The sea captain eyed Corbulo carefully. "Well," the man said at last in a deep voice, "the merchants at Deva make regular sea crossings to the trading post at Drumanagh. With a fair wind the crossing can be done in a day. From Drumanagh to the court of the High King in Tara will take another full day's walk, it's about twenty five miles inland."
"Have you been there," Corbulo said quickly," have you been to Tara?"
The sea captain nodded solemnly, "Not a very welcoming place for a Roman," he replied, "the women bite, the dogs are lazy, the food is horrible and it rains all the fucking time."
Corbulo nodded as he remembered the two occasions when he'd accompanied his old commander Agricola on reconnaissance missions to Hibernia. The rain had been never ceased and the missions had accomplished little.
"Is it true that Elim the Hibernian High King is offering asylum to all refugees from the Roman Empire?" he asked.
The sea captain exchanged a glance with his companion.
"So they say," the captain muttered, "King Elim is a shrewd man. I saw many foreigners at Tara. Merchants come from as far away as Hispania and Africa to trade for slaves and those sleek Irish hunting dogs. Elim tolerates us for we pay in gold but he is no friend of Rome. He trades with us but at the same time his vassals raid our western shores. They take what they like. Just a month ago one of their raiding parties even dared to attack the shipping coming out of Deva. It's a fucking outrage. Mark my words mate." The captain nodded solemnly. "The western sea is dangerous. I am fortunate to have a fast ship but the insurance costs of my cargoes are unbelievable." The captain took a swig of wine and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "The Governor should do something about it I reckon, these Hibernian pirates are getting bolder by the day. It's got to stop."
"Why did your friend flee to Hibernia?" the master builder asked suddenly.
Corbulo took a sip of wine. "He had an argument with the Governor."
"Did you serve in the army?" the captain asked taking another sip from his cup.
Corbulo nodded. "Twenty five years in the Twentieth," he replied.
"I thought so. That Gladius of yours is a bit of a give away," the captain grinned gesturing at the sword that hung from Corbulo's belt. Then he nudged his companion. "Go on Julius, buy the man another drink, were in the company of someone who has stories to tell."
The builder smiled, got up and moved across towards the bar.
"My name is Albinus," the captain said extending his hand. Corbulo grasped it and raised his cup in salute.
"The Twentieth you say," the captain murmured, "They are up at Inchtuthil in Caledonia aren't they?"
"Yes, that's right," Corbulo said before draining his cup in one go.
The captain leaned forwards conspiratorially. "I heard something recently," the man said lowering his voice, "From an officer on the Governor's staff in Londinium. Apparently the Second Adiutrix are being recalled and sent to the Dacian frontier. They have orders to depart before the summer solstice."
Corbulo placed his cup back on the table.
"Who are they sending to replace them?" he exclaimed.
The captain shook his head. "That's just it. No one. It looks like there will be just three Legions in Britannia from now on."
***
It was dusk and the sun had vanished over the hills to the west when Corbulo stepped out of the tavern and into the street. He had enjoyed the chat with the captain and his companion and although the men had been generous with their wine he had managed to refrain from any heavy drinking or revealing the real reason he was in Viroconium and if Efa asked him where he'd been he would say he'd been trying to find out what was going on in town which was partially true. Along the edge of the street the three barrels were standing outside the clothes washer's house. Corbulo glanced warily at the entrance door to the building but there was no sign of Lucilia or her husband. In the fading light he strode towards the barrels, halted before the middle one and after a brief fumble he started to piss into the barrel. The release felt wonderful and Corbulo glanced up at the dark sky above him and emitted a satisfied sigh. Off to his right and coming down the street towards him he heard the sound of clattering horse hooves on the stone pavement. Idly he glanced in the direction of the noise and as he did so his eyes bulged in sudden horror.
A party of ten horsemen, in single file, were coming towards him. The men were armed and clad in long black mud spattered cloaks and leading them astride a huge black animal was Bestia. The bounty hunter was staring straight ahead and he didn't seem to have noticed Corbulo. Quickly Corbulo turned and pulled the hood of his Pallium over his head and he did so the stream of piss swung wildly and splattered onto the ground. Corbulo did not move as Bestia and his men drew closer. He had to stay where he was and just act normally. If he ran now it would only attract Bestia's attention. The stream of piss was starting to slow. Corbulo tried to slow the flow. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He had to act as if he was just another citizen having an innocent piss. Behind him just a couple of yards away Bestia's horse clattered past followed by the riders behind him. Corbulo forced his bladder to release the last of his urine and the piss splashed noisily into the barrel. No one spoke as the horsemen past by. Corbulo fumbled with his tunic, then bent down to check his boots. When he straightened up he risked a quick glance at the riders. Bestia and his men had passed him but as they drew level with the door of the Pink Elephant Bestia turned and shouted at two of his men.
"Brutus, Honorius, go and check if the owner knows anything about the Christian children. They may have passed through here. Tell him that we are looking for a man named Corbulo. Give him the description. I will be in the Fat Lady down the road. The rest of you follow me."
Chapter Fifteen - Nemesis
Corbulo watched in horror as the two men dismounted, tied their horses to a wooden post and disappeared through the Pink Elephant's door. For a long moment he stood in the street torn by indecision. Bestia's men knew his name and they knew what he looked like. If he followed them into the tavern there would be a good chance that he would be recognised. But if he didn't the thugs would question the tavern owner and if they found the children he would not be there to defend them. From deep within him an anger started to take hold, a cold murderous rage. If those men touched one of his children he would have them. His hand trembled as it came to rest on the pommel of his sword. He paused beside the entrance to the tavern. The door was slightly ajar and through the opening he had a view of the bar. Bestia's men had their backs to him and were talking to the owner. Corbulo however was too far away to hear what was being said. He shifted his gaze towards the corner of the common room where he could just about see the ladder leading up to the second floor. It was only a few yards away. Maybe he could slip inside whilst the men were at the bar. He was just about to push through the door when he noticed movement. The men had turned away from the bar and were coming straight towards him. Corbulo turned and ran into the stables beside the tavern. In the darkness he crouched and was just in time to see the two men leave the tavern. They looked bored as they untied their horses and casually led them away up the street.
Corbulo glanced at the tavern owner as he stepped back into the tavern. The big veteran was wiping the top of his bar with a rag. He looked up as Corbulo approached.
"I told them to fuck off," the veteran said quietly as he pushed the rag across the bar.
Corbulo nodded gratefully.
"This is my establishment," the veteran murmured, "I don't care what trouble you are in or what you have done. When I say that you are welcome, you are welcome and you can stay here until I say that you can't and there is nothing that anyone else is going to do about that. This is my place. I make the rules here."
Corbulo leaned forwards and gripped the man's shoulder. Then he turned away towards the ladder. As he entered the room the children shrunk back in fear until they saw who it was. Efa was beside him in an instant.
"Where the hell have you
been?" she whispered furiously. "You have been gone for hours. What happened?"
Corbulo looked around at the children. They were watching him with nervous frightened eyes.
"The bloody horse died," Corbulo sighed, "I have given the body to the tavern owner and after that I decided to have a drink."
Efa raised herself up on her toes and sniffed his breath.
"You went to have a drink, wine?" she said irritably.
Corbulo nodded. "Listen," he said quietly, "Something has happened. Bestia is here. I saw him outside in the street. Two of his men came into this tavern just now. They were asking about the children. They know my fucking name and what I look like. The owner however didn't say a word. He's a good man."
"Bestia is here in Viroconium?" Efa said, as her face grew pale.
Corbulo nodded sourly, "It looks like he's searching every tavern in town. He will probably be checking the baths and doctor's houses as well."
"So what do we do?" Efa said quickly.
Corbulo took a deep breath. He really didn't want to do this but there was very little choice. "We only have one horse," he said quietly. "So I want you to take it and ride north to your family and ask them for help. You will go tonight. The watchers along the road will not be looking out for a woman on her own. I will stay here and look after the children. It's probably the safest place in town now that Bestia's men have checked it out. I will wait for you here."
Efa was staring up at him with large eyes. For a moment she did not speak. Then she turned to look at the children. Gently Corbulo pulled his wife towards him and embraced her.
"Follow Watling Street until you reach Deva," he said quietly, "After that you will know your way, you will be in your people's territory. You will be allright."
He felt her body tense as he held her. She was scared he knew. It was dangerous for a woman to travel on her own. Too often Corbulo had heard the stories of solitary female travellers who had simply vanished, been taken as slaves or raped and murdered and buried in unmarked graves. Women did not travel alone; that was just common sense. He felt her loosen his grip. A solitary tear had appeared in her eye.
"Allright," she sniffed, "I will go. Look after them Corbulo. The sick boy needs honey and to be kept warm. I will return as soon as I can with help, I promise."
Corbulo reached for something in his pocket and retrieved a few coins. He pressed them into her hand and closed her fingers over them.
"Go," he said quickly.
***
Corbulo sucked a mouthful of air into his cheeks and blew it out. He sat slumped against the wall of the room. It was a hot day and the room was stifling. A full day had passed since Efa had departed. He'd hated his decision but it was the right thing to do. It was more than a hundred miles to Efa's village on the coast north of Deva and with just one horse most of the children would have had to walk, something they were just not capable of. No, they needed help. He closed his eyes, struggling with his nerves and once more he did the calculation. If she rode fast, did not stop or run into trouble or get lost it would take her two or three days to reach her village. If her father came right away she would be back in maybe five or six days. He sighed. Five or six days. It didn't sound too bad. Idly he glanced at the sick boy. The boy lay in a corner with his eyes closed and Corbulo muttered a silent prayer of gratitude to Jupiter. The coughing fits had subsided and the fever was fading fast. Last night had been the first in which the darkness had not been disturbed by the boy's coughing.
The children however were growing increasingly restless and bored and he'd already been forced to break up numerous fights and squabbles and somewhere during this time his Pugio, his old army knife had gone missing. How the hell had Efa managed to keep them quiet for so long? Carefully he glanced around the room. The children were scattered across the floor keeping themselves busy with their little games. Corbulo suddenly looked thoughtful. Something had been bothering him for a few days now. How could nine Christian children possibly be of such interest to both the Governor and the Procurator? They had left Londinium weeks ago and the authorities were still actively hunting them. What threat to Roman rule could these children possibly pose? Did these officials have nothing better to do? The whole affair smacked of more than just simple religious persecution. No there was something else at work here. He sighed as he studied the children, one by one. There was something special about these children. Something had happened in Londinium, something he didn't yet understand.
***
It was evening when Corbulo suddenly heard the shouting in the tavern below him. The children froze and alarmed and frightened eyes turned to look at him. Quickly Corbulo rose to his feet and crossed the room to the door. As he reached it he heard another shout. He turned to the children and pressed his finger to his mouth. Then quietly he opened the door and stepped out onto the landing. An oil lamp had been fastened to the wall and in its light he saw the square hole in the floor down which a ladder led to the ground floor. Corbulo leaned forwards and glanced down into the hole. A man was staring up at him, grasping the ladder with both hands. It was Seisyll. For a brief moment the two of them made eye contact.
"That's him," Seisyll cried out, "He's up there, That's him! He said his name was Corbulo."
Corbulo stumbled backwards against the wall in horror. He'd been discovered. They had found him. Seisyll had betrayed him. Then he heard someone scrambling up the ladder. Moments later a head popped up out of the hole. Corbulo did not think. He lunged forwards and struck the head with his boot. He was rewarded with a sharp cry of pain. The head vanished and he heard a body tumble down the ladder and onto the ground. Corbulo's chest was heaving. He leaned forwards and peered down the ladder. A man was kneeling on the ground pointing a bow and arrow straight up at him. With a yell Corbulo flinched as an arrow narrowly missed him and embedded itself in the roof of the building. Then a voice was calling out to him from below.
"You are trapped Corbulo, you have nowhere to go. You should have listened to my advice in Londinium."
Corbulo recognised the voice. It was Bestia.
"I am a patient man," Bestia cried out, "All I have to do is sit here until you collapse from starvation or thirst."
Corbulo leaned against the wall.
"Or maybe we could just go outside and burn this place to the ground," Bestia cried. "Either way you haven't got a hope."
Desperately Corbulo glanced around him. There was the small window in their room but he was never going to get ten children out of that without being noticed. He looked around the landing but there was nothing but the straw roof. Bestia was right, there was no way out.
"Listen," Bestia cried out, "I know that you have the children up there. I will make a deal with you. Come down here with your daughter and wife and I will let you go free but the Christian children are mine. That's a good offer, Corbulo, the best that you are going to get."
Corbulo looked up at the roof. It was a good offer, more than he would have expected from a man like Bestia but the bounty hunter’s promises were worthless. He had learned that a long time ago. From the corner of his eye he suddenly noticed Petrus peering at him from the doorway. Corbulo closed his eyes and then opened them again.
He wasn't going to give up on the children. They had come too far. The thought of handing them over to a man like Bestia was too revolting to contemplate.
"If you want them," he roared drawing his sword, "then come and get them you cock sucking son of a whore."
For a moment there was silence below him. Then an arrow flew through the hole in the floor and thumped into the roof. Corbulo took a step forwards but was driven back by another arrow. He could hear movement and the creaking of the ladder but the threat from the bowman was forcing him to stay clear of the hole. A shape suddenly appeared and before Corbulo could react a man thrust himself up through the hole and rolled backwards onto the landing. The man was quick, very quick and in an instant he was on his feet, crouching with a sword in his hand. It was Besti
a. The bounty hunter grinned.
"You should have taken my offer," he panted. "Now you are going to die and when I am finished with you I am going to have my way with your wife."
Corbulo steadied himself as he eyed Bestia warily from across the hole in the floor. The landing was not large and there was not much room for manoeuvre. Only the hole in the floor separated the two men.
"How did you know about the children?" Corbulo growled as the two of them slowly circled the hole.
Bestia sniggered. "Can't you guess," he sneered. "After you and your bitch vanished in Londinium I went straight to the person I knew you trusted. Priscus, I believe he called himself. He was your business partner wasn't he? So I got him to tell me everything about what you were up to. He sang like a bird. He told me about the children. He told me about where you were heading. He even told me about the wagon that you bought from that banker. He was very cooperative."
Corbulo's face darkened. "What did you do to him?" he said quietly.
"I tortured him," Bestia sneered again, "Then he died so I dumped his body in the river. He should have chosen his friends more carefully."
With a cry Corbulo attacked but Bestia evaded his sword thrust and the two men crashed into the wall grappling with each other. Corbulo grunted and heaved as he struggled to contain Bestia's sword arm. Then with a howl Bestia head butted him and a searing pain exploded down Corbulo's face. He stumbled backwards as Bestia came for him. Desperately he parried the bounty hunter’s sword and the noise of metal against metal rang out. With a roar Bestia pushed him up against the far wall as Corbulo grasped hold of the man's sword arm. Bestia's sword point was hovering close to Corbulo's chest as the two men strained and grappled with each other. Then with a mighty effort Corbulo flung the younger man backwards and moved to place the hole between them again. He crouched, breathing heavily as Bestia readied himself for the next lunge.
"What does the Governor want from these children?" Corbulo gasped.
Hibernia (Veteran of Rome Book 2) Page 11