History Keepers: Circus Maximus

by Dibben, Damian

  Eventually the cart clattered off into the town and the boys went to buy their melon and cornstarch snack. As Jake ate his (actually, it was more refreshing than it sounded), he eyed up a pair of warships, much like the ones in Misenum, setting sail further up the harbour, their three strict lines of oars beating in unison. Close up, he could see their decks teaming with soldiers and wondered on what mission, to what part of the huge Roman Empire, they were departing.

  ‘Being so close to Rome,’ Charlie explained, ‘there’s a strong military presence here too.’ He thought about it. ‘In fact, let’s face it, there’s a military presence everywhere.’

  Suddenly Mr Drake started shaking in panic.

  ‘What’s up?’ Charlie asked.

  ‘I can see what’s up,’ Jake gasped, his eyes fixed on a group of figures coming along the harbour towards them, clad in grey leather breastplates with feathered shoulders and beaked bronze masks.

  ‘Hydra!’ exclaimed Nathan. ‘They must have followed us here. How did we not see them?’

  Just then there was a sharp thwack! and a metal dart struck Nathan’s Pepones et melones, sending it splattering all over him. ‘Now that is just rude,’ he snapped, then grimaced as he saw four more guards approaching from the other direction. ‘Heads!’ he shouted as another volley of arrows flew through the air. Some locals ran for cover, while Mr Drake, now in a complete flutter, ducked under Charlie’s toga.

  ‘Up here!’ Charlie commanded, leading them away from the port, for there was no way to reach their ship without meeting the enemy. As they hurried on, the whole retinue of guards were soon in pursuit.

  ‘Over there! Quickly!’ Nathan yelled, rushing towards a large porticoed building on one side of the street. They flew across the marble atrium and through a set of double doors. Nathan caught his leather jerkin on the handle, lost his balance and careered spectacularly across the wet marble floor.

  ‘Damn this thing!’ he cursed as he finally straightened up – to see forty pairs of disapproving eyes trained on him. There were men everywhere, mostly old, either swimming or lounging by the giant pool that dominated the room, most of them stark naked. ‘Ah, the public baths,’ Nathan mumbled with an apologetic bow. ‘I’d forgotten how they like to put it all on show.’ Quickly and carefully, his eyes trained on the floor, he followed the others out of the chamber.

  Behind them, the doors flew open again, and six soldiers rushed in, drawing their swords. The bathers gasped and backed away or sank into the pool as the guards advanced on the History Keepers.

  ‘Swords?’ Nathan grinned. ‘That’s a little more sportsmanlike.’ He drew his own, and Charlie and Jake quickly followed suit.

  Lucius was shaking his head. ‘You not fight close: they have poison on the arm – it puts you to sleep.’

  Nathan and Jake didn’t have a clue what he was talking about, but Charlie saw that each guard had a silver device strapped to his forearm. ‘I think he’s saying that those bracelets contain some sort of tranquillizer.’

  ‘How perfectly charming,’ Nathan drawled. ‘They weren’t wearing them before?’

  ‘Not at camp,’ Lucius explained, ‘but always outside.’

  ‘It’s a shame you didn’t have time to pick up yours.’ Nathan nodded at Lucius’s bare wrist.

  They turned and ran through an archway and down a passage. The soldiers dashed after them, pushing a group of cowering bathers into the pool.

  Jake, Lucius, Nathan and Charlie flew into the palaestra – the gymnasium – where athletes were training with weights and stretching equipment. ‘Excuse us,’ said Jake, politely taking a small lead dumb-bell from a man with pumped-up muscles and an attitude to match, and pitching it towards the doorway. The others followed his example, grabbing whatever missiles they could find – leather balls stuffed with sand, iron discuses; even the stone busts from a series of alcoves – and hurling them across the room. Some hit their targets before crashing to the ground, but mostly the barrage of projectiles bounced harmlessly off the marble floor.

  Negotiating the maze of corridors, they finally saw another set of doors ahead of them. As they ran towards them, a matronly woman in a white veil tried to stop them. ‘Vires interdicti sunt!’ she cried as they swept past her.

  ‘What’s she saying?’ Jake asked.

  ‘Men forbidden,’ replied Charlie with a shrug.

  They opened the doors and went in, immediately aware of streams of incense wafting up from two golden braziers. A young girl strummed a lyre as five women of various ages lay on wooden tables to receive a massage. They turned in alarm as the intruders shattered the peace.

  ‘Ladies – or should I say goddesses?’ Nathan said roguishly, catching the eye of a pretty masseuse.

  Charlie rolled his eyes at Jake as Nathan took the jar from her and sniffed its contents. ‘Lavender and neroli – there’s nothing better for balanced skin and a radiant glow,’ he commented before flinging the oil across the shiny floor in front of the doorway.

  It was a masterstroke: as the soldiers burst in, they lost their footing, skidding in all directions. Nathan completed the move by upturning one of the incense braziers and igniting the oil, which set fire to the feathered boots of three of the guards.

  ‘Thank you.’ Nathan winked at his goddess, who seemed terrified and intrigued in equal measure. ‘I’ve been suffering from a crisis of confidence – but I can see from your face that I still have what it takes.’

  ‘Where does he get these awful lines?’ Charlie asked the others. No one replied as they hurried along more white marble passages until they reached a wide atrium.

  ‘Up there!’ shouted Charlie. He was pointing to a large open window, at head height, overlooking the garden. Lucius clasped his hands together and gave him a leg up. Nathan did the same for Jake. Charlie jumped down the other side, but Jake waited as Lucius offered to help Nathan.

  ‘After you,’ the latter replied smugly. Lucius, in another of his gravity-defying leaps, was up and over the wall in a flash. Nathan tried to improve on it, but his hand – still drenched in lavender oil – slipped, and he fell back down, hitting his head on the ledge and twisting his ankle as he landed on the floor. Jake could see that the two remaining guards were coming up the corridor, preceded by their long shadows.

  ‘Here!’ shouted Jake, leaning down, his hand held out. But Nathan was still dazed from his fall, and looked up blearily at Jake, only half recognizing him. ‘Nathan!’ Jake shouted again.

  The American turned to look around the room, an expression of wonder on his face. ‘Have I got a massage booked? Aromatherapy?’

  There was nothing for it: ‘Wait for us!’ Jake shouted at the others as he jumped down and grabbed his friend. ‘Nathan!’ he shouted again, this time slapping his face. It had the desired effect: Nathan’s eyes came back into focus – as did his instinct for survival. There was no time to reach the window, so Jake pulled him down one of the four passageways that led out of the atrium. The two soldiers followed, now hard on their heels.

  Ahead of them was a single door; wisps of hot steam escaped from all around it. Jake pulled it open and they found themselves in a large, vaulted chamber that was thick with vapour.

  The heat was tremendous and Jake could feel his lungs contract. As they edged forward into the steam, they could see the shapes of bathers.

  The door creaked open behind them to let in a wedge of light and two brutish figures; then the light was gone again. Two shadows advanced, swords held out before them.

  ‘Any ideas?’ Nathan whispered to Jake as they retreated to the back wall.

  Jake looked around. He could just make out three vents in the floor, with hot air billowing out of them. He recalled how once, during the school holidays, he had helped his dad fit a steam room in the house of a film director (Alan had boasted that this was the start of the big time, but of course it had all ended in humiliating disaster and threats of a lawsuit). But Jake remembered how dangerous steam could be if pressurized.
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  ‘Move that onto the last vent,’ he instructed Nathan, indicating a trough of water. Nathan did as he was told, while Jake did the same with the first vent. ‘Now give me your jacket.’

  ‘What?’ Nathan replied. ‘My gladiator’s jerkin?’

  ‘Just give it to me – you hate it anyway.’

  Nathan reluctantly took it off and handed it over. Jake placed it on top of the central vent. Now, with all three openings sealed, the chamber started to empty of steam surprisingly quickly, and the two guards were suddenly visible.

  ‘Here!’ Jake called over to them, holding up his sword. The soldiers muttered something to each other and came in for the kill. ‘When I give the word,’ Jake whispered to Nathan, ‘pull the jacket out of the way.’ He waited, his sword clutched firmly in his hand. The men approached, the sharp edges of their swords glinting in the half-light.

  ‘Now!’ he shouted. Nathan quickly drew the jacket aside and a jet of boiling steam surged up into the soldiers’ faces, burning and blinding them.

  As Jake and Nathan made a dash for the door, one of the guards fumbled for Jake’s arm, but he pulled away, kicking his assailant on the knee and sending him sprawling. However, as he collapsed, the guard managed to twist open the capsule on his silver bracelet. A tiny cloud of noxious vapour was released. It had the stench of putrefying flesh – just like the corpse flowers in the laboratory in Vulcano. It made Jake gag immediately; his nose burned and his throat seized up. Then his vision blurred and darkened; it was as if his brain was shutting down. He felt his strength draining away and fell, before Nathan caught him and dragged him out of the room.

  The next few minutes were like a bad dream. Jake was half aware of stumbling along more passageways and finally out into the sunlight again. There was running and shouting. Charlie and Lucius came briefly into focus, along with Mr Drake, and Jake was bundled onto the back of a cart. He was moving – then he heard more shouting; finally the confusion of faces and noises dissolved and he blacked out completely.

  13 TO THE ETERNAL CITY

  JAKE AWOKE TO some exquisite aromas. Although his head throbbed and he could still taste the Hydra’s poison (much like the after-effects of being drugged in London when he had first met Jupitus Cole), a fragrance like rose petals revived his spirits immediately.

  He opened his bleary eyes to find himself in the back of a cart, rattling across the countryside of Latium as the sun was starting to set. Lucius was snoozing by his side and Nathan was staring at the road ahead. They were surrounded by terracotta jars that looked somehow familiar – and were the source of the delicious scent.

  ‘Feeling all right?’ Nathan asked, on seeing him stir.

  Jake nodded, though in truth he still felt nauseous and groggy.

  ‘That’s quite some soporific they let off,’ Nathan commented, passing Jake a beaker of water. ‘I almost blacked out too. The guards must be resistant to it.’

  Jake took a long cool sip. He was about to ask where they were and how they had got onto the cart when a dog leaped down from the driver’s seat and started licking his face. Jake recognized it immediately: it was the faithful hound of the old blind man who had nearly run them over in Ostia. Jake put two and two together. He turned round to find that very same man sitting at the front of the cart, chatting and laughing, Charlie at his side with the reins in his hand. Pulling them along was a sturdy horse who looked every bit as friendly as the dog. Mr Drake sat contentedly on his master’s shoulder, inspecting the darkening countryside.

  ‘Charlie did a deal,’ Nathan explained. ‘We get a lift to Rome; old Gaius there gets to be driven without crashing into everything coming the other way.’ Jake looked over at the man’s kind face, crinkled brown by decades in the Italian sun. ‘He has a story that even I found quite moving,’ Nathan continued, putting his hand to his heart (though, as usual, it was the wrong side). ‘He comes from a small town on the coast south of Ostia, and used to be a carpenter – built boats, houses, everything. Then he suffered a string of disasters: first his wife became ill – she’s still stuck in bed – and then he went blind. How’s that for luck? He couldn’t work any more, because he couldn’t see, but he could smell. So he took to making perfumes, distilling them from the wild flowers of the region. The idea was to sell them to the baths there in Ostia, but the snooty manager tried to fleece him – which makes me feel less guilty about the state we left it in – so he decided to head for the markets of the Eternal City.’ He shook his mane of hair and smiled winningly. ‘That’s Rome, by the way.’

  ‘What happened to the Conqueror?’ Jake asked.

  ‘We weren’t able to get back to check on it,’ Nathan replied. ‘It had been commandeered by our pursuers – we seem to have eluded them by the way, but keep an eye out just in case. We’ll have to keep our fingers crossed that the ancient Rome bureau is still in one piece and there’s a Meslith machine there – otherwise we’re completely in the dark. Anyway, make yourself comfortable: we’ll be travelling through the night.’

  Jake looked at Gaius’s dog, who was now lying with his head on Lucius’s chest, blinking happily. He realized how much he missed Felson, even though they had only known each other for a matter of weeks.

  Jake’s thoughts turned to his parents and he wondered how they were getting on with the unfathomable Oceane Noire.

  Finally he wondered about Topaz; he prayed that they would find her. Would she make the appointment on the Pons Fabricius; and if so, what state would she be in . . .? A host of dark thoughts began to gather in his mind. He decided to stop thinking until they reached Rome.

  ‘Rome . . .’ he murmured. ‘I’m going to ancient Rome.’ Now tantalizingly close, the immensity of the idea dawned on him. To visit the city; to see its great buildings intact; to walk amongst its people; to visit the most famous civilization of all time . . . it was a thing of true wonder.

  The cart rattled its way up a slope and down into an immense valley, stretching out for miles and miles ahead of them. The road cut a perfectly straight line across it.

  They travelled into the night, Charlie, Nathan and Jake taking it in turns at the reins. The song of a million cicadas, hidden amongst the wild flowers of the roadside, floated on the warm air, and a bright three-quarter moon rose in the sky. At the halfway point they stopped for water and refreshments. They changed horses (Charlie negotiated a deal with a yawning innkeeper: Gaius would pick up his own nag – to which he was much attached – on his return), filled the lanterns with oil and set off again. There was still some distance to go and they couldn’t risk missing their rendezvous with Topaz.

  Occasionally they met another vehicle travelling in the other direction. The twinkling lights seemed to take an eternity to reach them, but finally the oncoming cart would rattle past. As Jake was dozing off, one of these caught his attention. He heard a distinctive clink well before it drew level with them. The driver was dressed in Moorish clothes, and when Jake gave him a tentative smile, he stared back with dark eyes from under his hood – before saluting him with a warm nod; just a stranger from another time, saying hello. His load consisted of stacks of silver, copper and pewter – plates, cups and trinkets – that glinted in the moonlight. The sight of this ancient treasure trove disappearing off into the night added to the sheer magic of the evening.

  * * *

  ‘I bought shellfish!’ Rose announced, shutting the door with her sandaled foot and heading into the garden. ‘Oh! Good gracious . . .’ She did a double-take when she saw the constellation of pretty lights – hundreds of candles and lamps – illuminating the terraces.

  She called out, ‘I didn’t intend to buy crab – not live crab, in any case’ – she looked uncertainly down at something twitching in her basket – ‘but I’m afraid my Latin is on the rusty side. Jupitus, are you there?’

  He identified himself by languorously raising an arm in the twinkling gloom. ‘Lovely lights,’ Rose cooed, bustling over to his seat overlooking the bay. ‘Are we celebrating some
thing?’

  ‘Not at all,’ Jupitus replied acidly. ‘I just need to see where I’m going. Unless you would like me to break my other leg?’

  ‘And demand twice the amount of sympathy?’ Rose giggled. ‘I don’t think I have it in me. Now,’ she said, cautiously reaching into her basket, ‘as you know, I’m not frightened of many things, but I find live crustaceans a challenge at the best of times— Ow!’ She yanked her arm back as a giant crab shot out and landed on Jupitus’s chest.

  ‘Off, off!’ he yelled in fury as it fell onto his lap. He swiped it aside with the back of his hand. It quickly righted itself and went scurrying away across the terrace.

  ‘No, no!’ Rose went chasing after it as it zigzagged this way and that.

  Jupitus watched, at first with deep irritation, then with growing amusement as Rose kept closing in on it, then shrieking as it defended itself with its pincers and took off once more. By the time it had taken refuge in a pool of water below a fountain, Jupitus was laughing so hard that his stomach hurt.

  ‘Let the poor thing be,’ he called out to Rose. ‘I think it’s earned its freedom – if only for cheering me up.’

  ‘Jupitus Cole, you really are infuriating sometimes!’ Rose retorted, storming back towards him. ‘You’re a miserable, mean-spirited piece of work. Look!’ She held up her hands, which were covered in cuts. ‘Anyway, it serves you right – they’ll be no dinner now.’

  ‘No dinner?’ said Jupitus in distress.

  ‘No. And no bedtime story either!’

  ‘Well, just as well there’s a plan B,’ Jupitus replied in his most velvety tones, and pointed towards a table (Rose had not noticed it tucked underneath the vast bougainvillea) that was laid out with the most magnificent banquet: grilled fish, fresh salads and platters of cold meats. Not only did the food look delicious, but the presentation, gleaming cutlery, and flowers and candles, was stunning.

  Rose’s anger melted away. ‘How on earth did you manage to do all that?’