by David Adkins
The jeers increased in volume and it was obvious that Corelia was affected by them. She was not used to being barracked by her adoring Roman public. She stopped running and closed in to finish her now tottering opponent.
“She has too much pride and Amina could be acting.” I heard Aria groaning. I felt ill.
Even as she drew close Corelia realized that Amina’s plight was partly a ruse. Amina struck fast and Corelia was powerless to entirely stop the sword that sought her magnificent body. She twisted frantically and the blade that was intended to gut her was deflected onto the rib cage. The armour saved her from severe damage but was pierced and blood was visible, but amazingly she did not back off. Blood was flowing freely from both of them but, to my relief, it was still mainly coming from Amina’s thigh; it looked like an awful laceration. The song of metal against metal rang around the arena and resonated in my ears. There followed a blur of aggression with strikes and counterstrikes threatening to exhaust them both. The battle was turning raw with animal and survival instinct taking over from skill and finesse. They were reaching the limit of their endurance when Amina launched another determined attack. I sensed it was a desperate one; Corelia looked the fitter – her wounds were minor in comparison to Amina’s. The blade of Amina crashed against Corelia’s blade and Corelia stumbled badly but once again her speed took her out of distance and Amina was too exhausted to follow up the attack.
I breathed a sigh of relief as Corelia put distance between them and renewed her running strategy. This time the enraptured crowd did not jeer because she had more than proved her great courage against the giant from Ephesus. The contest once again saw Amina in pursuit leaving a trail of blood behind her in the sand and the agile Corelia in retreat. The drama was played out in this way for some time and all the time Amina lost more and more blood and looked in desperate straits.
At last Corelia stopped running and allowed Amina to come in close. Amina, revitalised by this turn of events, launched a determined attack but Corelia countered and moved away and when Amina attempted to engage her again she was having none of it. Corelia moved like a gazelle around the arena despite her wounded side and Amina could not catch her. Finally Amina made what appeared to be a desperate and last ditch attempt to catch Corelia and, when she failed, she stumbled and fell heavily. The strength seemed to drain away from her as she lay on the ground and it was obvious that the blood loss had taken its toll. Corelia approached her stricken adversary cautiously even though Amina had dropped both her sword and her shield as she fell. Amina was conscious but defenceless. Corelia came within a yard, her sword ready to finish the deadly job.
At astonishing speed the injured Amina rolled over and managed to grab one of Corelia’a legs as Corelia tried to jump clear. She held on and brought Corelia down. Amina then managed to throw her body on top of Corelia who had also now dropped her sword. Amina reached out for Corelia’s sword clearly aiming to kill her opponent with her own sword. Terror replaced the confidence I had begun to feel. I heard Aria’s voice amidst the din and pandemonium. “Use your shield.”
Corelia’s arm was still attached to her shield and the shield was between her own body and Amina’s body. It was as if she heard Aria. She pushed with all her might and the shield thumped into Amina’s side, forcing her off and making her drop the sword that she had just been able to grasp with her fingertips. Corelia then pushed her knee hard into the wound on Amina’s thigh. The shriek of agony from the wounded gladiatrix could be heard above the noise of the crowd. Corelia was back on her feet in a flash. She kicked the sword away with one foot and with the other kicked Amina anew on her gaping wound. Amina rolled away in agony; Corelia picked up her sword and danced away, never taking her eyes off her opponent.
“It was a ruse to get Corelia in close,” I gasped.
“It didn’t quite work though and now Corelia has her. She will not make the same mistake again,” said Aria confidently.
Her confidence enveloped me and for the first time I thought Corelia could win. Amina did manage to raise herself to a kneeling position and pick up her sword. Then to my amazement she managed to rise to her feet. She did not pick up her shield but went after Corelia without it. “Fight, you coward, fight,” she screamed at Corelia.
Corelia smiled and moved away. There were still a few renewed jeers from the crowd but the majority of the audience had become enraptured by the tactics of the beautiful gladiatrix. The drama continued with Amina sluggishly in pursuit and Corelia backing away and, all the time, the blood seeped from a wound made much worse by Corelia’s knee thrust and kick. Then as a swaying Amina, now truly unsteady on her feet, approached Corelia one more time Corelia went down on one knee. Amina stopped and looked at her not knowing what was coming next. With one swift movement of her arm Corelia sent her shield flying towards Amina. The accuracy was deadly as the edge of the shield buried itself into the gaping wound on Amina’s leg. There was another awful shriek of agony and Amina hit the arena floor like a mighty oak felled by a streak of lightning. Even she could not have acted out that fall. She had passed out from loss of blood and great pain and the noisy crowd went suddenly silent. She had lost so much blood that even the mighty Amina could not fight on.
“I think she has victory,” I said to Aria, but I could not erase the fear of another trick. Aria remained tense and silent but gripped my hand tighter in anticipation.
Corelia picked up Amina’s shield and approached her stricken foe once more. She was not taking any chances this time. She stopped just out of reach and with a swing of her arm she threw the shield hard at Amina’s head. There was a thud as the shield hit her in the face but Amina did not move. Corelia drew closer and kicked Amina’s wound again. The Egyptian did not stir. She was alive but she was unconscious. Corelia put her foot on Amina’s chest and the tip of her sword on Amina’s throat and looked in the direction of the Emperor.
*
Domitian stood up and looked down at the gladiatrix who was also his courtesan. He smiled wickedly as the crowd yelled either for mercy or for more blood. I was on my feet shouting at the top of my voice, “Mercy, mercy, mercy.” I could hear my words echoed by Stephanio seated behind me. Petronius looked shattered but very relieved.
“What are you doing?” said Aria.
“There is no need for Amina to die. She fought well.”
“As you say, brother.” Aria shrugged and laughed.
Slowly Domitian turned his thumb downwards and Corelia slit Amina’s throat.
I do not know what made me react the way I did. I felt Aria trying in vain to pull me back. Perhaps it was the pent-up emotion of the day. Perhaps it was the ordeal Aria and I had gone through and the terrible ordeal that Corelia had gone through. Perhaps it was the death of Amina but I was simply overcome with an uncontrollable rage. He had made Corelia his sex slave and forced her to fight in the arena and now he had sentenced Amina to death. As Corelia slit her throat I realized that I actually liked the formidable Egyptian. I was going to throttle the bastard and nothing was going to stop me. I headed with one purpose towards the Emperor’s box. I was lucky because people were already beginning to leave the arena and they slowed me down considerably. I tried to force my way through the masses but it was slow progress and all the time my all-consuming rage was slowly abating. By the time I reached the royal box and was confronted by Paulinus common sense had thankfully prevailed.
“Where are you going?” asked an irritated Praetorian Prefect.
“I was making sure everything was all right here,” I blabbed unconvincingly.
“You are supposed to be at the exit gate. Go there immediately and join up with Macro and the others. Look, Gracchus is already preparing to leave.”
“Yes, sir,” I replied, and rushed back into the exiting crowd. I had quite forgotten about Marcus Gracchus.
Progress through the crowd was still slow but now the rage had been replaced by wonderful relief. Corelia had won. Corelia lived. I might yet have a future wit
h her. My thoughts and the crowds slowed me down. I was halfway up the aisle towards the main north exit where I was to meet Macro when Aria suddenly barred my progress. “What is going on, Hylas? Where are you going in such a hurry?”
“There is something I have to do,” I blurted out.
“What is that?” she said refusing to budge. I looked at the box of Marcus Gracchus. He was gone. He was already on his way out. “I must go, Aria.”
“You are going nowhere until you tell me,” she said firmly. “Are you not happy? Should we not be celebrating?”
“Of course I am happy. Now let me go.”
“No,” she said, and stood her ground.
I pushed her out of the way and bounded up the aisle towards the north exit. “Sorry, Aria,” I called out.
“Have you gone mad, Hylas?” I heard her call back.
Chapter 26
When I reached the main exit on the north side of the Colosseo there was no sign of Macro and the guards or indeed Marcus Gracchus. I quickly realized that Gracchus must have already left and that Macro and his men had gone after him. For a moment I hesitated as to what to do but then I realized that if I did not show up there would be questions to answer. I bounded out of the Colosseo and started to run down the Via Sacra towards the forum. I knew that the mansion of Marcus Gracchus was on the Palatine Hill so I needed to make a left turn down one of the streets leading to the Palatine. I did not have to make a decision as to which one to take because I saw people running from an alleyway a little further down the Sacred Road. I called out to one elderly man as he hurried past me. “What is happening?”
“There is trouble – the Praetorian Guards are attacking a group of citizens,” he yelled a reply and then looked frightened as he saw my uniform.
I turned the corner into the alleyway and to my surprise I saw Marcus Gracchus running towards me pursued by two members of the guard. The rest of the guards, including Macro, were engaged in a street battle with the Gracchus bodyguards who were rapidly falling to the swords of the more experienced and disciplined Praetorians. I dived into the path of Gracchus and body checked him and we both tumbled heavily to the ground. I was winded but watched as Casperius and Laetus swooped on the fallen and breathless senator and began violently stabbing him with their swords. I watched as sword thrust after sword thrust inflicted more and more damage. His distinctive and rich attire was now soaked in his own blood. The blood was all over the cobblestones and I knew that the rich and once influential senator was surely dead. At last the stabbing stopped and the three of us stood over the corpse of Marcus Gracchus.
We were quickly joined by Macro and the rest of the guard who had dispersed the Gracchus bodyguard and put them to flight. “The deed is done,” said Macro as he removed the robe covering the face of Gracchus with his foot. The look of triumph on his face turned to a look of horror. The bloody face that seemed to stare up at him was not the face of Marcus Gracchus.
“It is not him,” I gasped.
“We have been duped,” replied a horrified Macro.
“It was the robe that fooled us. It was so unique. He must have given it to this poor fool without us knowing,” added an exasperated Cyprian.
“Then he probably made off through a different exit,” said Macro.
“I saw this man in the box of Gracchus. It must have all been carefully planned,” I said.
“I wonder if he knew of our intention to assassinate him,” said Macro thoughtfully.
We looked at each other; we all knew that if he did then Gracchus had a spy in our midst and we would all be suspects. “What do we do now?” asked Cetius.
“We return to the palace and await fresh orders,” said Macro. “At least we suffered no casualties or even injuries, except maybe for Hylas here.”
It was true that I was in some pain – I had fallen heavily on the cobbles and no doubt suffered some bruising. “I am fine,” I assured him.
*
We trooped back to the palace somewhat disconsolately; the grand plan had failed and this fiasco had to be reported to Paulinus. The Praetorian Prefect was waiting for us in the palace gardens when we returned. He looked anxious. “I have only just got back myself. How did it go?” he addressed Macro.
Macro stepped forward. “We killed a man we thought to be Gracchus but it was a substitute wearing Gracchus’s robes. Gracchus must have selected a man of similar build to stand in for him. I am afraid we have failed and I am also afraid that we may have a spy in the guard. It seems that they knew of our intention.”
Paulinus put his head in his hands. “All of Rome will soon know that I tried to assassinate Gracchus. He will milk it for all its worth. The noble senator recently found not guilty at a Roman court of law and the ambitious Praetorian Prefect taking the law into his own hands. This has made my position precarious to say the least. The assassination attempt needed to be successful. We needed Gracchus dead.”
“What shall we do?” asked Macro.
“We still need to act. We can’t do nothing and just let the Gracchus propaganda machine do its work. Presumably he has returned to his mansion on the Palatine. Take the guard, Macro, arrest him and bring him back to the palace. I will have him in our dungeon out of harm’s way while I ponder my next move.”
Macro saluted. “We will go and get him.”
“Make sure you do,” responded Paulinus.
The twelve guards, including myself, who had attempted the unsuccessful assassination bid, then followed Macro out of the palace heading for the Palatine Hill. There was a grim silence for none of us knew how easy it would be to arrest Gracchus in his own stronghold. We marched the short distance from the palace to the Palatine and soon stood before the mansion of Marcus Gracchus.
I looked at the villa of Gracchus in wonder – it was probably the finest private residence in the whole of Rome. It simply oozed wealth, luxury, and opulence. It was surrounded by a very high brick wall but to my surprise the gate was wide open. We entered through the gate and made our way through the impressive, manicured gardens rich in plants and bountiful in colour. We made our way past an ornamental fountain and onto the large patio. Macro strode forward and banged loudly on the highly decorated door and we guards closed up behind him. We waited impatiently for a few minutes and the door was slowly opened. “What can I do for you?” a man asked nervously.
“We are here to see Marcus Gracchus,” stated Macro.
“He is not here,” answered the nervous man.
“Where is he?” demanded Macro.
The man jumped. “I do not know. He has not yet returned from the Colosseo.”
“You are?”
“I am his steward, Lurco.”
“Well, Lurco, in that case we will wait.” Macro pushed the door open and entered and we followed him inside. “Search the house and make sure that Gracchus is not here,” ordered Macro.
The hallway that we entered was incredibly luxurious and far bigger than most houses. The search that took us through the rest of the incredible mansion was unsuccessful. Finally Lurco ushered us into the large study and library and we started to make ourselves comfortable for the wait. “Lurco, you will stay here with us,” said Macro. “I do not want you or any other servants or slaves warning Marcus of our presence. Hylas and Cyprian, you go back to the gate. Make yourselves invisible. I do not want Gracchus seeing you when he arrives. Make sure he is not warned by any of his staff.”
I returned to the hallway with Cyprian and saw members of the Gracchus household scurrying about and then we went back to the gate. There were plenty of large shrubs just inside the gate and we settled down behind some particularly large ones where we could keep an eye on the mansion and gardens and also on the gate and outside. We would also not be seen by anyone approaching the gate from outside. All that was left to do was to wait for the senator to return.
The minutes passed and the minutes turned into hours. Darkness would soon be falling and still Gracchus had not returned. Macro and the gu
ard emerged from the mansion soon after sunset. “He is not coming,” he said in an agitated tone.
“He knew we would come here,” I agreed.
Macro nodded. “Laetus and Cetius, you will stay here and watch the mansion overnight. If Gracchus does happen to return then one of you will return quickly to the palace to let me know. The other one will then keep an eye on Gracchus and follow him if he leaves again. The rest of us will return to the palace now for I fear we are wasting our time here.
“I understand,” said Laetus, and Cetius nodded agreement.
“Make sure you stay out of sight,” added Macro.
The rest of us then trudged wearily back to the palace where Paulinus once again was waiting for us. He looked as tense as I had ever seen him look. Macro shook his head. “He never came back.”
“He seems to know our every move.” Paulinus shook his head in disgust. “Not only have we attempted to murder him but we have also violated his home. You can just hear his indignation in the senate.”
“Perhaps he has gone to his villa at Surrentum,” I suggested.
“No, he has gone into hiding.” answered Paulinus.
“We could ask questions,” suggested Macro.
“And you would do that with a view to what, exactly?” replied Paulinus.
“In order to find him and arrest him,” said Macro.
“We cannot arrest him. That was never my real intention. We needed to dispose of him and we needed to do it quickly. We have nothing to charge him with. By tomorrow most of Rome will know that there has been an attempt on his life. He will make sure of that. He will also make sure the world knows that the ambitious Praetorian Prefect was behind it. The senate will be outraged. Even Domitian will not be able to ignore what I have done and I will have questions to answer.” He looked distressed. “Now the assassination attempt has failed I have played right into his hands. That gladiatrix is with the Emperor even now, probably turning him against me.”