Lionslayer's Woman

by Nhys Glover

  Now she knew of the magnificent temple of Artemis that lay just beyond the city walls, and she was not looking for Antoninus this time, anxious for the safety of little Gali. Nor was she the same woman she’d been back then. That woman had been broken, brittle and holding on by the barest fingertips. Now she was stronger than she’d ever been in her life.

  Because of Leonis.

  She looked at the lion at her side and smiled.

  ‘Do you feel as if we’ve done this before?’ he asked her, yet again surprising her with her own thoughts.

  ‘Yes. I was just realising how similar and yet how different this is from the last time.’

  ‘How different?’

  ‘It feels like we’re going to succeed this time. I didn’t trust you then to get Gali back, and I’m different now. I can barely remember that girl I was back then. And yet it’s been less than a month of my life.’

  ‘You are different. You’re less wild. More content. Happy?’

  She grinned at him, knowing he was trying to get her to pay him a compliment. He was still the playful fool who wanted his ego stroked, but now she felt no need to withhold praise from him.

  ‘Happy beyond words, and all because of you.’

  The proud grin he gave her was worth the effort it took to give him this accolade. It went against her nature to boost a male up, but this one deserved it. She couldn’t boost him high enough as far as she was concerned.

  ‘We visit the Temple of Artemis before we leave here and we make offerings of gratitude for all she’s given us.’ He drew her into his arms and kissed her gently.

  ‘Yes. Once this is over, we’ll do just that,’ she replied once the kiss was over and she could nestle in under his chin.

  ‘Ready?’ Nexus said, approaching from their secluded section of the deck. They’d been the only passengers on this leg of the journey and had enjoyed more space than usual. The fact that Nexus gained them a level of respect with these sailors had also helped make the journey easier.

  ‘Yes. We’ll meet you at the inn we told you about when we’ve made our inquiries. With three of us looking, we should be able to locate the slavers fairly quickly,’ Leonis replied for them both.

  ‘I’d prefer to keep Appius with me but we can cover more ground separately,’ Nexus said, looking over his shoulder at the young patrician who was finishing packing up his belongings.

  ‘He’ll do a good job, Nexus. His sister’s life depends on it.’

  ‘But if he finds them first, he might think to carry out the negotiation himself. He’s an arrogant young pup who doesn’t realise his limits yet.’

  ‘I could go with him?’ Cyra volunteered reluctantly. She would prefer to stay with Leonis, but if someone was needed to curb the youth, it was most logically her. She had to go with one of the men, for her safety, it may as well be their weakest link.

  ‘I don’t trust him to keep you safe,’ Leonis said fiercely.

  ‘I have my dagger, I’m stronger now and he is a patrician. I’ll be seen as his slave. No one will threaten his property,’ Cyra said, more determined to follow this path, even if it was against her own desires.

  ‘I think that you might be right, Cyra. And since you’re checking shipping manifests, you’re not going to be in a lot of danger with the military around keeping the peace.’ Nexus ended the discussion with his agreement.

  Leonis fumed silently but nodded his agreement, too. When Appius joined them, he was told the change of plans. He shrugged his shoulders and went along with it readily enough, even though they all knew he wasn’t comfortable with her.

  He didn’t know how to treat Cyra. She was his sister’s slave, and therefore technically his as head of the paterfamilias, but she was too independent and resourceful to be regarded simply as a female slave, especially when the other men treated her as their equal. So, he was left in limbo, dealing with her as little as possible.

  ‘Take care of my woman, Donicus, or you will greatly regret it,’ Leonis said just as they went their separate ways.

  Appius swallowed hard and lifted his chin at the threat and warning. ‘I will protect her with my life, lion slayer. My sister would have nothing less of me.’

  And with that, they headed off to the Harbour Authorities to check on arrivals, while Leonis and Nexus took off for the docks and the harbour side to find their quarry.

  ‘I won’t put my ego ahead of my sister’s safety,’ Appius said, once they were alone.

  ‘I’m glad to hear that. Nexus is very capable and very motivated. I think he cares greatly for Galeria, which I would never have expected.’

  Appius frowned at her, wordlessly encouraging her to go on. He didn’t want to invite gossip about his sister, but it was obvious he was curious about the man Galeria had spent so much time with alone. The comments made about her virginity had appeased him a little, she thought, but he still didn’t like that his sister had travelled and shared a room with the liberti.

  ‘Nexus had lost his beloved and he was grieving when last I saw him. He was kindness itself to Galeria, but it was the kindness of a dead man. I worried that she might give him her heart even though he couldn’t return her affection. Now there’s a difference in him. He seems anxious and worried in a way I wouldn’t have expected. He’s no longer distancing himself from everything that is happening. He’s a man in the death throes rather than dead now, if that makes sense.’

  ‘No, it doesn’t. He seems perfectly alive to me and very committed to this plan. It’s the only reason I’ve agreed to it. He does seem capable and determined…’

  ‘He is… don’t worry about what I said. Just a woman’s thinking…’ She bit back the wicked grin she wanted to add to that speech to make him realise that she didn’t believe a word of what she said. Appius took her words at face value and nodded sagely.

  They hurried on their way.

  Galeria had been slowly returning to her senses for some time now. The periods of lucidness were getting longer and she was aware of her surroundings. They no longer rolled beneath her feet, although they still smelled of the sea. She’d been kept in a small cabin below decks for a long time and was only conscious long enough to eat, drink and take care of her person needs. Then she was drugged again.

  Today had been different; or was it more than a day? She was still unclear of passing time. However long it had been, they had not drugged her and so she’d begun to feel her head clear and her mind function normally once more. With that returned facility, came the worries and recriminations.

  What was happening to her mother? Was she all right without Galeria there to comfort her? Had Nexus been able to rescue her at all? Something could have gone wrong with his plan. How was she ever to know?

  And Nexus… dear gods of Olympus, what must he think? Had he spent time looking for her? Had he given up on her when he couldn’t find her? Would he even care after her foolish behaviour?

  Then she thought about that compassionate, strong face and the way he looked at her. Yes, he cared. Not in the way that she wanted him to, not with the kind of love that he’d felt for Niobe, but yes, he cared. So losing her would be a double burden on him. She had not meant to add to the weight he carried, but somehow that’s what she had ended up doing. Foolish, illogical woman. After a lifetime of being told she was the equal of any man, she now knew the truth. She was inferior in every way. She let her emotions overpower rational thought. No man would ever do such a thing.

  The door to the tiny room in which she lay opened suddenly and the big man she knew as Jahl entered the space. He was too tall to be able to stand upright so he loomed over her even more than usual.

  ‘Get up, little lady. Be time for you to meet your lover. He be very pleased we found you for him.’

  ‘Antoninus? You found Antoninus?’ she spluttered. So, he was still in Ephesus. Well, she had to assume that she was now in Ephesus.

  ‘Yes, your husband-to-be. He be paying a pretty price to get you back. My master, he will be very ha
ppy. Very happy.’ The man grinned at her in triumph.

  What was she to do? She couldn’t let this brute just hand her over to Antoninus. After everything that toad had done to her family, she wouldn’t just allow herself to be given over to him.

  But what if he still had Galerianna? He might hurt her if she refused.

  No, she did herself and her sister no service by fighting and struggling against this fate. Even if she had a chance to get away from Jahl, she didn’t know where to go or how to get her sister back. She was alone and friendless in this strange city. She was worse than helpless.

  With as much pride as she could muster, she climbed off the stained pallet on which she’d been laying and walked toward the door.

  ‘That be a wise, little lady. You won’t be unable to win so giving in gracefully be your best action now.’ He seemed proud of her as if she were a trained animal who’d completed a difficult task. Galeria shuddered and straightened her spine even more.

  They walked down a dark corridor and entered a large room that had airy windows that looked out over the city. It was not an inn then. This was a private villa. The Proconsul’s residence? She didn’t think so. Slavers wouldn’t be walking these corridors unescorted if that was where they were.

  Her musings were quickly ended when she saw Antoninus reclining arrogantly on a couch by the window. He was eating pastries from a plate offered him by a slave-girl. He seemed very smug and very sure of himself.

  She hated him more in that moment than she ever had before, but she schooled her face into a mask of indifference.

  ‘Ah, there she is. I’ve been waiting for you for many weeks, my dear. Why did you feel it necessary to go off in search of your mother? I would have found her for you had you come to me and asked.’

  ‘Praetorians took my mother. You couldn’t have gotten her back,’ Galleria replied steadily.

  ‘I would have tried, for you, and I did save your sister. You know that don’t you?’ His voice was slimy and ingratiating.

  ‘I know you took my sister from the house where my father and slaves lay dead. I know you took her here… I’m assuming we’re in Ephesus. These apes have kept me drugged since Antiochia.’

  ‘I’m sorry for your conditions, Galeria, but I had nothing to do with them. The first I heard of you was when this man here approached me with an offer for your safe return. I paid dearly for you. But you are well worth it to me.’

  ‘So where is Galerianna? I want to see my sister.’

  ‘You will. She’s safe for the moment with a patrician family in Isthmia. If you cooperate, you’ll see her in a few days. We’ll be heading for Rome where my father has now gone and will pick her up on the way. Once we’re in Rome you’ll marry me and proceed to make me very happy. If your sister’s safety is important to you, that is.’

  She watched the glee growing on his fleshy face. How had she once been sorry for this man? He was the most odious being she’d ever known. Her skin crawled at the idea of being married to him, of sharing the same bed with him. How would she stand it having known the kisses of a man like Nexus? It would be like going from a god to a dog.

  Keeping her feelings locked down, she simply stared at him.

  ‘No comment, my dear? Never mind. We must leave here at once. These slavers are no longer of concern. I’ll settle you in my current lodging and then deal with what’s left to clean up.’

  This got her attention. What needed cleaning up? She saw Antoninus preen as he caught her interest.

  ‘Ah, so you aren’t as disinterested as you’d like me to believe. You want to know what I have to finish up, do you, my dear? Well. Let’s just say that certain scum have been dogging your path. I need to scrape them off the bottom of my sandals now that I have you safely in my care.’

  Her head was spinning. Who were these scum that had been following her? Nexus? Could he mean Nexus? Could he have followed her from Antiochia? Her heart lifted at the thought. She felt hope for the first time since her capture.

  ‘What are you going to do?’ she asked as she walked unsteadily toward the loathsome creature.

  ‘Why, silence the renegades, of course. That’s what Caesar would require.’

  ‘Renegades? Why would renegades dog my path?’ This didn’t make any sense. Her still foggy mind felt suddenly overwhelmed. She clutched at her head as her legs wobbled under her.

  ‘Slave, grab her before she topples,’ Antoninus ordered.

  In moments, a pair of strong hands held her up. She wanted to feel grateful, but all she could manage was dread.

  ‘Your Parthian, your brother, a blonde barbarian and a Nubian, if my spies are correct. They’re renegades of the empire and must be silenced. I have my orders.’ Antoninus grinned at her in officious delight.

  ‘Renegades? They aren’t… No, Antoninus, please. They’re my family and friends… I’ll do anything you ask if you leave them alone.’ She was begging now, as pride seemed suddenly irrelevant. To think that they had all come for her and because of her would die, it was the worst kind of punishment for her sins.

  ‘I wish I could do as you ask, Galeria, I really do, but I have a duty to perform. Rome must come first.’

  She tried to reach him. If she could fall at his feet and beg maybe he’d change his mind, but the slave who held her up also held her in place. She could do nothing but watch as Antoninus led the way from the room. The last she saw before everything went black was Jahl’s smug face as she was led past him by strong, insensitive hands.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  ‘That is the list of vessels docking here from the Syrian ports in the last two days.’ The little clerk was impressed by Appius and was doing all in his power to help him locate the ship he was looking for. Cyra stood at Appius’ side staring down at the tightly written entries.

  ‘Look, there… the Almaqah! That was the name of the ship!’ Cyra pointed to the name beside the last entry for the day before.

  Appius looked where she pointed and nodded enthusiastically. ‘So we know when they arrived. Late yesterday. That means they’ve had today to put out feelers for Antoninus…’

  ‘Antoninus?’ The helpful clerk put in looking up from another scroll he was working on. ‘The Proconsul left at the beginning of the month. His son was seen only today. He may not yet be aware his father has returned to Rome.’

  ‘The son already knew his father was returning to Rome. He was on his way there the last we saw of him,’ Appius corrected the man with arrogant disinterest.

  Cyra felt her skin begin to crawl. This couldn’t be right. Antoninus couldn’t have been seen in Ephesus.

  ‘The Proconsul’s son was seen here today? When and by whom?’ Cyra demanded.

  The look she got from the clerk told her exactly what he thought of being addressed by a female slave. She looked to Appius for help as she dropped her shoulders and took a little step back, playing the role of deferential subservient.

  ‘He was last seen in Isthmia. Why would he return to Ephesus when his father is going to Rome?’ Appius address the question to the clerk, but it was also for her.

  ‘I don’t know, sir, but it was definitely him. I know the man who saw him. He was a minor official under the Proconsul and knew the son. Had seen him often enough. Antoninus the Younger was seen leaving the harbour. He appeared very determined. My friend thought he was doing very well for himself, too; well dressed, his retinue a cut above the average. That was why he mentioned him. The Proconsul was very financially vigilant, shall we say; his son was never provided with more than the basics. So he’s done well for himself since he was last seen in Ephesus.’

  Cyra’s mind was reeling. This was the worst news she’d heard since they’d discovered the ransacked Donicus villa rustica. What twist of fate would have brought their enemy back here just where he was least wanted? It was almost as if he knew Galeria was being brought here for him and he had come to claim her, but how could that be possible? Had the slavers known of his whereabouts and sent for h
im to meet them here?

  She dragged Appius out of the door and almost ran along the crowded streets in the direction she’d last seen Leonis go. They had to find Leonis and Nexus. They’d know what to make of this unwanted news.

  Appius came up at her side. ‘What does this mean?’

  ‘It means that our plan is likely undone. The slavers now have just the person to which they wanted to sell Galeria. They may have already done it. We’re too late! We’re probably too late!’

  ‘But would Antoninus have the sort of money the slavers demanded? I mean, he’d hardly carry that sort of money on him.’

  Cyra frowned as she rushed on. Her breath was short now from the exertion. She had little to spare for idle speculation. ‘I don’t know. Maybe he’d need time to gather the funds. I don’t know. But that man seemed to think he was doing well for himself. Certainly better than the last time we saw him. He has men. A retinue! Oh, gods, this is not good!’

  They craned their necks looking for the familiar figure of Leonis. When she saw him, she took off, leaving Appius to stride after her at a more seemly rate.

  ‘Leonis!’ she called. Even above the noise of the busy harbour, he heard her and turned in her direction, his face a mask of concern.

  Dodging under the elbows of two bulky wharf-slaves, she made a beeline for her man and flew into his arms.

  ‘What is it?’ he demanded, pulling her away after she’d squeezed him tight. She looked up into his concerned face and could barely put the words together. They were all mixed up in her head. The questions outnumbered the information she had and they led her to chase one after the other like a dog chasing birds.

  ‘Antoninus is here. He arrived today, or was seen today at least, and the Almaqah arrived last night. We’re undone! Antoninus will have Galeria now, or will very soon! Oh, Leonis, what are we going to do?’