Sebastianus turned to Ulrika, "Go with Timonides. Send word to Primo and Rachel. Italia is no longer safe for them."
"What about you?"
"I have an appointment with our emperor. Ulrika, you go with Timonides—"
Ulrika shook her head. "I am going with you."
Timonides spoke up: "Master, I will also go with you. You were led astray by my false horoscopes. If there are any charges of treason, they should be upon me. This is something I must do."
"Very well, but we must find a way to get into the palace."
"It is a madhouse, master. This is Nero's jubilee year. Emissaries have come from all over the empire to bring him gifts. You cannot even get near the Imperial Palace. Best to let one of those take you," Timonides said, flinging an arm in the direction of the Roman guard.
But Sebastianus said, "I will not stand before Caesar in chains. And I especially will not have my wife paraded in chains. We are free citizens of Rome and deserve to be heard before we are found guilty." He rubbed the bronze stubble on his jaw. "The problem is how to get into the palace without risking arrest? For if we are arrested, we could languish in prison for days or even weeks before we are brought before Caesar and our case is heard. We need only get in the door. But how?"
"Sebastianus," Ulrika said. "Primo told us that he said in his report to Nero you went to Judea to find hidden treasure. You need only appear at the entrance and give them your name. If Nero is truly desperate for money, he will have you brought into his presence at once."
"But you have nothing to give him," Timonides protested. "I have seen the visitors arriving at the palace. They bring fantastic gifts for Caesar. You will not be allowed to enter empty-handed."
Sebastianus smiled. "But I do have a gift for Caesar. A very rare and unique gift that only I can give."
Timonides wrinkled his nose. "What might that be?"
"You yourself gave me the idea, old friend, in something you just now said. But we must hurry."
They went first to an inn, where they bathed and changed into clothes Timonides purchased for them in the marketplace—Sebastianus would not have Ulrika and himself arrive before the emperor in anything less than the finest garments. Ulrika wore a dress of several layers, all the shades of a sunrise, with a daffodil-colored veil that went from the crown of her head to her feet, and draped artfully over her right arm. Sebastianus donned a black knee-length tunic edged with gold embroidery, and a matching black toga draped over his broad shoulders and arms. Adding new sandals that laced up the calves, and expensive belts made from the softest kid leather, Sebastianus was satisfied that he and Ulrika made an elegant couple, aristocratic enough to pass the scrutiny of any palace steward or chamberlain. And now that Timonides had regained all health lost in China, and wore clean white robes that set off his handsome flowing white hair, he made for a fine servant to the patrician couple.
Before they left the inn, Sebastianus took Ulrika's face in his hands and kissed her on the lips. "Whatever happens today, my love, remember that I will always love you. Wherever destiny takes us from this day forward, I will carry you forever in my heart. Now listen to me. Let me do the talking. Say nothing to Caesar. Do not try to defend yourself. I will find a way to exonerate you of the charge of witchcraft. Above all, do not divulge to Nero your gift, for he will want to keep you for himself. They say he has become obsessed with the gods and knowing the future. Ulrika, if he learns of your spiritual gift, you will be kept a prisoner in the palace, and Nero will torment you with his insanity. Promise me you will say nothing."
"Sebastianus, what is your gift for Caesar? He has taken everything. We are left with nothing except the clothes we wear."
"Do not fear, my love. From what I have learned of our emperor, it is something he will not be able to resist."
It was a short walk to the Forum and the base of the Palatine Hill, but the way was crowded with onlookers lining the wide avenue to gawk at the visitors who continually arrived in the hopes of an audience with the emperor. But Sebastianus managed to get himself and his two companions through the maze of stewards and chamberlains, and finally into the palace itself.
The waiting hall outside the imperial audience chamber was so crammed with people and animals it was nearly impossible to make one's way through. Visitors hoping to impress Nero had brought extravagant and fabulous gifts, filling the colonnaded hall with a colorful spectacle of comically dressed midgets on golden leashes; dance troupes with drums and torches; trained dogs dressed as lions and tigers; enormous chests brimming with rare bird plumage and animal pelts; statues carved in the likeness of the emperor. A staff of imperious chamberlains, dressed in impressive long blue tunics embroidered with silver threads, saw to the sorting of the guests. The hall was filled with the dull roar of many voices mingling with the peculiar barks and howls and squawks of the exotic animals that were waiting to be presented to the emperor. The chamberlains checked rosters of names—those invited and those to be banned. Sebastianus Gallus and Ulrika were on neither list.
The fat steward who had the final say-so at the enormous double doors looked them up and down. He held a tall ebony walking staff tipped with gold, intended to be rapped on the floor for attention. "You say you have a gift for Caesar? You do not appear to be carrying anything."
"It is for Caesar's eyes only," Sebastianus said.
The man waited, sucked a tooth, shifted his heavy staff to the other hand.
"I will not bribe you," Sebastianus said. "I will simply send word to Caesar that, due to the negligence and greed of a certain steward identified by a raspberry mark on his neck, one of Caesar's oldest and dearest friends was kept from presenting him with a prize above all others."
The chamberlain met Sebastianus's eye with the air of one who had faced many an arrogant, and threatening, visitor to the palace.
"And you are to personally escort us," Sebastianus added.
The chamberlain's brow arched in frank surprise. He sucked his teeth again, taking the measure of the unusual trio, then he said, "I think I shall call a guard instead. I see no gift for Caesar. Especially none more valuable than any of these," and he gestured toward thirty African slaves bearing massive elephant tusks on their shoulders.
"Apparently," Sebastianus said calmly, "you enjoy a special intimacy with our emperor to know what he would prize above all else."
Sebastianus kept his eyes on the chamberlain, who met his gaze for a moment, and then he faltered, looking away, clearing his throat until he said, "Come this way."
Going through a smaller door, they followed the chamberlain into the audience hall, remembered from ten years prior, and joined a cacophonous press of colorful humanity. Nero's guests were mostly from the Roman patrician class, judging by their elegant gowns and togas, and the ladies' hairdos, which seemed to compete for height and number of curls. They stood about murmuring amongst themselves, turned every now and then when a foreign guest was admitted, and ogled the gifts laid at Nero's feet. Young slaves in pale-blue and silver tunics moved among the guests with platters bearing cups of wine, or tasty treats such as roasted sparrows and figs dipped in honey.
Ulrika was flung back to the last time she had stood in this hall, ten years prior. She recalled seeing the same apparition that had appeared to her in the countryside when she was twelve—a woman running with her mouth wide in a silent scream, her arms and hands covered in blood. Ulrika had not known why the vision had appeared to her in this audience chamber, and she still did not know. But should it happen again, this time she would have control of the vision and learn its meaning.
The crowd was dense, so Sebastianus allowed Timonides and Ulrika to go first as they followed the chamberlain, with Sebastianus behind them, shielding them from elbows and feet. Ulrika tried to glimpse the emperor at the other end of the domed chamber, but she could not see him over the heads of so many.
One personage, however, caught her eye.
The Vestal Virgins were priestesses of Vesta, goddes
s of the hearth, and Rome's patron goddess and protector. The Vestals were freed of the usual social obligations to marry and rear children, and took a vow of chastity in order to devote themselves to the guardianship of the sacred flames of Vesta, seeing that they never burned out. The Chief Vestal, who had caught Ulrika's eye, sat on a high throne surrounded by handmaidens and wore a stunning gown of many layers in colors of blue, aquamarine, and peridot green. She was the most powerful priestess in Rome and was always seen at important events, at chariot races, or being carried through Rome in her private chair on important business.
Beneath her impressive crown, rising tall and heavy on her head and covered with a long, pale-green veil that cascaded over her shoulders, a passive face watched the spectacle, and she paid no attention to two chamberlains who had begun to argue over protocol.
Ulrika deduced from the gestures of the more important of the two stewards—tall and thin and wearing a curious robe that had sleeves and a pleated skirt—that the three newcomers must wait their turn. "Master," Timonides murmured, "if we are forced to wait, it could take days."
But now they were near the emperor, and could see the golden throne he occupied, the dais that lifted him above the crowd, the men surrounding him wearing white tunics and togas edged in purple. Empress Poppaea Sabina, Ulrika noticed, was not present, and she wondered why.
Nero was fretful. "I do not need midgets and dancers!" he snapped. "Can no one understand my plight? Rome must be made beautiful again. Do I pay for such a feat with beads and feathers?
During their walk from the inn, Ulrika had seen the charred ruins left by the great fire. Rubble was being hurriedly cleared by gangs of slaves, and alongside the skeletons of burned-out buildings new edifices were hastily going up, with scaffolding that seemed to Ulrika of dubious strength, supporting stonemasons, brick layers, carpenters, painters. Even the Imperial Palace was undergoing massive renovation, also at a frenetic pace, as if Emperor Nero were racing to stay ahead of a pursuing calamity. The audience chamber in which Ulrika now stood had been transformed—she could not believe that such a grand room could be made even grander. She looked up at the ceiling that, ten years prior, had been a dome of geometric squares, but was now a blazing panorama of the night sky, with a throned Nero at the center of a circle of zodiacal signs. The mosaic of Nero was executed in a rainbow of colors, while the constellations were composed of gold and silver tiles. Ulrika wondered how long it had taken the masterpiece to be rendered, for she could not imagine Nero exhibiting much patience with its progress.
The atmosphere, too, was different from ten years ago. Ulrika felt the tension in the air. There was none of the optimism that a young new emperor had generated. People's eyes shifted about with mistrust and anxiety while Nero sat on a new throne fashioned in solid gold beneath a purple canopy festooned with gold fringe and tassels. He was still handsome, Ulrika thought, with an imposing nose, thick curly hair, and a stylish beard that decorated his neck but left his jaw clean-shaven. He wore robes and a toga of purple silk, with a gold laurel wreath on his head. He was the most powerful man on earth, and he was twenty-six years old.
Sebastianus and his companions watched the two chamberlains argue, until Sebastianus suddenly strode forward, past the guards and the chamberlains, and, stopping squarely before Nero, declared, "Greetings, noble Caesar, from Sebastianus Gallus!"
"Wait!" cried the mortified chamberlains, and members of Caesar's elite Praetorian Guard jumped forward.
"Gallus!" Nero held up a hand to stay the others, and studied the impudent visitor through his notorious emerald monocle. "Sebastianus Gallus is a traitor to the people of Rome. Why is this man not in chains?"
The fat chamberlain with the raspberry mark vanished, while those nearby fell silent. The Chief Vestal slowly swiveled her head, as if her massive crown were the weight of Rome itself, and she watched with half-closed eyes as Sebastianus said in a commanding voice, "I have come of my own volition, great Caesar, and I stand before you not only as a friend but as your personally chosen ambassador to the faraway land of China. My mission was a success, Caesar, and I return with a gift."
Nero signaled for the Praetorians to hold their position. "What is this gift, Sebastianus Gallus?"
"My gift is this: Personal greetings to Most Honored Caesar from His Celestial Magnificence, the Emperor of China."
Nero stared at him. "That is it? That is all you bring me? A greeting?"
"Emperor Ming of Han invites Caesar to send Rome's gods to China. Shrines will be set up to house them. This would include your own divine self, Caesar, to be worshipped by many Chinese."
Nero grunted. "They are a backward people. I want nothing to do with China."
"I thought Caesar would be pleased that he would be worshipped by another race."
"You thought wrong, Gallus. I repeat: What else have you brought me?"
"You have been through the goods in my caravan, Caesar. You have seen and heard all that I brought back from China."
"What of precious gems?" Nero said, bringing the emerald monocle to his eye.
"Jade—"
"Worthless!" Nero leaned forward, placing an elbow on the arm of his golden throne. "Sebastianus Gallus, we have been told that you tarried in Babylon for no known reason while you kept your emperor waiting. Your emperor, who was in need. How do you account for yourself, and why should we not consider this a treasonous act?"
"My master is innocent, great Caesar!"
Attention shifted to Gallus's white-bearded companion. "Who are you?" barked the emperor.
"I am Timonides, my master's astrologer. For personal and greedy reasons I falsified my master's horoscopes, leading him in the wrong direction, forcing him to divert his path from Rome. Sebastianus Gallus is not guilty of treason, only of trusting an old servant."
"What of Judea, old man? Did you tell your master to go there?"
When Timonides faltered, having not expected the question, Sebastianus spoke up: "I went on my own, great Caesar, on a personal errand."
"It is well known that I am not honored in Judea, and that Rome is despised there. Why, I wonder, would someone loyal to his emperor visit a place that was disloyal to that same emperor? Unless of course it was to rescue treasure for your emperor, in which case it would not be an act of treason."
"There was no treasure, Caesar. I went to Judea in aid of a friend."
"I think you are lying. Everyone knows that the temple in Jerusalem was filled with gold and gemstones, and that the Jews took it all to safety when the Babylonians invaded. You found it and you have hidden it somewhere."
"There was no treasure, Caesar."
The chief chamberlain stepped up to the dais and murmured something to one of Nero's aides, who in turn whispered in the emperor's ear. Nero nodded, and a moment later a side door opened. To Ulrika's shock, Primo and Rachel were brought in, ropes binding their wrists. Behind them, a soldier carried the small cedar chest that had once held Rachel's garments.
Nero said to Sebastianus, "My agents sighted you at Brundisium and followed you to Rome. Did you really think you could sneak back without your emperor knowing, or that you could hide your partners in treason?"
"They are merely friends, Caesar," Sebastianus said. "There are no traitors here."
Nero pointed to the cedar chest. "And what is in that?"
"The box contains the bones of a man who wishes to be buried with his kin."
Nero ordered it opened while everyone watched in eager anticipation. The legendary Jewish treasure was said to be so great that even slaves' chains were wrought of gold.
As the Praetorian lifted the lid, Nero rose to his feet, his eyes fixed greedily on the chest. "What is it?" he said sharply. "What do you see?"
"It is as Gallus said, Caesar. Just bones."
The emperor made a show of disgust and sat back down. "You shall pay for your deception, Sebastianus Gallus, and for thinking you could make your emperor appear the fool."
"If I may s
peak, Caesar," Primo said, stepping forward. "I am Primo Fidus and I served in Rome's legions for many years before I retired and went in service to Sebastianus Gallus. It was my report, written by me and dispatched to Ambassador Quintus Publius in Babylon, that led you to believe my master went to Judea in search of treasure. I was mistaken. I had been misinformed."
Nero said, "I read that report. Were you mistaken about the witch as well?"
Primo's eyes flickered toward Ulrika. "I was, Caesar."
"So many mistakes from a man who survived a multitude of foreign campaigns. It is a wonder you are still alive." A rumble of laughter went through the crowd. "Where is this woman you mistakenly called a witch? Is she in Rome?"
When Primo did not respond, Nero gestured with his right hand, and a Praetorian stepped forward to deliver a swift blow with the butt of his spear against Primo's head. Primo dropped to his knees, and at once blood appeared on his scalp. "Where is the witch?" Nero repeated and the Praetorian stood ready.
"I am the one, Caesar," Ulrika said, stepping forward to stand with Sebastianus and Timonides before the emperor. "But I am not a witch. It was gossip and rumors spoken in Babylon. This man is not to blame." She looked at Sebastianus and murmured, "Forgive me, for now I must speak."
Ulrika saw the way the emperor narrowed his eyes at her head. "You are fair-haired like a Barbarian," he said. "Are you unaware that we are at war with Barbarian insurgents?"
"My father's people live in the Rhineland," she said, her heart racing. If he inquired about her mother, what would she say? The truth, that her mother had been a close friend of Claudius Caesar, Nero's predecessor whom he had assassinated?
She braced herself for the question, but instead Nero said dismissively, "I know you are a Cherusci. It said so in that oaf's report. Unless of course he was mistaken in that, too!"
More soft laughter.
"Do not deny that you made outrageous claims in Babylon," Nero said, pointing a finger at Ulrika, "that you are able to see the dead. I know this because that blockhead wasn't the only man reporting to me. I received a more detailed report of your dramatics in Babylon from my ambassador there who wrote to me of miracles and cures. Show me how you speak to the dead. I wish a demonstration."
The Divining Page 35