Gladiator: Vengeance (18 page)

They left Athens on foot, not having enough money to buy horses, and not willing to risk stealing any and being caught. They had won the governor’s mercy once. There would be no second time. Festus calculated that it would take them three days to reach Tegea. Having gone through their packs, Festus stripped them down to the bare minimum for the coming march. They left behind all but their clothes, a cloak, canteens, hard rations and the weapons needed for the work at hand. All the rest was sold on the nearest market for a fraction of its true value.

Lupus had wanted to keep his writing case, but Festus had refused and the scribe could only look on in despair as a Greek merchant picked his way through the pens, inks, styli, waxed tablets and bundles of papyrus, pursing his lips with disdain
before making a derisory offer. And Festus had accepted without argument. The only thing they bought was a short chain for Cerberus in case they needed to keep the dog on a lead.

There were still a few hours of daylight left when they quit the city and headed west at a fast pace set by Festus. They remained on the road that had brought them to Athens only a few days earlier and carried on marching as the sun dipped and sank behind the mountains, bathing the sky in changing colours as dusk stole across the landscape. Even as the last of the light faded and the stars began to prick out of the velvet darkness above, Festus kept up the pace and their boots crunched over the loose gravel on the road as the air around them swelled with the piercing sound of cicadas, rising and falling in a rhythm that only those small insects understood.

When they reached a junction where one branch led north and the other continued west to the Peloponnese, Festus stopped and led them a short distance off the road to the shelter of the nearest pine trees. They were already exhausted and did not bother with a fire, but just chewed on some dried meat. Marcus shared some of his rations with Cerberus and the dog hungrily chewed on them, finishing long before his human comrades. Then he settled to watch them eat in a pose of rapt concentration, in case any morsels slipped from their fingers.

Afterwards they built makeshift beds of pine branches over the carpet of fallen needles and curled up in their cloaks to sleep. The hunting dog lay on his side, pressing his furry back into Marcus and providing some welcome warmth.

Tired as he was, it still took Marcus a while to relax his mind and body. While the others slumbered, he stared through the branches above at the stars, tormented by thoughts of his mother and the desperate race to reach her before Decimus decided to do her any harm. He had a good lead and could reach his estate as much as two days ahead of them. Anything could happen in that time and Marcus dreaded the prospect of racing to the scene only to discover that his enemy had put an end to his mother.

As he briefly allowed himself to think that she might be dead, his mind filled with dark, bloody images of revenge. Decimus would die by his hand, which was all that would matter to Marcus. He had no thought of any life beyond that moment, only a dark, despairing void. So he tried to allow himself to hope. To imagine rescuing his mother, and seeing the love in her expression as he felt the comfort of her arms about him again. They would return to the farm, and Marcus would find a way to earn enough money to buy it back from whoever owned it now. In time they would build a proper
tomb for Titus where his remains could be interred with due respect. They would work the land together and Cerberus would guard their sheep from the wolves during the winter. His mother would grow old but would never forget that Marcus had saved her, regarding him with pride and affection.

It was a pleasing world that his imagination had conjured up and it filled his heart with contentment, eventually allowing him to drift off to sleep. He did not wake even when Cerberus stirred in the middle of the night and sat bolt upright, nose sniffing the air and fixing on the sharp scent of a passing fox. He growled lightly and there was a rustling nearby as the feral animal turned and bounded off into the trees. Satisfied that his master was safe, the dog settled down and gave Marcus a gentle lick on his ear before lowering his head between his paws to fall into a blissful sleep.

Festus woke before dawn, just as the first rosy fingers of light reached over the horizon. He grimaced at the stiffness in his muscles as he sat up and stretched his shoulders and neck before standing to prod the sleeping forms of the two boys with his boot.

‘Come on. Wake up!’

‘Eurrgghh,’ Lupus moaned, before turning away and curling
up in a tight ball. Festus muttered a curse and poked him again, harder this time.

‘Get up, boy! Before I have to kick you.’

Lupus cursed him as he blinked his eyes open, rubbed them and eased himself up into a sitting position.

Marcus forced himself to stand and rubbed his eyes while Cerberus looked at them all in turn as he wagged his tail. Yesterday’s fast pace had left Marcus’s legs aching but he knew that worse was to come if they were to cover the distance to Tegea in the time that Festus had allowed.

‘Eat something now,’ the bodyguard ordered. ‘I want to be on the road again at first light.’

Lupus sat still while his sleep-clouded mind gradually cleared. Then he reached for his haversack and took out another strip of the dried meat that Festus had bought in the market after selling the rest of their possessions. He stared at it with distaste.

‘I hope we won’t have to eat this all the time. Why don’t we hunt hares like we did before, Festus?’

‘Because we can’t spare the time to hunt, build a fire and cook,’ Festus replied tersely, then bit one end off the strip in his hand and began to chew. At length he continued, ‘But we could buy some food on the way, if we get the chance.’

‘We’ll need to,’ said Marcus as he handed one of the pieces to his dog. ‘If only for Cerberus. He can’t live on this.’

Festus nodded, looking at the dog, and then he finished chewing. ‘It might have been better to leave him behind.’

Marcus looked up sharply. ‘After he saved out lives? No. He stays with us. We may need him. Besides, at the moment, Cerberus is all that I have left to me from my family.’

‘You have us. Not family as such,’ Festus said awkwardly, ‘but almost as close as family.’

Marcus stared at him and gave a light laugh of surprise. ‘I never knew you cared.’

Festus scowled. ‘What? You think we haven’t known each other long enough to form a bond? And Lupus too. You think we’d have gone through all that we have just because Caesar told us to come with you? We’re in this to the end, Marcus. Whether we find your mother and deal with that scum Decimus or not. That’s what comrades do. Isn’t that right, Lupus?’

The scribe was as startled by Festus’s uncharacteristic outburst as Marcus. He nodded. ‘Brothers in arms, and all that. Absolutely.’

Festus sighed. ‘I was making a serious point.’

‘And so was I.’ Lupus smiled uncertainly.

There was a moment’s awkward silence and Cerberus, with
that peculiar sense that dogs have for people’s moods, looked to each of them in turn with big brown eyes full of concern.

‘Right then!’ Festus thrust his half-eaten strip of meat back in his shoulder bag and picked up his cloak. ‘Enough of that emotional nonsense. Let’s move. I want to reach Corinthos by the end of the day.’

The boys hurriedly made ready and joined the bodyguard as they hurried back to the road and set off. Festus set the pace, striding a few yards ahead. Lupus, thanks to his gangly height, kept up at first and Marcus came last, with Cerberus trotting at his side. He was still taken aback by their last brief exchange and he glanced down at the dog, raising his eyebrows as he whispered, ‘Who would have thought it, eh, boy? Under that rock-hard skin, there is a very human heart after all.’

Cerberus looked up at the sound of his voice, then lifted his muzzle to sniff the cool morning breeze as he wagged his tail gently.

Marcus chuckled. ‘Well, at least someone’s happy.’

But Marcus’s good humour did not last for many miles. Festus kept the pace up as they followed the road through terraced farms and past small whitewashed villages stirring into life as the sun rose into a clear sky. To their right the hills and mountains reared up, forested slopes a verdant green, while to their
left the coast gave way to a blue sea, shimmering and sparkling in the morning sunlight. Mile after mile, the road wound along the coast and their feet began to ache long before noon when Festus finally called a halt beside a stream. The water was cool and refreshing and they soaked their feet in its soothing flow for a short while, before Marcus stood up to put his boots back on, the urgent need to reach Tegea weighing on his mind.

There were no more streams before they reached Corinthos at dusk and Marcus had to share the water in his canteen with Cerberus as they trudged beneath the beating afternoon sun. By the end of the day all their exposed skin was red and tingling from sunburn. But they were too tired to care and were asleep soon after collapsing on the cheap mattresses in a back room that they rented for the night from a dour innkeeper. They left before first light, limbs stiff and feet sore, and Lupus could only glance longingly at the dark outlines of the temples and theatres he would not have the chance to explore – at least not until their desperate hunt for Marcus’s mother was over.

After they left Corinthos the road climbed into the mountains of the Peloponnese and the going became more difficult and exhausting. Even Cerberus, who had been enjoying the exercise of the previous days, now walked at Marcus’s side with his long tongue hanging out as he panted. During the afternoon they
came across a young shepherd who had killed some hares with his sling, and Festus bought four, which they cooked and ate that night. Except for one that Cerberus devoured raw, crunching contentedly on the bones as he sat in the glow of the fire.

‘We’ll reach Tegea tomorrow afternoon,’ Festus announced as they finished their meal and made ready to sleep on the beds of pine branches at the edge of a forest, where Festus had decided to make camp.

‘As Decimus has an estate close to the town, either he, or his servants, will soon get word that we’ve arrived. Decimus may even have instructed that he is to be informed the moment any man with two boys and a dog are sighted near Tegea. So we can’t risk entering the town together. My plan is this. Marcus will enter Tegea alone while Lupus, Cerberus and I find somewhere to hide outside of the town. The moment you have located the estate, you come back and we scout it out together.’

‘Scout it out?’ Marcus frowned. ‘We haven’t time for that. The moment we
know where the estate is, we must rescue my mother.’

Festus looked at him patiently. ‘You’re tired, Marcus. Your mind is troubled, and no wonder. But if we are to save your mother then we must give ourselves the best chance of doing it. We have no idea how many men guard the estate. We don’t know where your mother is held. If you want to see her again, we must do this right. We go charging in there, swords out, then there’s every chance we’ll be killed, and there’ll be no one to save her. Understand?’

Marcus felt himself torn between his heart and his head, but he knew that Festus was right. He forced his feelings to one side and nodded.

‘Good. Then we’ll get some sleep, after Lupus has done his sword exercises.’

The scribe groaned and shook his head. ‘Not tonight. I’m shattered.’

‘You may be shattered, lad, but you’ll be dead if you don’t know how to use a blade. Better get it right while you have the chance. It’s more than likely you’ll be fighting for your life very soon. Marcus, you sort him out. Don’t go easy on him.’

‘Why me?’ asked Marcus. ‘You’re the one with training experience.’

‘I’m also the one who’s telling you to do it. Besides, you need something to take your mind off your worries. Now get to it, boys!’

They approached Tegea late the following afternoon and took a path leading off the road as soon as they came in sight of the
town. They found a shallow cave below a cliff on the hills overlooking the town and downed packs while Festus gave his instructions, and some coins, to Marcus.

‘Here, that’s for some provisions. Buy us enough to get through the next two days. Make for the marketplace. If you want to find out where the estate is that’s the best place to start asking. But be subtle. Last thing we want is to alert Decimus that someone is snooping around.’

‘I know what to do,’ Marcus replied firmly.

‘Very well. Better tie Cerberus to a tree. We can’t afford to have him track you down in the town. A dog like that will draw some attention to himself.’

A smile flickered across Marcus’s face. With his large size and fierce appearance Cerberus would do more than draw attention. He’d frighten people. He took the chain they had bought in Athens from his pack and slipped the loop over the dog’s head before tying the other end to the trunk of a tree. Cerberus thought it was a game and wagged his tail happily, until the moment that Marcus left the cave. Then the dog lurched towards its master and was drawn up swiftly at the end of his leash. He lowered his shaggy head and began to whine, but Marcus steeled himself against the sound as he started down the path towards Tegea.

The marketplace of Tegea was bathed in the red, ruddy glow of the sun and the colours of the cloth, fruit, vegetables and other wares for sale seemed to be ablaze in intensity. Marcus slowly passed between the food stalls, stopping every so often to examine the produce and listen in as discreetly as possible to conversations that sounded promising. Already many of the stallholders were packing up for the day so he hurried over to a baker and bought some bread, and then some dried fruit and cheese from another stall.

‘That’ll be … eight asses,’ the trader concluded, holding out his hand.

Marcus reached into his purse to fish out the small bronze coins and paid them over. ‘There.’

The trader took the coins with a nod of thanks and tucked them into his own purse as he glanced at Marcus. ‘I know pretty much all my customers. Never seen you before.’