by Nobilis Reed
The automatic trumpets distributed around the stands blared a fanfare, and Quintus Ambrosius stood to introduce my father, who took his turn orating to the crowd. He knew that they were there to see the machines, not him, so he was quite spare with his words. Finally, the podium was turned over to the announcer, and the first event began.
The trumpets blared again, the starter’s banner dropped, and I winced as the racers put the steam to their turbines. The starting line was directly below our seats, and the sound of a half dozen turbines whining up to full power simultaneously put my teeth on edge until they got down to the turn. I looked at Livia.
“Which team is the one with the bear emblem?” she asked.
“That’s the Thirtieth Legion,” I said.
“If that driver doesn’t hold back more steam, he’s going to lose pressure before he gets to the end of the race.”
When had Livia become a racing fan? Had she been all along?
I looked across the stadium at the cluster of chariots racing across the far side. The Thirtieth Legion chariot was way out in front. “He looks like he’s doing fine,” I said.
“Look at his steam,” she said. “He’s going to use up his pressure faster than he’s making it. The driver must not be very experienced.”
I scratched my head. “You follow the races?”
“Oh, yes. It’s very exciting. My aunt Dryanta brought me there to cheer me up when you left. I quite like it. Though I don’t know any of these drivers or machines. Just the ones back in Rome.”
I swallowed hard and looked from the track back to her. This did not bode well for my plan to pull her aside for a few private words. Still, I had to try.
Before I could get a word in, however, the legate leaned over in my direction. “Tell me about this centurion of yours. Aulus Salvius.”
“He arrived a few weeks ago. Still settling in on his command, but so far not showing any signs of incompetence.”
He grunted and nodded to one of the boxes nearby. “That’s him over there, isn’t it?”
I looked. The man was sitting in the section reserved for officers of the legion, extending along the wall of the stadium to our right. A woman sat next to him, one of the for-hire girls that any permanent camp attracted. They weren’t doing anything particularly intimate, just sitting together watching the race, and there were others nearby who had also brought female companionship. The difference was that Aulus Salvius was a member of the cult.
“Yes,” I said with a frustrated sigh. Livia, who had also turned to look, clicked her tongue.
“And didn’t we initiate him just a few days ago?”
“Yes, we did.”
“Do have a word with him, Marcus. We do not do that sort of thing in public.”
“Yes, sir.” I glanced back at him, but he had already turned to my father and struck up a separate conversation.
“Excuse me,” I said to Livia.
“Of course.”
I rose from my chair and took the stairs down to the aisle serving that section of the stands. I could have sent the message by way of a legion tribune, but the legate had been clear. He wanted me to do it.
The legion’s section of the stands lay just in front of a row of boxes held by some of the more important personalities in the province—one of whom was Primus Germanicus.
“Procurator!” he said, leaning down and offering his hand. With his huge barrel chest, burly arms, and unfashionably shaggy hair he looked like the very incarnation of Vulcan himself, a perfect image for the province’s chief naval engineer. He and the men working for him had assembled my ship upstream of the rapids, making my explorations of Lake Ontarius possible.
I clasped his wrist and gave him a nod. I had work to do but Primus was a good friend and an important supporter. “Good day to you, Primus. How are things among the grease and gears?”
“Exceptional!” he said, leaning back in his seat. As he did so I caught sight of Makki sitting directly to his right.
She smiled uncomfortably. “Procurator,” she said, bowing in her seat. She was wearing the long-sleeved, heavy wool tunic that was the standard uniform in the engineering ranks. A brass clasp on her shoulder signified her status as one of Primus’s pupils, a Tiro.
My heart skipped a beat and it took me a few seconds to gather enough presence of mind to respond. “Tiro.”
“I wanted to thank you for sending this woman my way,” said Primus. “She has only been with me a few weeks and is already outdoing all the men in her squad.”
“I told you,” I said with a smile. “And I’m glad you’ve seen fit to employ her. I know it’s far outside the usual for a woman to take such a position.”
“Ah well...I couldn’t put her in the regular ranks, of course. I have her on the Black Squad.”
I wasn’t surprised, but the thought did concern me. His black squad was the place for natives, half-breeds, and orphans—people without a proper family to sponsor them. I couldn’t imagine that it was a pleasant place for her to work.
She looked a bit worse for wear. There was a tiredness to her eyes, and her mouth kept switching back and forth between a smile and a frown.
“So you’re happy there?” I asked her.
“Yes. I work hard.”
Primus laughed. “Hard! Ah, Procurator, this woman is almost a machine herself! Driven, I say.”
I took a deep breath and considered my words. “Then you are quite welcome, Primus. Now if you will excuse me, I have a duty to attend to.”
“Of course, of course,” said Primus. “I certainly wouldn’t want to interrupt anything important.” He gave another deferential nod and turned to speak with one of the other members of his entourage.
I continued on to where Aulus Salvius sat with his professional companion. The girl noticed me first and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned, recognized me, and smiled. “Procurator! Come down to get a better look at the action?” He shouted over the whine and rumble of the steam chariots as they zoomed by, starting their second lap.
The woman looked like she might be Sicilian, or perhaps a mix. “Go home,” I said to her. She left without a word. When she was gone, I put my hand on Aulus’s shoulder. “What’s her name?”
“Nia,” he said. “Or maybe it’s ‘Mia.’ Something like that. Thinking of hiring her for yourself? She’s quite—”
I cut him off with a gesture. “From one of the houses?”
“Aye. The Orchid.”
“I see. Well, at least you’re corrupting only yourself.”
He began to get an idea that he was in trouble. He squinted at me and asked, “Sir?”
“You seem to have forgotten a commandment, Centurion.”
“Commandment?”
I didn’t know if he was playing a game with me, trying to get me to violate the commandments by speaking in detail about the cult outside of the sacred services, but I wasn’t going to fall into that trap. “Do not play ignorant with me, Centurion...unless you wish to make the claim that those who were charged with your education were incompetent?”
“No, Procurator.”
“Good. Then you can think on exactly which lessons you failed to learn properly during your posting to the coalfield.”
“Sir! But...I haven’t...I mean, we didn’t...we were just talking!”
“When you come back in three months you can tell me which one it is.”
He swallowed hard. “Yes, sir.”
Our coal mines were on a large island far into the northeast. They served all of the colonies as well as ships fueling up for their trip back to Europa. It was even colder there than in Nova Lucotecia, and there was very little in the way of creature comforts. Units were usually rotated out of there every month; three months would be a significant hardship.
I made my way back to my seat, berating myself as a hypocrite of the first order. I had no doubt that he had not, in fact, done anything unseemly with the prostitute. Punishing him made it more likely that word about my night
with Makki would get to the legate, especially if the members of my crew had any friends among Aulus’s men.
At the same time, he probably had plans to dally with the girl, and it certainly didn’t look good to other members of the cult if such behavior went unremarked. As with so many other things of late, I had little choice about this confrontation. I regained my seat in a dark mood.
“Who was that woman?” asked Livia.
“Oh, just a meretrix, no doubt. No one worth worrying over.”
“Not her,” said Livia. “The first one.” She turned and looked me in the eye.
“Oh. Her.” I felt color rise to my face. “Her name is Makkitotosimew. She’s a barbarian girl I rescued from the Niarus River a while back. She showed an unusual talent for machines, so she’s been working for Primus Germanicus.” I suddenly found the steam chariots much more interesting than they had been before.
“Ah, I believe Mother has mentioned her.”
I tried not to let the doom constricting around my heart tell in my voice. “Oh?”
“How you must be in quite dire need of decent men, if women are doing their work.”
“Ah, yes, well...she is something of a special case.” I looked back to her, and then past her to Makki, and back again. “You were right about the Thirtieth Legion,” I said, pointing down at the track. The chariot with the bear emblem was far at the back, well behind the other vehicles.
A ghost of a frown crossed Livia’s face, and she stood. “Father, if it pleases you, I would like to return home.”
And the doom squeezed tighter. She knew. She had to know. Why else would she react that way?
The legate inclined his head. “By all means, my dear. You run along, I shall be back soon enough myself.”
“Allow me to walk you down to the carriage,” I said, rising from my seat.
“That won’t be necessary,” said the legate. “Stay and tell me how you handled that centurion.”
“Yes, sir.”
THE NEXT OPPORTUNITY CAME A FEW DAYS LATER. My ship was crowded with Livia, my father, and their attendants on board, but we managed. I assigned my cabin to Livia and her handmaiden, but I didn’t expect they would be sleeping in it. I had no intention of being away from Nova Lucotecia for too long. After all, this wasn't a survey cruise; it was just a sightseeing jaunt. We cruised slowly, just far enough from shore to prevent running aground. The five of us clustered at the side rail watching the terrain slide slowly by. Huge rocks dotted the dark beaches, and behind them great expanses of trees. We were still on the river, not even as far as Lake Ontarius itself. My plan was to proceed upriver to the lake, take a circle around to show just how big it was, and then come back down before nightfall would make navigation more hazardous.
I expected Livia to be bored. Instead, she seemed to find something interesting to look at every minute. With a heavy cloak wrapped around her shoulders, the chill air did not deter her. She wanted to know the names of all the birds and animals we passed along the way. Specimens of some of the larger fauna had been captured for the emperor’s menagerie, but there were many creatures that just didn’t have names.
While Livia’s handmaiden Hilaria was much quieter about her interest, she clearly shared it. Most servants faded into the background, but theirs seemed to be an unusual relationship. Livia referred to Hilaria by name with almost sisterly familiarity. Clearly they were not related, as Hilaria’s brown hair and freckled complexion stood in stark contrast, but they were both slim of shape and graceful in manner.
The one who tired of the proceedings first was actually my father. After a short comment about lumber and the feasibility of floating logs down to Nova Leucotecia, he yawned, stretched, patted his chest, and asked, “Do you think there’s a spare bunk in the crew quarters I could use? I think I stayed up too late with Quintus Ambrosius last night.”
“Certainly. Down the stairs, on the right, just before the coal bunker. Take any one that looks good to you. They’re not assigned to individual soldiers.”
He nodded thanks, and disappeared, along with his man, leaving me alone with Livia and her maidservant. Fortune had smiled on me; this was exactly the opportunity I was hoping for.
I turned to Livia, putting my hand on hers. “We need to talk.”
“Of course. Hilaria, would you go down to the cabin for a bit? One of us will be down shortly, I’m sure.”
Her handmaiden made a quick bow and hurried into the ship.
Once we were alone, Livia gave me a soft smile and cocked an eyebrow. “This is about sex, isn’t it?”
I blinked. “What?”
She patted my hand. “Don’t worry. I know you have needs. My father is something of a rare bird, I am told. Most men have broader urges than can be satisfied on the marriage bed. And since I am not one of those women who crave being crushed under a man’s weight on a regular basis, I understand that once we’re married, you’re going to want certain liberties.”
I blinked some more.
With a smile, she turned back toward the riverbank. “That’s why I brought Hilaria. I think she’ll make an excellent companion for you. Her husband divorced her because she’s barren. She’d be an excellent choice. Nobody would talk about her presence in our household, and you wouldn’t have to worry about getting her with child. In return, we could give her a comfortable life, something a woman in her situation wouldn’t ordinarily have.”
I glanced at the hatch where the handmaiden had gone and was having trouble digesting everything Livia had said. She gave me another smile, and then glanced at the hatch. “Go on down and talk to her. I think you’ll find her very agreeable to this arrangement. Go on. I’ll wait here.”
I grunted something unintelligible. This was not going the way I had planned. I was beginning to understand how Livia managed to get everything she wanted out of her father. I paused to collect my thoughts and took a deep breath. “No, listen, Livia. I had...someone else in mind...”
“That native woman? With the brown skin and the unpronounceable name?” She looked me in the eye and cocked an eyebrow. .
Pain stabbed my temples. I pinched my nose, trying to suppress it and wondered whether that lake spirit was getting his licks in after all. “Stormy” was a good term for the turmoil I suffered. I scanned the coastline and tried to figure out what to say, how to shape the conversation.
“She wouldn’t do at all, no. Marcus, you really need to be thinking about your career. Could you imagine someone like that trying to fit in back in Rome? No, she won’t do at all. Go on down and talk to Hilaria. You’ll see that I’m right.”
She steered me towards the hatch, ignoring my protests. I stumbled down the stairs and into my cabin with my heart sitting like a lead weight in my chest.
I opened the door to find Hilaria lying on my bed, the same one where I had bedded Makki. That night was likely to be the last happy night of my life. Hilaria was naked, smiling up at me.
I shook my head to clear it before stepping inside to close the door. I didn’t need one of the men coming by right then. “Hilaria?”
“My lady did explain, didn’t she?”
“Yes, but...” My thoughts swirled in my head. Everything was going too fast and I was outmaneuvered at every turn. Why couldn’t this be as simple as a military operation?
“If you would come sit, Procurator? Please?” She was smiling, but her eyes were full of anxiety.
I sat at the foot of the bed. “Hilaria, are they putting some kind of pressure on you to do this?”
“Oh, no, sir. This is the best opportunity I’m ever likely to get. I don’t want to make a mess of it. I know I can make you happy, Procurator. Would you please let me show you?”
Part of me wanted her. More than one, in fact. Not only was my body responding to the sight of a nubile young woman’s tender flesh, but the rational side of my mind was telling me that this was the best possible outcome for me, too, in the long run. A man could do a lot worse than having a respectable, understa
nding wife like Livia, and a willing sexual companion like Hilaria.
My duties under Mithras had always seemed so simple. Courage, honor, honesty, fidelity, family; these were all concepts I understood, but this situation put serious questions into my head for which I had no answer. My wife-to-be had sent me to her—and we were almost married—as good as married. Was that enough to satisfy my god? Or was this a sin? There were no priests handy to answer the question.
And what would the legate say? He despised men who were easily seduced, but at the same time he seemed to grant Livia every whim, without thinking. Was I to resist her, the way any man should resist the temptations of women, or was I to humor her the way he did? I found myself paralyzed by doubt.
She pulled up next to me, put her hand behind my neck, and kissed me tenderly just below the ear. A shiver went down my spine. “Relax,” she whispered. “Let me make you feel good. This will be a good thing for both of us.”
Her fingers tugged at the buckles of my armor, and then they were undone. “No,” I said, standing. “No, I’ll do it myself.” Focusing on removing my armor, stripping off my clothes helped to keep my thoughts from straying to Makki. I had to put those thoughts out of my head. Livia was right; Makki was no good for me. It was a disgrace that I couldn’t control my emotions. Losing myself in Hilaria’s arms would be the right thing to do.
As the last of my garments fell away, Hilaria slid out of the bunk and onto her knees at my feet. I wasn’t hard, not even close, but when her lips closed around my soft member, that problem quickly fled. With her hands gripping my buttocks, she employed lips and tongue and even her teeth to draw life into it until she held its firm shaft in one hand to guide its movements into and across her mouth.