Lionslayer's Woman

by Nhys Glover

  Appius frowned in confusion, taking another step back with his sister. He had a short sword at his side but his sister was pressed against it. If this bigger man attacked, he couldn’t get his sword out in time.

  ‘You’re Galeria’s brother?’ The big blonde man asked as he dumped the Parthian against the wall. The woman hovered uncertainly nearby.

  ‘Yes. Who are you?’

  ‘Thank the gods! I was sent by your older sister Galeria to find this little one. We’ve been chasing all over the Aegean trying to track her down. Galeria’s slave, Cyra, is being held hostage as we speak.’

  ‘Cyra?’ The child’s head came away from Appius’ tunic, and he heard the first note of hope in the child’s voice.

  ‘Who is Cyra?’ Appius was becoming more and more confused.

  ‘Cyra is my tutor. She’s Galeria’s slave. Where is she? Is Galeria with her? I thought she was dead. Everybody was dead but me and Mater.’

  The blonde man came closer and placed a gentle hand on Gali’s head. ‘Your sister is well. She sent Cyra and me to find you while she went after your mother. The bad man has Cyra now. I have to go back for her.’

  ‘I want Cyra!’ The child wailed loud enough to wake the dead and to make several passers-by hurry a little faster to escape the noise.

  ‘What is this about? I’m on my way home now. What do you mean Galeria has gone after Mater?’

  ‘I’ll explain later. I need to tie up this slave. His master is the one who kidnapped the child. Then I’ll need you to come with me to rescue Cyra. There are too many people around for me to overcome a patrician without causing a fuss. I need you and the child.’

  ‘I’m not going anywhere until I know what’s going on!’ Appius said stubbornly.

  Gali began to struggle in his arms and he was forced to let her go. ‘Appius, we have to get Cyra. Please. That bad man has her. He was there when the soldiers killed everyone. He’s very very bad!’ The child began to tug on Appius’ tunic, and reluctantly, he let her pull him along.

  The tall blonde man made quick work of tying the darker man up and then pushing him ahead of him back toward the wharves. Appius followed along with Gali. He noticed that the Nubian woman followed them like a shadow.

  Appius was having trouble keeping up with the blonde’s pace, especially with his sister clinging to him. In the end, he swept the child into his arms and began to jog to catch up. He thanked the gods that his military training had made him stronger and fitter than he’d been a year ago, but he knew that at just nineteen, he still had a way to go before he fully filled out his height.

  Cyra lay in the stinking, stifling darkness, listening to the noises of the harbour beyond the wooden walls. Cursing herself for her own stupidity, she wrestled to escape the bindings that kept her hands behind her back. This was what Leonis had warned her about – following her heart instead of her head. But it had all happened so quickly. She’d never imagined she’d hear Antoninus calling to her. He was their quarry, not the other way around.

  But when she’d realised who was calling her she’d simply acted, as blood roared in her ears drowning out everything else. Her enemy was here. Gali had to be here, too. All she had to do was get him to tell her where she was. So close! She had been so close!

  Now, because of her foolishness she was farther away from her goal than she had been before. Now, she was being threatened with crucifixion as an escaped slave. She shuddered at the thought.

  But that thought wasn’t as bad as the idea that she’d failed Galeria. Now how was the child going to escape the bastard who was drugging her?

  Leonis?

  She didn’t even know where he was. When she’d turned back to Antoninus, she hadn’t had a moment’s thought for the man. Her full focus had been on getting Gali back. But now she had to wonder where Leonis had gone? Did he even know that she’d disappeared?

  Maybe he was taking the opportunity to make good his own escape. All he had to do was head north into the wilds of Macedonia and then across to Thrace and Dacia. Would he do that? She knew he’d given his word to Nexus that he’d see Gali and herself to safety, but he’d also demanded she follow his orders. She hadn’t done that. She’d gone off on her own without thinking things through. He’d be furious with her.

  Furious enough to leave her?

  Her mind turned back to the last few days, especially after their night on the magical island of Delos. They had become so close. She was sure he felt something for her, but was it enough to counter his fury at her rebellion? For he would see it as that. To him a woman was a possession and did what she was told. That she didn’t obey him meant she was no longer a valuable possession, she was just trouble. She’d put him at risk as well as their mission.

  He’d be well shot of her. Any man would be. She’d been more of a hindrance than a help. And now she’d wrecked everything with her impetuous actions. Plainly, she deserved her fate. She’d failed Galeria and Gali. If Leonis deserted her now, it was only what she deserved.

  She let her face rest against the damp sand of the boatshed floor. The place stank almost as bad as a slave ship, but at least here there was no stench of fear. The only terror in this place was hers. If she prayed hard enough, would Astarte open the ground up and let her be buried here? She just wanted to die now before the worst came her way. If she saw Gali now, knowing she’d failed her, she couldn’t stand it. If the child watched her being crucified, that would be even worse. Better to die here now.

  Another thought of Leonis came to mind. The way he’d looked when he saw her chest for the first time. His eyes had held such pain. How could he have felt such pain for her and not care about her? Was it simply the empathy of one warrior for another? Or was it more?

  Tears pricked at her eyes, stinging almost as much as the fetid, fishy air did. She didn’t cry. She never cried. But since that terrible night when everything had changed, she’d cried more than once. Now, she couldn’t fight these fresh tears any longer. She had failed! She was the worst kind of failure. She deserved to be crucified. She deserved to be left to rot here in this shed.

  Leonis! Please come for me. I’m sorry… so sorry! I didn’t mean to throw all your plans away. I didn’t mean to go against you… I’m sorry!

  She heard a commotion outside the shed. People were yelling. Was this the crowd come to crucify the runaway slave? Would she be given time to show them her travel papers, or would they just listen to the patrician and carry out her sentence without a trial?

  Leonis. Don’t get caught up in this. If they catch you they’ll crucify you, too. Run. I don’t want you to try to save me. Be safe. Be safe!

  The door to the shed was thrown open and she blinked rapidly against the pain the light caused her.

  ‘Cyra!’

  Leonis? Was that Leonis? He’d come for her? Why had he risked himself to come for her? She didn’t deserve this.

  He was at her side then, untying her hands and helping her to get the filthy gag out of her mouth. While she rubbed at her wrists, he dragged her against his chest.

  ‘Damn woman! What did you think you were doing! You nearly got yourself killed.’ His voice was filled with exasperation and joy. He wasn’t angry with her. He hadn’t left her.

  ‘Gali? Where’s Gali?’ Her voice cracked with emotion as she fought back the tears.

  ‘She’s here. She’s safe. Her brother was at the inn. Bendis is with us, Cyra. She has to be. Antoninus’ slave took Gali to the very inn that her brother was staying at, and Antoninus took off the moment Appius told him who he was. I don’t think he even knew Galeria had a brother. Come, Gali is desperate to see you. Appius is having trouble keeping her out of here.’

  Cyra couldn’t get to her feet fast enough. She skidded and tripped on the sand and pebbles as she scrambled out of her prison into the sunlight.

  ‘Cyra!’ An all-too-familiar childish voice called to her. The tears started to pour from her eyes again in a torrent. She couldn’t even see the child.

>   But then the watery shape formed in front of her and she felt small arms wrap tightly around her. She clung to that small body, afraid it was a dream, afraid that someone would come to drag them apart.

  ‘Gali! Gali, you’re all right! I was so scared he’d hurt you.’

  ‘He made me sleep all the time, and I felt sick. But then Asmina came, and she was so kind to me. That bad man kept taking me farther and farther away. I didn’t know if you were alive. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.’

  ‘Oh, dear heart, we wouldn’t ever have let that happen. As soon as we found out what happened to you, Galeria and I knew we had to get you back. You and your mother. She knew how much I cared about you, so she sent me after you while she went after your Mater. It was so hard. They’d sent you off in different directions. We couldn’t go after you both unless we split up.’

  ‘Who is that handsome man who brought us here?’

  Gali’s quick change of topics surprised her. Cyra’s vision had cleared enough to be able to see the child’s curious and excited face. She followed the direction of her gaze to where Leonis stood talking with a young Roman patrician who must be Appius. Both men kept looking their way, as if assuring themselves of their safety.

  ‘That’s Cor Leonis. A lion-hearted man who came with me to save you. He did save you, didn’t he?’

  ‘Well, he stopped that horrible slave of the bad man from trying to take me from Appius, and he made Appius come to get you, and he made the bad man run away. Appius is going to the Graecian Consul as soon as he can to report him. That’s what he just said.’

  Cyra tucked the child under her arm and walked unsteadily over to the men. Leonis looked at her as if she was the most beautiful and valuable thing he’d ever seen, and he drew her to him so that she had him clamped to her left side and Gali to her right. She felt content for the first time in longer than she could remember. This was her family. These were the people she loved most in the world.

  Loved? The thought was like an arrow through her mangled chest. Not loved. She was being melodramatic because of relief. She might love the child but she couldn’t love the man. They’d known each other for too brief a time. He was the sort of man that would only break her heart, even if slavery didn’t tear them apart. It was insanity to consider loving him.

  Yet, as he dropped a tender kiss to the top of her gritty head, she felt her heart give a little flutter in her chest. Whatever this was it felt like love. If it were, she was destined for far more pain than she’d known so far.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  It turned out the Consul was located at Corinthus, which was a half a day or more away on the other side of the isthmus that connected the Peloponnesus with the rest of mainland Achaia, or Hellas, as the natives called their country. While Appius took the Parthian slave and went to find what passed as the authority in the township, Leonis settled Cyra, the child and the slave Asmina into a room in the inn where they’d found Appius.

  He couldn’t take his eyes of Cyra, even when he was busy dealing with other matters. His eyes sought her out constantly, assuring himself of her safety. It had been too close a call. Only the fortuitous intercession of the Goddess had meant that the day had gone their way. If Appius hadn’t appeared when he did, Leonis may not have been able to save his love from death. The thought brought a lump to his throat every time he let his mind go down that path.

  While the child chattered on excitedly, as if nothing terrible had happened in her life, Leonis reclined on the other side of the small room watching in amazed delight. She was like a chittering bird; always on the move, constantly taking in what was around her, curious and bubbly. He knew it wouldn’t last. Memories of what had happened would return to her soon enough. But in this moment, she was still too elated by her rescue and finding Cyra and Appius again to focus on those bad memories.

  When Appius returned to them, he looked hot and angry. He took a space on the pallet next to Leonis and spent a few moments relaxing, listening to his sister’s chatter until her stories turned to more troubling tales.

  ‘Asmina told me to be quiet so the bad man wouldn’t give me more of the syrup of poppies. She said he would leave me alone if I was quiet, but it was so hard. I was so scared. When those soldiers came into the villa, father looked surprised. He didn’t know what was going on. We heard the slaves screaming but we didn’t know what was happening. Then they killed the girls… and then, before Pater could get off his couch, they killed him, too.’

  The happiness was gone from the child’s face now and she looked like a very old woman as she went on. ‘Mater was screaming, and I held on to her. She pulled me into a corner and we crouched down to make ourselves small. She made me hide my face from the blood… but I couldn’t not look. It was like a god had my face and kept yanking it back so I was forced to watch. The girls just lay there as blood soaked the mosaics red. Pater just lay there… looking surprised…’

  ‘Don’t… Gali, it’s all right. You don’t have to say anymore.’ Cyra stroked the girl’s hair and for a moment tears welled in the ancient eyes of the child.

  ‘No… I want to tell you. The soldiers went through the house and killed everyone. I… I thought you and Galeria had come back and been killed, too, but the bad man kept asking where you were and we told him you went swimming. I didn’t know… Then the soldiers were going to kill us. The leader said there couldn’t be any witnesses, but the bad man said no, not to kill us. He wanted to take us both, but the soldier said no, he’d take Mater to the mainland and sell her as a slave, but he can’t do that to a citizen can he? I thought you taught me that, Cyra?’

  ‘It’s all right, Gali. Your sister will get your mother back, I promise you. They found out where the soldiers were going and they set out the next day to follow them. Galeria is very capable. You know that. She’ll find a way to get your mother back.’

  ‘Galeria is a woman. What chance has she against soldiers?’ Appius exclaimed, obviously upset by everything he’d heard.

  ‘Not just soldiers, Praetorian Guards. But your sister isn’t alone. She has a formidable freedman with her. He was the man who saved my mistress’ daughter, Livia, from Vesuvius.’ Leonis put in to help calm the child and Appius both.

  ‘Livianna Honoraria’s daughter? You’re my patron’s wife’s slave? What part has she in any of this? I don’t know what’s happening. Why would Praetorians kill my family? It would have to be the emperor who ordered such a thing.’

  ‘Flavius Sabinus read a list Domitian had drawn up. Your father was on that list. Nexus and I were sent to warn your father and get the family to safety. We arrived too late.’

  ‘Not completely too late. You arrived in time to help us. We couldn’t have gotten Gali back without you,’ Cyra said stoutly, her jaw stuck out as she stood up for him. It lifted his heart to witness her loyalty. Could she be coming to love him as he loved her? He pushed the tempting thought aside as he focused on the issue at hand.

  ‘And Nexus will help Galeria find your mother.’ He addressed Appius. ‘I don’t know him well, but what I do know assures me that if anyone can do this thing he can. I just wish we’d been able to go with him.’

  ‘This is troubling. If Caesar ordered this, we have no recourse legally. To draw attention to what happened will only invite further reprisals,’ Appius said thoughtfully.

  ‘But Antoninus kidnapped Gali!’ Cyra piped up furiously.

  ‘He also saved her life. And Mater’s, too, if Galerianna remembers it correctly.’

  ‘I do. He was a bad man. I never liked him when he came to visit and the way he always sniffed around Galeria. But he did stop them from killing us.’

  ‘To get what he wanted! Galeria!’ Cyra’s voice was loud with affront.

  ‘It doesn’t matter why. What matters is that I can’t go to the Consul and tell him this story. He’ll want to stay on the good side of Domitian. He won’t try to prosecute someone who obviously took part in an Imperial Purge. That’s if Antoninus h
asn’t left the province already. His slave said he was going to Rome after his father. We can’t get him now.’ Appius scrubbed at his short-cropped brown hair with his fist.

  ‘What then? Go to the Pontus with Galerianna as we planned?’ Cyra asked angrily.

  ‘It would be safer there for her, at least. I’m going after Mater. It’s my duty,’ Appius announced with set features that would have suited a much older man.

  ‘I’m coming, too! Galeria needs me!’ Cyra said.

  ‘You have to go with the child,’ Leonis said firmly. ‘That was the plan. It hasn’t changed.’

  ‘I want to go to mother!’ Gali piped up, tears welling in her big, silver eyes.

  ‘No. You can’t help in this. You have to stay safe. Leonis can take you to his mistress’ estate and I’ll go with Appius. I know that land. I should have been the one to go there in the first place.’

  ‘Oh, no you don’t, Cyra. You’re going nowhere without me.’

  ‘Sirs,’ interrupted Asmina deferentially from her far corner. ‘I am only a poor slave of your enemy and I have no thought of what I must do now that my master has run away and his other slave is imprisoned, but it seems to me that the young mistress could find a safe haven here with one of the patrician families. No one need know any of this. I could stay with her as I have nowhere else to go, and watch over her until you come back for her.’

  ‘Who says you wouldn’t turn her over to your master?’ Cyra said with a snarl, pulling the child closer like a protective lioness.

  The Nubian woman, at least old enough to be Cyra’s mother, looked at her in bemused sorrow. ‘My master is long gone. I owe him no loyalty. He bought me in Ephesus to care for the child. That is what I will continue to do if you so permit it. She will be safe with me. My own children are dead now. This child is precious to me. I will guard her well, I promise you.’