Livia was holding the basket, looking uncertain. ‘What should we do with the coins? Maybe we should leave them here.’
‘But if they find them in our room, then they’ll take it as proof we stole them in the first place and they might come after us,’ Felix pointed out.
‘I don’t know,’ said Livia doubtfully. ‘Taking them seems wrong.’
They stared at each other in indecision, then Felix said, ‘If we don’t leave now the camel train might leave without us. Let’s take the coins and then, when we’ve put some distance between us and Alexandria, give them to someone who’s travelling in this direction.’ He handed the satchel to Livia, who shoved the box inside then slung the satchel over her shoulder. She kicked the basket under the cot, where it wouldn’t be seen.
‘Oh, and Livia,’ said Felix as they left the room, ‘when you see the innkeeper, say “rello”.’
Livia gaped at him. ‘What? Why would I do that?’
‘I don’t have time to explain – but it’s important.’
Livia was unconvinced, yet as they passed the innkeeper at the foot of the stairs she called out, ‘Rello! Rello!’
‘Uh, yes … hello,’ the innkeeper responded, giving Felix a nod of understanding.
‘Phew,’ Felix said under his breath. ‘It worked.’
Leading the way across the courtyard, he told Livia, ‘Get this: one of the camels is also named Felix.’
Livia eyed him sideways. ‘Do you know this for a fact, or are you presuming it because you look so much alike?’
‘He told me.’
‘What, the camel told you? In words?’
‘That’s right – he spoke to me.’
Livia heaved a deep sigh. ‘Here we go again. It’s not a sacred camel, is it?’
Felix frowned. ‘I don’t think so.’
They reached the place where Felix (the boy) had encountered Felix (the camel) to find half-a-dozen camels kneeling in a line, each with a pair of saddlebags draped across its hump.
‘Excuse me?’ Felix called.
A tall, thin man in long sand-coloured robes raised his head from the saddlebag he was tightening. ‘Yes?’
‘Is this your camel train?’
The man inclined his head. ‘It is. I am Merybad. Perfumes and incense; frankincense and myrrh.’
‘We’d like to travel with you,’ Felix said.
The trader stroked his short, silky black beard. ‘I don’t usually take passengers.’
‘We can pay.’ Felix nudged Livia, who pulled the coin purse Titus had given them from her satchel. She upended it on her palm. Only three coins left.
The trader was shaking his head. ‘I’m sorry, but for such a long journey … And I presume I will have to share my supplies with you?’
In the distance, Felix heard a rhythmic stamping, familiar from his time in the army. The patrol was drawing near. ‘One of the other coins, Livia,’ he whispered urgently.
She gave him a searching look. ‘Are you sure?’
He gave a single, quick nod and Livia thrust her hand into her satchel, rummaged, then produced one of the gold coins.
She held it out to the trader.
Merybad picked it up, examined one side, raised his eyebrows slightly, and then flipped the coin over to examine the other side.
‘As I said, I don’t usually take passengers – but in this case I’d be happy to make an exception.’ He slipped the gold coin into a pocket in his robe. ‘I’m leaving straightaway, though.’
‘The sooner the better,’ said Felix.
‘Very well. You may ride the camel on the end.’
‘It’s Felix,’ said Felix to Livia as they hurried towards the last of the kneeling camels.
Felix the camel blinked his long lashes and gave a rubbery-lipped smile.
When Felix and Livia were balanced on the camel’s hump, the trader uttered a word that sounded like ‘shah’ and, as one, the camels rose to their feet, stamping and huffing.
With a jingling of harnesses and a swaying of saddlebags, the camel train filed out of the courtyard.
Felix, riding Felix, risked a glance over his shoulder as they lumbered up the sandy street that ended in desert sands, just in time to see the Roman patrol reach the entrance to the caravanserai.
‘You have to admit, this isn’t a bad way to travel,’ Felix said to Livia as he searched in the satchel then handed her the flatbread he’d bought for her and chewed on the remains of his own.
‘Not too bad at all,’ she agreed.
But as the hours passed, Felix found his enjoyment waning as the landscape never changed. Sand to the left and sand to the right. Sand ahead and sand behind. The vast plains of sand were occasionally punctuated by huge rocky crags. Sometimes they would navigate narrow valleys between the crags. On occasion they would even climb sand dunes, which at first revived Felix’s interest. He couldn’t wait to see the view from the top. Were there many big cities between Alexandria and Rome? he wondered.
But at the top they just saw more sand.
And so it continued, day after day, plodding on and on across the sandy expanse between outcrops of rock from dawn to dusk. When night fell, they shared a simple meal provided by Merybad. One of the half-dozen camels carried the supplies: huge goatskin water sacks and bags of grain. The trader mixed the grain and water together then baked the dough in the coals of a fire to make a type of bread. The meals were quiet affairs. Merybad was proving to be a man of few words, unlike his camel Felix, who grew more talkative each day. Felix (the boy) had made the mistake of remarking on the never-ending vista of sand, and the camel had been quick to agree, a torrent of words streaming from him as he narrated every step of the journey.
‘I can see sand too!
‘I can see more sand!
‘I can see lots of sandy sand!’
Livia gritted her teeth and muttered, ‘He’s even more annoying than the chicken.’
‘He means well, though,’ Felix defended his namesake.
The nights were sharp and cold in the desert. Merybad arranged the camels in a circle and they slept on rugs in their midst, cloaks wrapped tight around them.
On the fifth morning, as they bundled up their cloaks and prepared to take their places aboard Felix the camel, Livia gazed out across the sand, and more sand, and lots of sandy sand, and said in a weary tone, ‘How many days is it till we reach Rome? I don’t know how much more of that camel’s voice I can bear.’
Felix shrugged. He hadn’t thought to ask how long it would take a ship of the desert to reach Rome; he’d just presumed it would take the same amount of time as a ship of the sea. ‘I’m not sure. I’ll ask Merybad.’
He approached the trader, who was bent over a kneeling camel, rearranging its load.
‘Excuse me, Merybad,’ Felix said. ‘Is it much further to Rome?’
The trader straightened and turned to stare at him. ‘Rome?’ He looked astonished. ‘We’re not going to Rome – we’re going to Babylon.’
‘What?’ Felix’s heart plummeted. ‘Babylon?’
‘That’s right. We’ll carry on across the desert till we reach the Euphrates river, then we’ll follow it to Babylon. We should be there in two months, maybe three.’
‘Babylon?’ Felix repeated, his voice rising in panic. ‘Three months? I don’t understand. You’re supposed to be going to Rome!’
The trader’s brow creased. ‘Who told you we were going to Rome?’
‘Felix did!’
The crease grew deeper. ‘I thought you were Felix.’
‘I mean Felix the camel. The one we’re riding.’ Felix pointed to the last camel of the train.
‘Him? Who told you his name was Felix? He hasn’t got a name. He’s just a camel.’
This was news to Felix (the boy). ‘But if he doesn’t have a name, how do you call him?’
‘I usually say, “Hey, you with the hump.” Or sometimes I call him Big Nose.’
‘I see.’ Felix stood frozen to the s
pot, trying to take this all in.
The trader watched him curiously. ‘Was there anything else?’
‘Uh, no. Well, I’d better go tell Livia about Babylon.’
With a heavy feeling in his chest, Felix returned to Livia and the camel (not Felix).
‘What’s wrong, Felix?’ asked Livia, reading his mood.
‘My name is Felix!’ chimed in the camel.
‘No, it’s not!’ said Felix (the boy). ‘I was speaking to Merybad, and he said your name isn’t Felix.’
‘My name isn’t Felix!’ said the camel agreeably.
‘He said he calls you Big Nose,’ Felix persisted.
‘My name’s Big Nose!’
‘And that we’re not going to Rome – we’re going to Babylon.’ He delivered this last sentence as an accusation.
‘We’re going to Babylon!’ the camel agreed.
‘Wait,’ Livia interrupted. ‘We’re going to Babylon? What do you mean, we’re going to Babylon?’
‘Merybad just told me.’ Felix swallowed. ‘It’s going to take three months.’
‘Three months! But I don’t even know where Babylon is,’ said Livia in despair, ‘and it must be the Ides of March already. I need to be in Rome within the next month!’
‘I’m sorry,’ said Felix, hanging his head. ‘I probably should have asked more questions before we left Alexandria. But Felix – I mean Big Nose – said …’
‘Why did you listen to such a silly camel?’ Livia snapped.
‘He’s not that bad,’ Felix protested. ‘He can talk.’
‘That’s not a bonus,’ said Livia. Even though her words were harsh, Felix could hear the quiver in her voice and see the glimmer of tears in her eyes.
They’d fled Belgica two months ago, and instead of getting closer to Rome they were further away than ever. And Felix was to blame.
‘I’m sorry, Livia,’ he repeated. ‘I’ll find a way to fix this, I promise. Let me talk to Merybad again.’
As he trudged back across the sand to the head of the camel train, he ran through the options. Though as far as he could tell, there was only one option: that they return to Alexandria – which meant losing another five days – where they would have to evade the patrols that were no doubt still looking for them, and find a ship bound for Rome, preferably with a captain who wouldn’t ask too many questions.
Merybad, now busy with the lead camel’s harness, looked up as Felix approached.
‘You have explained the situation to your friend?’
‘Yes,’ said Felix. ‘But we need to be in Rome by the middle of April, so I think we’re going to have to turn back. Thank you for bringing us this far. I’m sorry for the misunderstanding.’
Merybad’s expression grew troubled. ‘If I could spare the time I’d take you to Alexandria myself, however I have urgent business in Babylon. And I really wouldn’t recommend you attempt the journey on your own; you’ll never find your way through the desert.’ He waved at the featureless expanse around them, and Felix’s heart plunged even further. The trader was right.
‘Could we buy a camel?’ Felix suggested. He was thinking of the gold coins. They’d used one already and he was reluctant to use another, but this was an emergency. ‘They seem to know the route pretty well.’
The trader shook his head. ‘I regret that won’t be possible.’
‘Then tell me,’ Felix begged, ‘if you were in my position, what would you do?’
Merybad stroked his beard for a moment then, gesturing for Felix to join him, he squatted on the ground. With his finger, he sketched a map in the sand.
‘In a week or so we’ll reach an oasis city called Tadmor, where you will be able to find transport to one of the ports on the coast – Tripoli would be the closest. From there you can sail to Ostia in three weeks.’
Felix stared at the map, trying to gauge the distance from Tadmor to the coast. A few days, perhaps? That meant at least five more weeks of travel, he calculated. Would they make it to Rome in time? He sighed and stood up. It was starting to look like they wouldn’t, he realised, with a tight feeling in his throat.
Still, for Livia’s sake – and her brother’s – they would have to try.
Chapter 15
Late that afternoon, they reached a caravanserai. Here they would stop for the night and Merybad would exchange news with the other merchants and travellers.
The caravanserai was larger than the one in Alexandria, perhaps because it was the only one for miles and miles. As they entered the courtyard Felix was surprised to see so many other travellers. About fifty camels knelt on the flagstones, and dozens of mules were snorting and stamping.
With no money left – they had agreed not to use any more of the gold coins unless matters were truly desperate – Felix and Livia couldn’t afford one of the tiny rooms on the upper level of the main building where the more well-off traders and merchants slept, so they had opted instead to sleep outside.
‘Be careful out here tonight,’ said Merybad, who had taken a room for the night. ‘And be sure to keep your valuables close.’ He nodded towards a man with a big bald head, an enormous moustache and a large curved blade in his belt. Lowering his voice, he added, ‘There are some unsavoury types around here.’
As the shadows lengthened across the courtyard, Felix and Livia unrolled a couple of rugs, wrapped themselves in their cloaks and prepared to sleep.
As usual, Big Nose (Felix was trying to remember to think of him by this name) was kneeling slightly apart from the other camels, who seemed to shun him.
Eventually, darkness fell and the activity in the courtyard ceased. But Felix found he couldn’t sleep for the snoring people and farting camels, and the farting people and snoring camels. Finally, he sat up.
‘What are you doing?’ Livia murmured.
‘I need to get some fresh air,’ Felix told her.
Livia waved a hand in front of her face. ‘I know what you mean.’
They picked their way between the groups of slumbering animals and people until they reached a dark, deserted corner of the caravanserai. There they perched on the edge of a disused water trough, now empty.
‘Have you ever seen so many stars?’ Felix marvelled, gazing up at the sky speckled with pinpricks of light.
Livia tugged at his sleeve. ‘Someone’s coming,’ she whispered.
Felix lowered his eyes to watch the flicker of a lantern approach from the far side of the courtyard. When the light caught a gleam of bald head and curved blade, he drew in his breath sharply. ‘Merybad warned me about him,’ he said.
‘Let’s go back to the camels,’ Livia suggested.
‘Too late,’ said Felix. ‘He’s coming this way. Quick – we can hide in the trough.’
They scrambled into the dry trough just as the pool of light cast by the man’s lantern reached their corner.
Huddled against the cold stone, Felix listened to the scuff of footsteps as the man paced around. What was he doing out here?
Long minutes passed and Felix felt his muscles starting to cramp. Would the man never leave? Felix only realised the man must have been waiting for someone when he heard a gruff voice say: ‘You’re late.’
‘I’m sorry, Narseh – I had to wait until I could be sure I wasn’t seen,’ said a second man.
That voice … Felix felt Livia shift next to him.
‘Merybad,’ she breathed in his ear.
‘So what did you want to show me?’ the gruff man asked.
‘This.’
There was a pause, then the gruff man let out a low whistle.
Unable to suppress his curiosity, Felix peered over the lip of the trough.
Merybad was holding out a coin.
The man with the sword was peering at it. ‘That looks like gold,’ he said.
‘It is gold, but that’s not the point.’ Merybad tapped the coin with his finger. ‘Look at the symbols on the front and back.’
Narseh took the coin and held it close to the lam
p. ‘That’s Cleopatra, isn’t it?’ He flipped the coin over. ‘And on the other side is Caesar.’ He raised his eyes to Merybad. ‘What does that mean?’
‘I’ll tell you what I think, as incredible as it sounds. Have you heard the rumours about Caesar’s treasure?’
The bald man brought his enormous eyebrows together in a frown. ‘You mean the special treasure he plans to display during his triumph? I heard that it was stolen from a prefect in Belgica and then lost in a shipwreck.’ His face creased in mirth. ‘I bet Caesar will be feeding that prefect to the ostriches!’
‘Yes, yes, I’m sure the ostriches will find him very tasty,’ Merybad said impatiently. ‘I heard that too. But what if that story was a mere decoy, designed to throw thieves off the scent of the real whereabouts of the treasure?’
Narseh’s frown deepened. ‘I don’t follow you,’ he said.
‘Listen,’ Merybad said. ‘As I was leaving Alexandria, I was approached by two young Romans who were in a great hurry to leave the city, just ahead of a patrol searching for a pair of thieves. Now it so happens that while in Alexandria I heard talk of a special coin commissioned by Cleopatra as a gift for Caesar. And—’ the trader took the gold coin from the swarthy man’s outstretched palm ‘—the young Romans paid me with this.’ He turned the coin between his fingers, a calculating look on his face. ‘Have you ever seen such a coin before? I haven’t – I think it’s a very special coin.’ His eyes shifted from the coin to the bald man. ‘I think they are carrying Cleopatra’s gift to Caesar.’
Narseh rocked back on his heels. ‘You think your two young nobodies stole Caesar’s gift?’
‘How else do you explain this?’ Merybad argued, holding the coin so that it caught the light from the lantern.
Narseh reached for the coin again, but Merybad closed his fingers around it. ‘Wouldn’t it be a pity if more experienced thieves should steal those coins from the original thieves?’ he murmured.
The two men snickered.
‘What are you thinking?’ asked Narseh. His free hand went to the sword at his belt. ‘Should I slit their throats as they sleep?’
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