Passions of New Pompeii (6 page)

“I disagree. It might take me a few days to
make the arrangements. When are you scheduled to fight again?”

His eyes narrowed as his mouth pressed into a
mutinous line. “I do not know.”

Refusing to be baited by his obstinacy, she
shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll find out. Some time before your
next bout, I’ll have you summoned again. Be prepared for the
adventure of your life.” Her smile had no effect on his stoic
manner.

“I cannot pass beyond the barrier.” Emotion
added texture to his voice, but she wasn’t sure if it was anger or
fear.

“I trusted you with my body. Can you fault my
surrender?” He just stared at her. “Now it’s your turn. When I
return, I’ll expect your full cooperation.”

Without responding with word or gesture, he
strode from the room.

Tears blurred Elaina’s vision, but she
stubbornly blinked them away. This wasn’t personal. Yeah, right.
Maybe some people could treat sex as a recreational sport, but she
had never been one of them. Theos had touched her and tasted her.
He’d clutched her to his heart while she came so hard she forgot
everything but him.

She washed up and finished dressing. There
was no way she was spending the night in a bed that reeked of him
and the pleasure they’d shared.

A soft tap drew her attention to the doorway.
Laetif stood there, dressed in a housecoat, hair loose about her
shoulders. “Is everything all right? I heard the guards return
Theos to the barracks.”

“Why did you teach him Fedoros?” It was the
first question that popped into her mind. She had no intention of
discussing what had happened with her sister-in-law.

“His father was a scribe.” Laetif’s brow
arched as she looked at the well-used bed, but she allowed Elaina’s
evasion. “Theos speaks six languages and is literate in four. When
I learned of his education, I couldn’t resist.”

This didn’t surprise Elaina. Theos had been
far more articulate than she’d expected. Their conversation had
been nearly as stimulating as what had followed. “He said he was
taken in battle. How did a scribe’s son end up a soldier?”

Laetif chuckled. “That’s not true. He was
trying to avoid questions about his past. Theos was never a
soldier.”

“Then how did he become a gladiator?”

“He signed a contract and willingly entered
the arena.”

Elaina shook her head, shocked and saddened
by his actions. Why was she trying so hard to save him if he’d
brought this on himself? “Why would anyone choose this life?”

“Debt and misfortune, combined with several
years of drought. His father grew too ill to work, yet his three
sisters needed dowries if they hoped to marry well. It was either
the arena for Theos or a brothel for his oldest sister. Theos chose
the arena.”

The nobility of his sacrifice was not lost on
Elaina. Still, she struggled to imagine a world with so few
choices. “Couldn’t he have continued his father’s work, or—”

“He made the best choice available to him at
the time. What’s the point in second guessing him now?” Laetif
stepped into the bedroom and closed the curtain behind her. “What
did you think of him?”

Heat suffused Elaina’s cheeks and she glanced
away. “He was unlike anyone I’ve ever met.” Her body still ached in
places she wouldn’t consider and she only had to close her eyes to
remember the thick slide of his cock deep inside her. “Why did you
want me to meet him?”

“I’m not some twisted matchmaker.” She paused
and grinned. “Well, not just. I do think you and Theos make an
amazing couple, but that wasn’t the primary reason I brought you
two together.”

“I’m listening.”

“This entire thing started out as a lark, a
unique form of entertainment.”

“Vito was Mikko’s business partner. I’m well
aware of how this began.”

“Well, it has mushroomed out of control and
Mikko can’t see it. He keeps expanding, and each idea is more vile
than the last. He told you he doesn’t pimp the gladiators. That’s
technically true, but he has no problem offering house servants to
visiting ‘dignitaries’ or hosting orgies that make my skin crawl.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head, clearly
upset by her husband’s behavior. “And this new endeavor.” She
shuddered. “He knows I disapprove, but he knows no one will stop
him. Prince Tarhee is even worse than Mikko.”

“What is this new endeavor?”

“They call it the House of Morpheus,” Laetif
began.

“Wasn’t Morpheus a Greek god? Mikko is mixing
his metaphors.”

“Morpheus was god of dreams in both Greek and
Roman mythology, but you’re being needlessly argumentative. They
fulfill fantasies, no matter how outrageous or violent.”

Falling easily into reporter mode, Elaina
asked, “Who are ‘they’, and give me an example of outrageous.”

“Mikko and Prince Tarhee. And anything a
person can dream up they will bring to life. For an exorbitant
price of course. That’s why they call it the House of Morpheus.
They create waking dreams.”

Elaina wasn’t surprised that Prince Tarhee
was smack-dab in the middle of the mess. Vito’s younger brother had
bought her shares of New Pompeii shortly after Vito died. She’d
wanted to distance herself from anything that reminded her of Vito,
and Tarhee was thrilled by the opportunity for more control.
Unfortunately, where Vito had treated the endeavor as an
investment, carefully managing it from a distance, Prince Tarhee
considered New Pompeii a playground and all the inhabitants
toys.

“Are we talking kinky sex or abusing the
natives?” Elaina prompted. “I really need you to be specific.”

Laetif fidgeted, growing more anxious the
deeper they delved. “Mikko won’t let me near the customer files,
which is suspicious in itself. I hacked in a couple of days ago,
but I only managed to copy a couple of vids before he detected my
probe and modulated the encryption.”

“What was on the vids?”

“One was a man being disciplined by his
mistress.”

Elaina paused. Was Laetif overreacting? “I
wouldn’t consider that outrageous. Even with Fedoran morality
codes, sexual discipline isn’t a crime.”

“I understand that.” Laetif sighed. “I’m not
upset because my husband opened a sex club. This is far more
twisted than sex. The things the mistress did to that man were
horrible, truly abusive.”

“If the man wanted to be—”

“That’s just it! I think the mistress was the
customer. It took me awhile to understand what I was seeing, but
the man was a victim—or the best damn actor I’ve ever seen.”

Tension gathered in Elaina’s stomach, yet her
mind rushed on ahead. She wanted to believe her brother wasn’t
capable of intentionally harming others, but Laetif was his wife.
She would lose everything if Mikko went to jail. “What was on the
other vid?”

“That scene was even more disturbing. Three
‘customers’ watched as a young couple pleasured each other. Except
for the fact that the couple was really young, there didn’t appear
to be anything illegal. If I hadn’t been suspicious because of the
first vid, I might not have kept watching.”

“But you did?”

She nodded, obviously upset by the memory.
“While the male performer had his face buried between the girl’s
thighs, one of the customers jumped him. The other two held him in
place, face muffled by the girl’s pussy, and their friend
ass-fucked him. Again he was either a phenomenal actor or it was
unwanted attention. Judging from his age and his reaction to the
act, my bet is on unwelcome initiation.” Her face paled and she
looked away, tears gathering in her eyes.

“Is that where it ended?”

Laetif shook her head and whispered, “When he
finished with the boy, they tag-teamed the girl. I couldn’t watch
it all.”

Elaina pressed her hand over her thudding
heart, sickened and infuriated. “My brother is allowing his
customers to rape…” Bile rose to the back of her throat and she
covered her mouth with her hand. She swallowed hard, dragging air
in through her nose. “Give me the files and I’ll show them to
Naloni. She can have her father round up anyone associated with the
House of Morpheus. Emperor Olla has never really been a fan of New
Pompeii. He’s only allowed it because it makes him so much money.
But there is no way he’ll sanction something like this.”

“Mikko deleted the files and locked me out of
every access terminal in the city. We can’t take this to Emperor
Olla until we have proof. No one is going to take action with
nothing more than the testimony of a disgruntled wife.”

“But you’re in the best position to get
proof.”

“Not anymore. I can’t go anywhere or talk to
anyone without Mikko knowing about it. He has me on an incredibly
short leash right now. I had to drug his wine just so I could talk
to you.”

“Do you have a specific plan of action, or do
you want me to take it from here?”

Laetif finally smiled. “You know more about
investigating crimes than I do. I’ll happily leave it in your
capable hands.”

The barracks seemed particularly stark and
dismal after the pristine elegance of the villa. Theos hurried down
the stone corridor, longing only for the relative comfort of his
cot. He could not rid his mind of Elaina’s image and her taste
still lingered on his tongue. He had spilled his seed deep inside
her body, but only in his mind did he dare use her name. Regardless
of her twisted game, she was a noble lady.

And he was a slave.

“Did
dominus
arrange for a private
reward for your performance today?” Max leaned against the archway
leading to his tiny room. Privacy was one of the privileges allowed
him as
doctore
. “The crowd prevented you from spilling
blood, so Mikko made sure you spilled your seed?”

Ignoring the mild provocation, Theos asked,
“Do you know of anyone who has been beyond the barrier and
survived?”

Max looked up and down the corridor, his
expression suddenly grim. “What turned your mind to thoughts of the
barrier?”

Theos lowered his voice and moved closer. Max
knew something. Every instinct Theos possessed pointed him toward
the trainer. “You have been here longer than all the rest. Were you
even part of the evacuation?”

Max motioned Theos into the room with a sharp
nod. There was no door or privacy curtain, but it was far removed
from the guards. “What inspired all of these questions? Where have
you been for the past few hours? I know you do not pleasure
Fedorans for coin.” He sat on the narrow cot, leaving the low stool
for Theos.

“I was summoned by our master’s sister. She
claims that the barrier is there to keep us from contemplating
freedom, not to protect us from Vulcan’s wrath.”

For a long moment Max just stared at him,
secrets flickering in his pale blue eyes. “Did her words ring
true?”

“She believes what she told me. I sensed no
deception in what she said. But to accept her explanation is to
abandon the gods. I will not… Yet both cannot be true. How do I
determine what is right and what is deception?”

“Are those the only options? Right and wrong?
Truth or deception?” His brow arched and challenge spread across
his expression. “In my experience, life is filled with shades of
gray.”

“Philosopher and trainer? I had no idea our
doctore
was so talented.” Theos pushed to his feet, too
anxious to remain still. “Which shade of gray accommodates both
perspectives?”

“I believe in a benevolent maker, in a
spiritual force who guides everything that is or will ever be. I
believe in universal balance, light to dark, good to evil. However,
I no longer believe in a literal pantheon of deities who have
specific responsibilities and direct influence over our lives. I
think the gods are metaphors for the various elements of our world.
I believe we are presented with choices and opportunities and the
choices we make determine the shape of the life we lead.”

Theos pressed his lips together, shaking with
impotent rage. Why did the gods allow such blasphemy? He could
understand it from a privileged Fedoran, but Max had come from
Rome! He would defend them with his fists, but striking a
doctore
was a punishable offense. “This concept is not new.
I have heard such talk before. Hebrew slaves are always bragging
about their ‘One True God’.”

“I am not asking you to abandon your faith. I
am telling you what I believe.” Max stood as well, his expression
frustratingly playful. “For the sake of argument, let us say the
Fedorans built these skyships and brought you to this new world
because they detected vibrations deep in the earth that warned the
volcano would erupt.”

“Only the gods can foretell the future. Are
you saying the Fedorans are gods?”

“No.” Max positioned himself in the doorway
so he could glance in either direction or hear anyone approach.
“They are a civilization that has existed far longer than ours.
They have learned things we do not understand and they can build
machines that do things we find amazing.”

Possibilities expanded within Theos’ mind. He
stopped fighting the fragments of memory and let them flow
together. “Like the beam of light that opens their locks?”

“Exactly.”

Theos paused. He knew Max and trusted him.
Unlike Elaina, Max was one of… Then a thought occurred to him and
his heart plummeted all over again. “Are you one of them? Do you
come from beyond the barrier?”

“I am human just like you.” Max paused for a
smile before he added, “But I have also been beyond the barrier and
lived to tell the tale.”

“You passed through the barrier and
survived?”

He held out his arms, the smile broadening.
“Do I look like a spirit to you?”

“I do not understand.” Theos sank back onto
the stool and shook his head. “Why would
dominus
lie to us?
What was gained by the deception?”