by David Adkins
I whistled. “That will be dangerous, even for you, Corelia.”
“Thank you for your faith in me, but I believe it will be fatal for me.”
“Do you not think you can beat her?”
“As soon as this frightening seed began to grow in the disturbed mind of our Emperor my father sent a trusted servant to Ephesus to watch her fight in the arena there. My father received a report from him just days ago and it made distressing reading. She is a magnificent fighter, skilled, fast, and very strong and unbeaten. He believes I would not have a good chance against her. In other words, Hylas, I am soon to be butchered in the Colosseo.”
“You are magnificent yourself, Corelia. Are you not also unbeaten?”
“I will let you into a secret, my dear friend. My father handpicks my opponents. I am good, but I have never been truly tested. I fear that I am soon to die.”
Her words “dear friend” thrilled me, but her belief in her coming demise frightened me. “Surely Domitian and your father would not let this happen?”
“Domitian is obsessed with the contest and he can think of nothing else. Petronius, my father, has no say in the matter. We can perhaps delay it but the Emperor demands that it will happen.”
“How does this relate to what you wish me to do for you, Corelia?”
“Before I tell you, I want you to do it because you have feelings for me and not because I have asked it in return for a favour.”
“You know I have strong feelings for you,” I said with a passion that surprised even me.
She smiled and stroked my face and brushed her lips against mine. I believe that at that moment I would have done anything for her. I tried to return the kiss but she moved away and put her finger to my lips. “Domitian would not be happy about this and his spies are everywhere.”
“Do you love Domitian?” I asked nervously.
“Of course not, he lusts after me and desires to act out his fantasies with me but he is not capable of loving a woman. Domitian loves only himself. I did love another but he did not return my love, so now it is good just to be loved unconditionally even if there is no immediate future in it. The man who loves me has shortly to go to the other end of the Empire. You do love me, don’t you, Hylas?”
“I do. He must have been a fool not to return your love. But you have not yet told me what you wish me to do.”
“You will be travelling to Byzantium in your search for Solanus Fuscus and Ephesus is not far south of Byzantium. I want you to make a detour to Ephesus and make sure that Amina never comes to Rome.”
“You want me to kill her?” I said incredulously.
She saw my alarm at her words. “Who said kill her? I want you to make sure that she does not come to Rome to fight me in the Colosseo. There are other ways to make sure that the contest never happens. I will leave it up to you how you stop her.” She gripped my hand tightly. “If you do not stop her then I am likely to suffer a humiliating defeat and death in the Colosseo. Do you want that to happen, Hylas? I am pleading with you to stop it happening. I have no wish to die.” Her grip on my hand grew even tighter.
“Of course I will not let you die. I will do anything for you, Corelia,” I found myself saying.
“Then when you return perhaps Domitian will have tired of me.”
The promise implied by these words was intoxicating. “I will stop her,” I reiterated firmly.
“Thank you, Hylas. I am so happy that you have agreed to do what my father would not agree to.”
“Would he not save his daughter?”
“Normally the answer to that would be yes, but he fears going against Domitian’s wishes for if he was found out then he too would face death. Nobody would suspect you though, Hylas, because as one of Paulinus’s Guards you have no motive.”
“I have if they discover I love you.”
“Only you and I know that, Hylas.”
“We must talk of Solanus,” I reminded her. “Why do you say I will be going to Byzantium?”
“I was there when the plans for Solanus’s escape from Italy were hatched. He left Italy on a ship named the Laodike captained by a Greek called Laocrates. He left from the port of Brindisi and the ship, a trading vessel, was bound for Byzantium. He was travelling with a Dacian woman called Kotys and their final destination was a small town close to the Thracian and Dacian border.”
“Do you know the name of the town?” I asked.
“I’m afraid I never heard the name of the town mentioned, but there are likely to be people aboard the ship he might have mentioned it to.”
“How do you know all this?”
“If I told you I would be breaking my word, solemnly given,” she said, sighing. “I cannot do that.”
“Then I will not press you.”
“Thank you, Hylas. I must warn you that if Solanus does not wish to be found then you will not find him. If you do find him then he might not agree to come if he is too busy playing happy families.”
I noted the bitterness in her tone but said nothing.
“You are now on two quests and both have time limits. I can use ploys to delay the grand event in the Colosseo but I will not be able to delay it for too long. I do not know which you will decide to deal with first. If you decide to go first to Dacia and you find Solanus, then remind him that he and Kotys owe Corelia a massive debt and it is time for him to repay it. That way you will recruit his help in dealing with Amina when he knows I am in grave danger. He is very resourceful and would be a great help to you in the undertaking. However, I hope you decide to go to Ephesus first and then send me news of your success, which will take a great load off my mind.”
“I do not know what I will do first. It will probably be dictated by events as they unfold. I will leave for Brindisi as soon as possible and then take ship for Byzantium. I will keep you safe, Corelia,” I promised. I knew from that moment she was my life, and that I would return to her and she would learn to love me.
“If you pay the captain well he might drop you off at Ephesus on the way.”
“Thanks to the funds I have been given I will be able to make such a payment.”
She hugged me. “It is so good to be loved in the way that you love me, Hylas. Please take care and dream of the time when we will be reunited – as I will dream of it.” She stood up and looked down at me, then reached down and stroked my cheek. “Farewell, until you return from the east.”
“Farewell, Corelia. You are wonderful.”
She smiled. “Do this for me and I will always be in your debt.”
With that tantalizing declaration she walked away, leaving me sitting like a statue on the long grass. I wanted to chase after her, take her in my arms and make passionate love to her, but instead I didn’t move. I stayed motionless for a long time until eventually dusk fell, and then I got up and made my way back to the palace like a man in a trance.
*
The things that Corelia had told me were in line with the words of Paulinus and I could not believe that Corelia would lie to me. However, the next day I decided to visit the house of Lucher to see if I could glean any further information before I set off for the port of Brindisi on the east coast of Italy. Had I really agreed to stop the famous gladiatrix, Amina, from coming to Rome? I knew I had, but I did not know how I was to put such a difficult plan into effect. She would be surrounded by her fellow gladiators in the school at Ephesus. I would somehow have to get her on her own. I had been so certain when I assured Corelia that I would stop her but now it all seemed so much less plausible.
I looked up at the two-storey apartment block that stood on the edge of the Subara, close to the slave market. I knocked on the door of the ground floor apartment and waited but there was no answer. I knocked louder and this time I could hear a noise from within. At last the door slowly opened and a small, elderly, stooping man stood before me.
“Are you Lucher?” I inquired.
He looked at me warily and apprehensively. “I am, and I am the owner of t
his respectable establishment.”
“There is nothing to fear. I just need to have a few words with you.” I hoped my softly spoken words would calm his nerves. “May I come in?”
He hesitated. “Are you seeking a room?”
“No, I have some questions to ask you and I am willing to pay for some answers.”
The expression on his face changed from one of fear to one of greed. “Come in and sit down.” He ushered me inside. “Excuse the mess.”
I moved some clothes from the nearest seat and sat down. He was right; this place was a mess and tidiness was certainly not one of his priorities. “I have some questions about a former tenant by the name of Solanus Fuscus,” I began.
At the name he almost collapsed onto the chair next to me and I saw the anxiety return to his wizened features. “Solanus was a very good friend,” he stuttered.
“He is also my friend,” I assured him. “I would like you to tell me please what you know of the plans of Solanus after he left your respectable establishment.”
“He did not acquaint me with his plans. He was a secretive man, as you will know if you are his friend. If I knew of his plans I would hesitate to tell you because I do not know whether you mean him harm.”
“I assure you I mean him no harm and that he would wish to hear what I have to tell him. You have my word on that – and I would pay you well for any information that will help me find him. Of course if you refuse to tell me then I could have you arrested…”
Lucher appeared to be searching his memory. “Please do not threaten an old man. It is true that he told me little but I believe he meant to travel east with a woman named Kotys.”
“I already know that. He intended to go to Dacia with this Dacian woman, Kotys. Do you know where in Dacia they were going?”
“I am sorry but he never told me,” he replied with a shrug.
I decided on a different tack. “Did he have many visitors to his room during the weeks he stayed here?”
“He was a solitary man but he did have a couple,” he offered.
“Who were they?” I asked. “Try to remember.”
“There were no regular visitors.” He hesitated.
“I will pay you well,” I encouraged him.
“The great gladiatrix, Corelia, came a few times. She was a wonderful woman and so strong. There was also a servant called Antistius from the home of Marcus Gracchus. That’s about it. No, there was one more, a young girl from the local whorehouse. We all need our pleasures.”
My heart had leapt at the name of Corelia. “Were you ever present when he met with Corelia?”
Once again he hesitated but I produced a small bag of coins that loosened his tongue. “Once I was and she hit me. I was on the floor at her feet. What a glorious memory and what a powerful woman.”
He seemed lost in the past so I rattled the bag and brought him back to the present. “Tell me all that was said.” I was eager for information about Corelia as well as Solanus.
“Solanus was angry with her. He asked her questions which I did not understand. He held a knife to her throat because he believed she had betrayed him in some way.”
I was intrigued. “Why did he think that she had betrayed him?”
“I do not know but it was something to do with Paulinus, the head of the Praetorian Guard, and Marcus Gracchus the notable senator. You have gone quite pale, sir. Is it something I have said?”
I was in a state of shock. I was remembering when Paulinus was interviewing Solanus as his prisoner, after he had made the attempt on his life. He had called me in to help prove that Solanus had been betrayed in his assassination attempt. It seemed that Solanus may have believed that it was Corelia who had betrayed him, though he had not said so at the time. It all made sense, because Corelia, as a regular visitor to the palace, could have got Solanus in. She was his likely accomplice. “I was surprised, Lucher, to hear the name of Corelia – such a famous gladiatrix. Did Solanus ascertain in the end whether Corelia had betrayed him?”
“I think he came to the conclusion that she had not betrayed him because there was a quick reconciliation between them but not until after, in her outrage, she had struck both of us. She was amazing that day.”
“Why did she strike you?” I asked.
“While Solanus held the knife to her throat I took the opportunity to run my hand along her perfect leg.”
“Then you deserved it,” I retorted.
“I know, but it was worth it,” he replied with a grin that told me he was conjuring up a fond memory.
“I have an idea of what took place between Solanus and Corelia and I also know what brought Antistius to your humble abode. I know therefore that you have spoken the truth. Your information has not helped me very much but it has been interesting. Is there anything else you can remember that might help me find Solanus?”
He seemed to be racking his brains for fear of not receiving remuneration for the details he had furnished me with. “There is nothing else that I can remember,” he said, and apologized profusely.
I tossed him the bag. “As I said, your information though not particularly helpful was interesting.”
His face lit up as he caught the bag. “Thank you, Solanus was generous too.”
I stepped out of the dingy apartment on to the cobble-stoned alley. I would keep my suspicions about Corelia to myself, for the revelation had not altered my feelings for her. Nothing had changed in that respect. However, I could not help wondering if Solanus Fuscus was the man she had loved: the man who had not returned her love.
Brindisi – Autumn AD87
Chapter 4
The next morning I set out for Brindisi. I had decided not to try and interview the gardener at the villa of Quintus Fuscus. It would have been a risky undertaking and I would almost certainly have learnt nothing new. My journey to Brindisi was uneventful, but I tried to remain on my guard, because I knew that it would be in the interests of certain powerful people for me to fail in my mission. I used the well-used road from Rome to Brindisi and made good time. It was not easy to keep alert because I had so many matters running around aimlessly in my head. I suppose my main concern should have been how to find Solanus Fuscus and how to persuade him to return to Rome. However, my thoughts were mainly taken up with Corelia; I could not get the beautiful gladiatrix out of my head. She had laid claim to my mind and I could not bear the thought that I may not see her for six months. In that time she could have split with Domitian and met someone else and no longer be interested in me. This possibility tormented me on my journey.
I had never been to Brindisi or even set foot on a ship before so this was to be a new experience for me. When I arrived at my destination I wasted no time; I quickly made my way through the cobbled streets of the town downhill to the port. It was a bewildering place, bustling with activity with many ships and vast numbers of people loading and unloading their goods and cargoes. I should not have been surprised for this was certainly one of the great ports of the Empire. With all these ships in port I wondered if one of them might be the Laodike, though of course it was more likely that it would be at sea. I yelled out to a man washing the deck of a large, impressive vessel that took my eye. “Do you know if the Laodike is in port?”
“You’re in luck,” he shouted back. “She arrived back in Brindisi only yesterday from the east.”
“Where is she?” I looked around at all the ships moored along the waterfront.
He pointed. “She’s about twenty ships in that direction. You can’t miss her – her name is on the stern of the ship.”
“Many thanks,” I shouted, and made my way in the direction I had been shown.
It did not take me long to find the Laodike and I walked down the ramp and stepped onto the deck of the vessel. There were only a few people on deck and one of them approached me. “What is it you want?” he inquired.
“I would like to speak to the captain – is he on board?”
“He is in his cabin. Wait here an
d I will go and get him.”
I waited for a few minutes and then a large man with a friendly grin approached me. “Greetings, I am Laocrates, captain of this fine ship, how can I help?”
“Greetings Captain, I am called Hylas. Where are you next bound for?” I asked.
“We will be going to Byzantium in a couple of weeks. We usually do the run between Brindisi and Byzantuim because it’s a lucrative trade route and we stop at other ports on the way. We sometimes take a few passengers if they pay well. Where are you bound?”
“I will be going east either to Ephesus or Byzantium and I am seeking passage.”
“I am sure that we can agree on a price that suits us both, but are you prepared to wait for two weeks? It is only fair to tell you that there are probably other ships heading east before us.”
“Two weeks would suit me just fine.” I reasoned that the opportunity to question the crew would be worth a two week wait.
“Why did you choose the Laodike?” he asked.
“I have heard good things about your ship.”
He grinned. “She is a beauty and very strong and reliable. Your choice of ship is good. How does two hundred denarii sound to you for going to either Ephesus or Byzantium?”
“That sounds like a fair price to me,” I responded with a grin.
“For that you will get a small private cabin – and I mean small,” he laughed. “Come back two weeks to the day with the payment. We only arrived back from Byzantium yesterday and I have given some of the crew shore leave, and the rest will help load goods on board for the coming trip. It will be better if you seek lodgings in the town until then. You will find your cabin cramped enough during the voyage and you would be in the way as we make the ship ready for the journey.”
I assured Laocrates that I would return in two weeks and then I made my way uphill back into the town. I had no difficulty in finding a room to rent for my two weeks sojourn in Brindisi for there were plenty of lodgings in this busy, bustling town. The first thing I did was to send an immediate and urgent letter to Corelia by courier, telling her that I would be two weeks in Brindisi before leaving for the east and pleading with her to come and see me before I left. I told her that I had chosen to travel east on the Laodike because it would give me plenty of time to befriend the captain and his crew and ask the relevant questions regarding Solanus Fuscus.