Simon Scarrow - Gladiator - Vengeance

‘I doubt there will be an auction. Not without an auctioneer. As for Decimus’s man, well, there’s not much we can do now. We’ll have to find another way to locate the estate. I’m sorry, Marcus, but we don’t have any choice. We can’t afford to stay here and wait.’

‘But where shall we go?’ asked Lupus.

Festus considered their options briefly before he decided. ‘Athens. Decimus is sure to have a house there, along with everyone else who needs to show his face at the governor’s palace. Besides, it’s a large enough city that we won’t attract unwanted attention. I’m sure we can pick up Decimus’s trail there. And we’ll be far away from the hue and cry over the death of Pindarus.’

Marcus shook his head in anger and frustration. This should never have happened, he told himself. All they were trying to do was find some information. They had never intended any harm to befall the auctioneer. It was a bitter irony that he had returned to Greece as a freed person, only to be hunted down again. If they became fugitives it would make his ambition to find his mother ten times harder. If they were caught, and blamed for the death of Pindarus, then they would die, and any hope that his mother would once again be free would die with them.

Festus woke them before dawn so they could prepare their packs for the day’s march. They had paid for their room in advance so there was no need to worry about disturbing the innkeeper to settle up. As soon as there was light enough, they left the room and crossed the courtyard to the street. A couple of the men from the previous evening had curled up in the corner of the yard, sleeping off their drink, and one of them stirred, raised his head to look at them and then slumped down again, burped and mumbled incoherently as he tried to get back to sleep.

Only a few of the townspeople had yet stirred and Festus made for the southern gate of Stratos. As they drew near to it he turned into an alley and led the two boys down it as far as the locked doorway in an arch outside a shop.

‘We’ll wait here.’

‘Why wait?’ asked Marcus. ‘I thought you wanted to leave as soon as possible.’

‘That’s right. As soon as possible, when it’s safe to do so. At the moment we stick out like a sore thumb. We’ll wait until plenty of people are on the streets and we can blend in with the rest of the traffic passing through the gate.’

Lupus yawned. ‘Well, why couldn’t we have waited at the inn?’

‘Because the moment the innkeeper hears that a man and two boys are being sought in connection with the death of Pindarus, he’ll report us to the authorities. If we’d stayed in the room we’d have been caught like rats in a trap.’

Lupus shrugged as he looked at the trickle of sewage running down the middle of the dingy alley. ‘As opposed to rats amid the crap.’

Festus stared at him then laughed. ‘Good to see you still have a sense of humour. That’s something you could do with, Marcus.’

‘Really? Name one thing in my life to laugh about,’ Marcus challenged him and then squatted down, trying to make himself comfortable while they waited for the streets to fill.

An hour passed and slowly the hubbub of the waking city filled the air as the sun rose above the horizon and bathed Stratos in a rosy glow. At length Festus nudged Marcus with the toe of his boot.

‘Time to move. Up you get. You too, Lupus.’

They picked up their packs and headed back up the alley to emerge into the street. Where it had been almost empty an hour before, now it was thronged with people, handcarts and small wagons drawn by mules, and the din echoed off the walls of the buildings along the thoroughfare. They slipped in behind the covered wagon of a spice merchant and followed it in the direction of the southern gate. At first they made steady progress but then the wagon slowed to a halt. Festus motioned to them to be patient, but Marcus ducked his head round the side of the wagon and saw a queue leading to the gate, where several armed men were scrutinizing those leaving the town and searching the wagons and carts. He casually turned to his comrades and spoke in an undertone.

‘They’re looking for us.’

‘What?’ Festus had a quick look and when he faced the boys he could not conceal his anxiety. ‘You’re right, Marcus. We can’t stay together. They’ll be looking for three fugitives. We have to split up and leave Stratos one by one. It would be better if we use different gates as well. Lupus, you and I will leave by this road. I’ll get ahead of the wagon and go first. If you see them stop me, then go back and wait a while before trying another way out.’

‘What about me?’ asked Marcus.

‘You turn back. Take the north gate and head out a mile or so along the road before you cut round the town. Stay out of sight as far as you can. We’ll meet up by that crossroads we passed a few miles down the road south of Stratos.’ Festus paused and looked at each of the boys. ‘Lads, we’re all on our own for now. If any of us get caught then the others have to continue without them. Understand?’

Lupus nodded uncertainly and Marcus realized that he was afraid. In truth, so was Marcus, and not just for himself. He fixed Festus with a firm stare.

‘Promise me one thing. If I don’t get out, then swear that you will do all you can to find my mother and set her free.’

Festus nodded solemnly. ‘I swear it by all the Gods.’

Marcus turned to Lupus. ‘You too.’

‘Me? What could I do, all by myself?’

‘What you have to. I had to deal with that when I was first all alone. And I was younger than you.’

Lupus pursed his lips. ‘I’ll do my best, Marcus … I swear.’

Marcus clasped him by the forearm and did the same with Festus. ‘I’ll see you later. Both of you. The Gods go with you.’

‘And with you, Marcus,’ Festus replied.

Marcus turned abruptly and began to stride away up the side of the street, along the queue building up. He did not look back, but turned his thoughts to his own escape. He must be calm and not attract attention. Yet he felt that people were looking at him suspiciously as he walked through the crowded streets. Then, as he passed a public fountain, he saw a notice pasted on the plinth, offering a reward for the capture of the murderers of Pindarus. He did not stop to read it, but slowed enough to pick up the details. Sure enough, the town’s authorities were looking for a man and two boys, and there was even a brief description that he recognized as being of himself. Marcus felt an icy chill grip his spine and he increased his pace. How in Hades had they managed to get a description of him? It had been dark. No one could have made out any such details.

He was still pondering this as he passed by the entrance to the inn they had stayed at. He glanced towards the opening into the yard and saw one of the men who had been playing dice there the previous afternoon, leaning against one of the pillars either side of the entrance. The next instant their eyes met and the man instinctively nodded a greeting as one does at a person one recognizes, but does not immediately grasp why. Marcus did not respond but turned his face away, continuing to watch the man out of the corner of his eye. He saw the man frown slightly and ease himself away from the pillar as he watched Marcus walk by. He did not look back but continued down the street, forcing himself not to increase his pace.

‘Hey!’ a voice cried above the noise of the traffic in the street. Marcus did not respond.

‘Hey, boy! … Hey there! Stop!’

This time Marcus increased his stride, all the time staring fixedly ahead. Inside his heart was pounding and his stomach churned with anxiety.