There was more to wonder at in the great banqueting hall, where the Armenian king dined on the most sumptuous food the Empire could provide, in a bewildering room which revolved around its guests while the ceiling periodically showered them with flower petals and perfumed water. Such technological marvels impressed Tiridates profoundly, even more than the displays of military might Nero had been careful to provide. An Empire capable of sustaining such extravagance could send a dozen legions against him at any time. He had been right to make the treaty and his brother Vologases wrong to want to continue the war.
Nero contemplated Tiridates’ bemused expression with satisfaction, and left the room to summon his Praetorian prefect, Offonius Tigellinus. Tall and thin with a long nose and a fringe of russet hair that clung to the back of his head like a stray squirrel, Tigellinus didn’t look like the most dangerous man in Rome. He had the face of someone who had just drunk sour milk and the hangdog demeanour of an undertaker. Nero felt the familiar flutter of nerves when the man he depended on so completely approached. So many had abandoned him, or wronged him in some way that forced him to remove them. Of all the long list, Tigellinus was the only man left he could trust. What if something happened to him?
For years, the former horse trader had supplied all his needs. Nothing was beyond his reach: boys, girls, men and women, rich and poor and in any combination or number. Senator’s wife or slave, concubine or virgin, Tigellinus knew where to lay hands on them and if he could not persuade, buy or terrify them into the Emperor’s bed, his Praetorians would force them. If the Emperor needed money — and emperors always needed money — Tigellinus would find a benefactor who could be induced to contribute to the imperial purse. Licences could be granted, subsidies controlled and monopolies awarded, and the Praetorian prefect would maximize the profit. What was more, that long nose had an infinite capacity for smelling out traitors and the mournful expression hid a pitiless cruelty and fertile imagination. It had been Tigellinus who had torn the heart from the Piso conspiracy with his blades and his hooks and his hot irons, Tigellinus who had invented the exquisite refinement of torturing a man — or a woman — to the very brink of death and having them restored by a physician to face the same fate again, and again, and again. It had never failed. Nero had been so delighted by his aide’s successes that he had awarded him the triumphal regalia normally reserved for senators and consuls and erected a statue of him in the Palatine gardens.
It had been Tigellinus who suggested removing Nero’s former teacher, Seneca, once and for all when Piso and his nest of vipers were being stamped out. That was what he liked about Tigellinus: his clarity of purpose. No attempt to fabricate evidence or bribe witnesses, just a simple tying up of loose ends. Nero’s agents in Seneca’s household had reported that the old man had met his fate with dignity, protesting his loyalty to the last. A pity, but he had long since outlived his usefulness and he knew too many secrets to be left alive.
‘A most satisfactory day,’ he welcomed Tigellinus cheerfully. ‘I have never seen the people so proud of their Emperor. King Tiridates was suitably awestruck by my splendour and overwhelmed by the power of their love for me. A triumph. A triumph for Rome.’
‘A triumph for Rome’s Emperor,’ Tigellinus corrected. ‘And a triumph for her legions.’
All the long years in the imperial court and his training at Seneca’s knee had given Nero an ear for nuance. He caught a certain inflection in the Praetorian’s voice. ‘Yes, a triumph for her legions. And it is right that men should fear Rome’s legions. You have news from Judaea?’ A few months earlier the Syrian sub-province had risen in revolt after a punitive expedition against an assortment of religious fanatics had resulted in hundreds of deaths. In the violence that followed the best part of two legions had been wiped out and the eagle of the Twelfth Fulminata lost. It was the greatest military disaster of Nero’s reign and it was imperative that it should be avenged swiftly and mercilessly.
‘Gallus has been removed from his command. Vespasian will form a task force from the Syrian and Egyptian legions and lead them against the rebels. Meanwhile, General Corbulo has returned to Antioch and will offer what support he can to Vespasian.’ There it was again, that slight change in tone he had come to recognize.
‘Two of our finest generals,’ Nero ventured. ‘And our most loyal.’
‘Just so, Caesar.’
A moment of clarity. ‘But you have concerns?’
‘General Vespasian is your own appointment, a new man who is intelligent enough to understand that he would never win enough support to aspire to the throne, and his hands will be kept busy for at least two campaigning seasons. General Corbulo…’
‘Rome’s most successful commander in the past ten years…’ Nero’s voice rose an octave as he was forced to come to Corbulo’s defence.
‘Has been heard to cast doubts upon your policy of reconciliation in Armenia and Parthia. There is talk of giving Armenia away.’
Nero waved a dismissive hand. ‘A soldier’s grumbles. Even Tiridates told me that I have no more loyal commander than Corbulo.’
‘Of course,’ the prefect said smoothly. ‘I venture no accusation, I only caution.’
The Emperor stared at him, the piggy eyes narrowing. ‘Proceed.’
‘General Corbulo was appointed on the advice of Seneca,’ Tigellinus pointed out. ‘He has been in the east, in Asia and Syria, for twelve years, with the same legions. Some would say enough time to create his own personal empire.’ Nero didn’t have to ask which ‘some’; he knew the Praetorian had agents in every military command. But Tigellinus surprised him with his next admission. ‘He is a difficult man to get close to. His senior officers have been with him for years and are unfailingly loyal; the juniors take their lead from the legates. Only now have I been able to place someone in a position of trust, although, as I have said, it is generally known in his headquarters that he has been critical of your policy and your orders to act upon the defensive. His legionaries regard him as something close to a god.’ Tigellinus saw the Emperor stiffen, as he’d intended. Only emperors could become gods. ‘Normally this could be dealt with simply enough. A new posting to some less arduous front. A summons home for some new honour, a long and happy retirement on his estates in the north…’
‘But?’
‘But the situation in Judaea means that Syria is also vulnerable. It would only take one small spark for the rebellion to spread. Therefore it is important that Syria is in safe military hands, and there are no safer military hands than General Corbulo’s.’
Nero nodded. ‘And what does my faithful Tigellinus advise?’
‘We wait and we watch. If General Corbulo does his duty and defends Rome’s and the Emperor’s interests, all well and good. If he were to overstep the mark, however…’
The Emperor stared from the window overlooking the luscious parkland, its vivid greenery nourished by the blackened bones of a thousand plebeians still lying in the burned-out ashes of their homes. Not Corbulo. Never Corbulo. But then Tigellinus had never been wrong before. So they would wait, and watch.
‘Very well, see to it and keep me informed.’
Tigellinus saluted and walked from the room. The first piece was in place.
VII
‘Sail to the north!’
At the sharp cry, Aurelius followed the lookout’s pointing finger to where a faint strip of cream could be seen between swells on the far horizon. ‘Julius,’ the captain shouted. ‘You’ve got the sharpest eyes. Get up the mast and tell me what you see.’
While they waited for the man’s report, Valerius strapped on his sword and joined Aurelius at the ship’s side. He noted with approval that Tiberius already had his men in full armour. Serpentius emerged from the hold where he’d been checking the horses to join the young tribune and the four cavalry troopers. It was early morning on the second day since they’d left Creta. The ship had called at the port of Hersonnisos to take on a cargo of timber and the island’s olive oi
l, which was said to be the best in the Mare Nostrum and would sell for a good price in Antioch or Alexandria. They’d said farewell to their escort there and when the galleys left it felt as if they were losing an old friend.
Aurelius nodded when he saw the swords. ‘Good. No need for concern yet, but best to be ready. Julius?’
‘A small ship under full sail, could be a galley or a fishing boat,’ the sailor guessed. ‘Wait! I see regular flashes of white at her sides. A galley, under oars and making good speed on a course to intercept.’
‘Anything else?’ Valerius noted that the captain’s voice had lost some of its customary assurance.
The lookout strained his eyes towards the tiny speck almost lost in a vast undulating carpet of azure. Julius thought he’d done well enough to mark the splash of the oars. But when he looked again there was something he’d missed: a flash of colour at the head of the other ship’s mast. ‘Looks like she’s running some sort of signal?’
Aurelius jumped for the mast and, with surprising agility for such a big man, scrambled up to the main spar.
‘Could it be one of the escort galleys with a message for us?’ Valerius shouted.
‘They should be halfway back to Misenum by now.’ The captain didn’t hesitate. ‘Turn due south and run before the wind,’ he shouted to the steersman.
When he returned to the deck he called Valerius to the stern. ‘Pirates.’ He spat over the side.
Valerius’s hand automatically went to his sword, but Aurelius smiled and patted him on the shoulder.
‘There’ll be time yet for that, tribune.’ He studied the sky to the north, where a few puffy white clouds had gathered. ‘She’s a scout, not one of their big fighting galleys, which gives us a good chance of outrunning her; outfighting her too, if her plundering bastard of a captain wants to push his luck. We’ll give it an hour before we turn northeast again. That should still allow us a chance of making landfall on Cyprus before dark. It looks like we might be in for a bit of a blow, which will suit us better than her, because she carries less sail and she’s lower in the water.’
‘I thought we had got rid of the pirates along the Cilician coast long ago?’
Aurelius laughed bitterly. ‘Just because they’ve disappeared doesn’t mean they’ve been defeated. They can’t take on the big grain convoys and most single merchants aren’t worth their while, so when the navy raided their ports, crucified the most prominent captains and burned a few of their ships they simply vanished, like smoke. It doesn’t take a great deal of effort to turn a pirate galley into a coastal trader and most of the pirates were as much merchants as they were thieves and murderers. But if a juicy target lands in their lap
…’ The seaman glanced towards Domitia’s pavilion.
‘The girl?’
‘I doubt they are after the timber and olive oil in our holds, tribune. Someone will have seen us dock in Creta. In a harbourside bar one of the crew boasts that his passenger is the daughter of the famed General Corbulo. They wait. They watch. They see us leave unescorted. If they catch us, they might take us all, but probably not. No, it is the girl they are after. They will move her along the coast to a sheltered cove — past Tarsus, maybe — and smuggle her into the hills where they will sell her to one of the bandit kings who still rule in the disputed lands on the borders of Cappadocia and Armenia. Those men have little love for her father. They will ask for a ransom that will make his eyes water and he will either pay it or get her back one pretty piece at a time.’
‘Then let us hope they don’t catch us.’
Aurelius sniffed the air as if testing the wind for scent. ‘Sharpen your swords and pray.’ Valerius nodded. ‘And tribune? Don’t mention this to the general’s daughter. The last thing I need is a hysterical woman panicking all over my deck.’
Three hours later there was still no sign of the poor weather Aurelius had predicted, but they were back on course and there’d been no hint of the other ship for more than an hour. Aurelius had a man permanently at the masthead, but the captain still stood on the steering platform scanning the northern horizon with a worried frown on his tanned face. Valerius wasn’t certain whether he was concerned about pirates, the clouds, which had turned into a brooding, dark-fringed pyramid, or the atmosphere, which had become sticky and breathless, though there was still enough breeze to stir the sails. The frown deepened when Domitia left the curtained tent with one of her serving girls and approached the stern.
‘Good morning, captain.’ She gave Aurelius a smile that would have melted another man’s heart. ‘I wonder if I might trouble you for some fresh water to use for washing. Sea water is all very well, but…’
‘I’m sure that can be arranged, lady,’ Aurelius said briskly. The dwindling water reserves had been on his mind, but if they made port as planned at Cyprus it wasn’t a major concern. If for any reason they missed their landfall he would have to turn north to seek water at some settlement or river outlet on the Asian coast. He had no doubt he would find somewhere suitable — he’d sailed these waters since he was ten years old — but it would take time and he would prefer to preserve stocks if he could. Still, it would be worth a pint or two to get the general’s daughter off his deck.
‘Julius, a bucket of clean water for the lady and her serv-’
‘Sail, due north!’ The whole ship froze at the sound of the lookout’s voice. ‘And another just to her east.’ His voice faded and he muttered what sounded like a prayer.
‘What else?’ Aurelius snarled.
‘Captain, a third, a mile further east still.’
Aurelius darted another look at the clouds gathering in the north, but there was no help there. He turned to Domitia. ‘I’m sorry, lady,’ he said quickly. ‘I’m afraid your request is denied and I must respectfully ask that you and your slaves take up your quarters below decks. It will be safer there.’
Domitia Longina lifted her dainty chin and glared at the captain. ‘I will go below decks when I see fit, and not before,’ she snapped. ‘Safer from what, captain?’
‘Lady, I command this ship and I do not have time to argue. You will go below. Tribune, will you escort the lady Domitia and explain our situation?’ He nodded to Valerius and ran off, roaring to the helmsman, ‘Cronos! Set course due south. I want her running before the wind with every ounce of speed she has. Sailmaster. Check every rope. We need every stitch straining.’
Domitia was left staring at the captain’s disappearing back, caught between a patrician’s natural inclination never to accept defeat and the knowledge that if Aurelius was concerned perhaps she should be also. Finally, she turned her anger on Valerius. ‘Well?’ For a moment he thought she might stamp her foot.
‘If you would accompany me, I could explain our difficulties as we go.’
‘Do not patronize me, tribune.’ Her eyes — he noticed for the first time that they were a deep walnut brown — threatened to catch fire. ‘I am my father’s daughter and I will not be made light of. I…’
Valerius heard a shout from the deck and looked up to see the pale ghost of a sail on the far horizon. This was no time for talking. ‘If you are your father’s daughter you should be able to obey orders.’ He took her arm and bustled her to the hatch which led below decks. He saw Serpentius grinning and Tiberius looking on with a puzzled frown and it only made him more angry at her foolishness. ‘That sail belongs to a pirate galley. You understand about pirate galleys? Well, these pirates want you. And when they get you they will use you to destroy your father. If he pays the ransom and leaves them alive, he will no longer have his honour. If he does not, he will no longer have you, and that will be infinitely worse.’
In an instant the wildcat inside her retreated. His final sentence, and the way he said it, first confused then intrigued her. She frowned and shrugged herself free as they reached the ramp. ‘If you had explained yourself so eloquently a little earlier,’ she said sweetly, ‘perhaps we would not have had this misunderstanding. Come, Suki.’
VIII
‘They’re gaining.’ Aurelius’s voice remained steady, but the concern was written stark in the lines of his weathered features. ‘I thought we were holding them, but they are making ground on us with every minute.’ His eyes darted constantly between the heavens and the waves and the three sails that were now clearly visible on the horizon. ‘They will not use their oars until they are close, because their rowers can only maintain their hunting speed for a short time. There is no point in using up their strength until they need it. But all is not lost. We may be fortunate yet.’ His hand reached up automatically to touch the carved figure of Poseidon where years of habit and countless maritime dramas had worn a shining circle on the knee.
Valerius tried to judge the distance between the three pirate craft and the Golden Cygnet. How much time did they have?
Aurelius read his mind. ‘We have a following swell and that tells me there is more likelihood of the wind’s freshening than backing. There are still four hours till dark, but if we don’t lose a steering oar or snap a rope we should be able to stay ahead and they will not relish continuing the chase after dusk. They are cowards at heart. They will always seek a profit, but not if it is likely to cost them blood. We may be only a single ship, but we can still put up a fight. The only reason they have not turned tail already is because of the prize.’ He frowned and spat.
‘Very well, Aurelius.’ Valerius’s voice took on the authority of a man who had commanded a legion — an African legion, but still a legion. ‘You are in command of the ship, but who is in command of the defence of the ship?’
Aurelius nodded solemnly. ‘My men are not fighters, though if it is fight or die they will fight. But understand this. If it is a choice between fight and run, we will run. What do you need to know?’
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