Mark of Mars

by Juliet Anderson

  “Slow down,” she squeaked. “We’ve got a job to do.”

  “What’s that?” Augustus had clearly other things on his mind.

  “Delivering food to hungry children. Remember?”

  He didn’t want to. What he wanted was to take Amelia back home and do all manner of unthinkable things to her. Actually all manner of things he had long dreamt about. He muttered a curse under his breath and released her begrudgingly. Being assigned to safeguard a maiden he found irresistible was near driving him insane.

  “Were you and Jenna watching the Blues practice the other day?” He asked as they continued on their way.

  “Yes. It was fascinating to watch.”

  “I take it no Axia?”

  “No. Just the Blues.”

  “Did Jenna really race Brutus bareback?”

  “She sure did. She almost won too. Although I have a sneaky suspicion she might have let him win.”

  “Why on earth would she do that?”

  “Because if it got around that he had been beaten by a temple maiden, I don’t think he could have raced again in public.”

  Augustus laughed. “I hadn’t thought of that. But the humility would have done him good.”

  “I think he got a good dose of that anyway.”

  “I can’t think the Marshall would have been too pleased with Jenna and Brutus spending time together.”

  “We were chaperoned by Gaius.”

  “I don’t recall Gaius being that much of a help last time Jenna was at the Circus.”

  “No formal relationship exists between Jenna and Marshall Vilnus so he can bluster all he wants. Jenna is a free woman to see and spend time with who she wants.”

  Augustus looked at her with an amused expression. “Do you really believe that? We are talking about the Marshall here. He would quite happily kill anyone who stands in his way. Only a fool would go up against him.”

  “Or someone as brazen as Brutus,” Amelia sighed. She hoped he knew what he was doing. “He’d surely not kill Rome’s favourite charioteer?”

  “Perhaps not. But there are other ways to disable a man.”

  “And I’m sure Brutus would want to keep what he holds very dear, no doubt.”

  “Wouldn’t any man?” Augustus winced.

  Amelia tried to clear her head, the conversation was headed in totally the wrong direction. The last thing she needed to think about was what this centurion was hiding under his tunic.

  They came across the street children they were looking for. Amelia was surprised how the children had quickly become accustomed to the centurion presence. They no longer feared Augustus. In fact one young child actually sat on him whilst he ate his bread, chattering away excitedly.

  “You aren’t totally useless with children, you know,” she glanced sideways at him.

  “I do have a younger brother,” he grinned. “Do you not miss your family?”

  “A little, I guess. I’m used of being away from home though.”

  “Yes, I forget. You travel a great deal.”

  “That too.”

  “Do you not want to settle down soon and have a family of your own?”

  “I couldn’t think of anything worse. Being tied down at eighteen.” She shuddered visibly.

  He looked at her quite shocked by her comment. “What is so wrong in being married?”

  “Nothing, I guess. But I have many more single years in me before I think about my life partner.”

  “Do you not want children?”

  “Eventually. However I do not envisage becoming a mother until I’m in my thirties as least.”

  “So old?”

  Amelia laughed, forgetting they were from two completely different time zones. It could have been two different worlds for the gulf between them. “Where I come from, it is usual for couples to have their children a little later in life.” She fussed over the child in front of her. “Anyway, what’s your sudden interest in my marital intentions? You’re not about to propose are you?” she joked.

  Augustus made a spluttering sound.

  “I’ll take that as a no,” she laughed.

  “I never met a woman who speaks as bluntly. You are quite safe from any unwanted proposals, my lady. Not only am I unable at the current time to support a wife and family, I am a commoner and you, are a noble lady. The two cannot marry.”

  At least she was spared from any awkward scenarios. She was just glad relationships weren’t off the agenda, being the hussy Rome was turning her in to. Actually it was all down to the man sitting next to her.

  Mars was waiting in his study for his father. He had not had much sleep, it has been a busy night. For the first time in his long life, he was experiencing a strange mix of emotions. Jenna’s safety worried him enormously, so much so that he had put her to sleep in his study and transported her direct to his father’s villa. It had been difficult handing her over but his father had insisted.

  Jupiter had elected to speak to the Emperor; he was a regular visitor at the Imperial Palace so his sudden appearance would not arouse any suspicions from the conspirators.

  Mars glanced up as his father appeared. “How did it go with Trajan?”

  “He has been briefed. We agreed that tomorrow’s outing will go ahead as planned. He does not want these traitors to go to ground, he wants them caught.”

  “Has he spoken to the Head of the Praetorian?”

  “No. He thought it better to do that just before they leave tomorrow. He did not want General Dexter trying to smoke out the treacherous captain ahead of time.”

  “A wise move,” Mars nodded.

  “Tell me the plan for tomorrow?”

  “I will have a group of my most skilled soldiers hidden well ahead of time in the houses that run between Forum Delitum and Via Grande. The first and second ambush will be allowed to take place, only then when the conspirators have shown their faces will my soldiers wade into the fray. The Emperor will be protected at all times.”

  “And Jenna? What of her?”

  “She will stay exactly where she is,” Mars snorted.

  “We agreed to her terms,” Jupiter sighed.

  “You might have done, father, but I most certainly didn’t.”

  Jupiter gave a small smile. He had never seen his son be so protective over a mortal. “You are forgetting that she can identify the Praetorian captain, just in case he does not show his treacherous nature.”

  “I know, but I cannot risk her safety,” Mars’ voice was scarcely audible.

  Jupiter decided against pushing the point. He would take Jenna there, if necessary, he had after all promised. “So what of your assassins?”

  Mars smiled. “I thought Minerva might enjoy helping out if she has nothing better to do. I could probably handle them all myself, but I know she hasn’t had a good fight for a while.”

  “I’m sure she’ll be more than happy.” Jupiter stood up to leave. “I’ll send her over tonight after Jenna has retired.”

  Mars paced up and down in his study for a while after his father had left. He had an overwhelming urge to go see Jenna. He needed to hold her, kiss her, make sure she was alright, even though he knew a legion of assassins would not make it past his family. But whilst it would fulfil his need, he had to think about her. She would think he had put his family in danger by visiting and would leave the safety of their house. That he could not allow. He gave a deep growl. How could one small mortal cause him such pain and anguish? Sometimes he thought the old ways were perhaps better; for him at least. He could just take what he wanted and it didn’t matter if he did it in his immortal form. In fact being in his immortal form almost made it easier, no-one could resist a God. Sadly, that life ended a long time ago. Now they behaved almost impeccably. He missed his old debauched ways.

  CHAPTER 26

  Jenna almost wore out the marble floor in her bedroom. She couldn’t possibly sleep, she was far too worried for Marcus. What if he underestimated the number of attackers and did not have e
nough soldiers standing by? What if they caught him by surprise? Worse, what if some were posing as soldiers? A hundred different scenarios ran through her head, none ending well. She let out a frustrated howl. This was why she steered clear of men; they presented far too many problems.

  She downed a small goblet of wine. Not a good move as she’d scarcely touched her dinner. Now she felt sick and scared. There was nothing for it, she would sneak out the house and go over to Marcus’ to give him back up if necessary.

  She slipped through the huge villa unnoticed, avoiding the servants and made it to the front door.

  “Don’t even think about stepping outside, young lady,” a deep voice boomed as she reached for the door handle.

  Damn, busted Jenna sighed. She whirled around to face Aurelius. “I can’t just sit by and do nothing,” she whined in frustration. “It’s not my style.”

  “I am not often in agreement with my son, but on the issue of your safety, we are,” Aurelius grunted and shooed her back to the inner sanctuary.

  “But…,” she started to protest.

  “No arguing, Jenna,” Aurelius gave her a stern look. “I really don’t want to have to lock you in your room.”

  Jenna pouted in response.

  Aurelius shook his head. “My son is very lucky to have won the affection of such a courageous woman. But he would not be able to protect himself if he were worried about protecting you.”

  The Senator’s words hit home. “Fine, I’ll stay put,” Jenna flopped down on a pile of cushion, quite defeated.

  “Good. I will let you know as soon as I hear his assassins have been caught.”

  “My concern is that some of the conspirators could be posing as soldiers.”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “They’ve infiltrated the Praetorian. Marcus’ guard should be even simpler.”

  “Rest assured, Marcus has appointed only his most trusted men to stand alongside him. I can even vouch for them.” Or her, Aurelius added to himself. It would be just Mars and Minerva. But instead of fighting each other as they did continually in their childhood, they would be fighting on a united front. Ordinary metal could not kill a God, only celestial bronze could do that; and as mortals could not lift celestial bronze, the assassins really didn’t stand a chance. “In the meantime, we need to think how we are going to smuggle you over to the Via Grande without Marcus knowing.”

  Jenna looked at Aurelius in surprise. “You are agreeing to let me go?”

  “Yes,” he sighed. “As I told you, Marcus and I do not agree on much. I think you need to be there to identify the Praetorian traitor, he is my biggest concern to the Emperor’s safety as I don’t think he’ll show himself until he’s sure of success.”

  “You’re right. Cowards like that don’t tend to show their true nature until they see how things are playing out.”

  “We will definitely need to disguise you. If he spots you, he’ll order your return.”

  “It might sound a strange question,” Jenna grinned, “but do you have a sword I could borrow?” She was going to gate-crash an Emperor’s assassination party in ancient Rome. You didn’t get much more adrenaline fuelled than that.

  Jenna awoke a while later amidst a pile of cushions, she must have drifted off. She felt decidedly groggy, as though she’d had far too much to drink. Her mouth was dry and her eyes felt really puffy. If she didn’t feel incredibly disloyal for even thinking it, she would have said Aurelius had put something in her drink to send her to sleep. She tried to focus on the blurry image of Aurelius who was sitting opposite her.

  “You’re back with us, Jenna. You’ve been asleep for a while.” His voice sounded so far away.

  “Marcus?” was her first thought.

  “He is fine, my dear. Assassins have been caught and he is quite safe.”

  “Not hurt?”

  “Not a scratch. You are still the only person that has made him bleed.”

  Jenna chuckled and felt her eyelids closing again. Perhaps she was just really tired, it had been a stressful couple of days. She yawned once and was back in oblivion.

  Minerva dropped down beside her father and nodded at Jenna’s sleeping body. “Have you given her something?”

  “Yes, we needed her to stay here. She is far too headstrong for her own good,” Jupiter sighed.

  “Perhaps there is reason for her to be,” Minerva grinned knowingly.

  Jupiter fixed his daughter with a knowing stare. “You look like you a cat who has just bagged the juiciest mouse, daughter. Pray tell me what news you are hiding?”

  “It is such a delight actually knowing something that my family is totally oblivious to,” she beamed, her blue eyes sparkling. “I want to bask in that feeling of superiority for just a moment more.”

  “Out with it,” Jupiter said sternly.

  “When Mars brought Jenna here yesterday, I helped change her into some night clothes.” She pretended to examine her hands. “You’ll never guess what I found.”

  “Minerva,” Jupiter growled softly. He loved his daughter dearly, but she could be quite infuriating when she wanted to be.

  “She bears his mark,” she responded nonchalantly.

  Jupiter’s eyes widened in shock. “Jenna bears Mars’ mark?”

  “Yes, just below her left shoulder blade. The most beautiful golden arrowhead.”

  “This cannot be.” Jupiter leapt up and headed over to Jenna’s sleeping body. Luckily she was lying on her right hand side, so he only had to lift the edge of her robe by her arm to see her shoulder blade. He gave an audible gasp. The arrowhead glistened as the light caught it.

  “You doubted me, father?” Minerva sounded positively put out.

  “Only because a time walker cannot possibly have this mark.” He paced about, trying to digest his daughter’s discovery. “Although this will explain why she can touch Mars through his statues and can wield his sword, she is the one. But how can this be possible?”

  “Perhaps there is more than one person who bears my brother’s mark?”

  “No, there can only be one. And everything about Jenna fits perfectly except her birth.” He turned to face his daughter. “Have you told Mars yet?”

  “No, of course not. It is his prophecy so he must fulfil it himself. Besides, it is fun watching him trying to deal with a maiden who is not falling for him charms.”

  “Such sisterly love,” Jupiter grunted.

  “It’s character building. He has had it easy for far too long. And it’s not as if Jenna doesn’t come with a health warning.”

  Jupiter laughed despite himself. It was true, the Oracle did warn Mars that she was potentially very dangerous. “No-one else is to know, we must keep this fact hidden. Even from your mother.” He headed towards his study and glanced back at Jenna’s inert form. “I will assign an Olympic guard to watch over her.”

  “Isn’t that helping Mars out?”

  “No. Jenna’s fate is connected to Olympus as well, not just Mars.”

  Jupiter was not easily confounded as he was now. Something wasn’t right with Jenna and the prophecy, it was not adding up. He would pay a visit to the Oracle himself, there were a few things he needed to clarify. Although getting a clear response from the Oracle was very rare. But one thing was for certain, Mars’ search was over. However, the way he and Jenna argued, it could be a lifetime before he discovered the mark.

  CHAPTER 27

  Marcus had been up since dawn organising his soldiers, getting them into place along the Via Grande. It had been two days since he slept properly but he was nearing the end of his mission. The attack of his villa last night had been dealt with swiftly. There had been eight of them in all, actually quite skilled, but no match for either he or Minerva. His sister, as he expected, had been thrilled to get her hands bloody. It had been a while since she had the excuse to get into a battle. He noticed she had used a couple of manoeuvres he’d not seen before, ones that bore a great similarity to the way Jenna fought. His siste
r had obviously had some instruction from Jenna. He shook his head. In what crazy world did one of the most powerful Goddesses to have graced Olympus get a combat lesson from an eighteen year old girl?

  He allowed his thoughts to drift briefly to Jenna. His father had relayed to him how anxious she had been over his safety. It filled him with hope that she genuinely cared for him, that after this current issue was dealt with they may progress their relationship. He needed to spend time alone with her, not just the short periods they usually got, but a whole afternoon and evening, so they could come to an understanding with no time pressures on them. He tried to block out the images that were starting to spill into his mind as to what could pass between them, how beautiful they would be together; he need to focus right now. He had an Emperor to save.