The Chariots of Calyx

Chapter Eighteen

I do not know how long I remained there in the dark beside the body. It might have been an hour or two, perhaps less, but to me, shivering with shock, despair and grief, it seemed a lifetime. My desolation at least spared me one misery. After the discovery of the corpse all sense of thirst and hunger left me. I simply squatted there beside the lifeless form, as incapable of action as if I had been drugged by one of Lydia’s potions.

I was roused at last by a noise from the street above. Faint at first — so faint that I half thought I had imagined it. Then it came again, more loudly now, and this time there could be no mistake. I got to my feet, listening intently. Footsteps and muted voices in that unfrequented alley. I was debating whether whistling or shouting was more likely to penetrate the outer walls and so attract attention to my plight when suddenly the noises stopped again and another sound, even more unexpected, reached my ears.

Someone was sliding the bolt.

For a moment a wild irrational hope possessed me and I was ready to shout ‘Here!’ and throw myself on my deliverers, but then whatever intelligence I possessed reasserted itself. Of course, this was not likely to be rescue. Quite the contrary — anyone who had come to this place on purpose was much more likely to be my executioner.

The door upstairs flew open, and although when I had first come in the light from the aperture had hardly seemed enough to grope my way down the steps by, after the long period of captivity in total darkness the sudden daylight almost dazzled me. I closed my eyes for a moment against the light, and when I opened them once more I realised that the outer door had been pushed to again, and someone was standing at the top of the stairs lighting a taper from the embers in one of those portable braziers.

My brain seemed to stir into life again, with my eyes, and I realised that for a moment I had the advantage. The incomers — and there were clearly several of them — would find themselves in darkness, even with the taper, whereas I had unaccustomed light. I could already see the dark outline of the steps — to my surprise I was only a few feet from them — the black circles in the floor which marked the tops of the sunken pots and the sinister dark outline of the corpse. The room was smaller than I imagined: it had seemed endless in the groping dark. I could see the wooden door set in the further corner, and behind the steps there seemed to be some kind of darker space, a sort of alcove probably used for storage once. All this I took in at a single glance, and I looked around for something sensible to do.

There was no method of escape, that much was obvious, but I reasoned that if I could reach the alcove I would have, at least, the advantage of surprise. What use that was to me, I was not sure. Perhaps it is merely an instinct with captives. I had no hope of overpowering them; I am no longer a young man and I was only one against several. I think I had some dim idea of slipping past the men as they came down the steps, though realistically there was never the slightest hope of that.

The taper was well alight by now, and I could distinguish the outline of at least four men in the sudden light of its flames, and then the gentler glow of embers dimmed, as someone put the lid on to the pot of coals. Another taper was lit, and then another — three in all. To me it seemed as if the sun had risen. I had to remind myself again that, to the men accustomed to daylight, those brilliant flames offered only a minimum of illumination.

Someone lifted his torch aloft and held it over the stairwell, illuminating the uneven stone of the steps. That served my purpose, however, since it meant that the darkness beyond would seem denser than ever. Now that I knew where I was going, I scuttled as silently as I could in the direction of the alcove. It was a kind of doorless cupboard — one or two high shelves still remained in it — but there was just room for me to huddle there and listen to the approaching slap of leather sandals on the steps beside me. I heard the clunk as the brazier was set down against the wall.

‘Where is he?’ a dry, sharp voice enquired. ‘You told me he was here. If you’ve let him escape I’ll have you flayed.’ They were all four down the stairs by now, and the speaker moved into the ring of light. I was appalled — though not surprised — to see the face and recognise the man. It was Glaucus, the Grey, his crooked nose and pitiless mouth looking crueller than ever in the flickering shadows.

He looked towards the dark heap on the floor, and his expression hardened. ‘Great Mithras! You haven’t killed him, have you? You useless son of a sow, I told you that I wanted him questioned first.’ One casual but savage backhand blow, and one of the other figures was grovelling on his knees, dropping his taper as he fell. By its light I could make out his face — it was the old slave who had lured me here.

I should perhaps have revelled in his fall, but Glaucus had signalled for the fallen taper, seized the man by the hair, and was now holding the flame viciously close to the man’s neck. ‘Well, what have you to say for yourself?’

‘Most merciful one,’ the slave was stammering with fear and pain, ‘that is not the man. That’s just the slave we captured earlier. I told you about him, Mightiness — he was asking too many questions.’

So that poor battered shape was ‘just’ a slave, and therefore of no importance. It made me more furious than ever — although the gibbering speaker was ‘just’ a slave himself.

Glaucus sent him sprawling to the floor. ‘Fool! You bring him here, and then you let him die.’

The old man grovelled. ‘It was an accident, Mightiness.’

Glaucus aimed a kick at him. ‘So you say. So where is this other fellow now? That infernal spy of the government? I suppose he is here somewhere? The door into the rest of the building is still blocked? If he has got away I’ll have you fed to the dogs.’ He seized the taper and began to peer around the room.

The fate of my poor slave made me despair, but the instinct for self-preservation is strong. It was only a matter of time before they reached me, and I had no doubt of their intentions. I could see their shadows, larger than life-size, flickering on the wall, and hear the scuffling of their sandals on the stones.

Stones! What an idiot I was. I bent down and scooped up one or two. They were not large, but they afforded me some sort of weapon, and I still had the knife at my belt. Too late. The movement of picking up the pebbles had drawn the attention of Glaucus to my corner. He strode towards me, the taper in his hand. By its light I could see an unpleasant smile playing on his lips.

‘Well,’ he said, coming to a halt in front of me. ‘What have we here? A little rat hiding in a hole.’ He gestured brusquely to the two men at his side. ‘Fetch him out of there.’

They were big men, both of them. I remembered, irrationally, that Fulvia had talked of her attacker’s being large.

They seized me by the upper arms and it was pointless to resist. I did, though, clench my hands around the stones which I still carried. If I waited long enough perhaps I could find a chance to use them. I had no hope of escaping now, I could see that well enough, but I was always a fair shot with a slingstone and if I was to be killed in any case there was nothing to be lost. If I could get a clear aim, at least I might find an opportunity to take one of the men with me when I died — Glaucus for preference. Revenge for the death of ‘just a slave’.

My two captors dragged me out to stand in front of Glaucus. They hauled me upright, keeping my arms behind me, so that I was forced to bend forward in a painful stoop. I stole a sideways look. Both men were armed with large swords at their sides, but, since each guard was holding me with one hand and carrying a taper with the other, the weapons would not be easy to draw. I stood rigid but unprotesting, like a subjugated slave, and dropped my gaze submissively. My best chance would come if my captors were unprepared for any kind of resistance.

Glaucus was gratified to find me cowering. I could detect it in the way in which he said, ‘So, citizen’ — the word was mocking now — ‘we meet at last. You have been following me, I think.’

‘I have been looking for Fortunatus,’ I said, still looking at the floor. My voice was quavering, and not through any acting skills on my part. ‘I need to talk to him about a crime.’ I felt my listeners stiffen. ‘On the provincial governor’s orders. I am carrying his warrant. I have it here, at my belt.’ It was a faint hope, but the governor was the representative of Rome, and defiance of his warrant was tantamount to defying the Emperor.

Even Glaucus, it seemed, was not immune to the implication. He seemed to hesitate a little, although he did not signal to the guards to let me go. He placed a hand under my chin, lifted my head so I was forced to look at him, and moved his face to within an inch or two of mine. It was menacing.

‘A palace slave came here yesterday, spying around this house. We know he was from the palace by his uniform, and we know you sent him. He mentioned you by name. And the day before he was asking questions in the marketplace about our grain supply. Be good enough to explain this, citizen. Why did you send him here?’ The thin smile was colder than a winter pond.

The arrival of the tapers seemed to have cleared my brain. It suddenly occurred to me whose house this must be. Surely it was Fortunatus’ — the one that Fulvia and the team-slave had talked about. He was having it rebuilt, they’d said — that would explain the piles of rubble outside. And, of course, why the place was empty and disused. And it made sense of what Glaucus had implied — that Superbus had been here yesterday. If my guess about the house was right, I thought I knew what he’d been doing here.

‘I didn’t send him here,’ I said, with as much dignity as a man can summon when he’s being held painfully captive in a cellar. ‘In fact, I particularly told him to stay in the palace and wait, but he received a message from somewhere in my absence, and he went out in answer to that. If he came here to Fortunatus’ house, I believe I can tell you where that message came from. It came from Fulvia — Fortunatus’ lover.’

Glaucus sneered, but he drew back a little. ‘Nonsense. The charioteer’s woman is called Pulchrissima. He is with her now. She has, shall we say, peculiar skills, and since Fortunatus has found her he talks of nothing else. He plans to marry her when he retires.’ I noticed that he did not deny that Fortunatus owned the house.

‘All the same,’ I said, ‘I believe that slave was carrying a message from Fulvia. The woman whose husband was murdered.’

Glaucus sounded mystified. ‘You are telling me that you came here simply to investigate a murder? That is why the governor sent you here?’ He lifted up my face again, and stared at me. Then he spat contemptuously at my feet. ‘I don’t believe a word of it.’

‘This was no ordinary man. The chief corn official of the city was found strangled in his bed two days ago. The news must be all round Londinium by now. A man called Caius Monnius.’

I felt, rather than saw, the four men round me stiffen.

One of the guards said, ‘Mightiness. .?’ but Glaucus silenced him.

‘Go on!’

‘At first I thought that Fortunatus might have done it. The man’s wife was his lover, as I say. That gave him a motive. If he was in Londinium at the time, he might have had the opportunity, though increasingly I think it is unlikely. That is what I wanted to talk to him about.’

Glaucus stared at me. ‘Fortunatus and Caius Monnius’ wife? You think that I would not have known of that? These are more of your lies, citizen!’ For a moment I thought he was going to strike me.

The old slave piped up. ‘Most noble Glaucus — there may be truth in it. I’ve heard Fortunatus laughing with the other drivers about some rich woman who was courting him. She couldn’t get enough of him, he said. In fact she was becoming indiscreet and he was sure her husband was beginning to suspect. And yesterday when that palace minion came poking round here he did say he had a personal message for Fortunatus. Perhaps the citizen is telling us the truth.’

Glaucus turned away from me and looked at him a moment. ‘You told me that a slave from the governor’s palace had come here to spy. Did he ask anything about the gambling or the race?’

The old man shook his head.

‘So he might have been bringing a love message for Fortunatus? From Caius Monnius’ wife?’

The old man nodded excitedly. ‘Exactly so, most mighty one. He asked if Fortunatus had been badly hurt — he said there had been rumours of an accident and wanted urgent news. Demanded to know where Fortunatus was, in fact, which was extremely worrying. But if she was his lover, and had heard the gossip, perhaps she really wanted to know about Fortunatus’ health and where he was for her own purposes.’

I hurried to offer my support for this. My only hope lay in convincing Glaucus that he was making a terrible mistake. I tried to struggle free but the guards still held me tight, so I made my contribution bent forward like a frog. ‘That could certainly be true,’ I said. ‘Fulvia is a wealthy widow now, and no doubt she has hopes of Fortunatus. She doesn’t know about Pulchrissima. Once she’d heard rumours of the accident, of course she would enquire about his health.’

Glaucus ignored me. He seemed unnaturally patient now. He turned to the slave. ‘But you didn’t ask the messenger who’d sent him? You simply took him prisoner?’

‘According to your orders, noble one. Better to be safe than to regret, you said, and promised us a bounty if we found a spy. Besides, I didn’t have a chance to ask him anything, though I intended to. I brought him here and had the team guards tie him up, but as soon as I turned my back he tripped over his bonds in the darkness and fell down the steps.’

Oh, great gods of stone and stream! The corpse! It all made sense. I almost cried aloud. It was not Junio lying there, it was Superbus. Why had I not seen the likelihood of that? I regretted it instantly — it was unkind to poor Superbus — but I could have wept with the joy and the relief of it.

‘And you have a warrant, citizen?’ Glaucus was looking at me thoughtfully. For the first time since they had seized me, I felt a glimmer of hope. Junio was alive, and Glaucus seemed subdued. The news of Monnius’ murder had clearly startled him. Perhaps I would after all escape from here alive.

I wondered what my captors would do, in that case. They had defied the governor’s warrant, and killed one of his slaves. They would hardly wait around to be arrested. Perhaps they would leave the factio and melt away into Londinium, where one would never find them — since, of course, if one cannot produce the accused in person, there is no case in Roman law. At the very least, I thought, they would rob me before they went.

Glaucus seemed to read my thoughts. He nodded to the slave. ‘Very well. Take that knife from his belt. We cannot leave him armed.’

The old man bobbed forward and did as he was told. Glaucus took it from him and examined it. ‘A fine blade, citizen. I shall see it is not wasted, never fear.’ He gestured to the slave. ‘And you, come here. You took that palace slave prisoner. This knife shall be part of your reward.’ He handed his taper to one of the guards — who necessarily let go of me to take it — and put one long hand on the purse pouch at his waist.

The old man quavered into a smile and stepped forward hopefully. But his reward was not to be in coin. Glaucus reached out and seized the fellow’s hair, forcing back his head. Then with his other hand he plunged my knife savagely into the scrawny neck, almost before the fawning smile had died. The old slave fell with a gurgle. Glaucus withdrew the knife and wiped it carelessly on the tunic of the dying man. ‘Useless swine!’

He put the knife into his belt and turned to me. ‘Your warrant, citizen.’ He leaned forward and removed it from the pouch where it hung and, taking a taper from the guard, examined it a moment. He gave me that mirthless smile of his, then, very carefully, held my precious document in the flame until the seal melted and the bark-paper smouldered and curled. Then he shook out the flames, seized me by the scruff of the neck and stuffed the charred remains inside my tunic. I felt the bite of heat against my skin. ‘So much for your warrant, citizen. Tomorrow, when I throw your body in the river, you may show it to the fishes. Perhaps they’ll be impressed by it. I’m not.’

The sudden blow which caught me on the cheek was so violent and so unexpected that I almost buckled at the knees. If it were not for the two henchmen holding me so firmly by the arms, I think I would have found myself grovelling on the stone floor as the slave had done.

Glaucus smiled. ‘Now, little songbird,’ he said softly, ‘we shall see how you can sing.’ Almost before I realised his intention, he had drawn the knife again. The two guards held me pinioned while he slashed the toga from my shoulder, then deliberately raised the taper and held the naked flame against my skin.

I cried out and tried to struggle free.

‘Bind him!’ Glaucus barked. ‘Use that dead fool’s belt.’

He held the light while the two guards dealt with me. One held me while the other undid the rope tie from the dead slave’s waist and bound my elbows firmly to my sides. I tried to take a deep breath and brace against the rope — an old trick, known to slave-boys everywhere, to make the bonds less tight — but there was little I could do. I fingered the stones I held, but the guards seized me and forced me back into that excruciating position. I was doubly helpless now.

Glaucus applied the flame again. Despite myself I gave a yelp of pain. ‘You sing already, cagebird? That is just a touch of what is to come. You will answer my questions, citizen spy, or you will feel the scorch of my taper on every inch of your body. And I have your knife. There are things that can be done with a blade that make a man beg for the mercy of death.’ He smiled. ‘So you will tell me, citizen, how much you know. What have you been blabbing to the governor? Tell me the truth and I’ll be merciful. A quick clean end.’

‘Like poor Superbus there?’ I heard myself say, and wondered at my own foolhardiness.

Glaucus glanced without interest at the lifeless form. ‘That palace informer? That was not my doing, citizen. This fool here’ — he flicked at the old slave’s body with his foot — ‘let him fall down the steps and kill himself, before I had time to question him. If I had dealt with him, believe me, he would have died more artistically — and he would have told me everything he knew.’ He lifted the taper again. ‘As you will tell me, also, in the end. So make it easy for yourself. Spare yourself suffering and tell me now. How much have you learnt?’

I tried to sound casual and self-controlled. ‘About Fortunatus? Nothing much at all. I knew he was the lady Fulvia’s friend. I went to Verulamium to speak to him, but he wasn’t there, so I came back to look for him. That’s all.’

The flame touched my skin again, for longer this time. I could smell, as well as feel, the burning flesh.

‘You lie.’ Glaucus’ tone was patient, reasonable — like a merchant disappointed in a bargain. The effect was much more chilling than anger. ‘You were at the stadium asking questions about the race. So I ask you again, citizen. How much do you know?’

‘About the accident?’ I said foolishly. ‘Only that Fortunatus fell at the first corner, and had to be sent home by the medicus.’

This time the pain was sharper still. I felt the hairs singe on my chest.

If I did know anything, I thought, I would cheerfully tell him. I was not sure how long I could go on enduring this. It was clear that Glaucus was involved in something — something so dangerous that men would kill for it — but I still had no real idea of what it was. His taper was burning low by now, and he reached out a languid hand to take a replacement from one of the guards, who lit another from the brazier. That left a single guard restraining me. If there was to be a moment for me to make a move, this had to be it.

I expelled my breath and relaxed my arms at last, to create as much slack as possible in my bonds. It was not much, and the second guard still had a firm hold on one arm, but there was just enough room to wriggle the other one a bit so that I could move it from the elbow. It was my left hand, which was not ideal. I was in pain and my movement was terribly constricted, but it was all the opportunity I had. Glaucus already had the fresh taper in his hand, and the guard was turning back to pinion me.

It was now or never.

I flicked the stone out of my hand, hoping to hit the guard. But with my upper arms bound to my sides my aim was poor. I missed. The stone flew harmlessly past him and fell against the wall with a clatter.

All the same everyone jumped and looked in that direction. The remaining guard let go of my arm, and I made a bolt towards the steps, still bound at the elbows, flicking my other missile as I went.

It was hopeless, of course. The guards were after me at once, and I was pushed roughly to the ground. I lay sprawled wretchedly against the steps while Glaucus came up with his guttering taper in his hand, and looked down at me with a kind of mocking sigh.

‘You are a fool, citizen. You might have spared yourself this. But since you have not yet learned who is the master here, you force me to teach you.’

One long, strong hand drew out the blade and he bent down towards me. ‘First the steel, then the flame,’ he said. ‘Until you tell me what I want to know. Now, about this murdered man. How much have you learned?’

I went through my account again. Glaucus was unimpressed. I felt the prick of the blade against my neck.

‘Why were you at the factio today?’

I said, desperately, ‘Looking for Fortunatus. He was not there — he was pretending to be ill, but he was with this dancing girl of his.’

The taper licked my flesh. ‘And why the interest in our grain supply? Trying to discover how many horses we are running?’

‘I don’t know anything about your grain.’

The knife again. ‘Then why were you at the granary this morning?’

It went on and on. The same questions, over and over. But there was nothing I could add. Through misting eyes I could still see that cold smile on Glaucus’ face as patiently, with horrible precision, he traced his patterns of torment on my flesh.