventure, but I'd been raised a Viridian, and if I wished to be one of them again, then I had to learn to like the bridle of military discipline. Pushing back wouldn't get me anywhere. I had to give him the space to make the right decision. I knew he would.

“I understand, Uncle, and I am rightfully admonished,” I said, bowing my head.

“Do you not wish to resolve this before they execute your father? Aquilinus is saving him to use as leverage, to bend you to his will. Can't you see that? Don't you want to do what's right by him? You don't want to go against me and bring more dishonor to your house, do you?”

“Of course not.”

“You did swear loyalty to me and to your team, didn't you? That was a heartfelt oath, wasn't it?”

“Of course,” I said at once. “You're right that I veered off the path once, for revenge, but I wasn't myself. Aside from that, my every action has been driven by loyalty to my house, as is my request that you honor my mother's wishes and help transport Lumen to safety.”

“That's more like it. Good girl. Remember, no man, or woman, for that matter, can serve two masters. Remember where your home is, who your family are. Now go. Let me sleep on it. I'll give your words due consideration, you know I will.”

He signaled to someone behind me. It was Carbo.

“I seek your leave to execute the Sertorian,” Carbo said to my uncle. “He's without weapons or armor. We can do it quickly, and in the morning we'll set up a makeshift crucifix to hang him on as a warning to the other Sertorians.”

“He has proved his worth so far, and we're going to need every hand we can get,” I said quickly to my uncle. “He still has some role to play in this. I can feel it. He will aid us. You must spare him.”

“Don't risk it,” Carbo said. “Now is the time, while he's weak. Don't be misled by foolish sentiment.”

“Now, now, Carbo. We need not be so fierce,” my uncle said. “We must all work together to triumph. Accala has pledged her loyalty to us, let us show some leniency in return. Let us ensure that unity is the watchword. Yes?”