"Vladimir found nothing in the tunnels?"
The Latin shook his head sharply. "No, my lord. Nothing at all."
The old Roman regarded Nicholas with a considering, prolonged stare. After a time, Gaius Julius made a dismissive motion with his hand. The Latin strode out, obviously relieved to have escaped without hearing his master's opinion of the night's events.
Well, Gaius thought, leaning on the desk again. He was very tired-his body did not yearn for sleep, but his mind was exhausted by the relentless passage of events-and longed to sit somewhere, undisturbed for hours or days, watching the sun pass in the heavens. I shall find a dead boy of the proper age and features and bury him beside Galen and Helena. The old Roman nodded to himself, finding the solution at least practical. Should Theodosius turn up again… he will be an impostor, a rogue, a false pretender. Such things have happened before.
He bent, scribbling a note with a fine brush. "One more thing to do," he grumbled.
"My lord?" A breathless voice accompanied the clatter of boots in the doorway. Gaius Julius looked up. One of his Praetorians stood in the entrance, wiping sweat from his brow. "There is a… a dragon landing in the gardens of Domitian!"
Our master? Gaius Julius straightened, feeling the air in the palace change subtly, as if a stone had fallen into a still pool. "Send an honor guard to meet the Emperor," he snapped, looking down in disgust at his soiled robes. "I will be there in a moment."
— |-
A phalanx of legionaries, breastplates shining silver, their horsetail helmet plumes stiff, lined the top of the staircase. Gaius Julius climbed swiftly, looking neither right nor left, and entered a tall, vaulted hallway on the upper floor. Niches lined the walls, each one holding an Emperor's bust. The old Roman ignored them, even the smug face of Octavian, and paced down a long Indian carpet to a half-open door.
Knocking softly, Gaius Julius heard a strange voice say "enter."
Maxian stood on a balcony, wooden doors swung wide to either side. The city lay before him, lights sparkling yellow in the darkness, the long oval of the Circus Maximum barely visible below, outlined by lamps set around the periphery of the track. Beyond the racecourse, the Aventine loomed as a dark mass and the sky behind the hill was thick with smoke. Countless fires lit the slowly billowing clouds with a ruddy, red light.
The funeral pits, Gaius thought as he entered the chamber. He had attended many meetings here, while Galen was Emperor of Rome, and he had never felt such a chill, disturbing air in the room as he did now. A handful of legionaries stood against the walls, their faces sallow with fear. The old Roman frowned, feeling icy drafts swirl around his ankles.
Then he caught sight of a thing standing in the shadows just inside the balcony doors. A tall, stooped figure clad in long dark robes. Firelight gleamed on an elongated, inhuman skull. Long-fingered hands, tipped with glittering black nails, peeked from the cloak. Gaius' heart thudded in alarm and he slowed, dragging his feet. A chaos of thoughts raged, foremost among them the overriding desire to draw the sword hanging from his belt and thrown himself upon the abomination, striking until there was no strength in his arms and the thing lay dead. And cast the remains into fire!
His fingers twitched towards the hilt, but Maxian raised a hand from the balustrade. Gaius Julius froze, feeling his master's displeasure. He moved his hand away from the blade, though he could not bring himself to look upon the grinning charnel face of the creature standing in the shadows.
"My lord?" The old Roman found it difficult to speak. His flesh was crawling with suppressed horror.
"We are victorious," Maxian said, continuing to look out upon the city and the distant charnel fires. "The Persian fleet has been destroyed. Their king, their generals…" The hand moved, indicating the creature. "…even their overlord have bowed down before me. Order is restored throughout the world, and there will be a Roman peace from the pillars of Hercules to the gates of India. Alexandros has taken charge of matters in Sicilia, though I have brought loyal Dahak home with me. I am sure you will become great friends."
Sickeningly, the thing in the shadows bared needle-like teeth at Gaius Julius and the old Roman knew-he could not say how, but the truth struck at his heart like a well-flung javelin-he had been replaced by a new favorite. The world tilted on its axis, but Gaius had not survived the collapse of the old Republic without a canny mind and a quick tongue.
"Hail Caesar," Gaius said, his mouth dry as dust. A dreadful pressure seemed to fill the room, pressing in on him from all sides. Without thinking, he knelt, bending his forehead to the floor. As he did so, he caught sight of the Praetorians also kneeling, as did the creature in the shadows. Words hissed from his mouth, unbidden but undeniable. "Hail Maxian Atreus, Augustus Romanorum, Emperor and God, Protector of the Romans, Master of the World."
Maxian turned, the fires burning beyond the city glowing against the cloudy, dark sky behind him. His face was in shadow, but Gaius could see a faint, pale light reflecting in the man's eyes. The Emperor stirred, a hand shrugging his cloak into a clean line.
"Yes," Maxian said, softly, in final, full awareness of himself and the world. "I am a god."
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The Dark Lord ooe-4 Page 87