Mark of Mars

by Juliet Anderson

  He took a swig of wine and concentrated on the activity on the Via Grande. From his position on the roof, he had a good view of everything that was happening.

  He spotted a boy helping an old man along the street. They entered a house about half way down the Via Grande. There was something familiar about the old man, but for now Marcus could not recall where he knew him from. He gazed off into the distance, the first sign of real activity on the street; the good citizens of Rome were on their way to the Colosseum. It would not be long before the Emperor appeared.

  Jenna was buzzing with excitement. She could not believe she and Senator Aurelius had managed to get to the Via Grande without Marcus suspecting a thing. She did feel a tiny bit guilty for the deceit, but it was necessary. This was for the Emperor’s protection. She was wearing a young man’s tunic, which ended just on her knee, topped by a long hooded cloak. She had a pair of soft leather boots, laced up to mid-calf. These would be far better for kick-boxing if needed than paper thin sandals.

  Aurelius seemed to produce a sword out of thin air. “This is for you, young one.” He attached the belt around her waist. “Use it well.”

  Jenna pulled the sword out of its sheath. It was stunning, very similar to the one Marcus had. She swung it around a few times to get the feel for it; it was weighted perfectly for her. “Thank you, Senator. If the Gods are looking favourably on us, I may not have to use it.”

  “Something tells me that Mars will be watching your back,” Aurelius smiled knowingly.

  “He’s more than welcome to watch any part of me,” Jenna mused. She turned red when Aurelius laughed; for once she wished she could keep her thoughts about Mars private.

  “I also remembered your fondness for throwing daggers.” Aurelius produced a couple and slid them into the belt. “You might have to overcome your aversion to killing today, Jenna.” Aurelius’ tone had turned serious. “These are not just simple rioters, they are conspirators and will kill you without so much as a second thought if you do not bring them down first.”

  “I know. I am prepared to do what is necessary to save Trajan,” her voice was very tight.

  “Arula should be proud to have you as a citizen.” Aurelius studied her pinched face. “A foreigner who is battling to save a Roman emperor, fighting to preserve history.”

  Jenna did not react to Aurelius’ words, she thought perhaps she had misinterpreted them. After all, how would he know that she was preserving history? In her befuddled mind, she must have misheard.

  She stared out the small window, watching as the street came to life. It was a main route to the Colosseum and soon filled with Romans on their way to watch the slaughter and bloodshed. If they hung around the Via Grande long enough, they’d have front row seats at a much more even fight. It seemed an eternity before she heard the sound of the Praetorian approaching. Raised voices and the clashing of swords heralded the first ambush and she saw a blur of purple dash in front of her then stop. Cue the second ambush and Marcus and his troops to burst in on the scene.

  Jenna’s eyes were everywhere. On Marcus, on the bloodshed descending the small street, on the Emperor. She saw Trajan being ushered into a corner by two Praetorian guards. Her heart missed a couple of beats. The traitorous captain hadn’t stayed with the first ambush, he was standing right next to the Emperor.

  Her eyes never left Trajan as she burst out the small dwelling and ran towards him, drawing her sword as she went. She could see the Captain swing his sword at the other guard, he fell instantly. Trajan remained impassive, as though his fate was inevitable. The Captain lifted his sword to strike, but got no further. Jenna plunged her sword straight through his back into his heart. He was dead before he hit the ground.

  She bent down and retrieved his sword. “I think you know how to use one of these, Emperor.”

  He took it from her with a curt smile. “You must be the young handmaiden Aurelius talked about.”

  “Guilty,” Jenna responded looking about her to get her bearings of who was where. “Now as far as I’m aware, the rest of your guard are loyal. But you might not want to turn your back on them just in case.” She pulled off the cloak, it restricted her movement.

  A group of conspirators had broken through a line of Praetorian guards and were bearing down on her and the Emperor. Jenna instinctively stepped in front of Trajan. The first one hesitated, shocked at being confronted by a woman. It cost him his life. The second was not quite so accommodating. As their swords clashed, Jenna put her kickboxing to good effect and dealt him a crushing blow to the stomach. Out the corner of her eye, she could see Trajan wadding through the conspirators with relative ease.

  “It seems the rumours were true,” she flashed Trajan an impressed look. “You were one of the best swordsmen in the army.”

  “I’m a little rusty. You are pretty good yourself, young lady.” Trajan pulled his bloody sword from a conspirator’s body.

  “Incoming on your left,” Jenna shouted and threw one of the daggers in her belt. It felled an assailant right away.

  Two men descend on Jenna at the same time. Trajan already had his own battle, she backed up against the building behind her deciding on her best option. The two men fell to the ground before she even got to swing her sword. Marcus saw to that.

  “You and I are going to have a very long talk after this,” his voice was icy cold.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Jenna muttered back, taking on another assailant. He reigned blow after blow down onto her sword. She finally managed to get him off balance enough to sweep his feet from underneath him. She went straight for the heart, in her mind it was instant and the kindest thing.

  She glanced up the street and hollered at the Praetorian. “Your sole mission is to protect the Emperor so would some of you at least do your bloody job and get your asses back here.”

  Trajan glanced at Marcus as they fought off a few more assassins. “Is she always this outspoken?”

  “Yes,” he grunted and headed back to the Forum Delitum.

  Jenna shook her head. “Forgive me, Emperor, but your life doesn’t expire for many years yet. I’m just trying to keep it that way.”

  A group of Praetorians appeared in front of her. She studied their faces, none she recognised. That was good.

  The fight at the top of the Via Grande seemed to be all but over. She could hear a strange crackling sound. What the hell was that. Then someone shouted the words. “Fire.”

  Jenna spun around, the rioters had set a nearby building of fire, cutting them off from the Forum Delitum, from Marcus. The only way to go was forward, up the Via Grande. Now not only did they have rioters, but a fire to contend with as well.

  “The fire will destroy Rome,” Trajan stopped in the street. “We must deal with it right now.”

  “We will deal with it,” Jenna responded calmly, “when your guard have got you out of here.”

  “I have a responsibility to the city. I cannot let a fire burn out of control.” The Emperor was not moving.

  Jenna pointed to the dead soldiers and Praetorian scattered around the street. “These men gave their lives to protect you, so please don’t let their sacrifice be in vain. We’ll put the fire out, but can only do that when you’re safely out the way.”

  “The fire could destroy half the city,” Trajan was not going for the emotional blackmail.

  “Your death would rip the city apart,” she responded rather more forcibly that she planned. Bawling at an Emperor was never a particularly good move, even one as stable as Trajan.

  They stared each other down for a moment before Trajan conceded. “Fine. But I shall only take a fraction of the guard with me.”

  “Can we agree on half?”

  The corners of his mouth twitched ever so slight. “Agreed.”

  She glanced at a young Praetorian Captain standing close by who had paled listening to Jenna arguing with his Emperor. “Your sole mission is to get the Emperor safely back to the Imperial Palace. If you fail and get yourself and the
Emperor killed, I will personally bring you back through the wonders of modern science and kill you myself. Is that clear?”

  The captain nodded and Jenna was pleased to see the Emperor almost frogmarched through the activity and out of sight.

  “Get the hell out of there, Jenna,” Marcus shouted through the flames.

  “We need to take care of the fire, I promised Trajan.” If she failed, she could quite possibly find herself fighting at the Colosseum against Dracus or Faustus. She racked her brains on ancient fire-fighting techniques.

  “And just how do you plan to do that?” Marcus challenged.

  “We need to keep it contained. Create a fire wall from debris of the destroyed buildings.” She scurried down the street, taking on a few of the last remaining rioters. “Captain,” she shouted at one of Marcus’ men who had been caught her side of the fire. “I need you and your men to create a wall from rubble, stone, granite, marble, anything that does not burn. Put it in the fire’s path and it will have no choice but to burn itself out.”

  The captain looked at her a little hesitantly; he had never received orders from a woman.

  “Marshall Vilnus is doing the exact same thing the other side of the fire. Do not let him down.” Jenna was relieved when the young man leapt into action.

  She ran her arm across her brow. She was tired, blood splattered and in need of a very strong drink. And a bath, she was female after all. Her arms ached from swinging the sword and she was choking on the heat and smoke from the fire. She heard a faint noise behind her and spun round quickly, sword raised.

  “You rioters are like bloody cockroaches,” she hissed. “Every time I think we’ve exterminated you, a few more crawl out the woodwork.”

  She wasn’t in the mood for another long drawn out sword fight, so instead she feigned a block, turned slightly and rammed a dagger into his chest. He spluttered and fell. She kicked the body away from her. She could hear a noise in the background, someone shouting. She peered through the flames close to her, Marcus was trying to get her attention.

  “What?” she shouted back.

  It sounded a bit like an avalanche, not that she had ever heard one, but what she imagined an avalanche would sound like. An ear splitting crack that seemed to engulf every other noise in the neighbourhood, followed by a split second of silence. Then the building on fire collapsed, the blast from which knocked her off her feet. Actually it knocked her out cold, everything went black.

  CHAPTER 28

  Marcus felt his blood freeze. He saw the building start to topple, Jenna underneath it not the least bit aware. He moved at celestial speed, almost quicker than he had ever moved before; he leapt through the flames and caught her before she hit the ground. He shielded her from any falling debris, but the blast had already done significant damage. She was pale, her breathing was almost non-existent, her clothes badly singed.

  Cloaked by the cloud of dust and smoke, he transported direct to his villa, his bedroom. He laid her down on his bed, shocked just how fragile she looked; a few moments earlier she had been slaying rioters better than most of his soldiers. He had no choice, he had to save her life the only way he knew how. His father was going to be mightily pissed but to hell with him. He could not let her die, which she most likely would without intervention.

  “I’m not going to lose you, my love,” he murmured. He held her chin and tilted back her head, parting her lips a little. Exhaling ever so softly, a tiny drop of shimmering light passed from his mouth into hers. She gasped as she breathed in the light and her eyes shot open.

  His heart missed several beats as those incredible blue eyes stared at him. He stroked her face lovingly before reaching for a small vial beside his bed. He raised it to her lips. “I need you to drink a few drops of this elixir, Jenna. It will help heal your wounds.”

  To his surprise, she obeyed without a word, then fell back into a deep sleep. The elixir would keep her that way for a long time.

  Happy she would recover, he knew he had to head back to the riot. Aius would let him know if Jenna’s state changed at all. He transported back and was amazed to see his soldiers had actually managed to contain the fire as per Jenna’s instructions.

  He brought in an extra battalion to help clear the bodies, help the injured and assess the damage. He ordered the remaining Praetorians back to the palace. The Emperor needed his full guard on hand just in case. His father materialise a short while later.

  “I get the distinct feeling that Trajan will be wanting to boost our legions with willing conscripts from Arula.” Aurelius surveyed the carnage around him. He had seen Jenna in action, she was quite a force to be reckoned with.

  “What the hell did you think you were doing, father. You should not have brought her here. She could have been killed.” Marcus was livid.

  Aurelius stared his son down. “She saved the Emperor’s life, as I believe she was always destined to do.” He glanced around. “Were is she?”

  “Back at my villa,” Marcus barked. “The building all but landed on her.”

  “Will she survive?”

  “Yes, thanks in no part to you.” Marcus could not look at his father. He had committed a highly punishable offence by passing on even a tiny bit of his life force. Only his father could extend a mortal’s life.

  “Is there something I need to know?”

  “I saved her life after you all but sent her to her death,” Marcus squared up to Aurelius. He did not care what punishment his father would hand out, nothing could be worse than watching Jenna die.

  To his utter amazement, his father just smiled. “You acted well, my son.”

  It was many hours later before Marcus returned to his villa. Jenna had not stirred in all that time. He had just finished washing when Aius appeared.

  “There is a Gaius and Amelia here to see you, Marshall.”

  “Show them in here,” Marcus responded. He bent over Jenna’s sleeping body and kissed her forehead. “Your friends are here,” he murmured. He went to the bedroom door to meet Amelia and Gaius.

  “Marshall, we received your message that Jenna is injured,” Gaius spoke first.

  “She is unconscious.” He admitted them into the bedroom. Amelia rushed to her friend’s bedside.

  “Do you know what happened?” Gaius asked.

  “A burning building fell on her,” Marcus responded quite flatly.

  “Do you mind if I examine her injuries, so we can see how best to move her back to her temple to recover?”

  “I cannot allow her to be moved until her injuries have had time to heal,” Marcus stated bluntly. “You are more than welcome to visit her each day until such a time as she can go back to her temple.”

  “We could not possibly inconvenience you, Marshall,” Gaius started to protest.

  “It is not a matter I am willing to debate. Jenna stays here for now.” Marcus softened his tone on seeing how uncomfortable Gaius looked. “I have already given you my word Jenna will come to no harm, Gaius.”

  “Would you have any objections if I brought in an Arulian physician to see her tomorrow?”

  “There is one already in Rome?”

  “He will arrive tomorrow.”

  “I am curious to know what an Arulian physician can do that a Roman one cannot.” Marcus was intrigued.

  “Whilst Jenna might look the same as a Roman lady, her body has evolved much more. She is stronger, more resilient than women here. We have medicines and treatments that can make her heal quickly.”

  I don’t think you could beat my treatment, Marcus thought smugly to himself. “You have my permission to bring in your own physician.”

  He was pleased when they left, it meant he could spend time alone with Jenna. He laid down beside her, and stared at her face, watching the gentle rise and fall of her chest. It was hypnotic and he eventually started to feel sleep creep over him.

  He awoke with a start, it was getting light outside. He turned to look at Jenna, her blue eyes fixed him to the spot.
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br />   “Please tell me why I’m in your bed, Marshall,” her voice was slightly croaky.

  CHAPTER 29

  Tempers were running a little high at Mars’ temple. Professor Daniels and Gaius were trying to assess what they could do to extricate Jenna from the Marshall’s grasp.

  “I know it’s against the rules, but we need to get Dr Poulssen over there to examine her.”