In Numina: Urban Fantasy in Ancient Rome (Stories of Togas, Daggers, and Magic Book 2)

by Assaph Mehr

  “Just like that?”

  “Indeed so.”

  “Without any provocation? A loyal client betraying his patron to a complete stranger without a second thought? And yet you would have us believe that it is ultimately his patron’s fault for the vile deeds? Was he a monster or a loyal client?”

  “I do not know what happened between them, only what I saw and heard.”

  “Ah! So, there are limits to your testimony and your so-called expertise. Let us move on. Tell us, then, about the circumstances that brought you on that fateful night to be on Numicius’ ship.”

  “I was invited by the man himself.”

  “Oh? And why would he invite a complete stranger onto his private yacht?”

  “It was the day the Reds won in the circus,” I answered. “It seems we are both great fans of the Red faction.”

  “But, still — a complete stranger?” Cicero pressed.

  “I have mentioned that I set out to gain the man’s measure, to determine his complicity and ultimate responsibility. We had met before.”

  “You make it sound all so innocent. And yet, as we shall soon hear, your motives and methods were more sinister than you would like the jury to believe. Is it true,” he raised his voice, “you approached that blameless citizen now sitting here wrongly accused, in an underhanded plot, concocted by the foul accusator, to deceive and entrap the defendant? That your entire testimony is made up of lies, half-truths, and untruths?”

  “As I have mentioned,” I tried to keep my voice even, “I needed to get close to Numicius. I wanted to hear a confession from his own lips before testifying to his guilt. I wished to discuss the properties —”

  “But wait!” Cicero interrupted me. “You needed to hear from his own lips, you say? And did you?”

  Bugger. I fell for it. “In all meaningful ways. On his boat, tied and trussed, illegally detained, just before he ordered his slaves to break my leg!” I gave an emphatic knock on the cast and winced in real pain. “When I confronted him with the atrocities committed by his man, he treated it just like another business deal! Neither of them even bothered to deny it, nor feign surprise or outrage.”

  “But never, in point of fact, openly admitting to complicity in the matter? I present you, O conscript fathers, how this affair appeared to Numicius, one of your own. A pious son, wishing to acquire property to honour the gods and his dead mother, is approached by a man of dubious background and unsavoury connections. That man,” and he gestured at me, “worms himself close to our brother, making propositions about properties and yet in the same breath accusing one of his clients of crimes most heinous. Only naturally, he sought to deal with the obvious menace first, and with his client later, in private, as fitting. These are the acts of a righteous man, doing right by gods and ancestors, doing right by his own clients. Did he know Ambustus betrayed him, acting beyond the proper bounds? No! Would any man here turn upon his own clients immediately, upon baseless accusations from some degenerate, some borderline criminal confederate? No! You listen to those loyal to you, you give them the benefit of the doubt before denouncing them on the groundless allegation of some street trash. There was nothing we have heard this afternoon, nothing in any testimony brought forward by the craven political rival, to incriminate the blameless Numicius, whose actions were just and proper by all laws of gods and men.”

  He skipped saying ‘your own clients will be noting at how you vote,’ but it was unnecessary at that point. He had sown the seeds of fear and doubt in their minds and gave those vacillating a way out of condemning the ruthless Numicius.

  ***

  Ampius declared the proceedings concluded for the day. We gathered in gloomy silence before making our way home. Araxus ambled over, somehow getting Statilius and Valdrius to trail behind him. He merely stood and looked into my eyes, inscrutable as a cat.

  “Jolly good show,” said Statilius as he clapped me on the shoulder. “I’ve seen Cicero reduce experienced witnesses to tears before.”

  “A most convincing testimony,” Valdrius agreed with him. “We must congratulate the young attorney, too. Rousing rhetoric!”

  “Rousing enough to raise the hackles on Cicero,” grinned Statilius. “Which may or may not have been the right course of action.”

  They moved off to speak with Aquilius and Valerius, and left Araxus still staring into my eyes. To have both his black and green eyes focused together was more unnerving than having them wander in different directions.

  “What was shall come again,” he said. “The gladiator… No, that is yet to come. Today. You did well, today. The sacrificial smoke makes everything hazy… but you did well today. You kept to the truth. It is an act of piety. Like the one you performed tomorrow. Is it tomorrow? Time is funny, but the gods are immortal, so it doesn’t matter. I shall help you yesterday, though I am neither priest nor sculptor.”

  “Uh… thanks,” I replied. Despite his fragmented mind, within his broken speech I got a glimpse of the friend I once had. He meant me well, though he terrified me.

  While Valerius and Aquilius were talking quietly, their scribes hovering around to help them with references, while Cornelia and Aemilia were trying to get our company moving, a break in the milling crowds gave me an unexpected view of Numicius.

  As though on cue, he raised his gaze and our eyes locked. He smiled an evil smirk, his eyes radiating intense hatred. I had crossed some line with him, the mention of his mother pushing him too far. If Cicero would let him testify, Aquilius might be able to press this into an advantage. I had a feeling, though, I was yet to pay an even greater price for it.

  All of that escaped my mind when the crowds closed and hid him from my view, and Aemilia came to guide me to the litter. The spectators were making their way home and Araxus had disappeared amongst them when my gaze was turned. Cornelia had chosen to walk beside Valerius and Aquilius and participate in their discussions, contributing her gossip gathered amongst the women as to whom of the jury was likely to vote which way, and how to conduct the next day’s affairs.

  Whilst Aemilia could not ride with me alone in the litter for propriety’s sake, she fussed around me to make me comfortable before standing respectfully behind her mother. The litter gave a lurch as the slaves hoisted it up, and our party took the meandering path from the Forum to Cornelia’s domus.

  Chapter XLI

  The next day the parties gathered at the court’s stage in the Forum as before. Aquilius had some more witnesses testifying to Numicius ruthlessness. Cicero called them ‘sore losers, who, upon experiencing buyers’ remorse, sought merely to besmirch the name of a business rival.’

  Aquilius then brought forth witnesses for the bond between Ambustus and Numicius, trying to claim overheard snatches of conversation about hidden plots. Cicero breezed through them, discrediting their relevance to the case with alarming ease. When he made the spectators tear up in laughter at his treatment of a banking associate claiming secret payments, Aquilius decided to cut this short. Rather than give Cicero further chances to reduce our credibility, he would have to stand on my testimony and his closing speech.

  It was then the turn of the defence to present witnesses. Cicero brought forth a ‘family friend’ of Numicius, describing his deep sorrow at his mother’s passing, and testifying of Numicius’ great desire to immortalise her for her charity amongst the poor of the city.

  Aquilius proved he was a quick learner. He strode to the middle of the floor, faced the man, inhaled as if about to launch into his cross examination. Then exhaled and said, “We are not here to discuss his mother, only her stunted offspring. Witness dismissed.” He turned away and sat down to cheers from the crowd.

  Cicero then brought forth a series of witnesses to the effect that Numicius was a fine businessman, that he had many deals — all honest and above board — that Ambustus was merely one of many clients acting on his behalf, that he cou
ldn’t have known about every little detail, and that he was, in fact, out of town when anything untoward happened.

  Harassing the witnesses, Aquilius managed to break their testimonies with the insistent question of “Are you, then, claiming to be aware, unlike all his other clients, of every one of Numicius’ deals? Are you professing to know more about the details of his all-encompassing ventures and machinations, than the man himself?” When each man faltered, Aquilius was quick to dismiss his testimony as irrelevant to the case.

  I saw Cicero pass a wax tablet to the fourth witness before he came on stage. I remembered the man’s face and passed my own note to Aquilius. The man, Juventius, testified he was indeed the closest of confidants to Numicius, and that in all his dealings Numicius was observant of law and custom. Aquilius saw this and changed tactics. He drew the witness into a discussion about Numicius paying for Appuleius Diocles, the new driver for the Reds. The crowd became animated, the excitement of the Reds’ recent wins still sending many hearts aflutter. They were wholly focused on the proceeding on the stage now.

  Juventius, flushed, practically took the credit for brokering the whole deal.

  “Even though I’m a follower of the Blue faction myself, still I should congratulate you,” Aquilius said. “I can only imagine the pride you felt. You must have been absolutely exhilarated. Did Numicius commend you for this?”

  “Why, yes, yes he did. He was mighty pleased.”

  “Having done this great service to him — to all of the Red faction fans — he must have rewarded you lavishly. And the celebrations! Surely you were the star of the post-victory festivities?”

  The man puffed up. “I was indeed! Even before the main party, Numicius, that great man, raised a toast to me on his ship, to congratulate me.”

  “Ah, so you, his closest confidant, his second in command, who knew about Numicius’ deals as much as he did, was on his yacht that fateful night? Judge!” Aquilius turned sharply. “I would add this witness to the list of defendants! By his own admission, he’s involved in all Numicius’ affairs. Confirming his presence on the ship, he is clearly guilty of complicity in the crime of wrongful imprisonment and of grievous bodily harm against an Egretian citizen!”

  Juventius paled to white, started to stammer. Aquilius turned upon him, viciously attacking him, but his words were lost in the noise. The crowd was cheering wildly for this turn, laughing and booing the witness off the stage.

  After that, Cicero did not bring forth any more witnesses.

  Even though it was only the eighth hour of the day, Ampius declared the proceedings concluded. Both the summation speeches and jury voting would be delivered the next day. The spirits of our party were not as gloomy as previously, but tension was high. Cicero kept Numicius from testifying, not wishing to expose him to Aquilius and risk Numicius losing temper publicly. He was more than capable of delivering an exonerating oration and carrying the jury without his testimony.

  It was a close race, with predictions risky and bets and stakes running high amongst the spectators. We headed home for a quiet evening, and doubtlessly a sleepless night. I imagined Aquilius spent most of it rehearsing his closing words.

  ***

  The morning of the third and last day of the trial saw our corner of the Forum packed with spectators. Extra benches were added, and hawkers were doing a brisk business. Some enterprising ones even sold wax tablets with the previous days’ highlights, for those who missed them. A few shifty characters were selling mock tabulae defixiones, and the memory of Icilia’s slow and horrendous death brought the bile up in my mouth.

  Valdrius and Statilius were the centre of a loud group, commentating and debating with anyone who would listen. This turned out to be quite the show, something that would be talked about in years to come.

  The proceedings began as on the previous days, with a quick sacrifice that served to assure us the gods favoured the activities and, coincidentally, to weave the magia in a manner which drew the attentions of Iustitia and Prudentia, to enhance the chances of justice and prudence taking place.

  Ampius invited Aquilius to deliver the summation of his accusations and the clerks started the two-hour water-clock to measure his allotted time. I shall not reproduce his words in full — that would take a whole scroll in and of itself — but I shall add my notes as someone who had a unique view of the proceedings that day.

  Aquilius opened with the expected affirmation of Numicius’ vile character. He recapped in sufficient details the horrors that occurred in his name within the sacred city limits to remind the good citizens of what was really at stake here. His clever allusion to acquittal meaning bribery made the jury squirm, as did his reminders about Numicius’ ruthlessness in business and the senate. Longest of all, Aquilius spent recounting how I had clearly identified him as the one who commissioned the curses by Ambustus’ open admission and by his own obvious complicity via his actions against me.

  Aquilius’ masterstroke came at the end. A few years prior — a couple of decades really, by that point — Cicero had been consul. During his consulship he eradicated an underhanded plot by a frustrated political opponent to overthrow the senate. After exposing a ring of subversive revolutionists and facing them in the senate and in armed conflicts, Cicero executed several without trial and hounded the ringleader to the final battlefield miles away from the city.

  Some say this plot was of his own manufacture, that he pushed those who opposed him with merciless litigation till they faced no other option than violent resistance to ensure their own rights. Be that as it may — and I was only a child then, unaware of the finer points of politics — his speeches in the senate denouncing the would-be reformist ringleader were some of the finest ever delivered. One phrase in particular remained stuck in the public’s mind, and echoed down the ages — Quo usque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra?

  "Until when, O Numicius, will you abuse our patience? How long is that madness of yours still to mock us? When is there to be an end of that unbridled audacity of yours, swaggering about as it does now? Do not the traditions of our ancestors, do not the laws of the gods, does not the alarm of the people, and the union of all good men, does not the precaution taken of assembling the court in this most vital place, do not the looks and countenances of this venerable body here present, have any effect upon you? What depravity of intellect possessed you, what excessive frenzy seized on you, and made you, when you had begun your unheard-of and impious sacrifices, accustomed as you are to seek to evoke the spirits of the shades below, and to appease the Di Manes with the entrails of murdered boys, and despise the auspices under which this city was founded.

  "O tempora, O mores! Oh, the times, Oh, the customs! For what is there, O Numicius, that you can still expect, if night is not able to veil your nefarious meetings in darkness, and if private houses cannot conceal the voice of your conspiracy within their walls?

  "O ye immortal gods, where on earth are we? In what city are we living? What constitution is ours? There are here, here in our body, O conscript fathers, in this the most holy and dignified assembly of the whole world, men who meditate practising the foulest of magia, casting the most forbidden of curses, bringing about the death of citizens, and the death of all of us, and the destruction of this city, and of the whole world!"

  When Cicero delivered his original speech, those senators sitting next to the ringleader shied away from him, leaving him alone. He was reduced to incoherence, forced to run from the Senate hurling curses over his back. We paid spectators to sit in the front row behind the defence and to move away when Aquilius delivered this closing. Though the defence was not left isolated, of course, together with Aquilius’ immaculate oratory mimicking Cicero in every way, the effect was grand. The crowds loved it and cheered wildly. A scathing summation, delivered brilliantly — the epitome of rhetoric. A few days later, Cicero might have appreciated turning his own speeches against him so
resourcefully. Right then, he did not look amused.

  ***

  After a short break we reconvened for the three hours of the defence summation. Cicero, it seemed to me, had not quite regained his composure from having his own words — taken from an episode in his career still considered highly controversial — brought to bear against him. When he took the stage, there was a certain set to his jaw, a certain clipping of his gestures and movement, as to imply that he was seething at the upstart Aquilius.

  Was he really livid, or was that just theatrics for the spectators, to give another undertone to his oratory? He was certainly not above using every trick possible to build up his speeches and sway the public opinion.

  He delivered his opening comments in the expected vein. He opened with claiming Numicius’ innocence, painting Valerius as the aggressor.

  "What have you given me to defend my client against, my good accuser? And what ground have you given these judges for any suspicion? My client was wishing land upon which to honour the gods and his dead mother and acted viciously in its acquisition. I hear you. But no one says what ground he had for viciousness. His aides and clients had it in contemplation. Prove it. There is no proof -- there is no mention of anyone with whom he deliberated about it, whom he told of it. There is no circumstance from which it could occur to your minds to suspect. When you bring accusations in this manner, O Valerius, do you not plainly say this? ‘I have had regard to that alone which Ambustus said, that there was no one who would dare at this time to say a word about the purchase of the property, and about that conspiracy.‘ This false opinion prompted you to this dishonesty. You would not, in truth, have said a word if you had thought that anyone would answer you."