The Snake Catcher

by Bilinmeyen

  Yes, he was nervous someone was sneaking closer to his golden chair.

  He went on after some furious contemplation. “Why did he name you? What are you, even? Another freedman? Must irk you to have to serve in the guard. Rebellious and worthless—”

  “No,” I said stiffly. “That’s not true. I’m no freedman. I was never a slave,” I told him, though I had been, briefly, with Segestes.

  The prefect stuttered, and I had made an enemy, though, to be fair, it seemed to be the case before he had entered.

  Maximus grunted, distressed. “Lord. They’ve seen plenty of battle, some with the legions even. They know what they are about, they’ll learn, Augustus has approved them, and so, they serve. And he did agree the fourth and the third should take over Palatine for the time being. They are checking on some rumors of conspiracy against some in the family.”

  Kleitos took a step forward, fuming. He was a short man, a freedman, and clearly one of the favorites of Augustus. He stood before us, and then, walking back and forth, he stared deep into my eyes. What was going on in his head was a total mystery to all of us. Then he slapped his hand on his chest.

  He spoke with a very official voice. “My lord agreed to have only Batavi guard the lords and the ladies? That will upset the Ubii and the other tribes in the first and the second. It will. I shall complain. And how long is this to go on? Until somebody remembers to lift the order? Never? I shall have most of the guard herding pigs, maybe? It’s disrespectful. Doesn’t Tiberius trust the Guard?” he yelled, blanketing the barracks and the corridors with awkward silence after. I stared at the man. His eyes were furious, mean, petty, and scared.

  Why was he scared?

  The man went on. “And to have a citizen in the guard? That is preposterous. It defies logic. You are a dangerous man, because you have nothing to reach for. Not a thing. You already have everything all these men want. You’ll serve badly. It’s clear as a nose in the head. You’ll not guard Augustus, my friend. You’ll guard this fort until you rot.”

  Maximus shook his head. “He displeased Tiberius.”

  Kleitos looked delighted. “He did?” he breathed. “Really?”

  “Really,” Maximus said. “Decurion of the fourth will have him stand night watch until he turns into an owl. Failed to guard the lord the night Antonia nearly died. No guard duty in the Block. He’ll stand awake for weeks in the Palatine. Serves him right.”

  “Night watch,” Kleitos mouthed, almost tasting something akin to shit. “Well. Yes. As long as the fourth and the third guard the family, someone must take the night watch. Have him guard the shitters. And—“

  “He’ll guard one of the family,” Maximus said.

  “No,” the man said stiffly. “Surely I have that much power over the matters of the—“

  Maximus shook his head. “With all due respect, Prefect, this is the order of Tiberius. And Augustus.”

  “He will guard the family,” he whispered. “And I have no saying on it?”

  “No sir.”

  Kleitos went red and white of face, and breathed like a dog. “Preposterous! Who shall he guard?”

  Maximus snapped to attention. “Sir, it is best to let the Decurion deal with it. Decurion will find him a nasty position. He’ll be sorry he joined. This is all temporary.”

  Kleitos nodded, and swallowed bile and hatred. “Fine. And I’ll work hard to restore the honor and balance of the guard. I shall indeed.”

  “Yes, sir,” Maximus said stiffly.

  “And will they train?” Kleitos asked with a small, defeated voice. “Surely they will? That would be—”

  “Oh, they will,” Maximus said apologetically. “They’ll train. When they can.”

  He turned on his heels. “They can today, then. The funeral’s tomorrow, and there is training today. You make sure they’ll ride tomorrow on Via Flaminia for the Forum, and make sure they will find it hard to sit in their saddles.” He turned to Maximus. “I am not a happy man. And I’ll speak with Augustus about all of this.” He looked at me with deep intensity. “Raven, eh?”

  He said it with a purpose, as if he had heard of it before. I felt Gernot moving near me, nervously, and knew he was thinking about it as well. I nodded at Kleitos, not sure what to make of his mood, and wondering if Father, Julia, her allies, or Antius had a foot inside the Guard.

  It would make sense, I thought.

  “We just want to do our duty, sir,” I said, “in thanks for what we did for Tiberius in the north. We will not be trouble. I’ll suffer until I’m released, and won’t fail again.”

  He nodded swiftly, his eyes resentful. He might have performed well when a slave, but a slave had little to lose, and he distrusted me now when he had plenty to lose. He was the sort of man who didn’t take challenges well. He had fought all his life for his position, and now, he feared for it. It was clear. He pointed a finger my way, and made it abundantly, embarrassingly clear. “Things will get complicated here. The turmae will feel insulted, as some have better duty than the others. It’s a skill to manage animals like you, and I know how to do it. Now? It will be a sad, angry world until I get to rule it again. And if you make trouble, any kind of trouble, if things get complicated in the Block, then know there are nearly five hundred men here, all thirsting for position and glory, like you are. And I guard the gate to that glory and that position. Men heed me. They know what I can do for them. Know this.”

  A plain threat from the commander of the guard to someone he feared, and delivered in public.

  Kleitos was not a prudent man.

  “It is known,” I said, and the man stormed off up the stairs. I heard him rush for the tower at the west corner of the Block, where he probably had his office. He’d be writing a query to Augustus, and I prayed the old man remembered what he had promised. Tiberius had arranged it, but gods knew how much clout Kleitos had with Augustus.

  Maximus gave us a crooked smile. He tapped his belt, where there was another scroll. “The orders are here. I’ll give them to him after he stops simmering.”

  “What in the name of Hel is his issue?” Tudrus asked, having understood some of the discussion.

  Maximus scratched his neck. “He was a scribe to the old man. A Greek, good with horses as well. Drove for the Red Team in the Circus. Augustus gave him his freedom, and this position. He knows next to nothing of soldiering, and the official, the decurions, and under officers really run the Guard. He has power, he has riches, secrets.”

  “Secrets?” I asked.

  Maximus smiled crookedly. “Secrets. As in none of your business. And he is jealously suspicious someone else might be taking over the position. He heard you saved Antonia. He heard they like you in the family, even if Tiberius does not. So he is snarling like a mad god, and he’ll make trouble. Keep your boys near. And, yes, you’ll run and train at weapons this morning until noon, and after. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you get a bath and clean equipment.”

  I shrugged. “We’ve been training before.”

  Maximus laughed. “Then you know what to do. First, we parade, and then we sweat.” He hesitated. “What Kleitos said about trouble in the Guard? He was right. People won’t like this new arrangement. First and second have older guards, and there are Ubii nobles aplenty who will now have to train more, guard shitters, and they will feel slighted. Look out for them. Why did Tiberius give that order? How could he know some turma is more trusted than another?”

  “Drusus hired—” I began.

  He had none of it. “True, some were hired by Drusus, and by Tiberius. And, yet, they have been in Rome for a long time. If a guardsman is a traitor, he has no way of knowing which.” Maximus looked at us. “The only ones he might know are trustworthy are you.” He smiled cleverly and slapped his thigh. “But, no, Tiberius hates you, right? Come, parade, and then pain!”

  He stormed out, and we were left to dress. Maximus had a keen mind. I hope he’d keep his mouth shut.

  Gernot pulled at me. He was unable t
o arm himself, and I raised my shoulders. “You stay here. They’ll think about something for you to do.”

  Adalwulf appeared. The blond man cast a glance around the barrack. “Hurry up. The prefect looks like someone served him a turd for breakfast. Up and out!” He kicked at a man’s shield, walked to me, and pulled me aside. “Shit, how you grew up. Hangover?”

  “Yes,” I said, rubbing my forehead.

  “I’ve heard all sorts of things about you,” he smiled. “Look—”

  “What did you mean when you said you served Tiberius since—”

  “There was an incident, Hraban,” he said tiredly. “An incident. I was looking for a lord, and your grandfather’s sword was stolen. I went to recover it.”

  “The Head Taker?” I asked, surprised. “Really?”

  “I recovered it,” he said. “Your father threw it to river.”

  I chuckled. “No. He had it fetched back from the spirits of the river. But, I’ll tell you later how I got rid of it. It was a dangerous blade.”

  He looked at me strangely and pulled me aside. “Before you go and sweat your ass off, hear me out. I was with Tiberius yesterday. And Livia. Your duty begins tomorrow. I’ll snoop around on my own as well, as will many others.” He poked at me. “Kleitos cannot change shit in this arrangement. The nervous crap sniffer will try, but he can’t do anything. Concentrate on Julia. Only her. She killed Drusus. She will help this mystery man kill again. Your job is to find out what she does to get details of her victims out. There are things only few people know, and she is one of them.”

  “How she contacts the conspirators?” I said softly, as men passed us. “They told me she does nothing suspicious, except when she leaves the domus at night, sometimes. She has her guards with her, but it leads to nothing. There’s some witch, and she tells her nothing. What if they have someone else who knows about Tiberius’s comings and goings? What if Julia is merely a prize waiting on a pedestal, someone who has given her blessings, but isn’t doing anything.”

  He grunted. “Did Livia tell you about the discussion she heard?”

  “Yes,” I answered. “How a man—she didn’t see who—agreed to help her.”

  “Since then, Livia has made sure Julia is watched,” he said. “She had spies and servants in Julia’s house. She alone receives all the news from Tiberius, as she did from Drusus, and she alone takes them to Augustus. Augustus, unfortunately, has it all written down. There is one scribe who knows such details. Only one. Julia never talks with the scribe. Never. Neither does anyone connected to her in any way. It’s her. And her source is someone we cannot order about. She gets her news from discussions with Augustus. This case of attack on Antonia is a great example.”

  “Oh?”

  He nodded. “Julia knew the town you stopped in. Augustus wrote to her, and asked for her to meet him there, in that very town. She knew the houses as well. Gods know what information Augustus told Julia about his plans in war. Your father would have been able to make his own plans, but Julia gets too much from her father.”

  “She knew,” I agreed.

  He smiled thinly. “But, not one of the servants watching her found out how she let her allies know. Not one. She lives, she sacrifices, she speaks with some of her friends, but she never drops anything, nor does she speak of the family with anyone. Her guards and some of her servants tell us everything.”

  “Maybe she is not alone,” I despaired. “Perhaps it’s that scribe? Or someone you have not noticed. Surely passing on some bits of information is possible, no matter how well she, or anyone, is being watched.”

  He shook his head. “If it is someone other than Julia, we will deal with that. The scribe of Augustus is being watched, and he is above doubt. He knows of our concerns, and is loyal to Livia, as much as he works for Augustus. Livia has her ways, trust me.” He sighed. “But, I guess, if they are skillful and smart, they could fool anyone. We do our best. A servant of Julia’s was once speaking at length with another slave in the forum. The other slave belonged to a wealthy merchant. Livia took that slave, and we tortured him.”

  “You what?” I asked, horrified.

  He smiled sheepishly. “Turned out the slaves were plotting to steal a jewel off Julia. We sent them both to the ends of the world. The fact is Julia knows much of the activity in the family, thanks to Augustus. She has agreed to support someone who is out to kill Tiberius, she or someone in her household or confidence is providing information to someone. That’s why we need you. I never thought I’d ever say this, but you are a gods-sent gift. She won’t resist speaking with you. You know why.”

  “I understand,” I told him grimly. “I will get close to her. What if she tells her father I’m the son of Maroboodus? It seemed to me Augustus has no warm feelings for my father.”

  He shrugged. “Then you are fucked. But, I doubt she will.”

  “And if someone, like Antius, has warned Julia of me? Surely she will have me exposed. She will have me roasted.”

  He shrugged callously. “It is a risk you will take. We all take risks. We are talking about the daughter of the Princeps here, eh? We might all roast, even Livia. And don’t worry about Antius, for now. As I said, Julia seems to be able to get information out, but is the man in contact with her? I know not. I doubt it. So, here we are. This is the plan. You get close to her. You and guards, some of your friends, will guard the house at nights. Others will keep an eye on her during the day, when she is about. There is a shed near her domus. If she leaves the domus at night, one of you will follow her. It will likely ve you, if you are there most every night. You will have men and slaves who know the city in that shed, and they will follow you.”

  “Night is our time,” I said. “I understand. However—”

  “However, what?” he asked thinly. “You know, you used to be very hard-headed when you were growing up. I hope some of that has shed off.”

  “Some. Look, we lost the bastard Antius.”

  “I’m trying to find him,” he said. “I just told you don’t worry about him now. It is very difficult to figure out who he was. There are no records to be found. Everything has been forged. Whoever Julia is conspiring with has vast resources.”

  I waved my hands. “Yes, I understand. But, I think that gladiator—”

  He shook his head. “This Istros character? There was no gladiator. You don’t know what he was. Stop assuming anything about him.”

  “Istros,” I said thickly. “Istros is his name, and that’s not assuming anything.”

  “He could have said, ‘fart,’ for all you know,” Adalwulf growled. “Concentrate. Julia is the link, not this man. A fighter? He’ll be impossible to find, and hard to capture. And you just guess if he is easy to break? And if he even knows anything, really? No, we shall trap the snake queen herself. A snake’s head, Hraban, must be cut off in a way she spills all her secrets. Don’t go looking for something else.”

  I nodded, unhappy with his instructions. “You put a lot of faith in me.”

  Adalwulf shrugged. “Unfortunately, Livia is right. You are our best shot. Julia might be unlucky in the end. We may find someone who has been helping her near Augustus. But, no, this is our true hope. Let me deal with all the other issues. Like this Antius, and that Istros.”

  “Who is looking for Antius?” I asked, mildly suspicious.

  “Capable guardsmen,” he answered stiffly. “You wish to hold my cock as I piss, as well? I do my job, you do yours.”

  I sighed. “How certain you are the Guard is not compromised? I had a strange discussion just now.”

  He looked around, suspicious. “Kleitos?”

  “Kleitos,” I said.

  “Kleitos knows everyone, Hraban,” he answered. “He was the scribe for Augustus for years. He, any number of his men, could very well be involved in anything. It is possible, of course. But, he doesn’t speak with Julia. Or any of her slaves. Or her friends. We know our business, Hraban. Livia is pouring a lot of her wealth into saving her last
son, and grandchildren.”

  “Does he speak with this scribe of Augustus?” I asked stubbornly. “He was one before, so they may have a connection.”

  He rubbed his face. “He doesn’t. They hate each other. Let me deal with things other than Julia. I’m no fool. Never was. But, you are right to worry about Kleitos. You have seen him. He is a weak fool, whose honor and power has been sapped. It has upset him greatly. He is like you, in many ways. Knows he shouldn’t, but acts anyway. Keep your guard up.” He clasped my shoulder. “I’ll help you. We have to figure out what Julia is up to. That way, we can avenge Drusus. I saw and spoke with him only a few times, but I loved him like a brother. I know you did, too. Listen, after your first watch tomorrow, you will go to Livia in the morning, and see Cassia. Yes? Don’t be too hard on her. She just wants to stay and help you. I heard you have left her behind a few times too many.”

  I was astonished and upset she had told that to Adalwulf. “She spoke to you about—”

  He shook his head with amusement. “To someone I know. A woman. She’s there with her,” he said, and turned to march after the men. We would be late, as I had not dressed in my armor yet.

  “Wait,” I said, and stopped him as he was leaving. “Armin the Cherusci. Is he alive?”

  He nodded. “He is. He is one of the hostages in the Palatine Hill. Augustus is keeping the best and the brightest princes in this huge building, like a golden cage, and, there, they groom them into Romans. He is there. Why?” he asked suspiciously.

  I nodded at Rochus, who was nearly ready. “That’s his brother. Might want to meet him.”

  He frowned, and Rochus grinned at him. Adalwulf nodded. “Not now. You have a long day ahead. You will go there this evening, if you wish. I’ll find a man to guide you.”

  I nodded as he left.

  Gernot approached me. “I’ll come, too. I want to see some of the city.”

  I nodded reluctantly. “I wish to see Armin.”

  “He might know something about Antius,” he concurred with his eyes twinkling. “You aren’t taking Adalwulf’s words to heart?”