The Divining (55 page)

     All things are connected.
We
are connected.

     And in that moment, Ulrika remembered another wolf, and she knew that the gods had come to her aid.

     She grew calm. This was the moment for which she had been born. From the hour of her birth in faraway Persia, through all the miles and years
she had traveled, all the people she had encountered, both helpful and hindering, all the learnings, the awakenings, and the love of the finest man on earth—her road had brought her to this crucial hour.

     And suddenly it was not Agrippina with whom she was in contact.

     "Well?" Nero said impatiently.

     "Great Caesar," she said, "we stand on a holy place. Your palace was built on Rome's most sacrosanct spot. Romulus and Remus were suckled on this hill by a she-wolf."

     "Every child knows that," Nero snapped, referring to the legend of twin brothers Romulus and Remus, said to be the sons of the god Mars and a Vestal Virgin. Because their mother had broken her vow of chastity, the infants were placed in a wooden trough and set upon the waters of the River Tiber. The tide carried the trough ashore, where the babies were found by a she-wolf. Instead of killing them, the wolf took care of them and suckled them with her milk. They grew to manhood and to become the founders of the city of Rome.

     "The woman who is here," Ulrika said, "wanting to be heard ... her name is unfamiliar to me. She speaks an archaic form of Latin."

     "What is this specter's name?" Doubt and suspicion in his tone.

     "She is called Rhea Silvia. She brings a message."

     "Stop!"

     All turned to the Chief Vestal, who gestured to Ulrika. "Come forward." When Ulrika stood before her, the priestess said, "You dare to claim to be in contact with Rome's first Chief Vestal?"

     "She is in contact with
me
, honored lady. And she has a message."

     "Tell it to me," the priestess said. "Whisper it so that no one else can hear."

     She leaned forward and, drawing back her veil to expose her ear, listened as Ulrika whispered the message. The Chief Vestal went pale.

     Sitting back on her throne, the priestess folded her hands in her lap and said softly, "What you have just told me is known only to the Vestals. It is recorded in our sacred chronicle, the Book of Prophecies, handed down to us through the ages. We Vestals are the chosen keepers of Rome's secrets. Do you understand?"

     "I do."

     "And you do know that what you have just learned, if you were to broadcast it, calamity would come to Rome. The city would plunge into chaos. Do you understand this?"

     Ulrika nodded solemnly.

     "Then you must swear to me now, upon that which is most sacred to you, that you will never utter a word of this to another soul."

     "But, honored lady, I must prove my powers to the emperor so that he will set my husband free."

     "I will see to your husband's freedom, and that of your friends and the Barbarian."

     Ulrika knew that the Chief Vestal possessed such power. Ulrika looked at Sebastianus and, swearing upon her love for him, said, "You have my promise. Rome's secret is safe."

     The Vestal turned to Nero. "Caesar, you must release these people and let them go in peace." She then turned to Ulrika and added quietly, "Once you leave this palace, you will no longer be safe. My protection goes only so far. You must leave Rome and never return."

     "Yes—" Ulrika began.

     But Nero, rising from his throne, said, "I will not release these people. They are guilty of treason. And this Barbarian," he said, pointing to Wulf, "is a known enemy of the empire."

     "You cannot defy the wishes of Vesta," the priestess said, a mortified look on her face. "If you do, Caesar, you risk bringing calamity upon your people. Vesta will withdraw her protection if you offend her."

     "I am more powerful than Vesta," Nero declared, and a collective gasp rose from the crowd. Those at the rear and nearest the doors began to back away and seek hasty exit. "Take the prisoners away!" he said to the chief of his Praetorian Guard, sweeping his arm over Ulrika and Sebastianus and Timonides, Rachel and the kneeling Primo, and Wulf. "I have tried them and found them guilty. They will be executed in the Great Circus!"

     The crowd shifted and murmured, exchanged glances. There was no mistaking the horrified look on the Chief Vestal's face. Bad luck was going to strike Rome.

     And then suddenly—a distant rumble, as if thunder had clapped over Rome's seven hills. The floor of the audience chamber began to shake, and then the walls, and the air was filled with the sound of a dull roar. Statues swayed and toppled, crashing down. People screamed. Nero sprang from his throne and flung himself behind a giant marble statue of Minerva, wedging himself between the heavy, immovable effigy and the walls, throwing his arms protectively over his head. When an onyx bust wobbled in an overhead niche, threatening to topple, General Vatinius ran to protect his emperor, pulling Nero out of the way as the bust crashed to the floor.

     Rachel fell to her knees to wrap her arms around the cedar chest. Primo dropped beside her and covered her with his thick torso, shielding her from falling debris.

     As people ran to and fro, looking for exits, escaping from being crushed by falling statues, as they pushed and shoved and trampled those who fell, Wulf dashed away from his guards and fled to the outer balcony, where potted trees swayed and water splashed out of the fountain. His wrists still shackled, he climbed upon the balustrade, he poised to jump, but then stopped and looked back. His eyes went to Ulrika. He hesitated. Then he jumped back down onto the balcony. As he ran inside the chamber, he held onto the walls but the floor shook. He was thrown off balance and had to cling to a pillar for support.

     And then the silver and gold mosaic tiles began to drop from the domed ceiling.

     Looking up, Sebastianus saw sparkling bits come drifting down, like silver rain. He pulled Ulrika to him, draping his toga over her to protect her. She held tightly to him and pressed her face into his chest as she imagined the massive palace crashing down about them. Sebastianus stared up at the domed ceiling, unable to take his eyes away. The constellations were breaking up. He watched in amazement as, fragment by fragment, the gold and silver mosaic pieces came loose from the dome and drifted down. More and more fell, exposing gray plaster behind, the zodiacal signs disintegrating as the throned Nero in the center began to break up and drop away in small shining bits of tile.

     "Ulrika!" Sebastianus said. "Look!"

     She brought her head out from the protection of his cloak and lifted her face. "Why ... it is a star-shower!"

     "Just like the one the night Lucius died," Sebastianus said as he watched the stars rain down from the domed ceiling.

     Nero Caesar began screaming: "Get out! You are free! All of you! And take the wretched Barbarian with you."

     "Caesar!" General Vatinius shouted. "You cannot do this!"

     "Vesta preserve us!" Nero screamed, and grabbed for the General, clinging to him like a man drowning.

     "This way!" the Chief Vestal called out. She stood against a wall, holding aside a heavy hanging to reveal a door.

     The earthquake subsided and finally stopped, but tiles and dust continued to rain down on the few who remained in the massive hall. Sebastianus raced over and freed Wulf's hands while Primo scooped up the cedar chest. The six ran to the door where the Chief Vestal said, "This will take you to the Holy of Holies in the temple of Vesta. Go quickly."

     They were covered in sparkling little tiles, their hair and clothes glittering as they hurried through. As they ran along the corridor, where torches flickered in sconces, and busts and statues stood in marble niches, Ulrika saw that the earthquake had not struck here. And when they reached the end, where the corridor opened into a quiet sanctuary, they saw ahead, through an open colonnade, that the city had not been affected by the earthquake at all. Rome was quiet and all was as usual.

     "This way!" Sebastianus said.

     They ran through the colonnaded temple, where priestesses looked at them in surprise, and down the steps to mingle with the crowds in the Forum. At the far end, where steps led up the Palatine Hill to the Imperial Palace, Sebastianus saw Praetorian Guards coming down. "Vatinius has sent them after us," he said.

     "Follow me," Primo said, and the five hurried after the military veteran, who loped through the marketplace with the cedar chest in his arms. Sebastianus saw to it that Rachel kept up, while Wulf watched after Ulrika and the elderly Timonides.

     Located in the center of Rome, between the Palatine and Capitoline
Hills, the Roman Forum was a rectangle surrounded by temples and government buildings. The site of triumphal processions and government elections, venue for public speeches and nucleus of commercial affairs, the Forum was the beating heart of the empire. Here statues and monuments commemorated the city's great men, gods, and goddesses. It was also a marketplace, where stalls were crammed between marble buildings, and everything from books to carpets was sold.

     Primo led his companions along the busy Sacred Way, past the Curia, Rome's Senate House, and around the side of the Temple of Castor and Pollux, where they found a small grotto carved into the hillside, with a trickling fountain and vines cascading down. A marble altar had been built into the rock long ago, and a terracotta plaque above the altar showed a young man riding a bull, and underneath was written:
Sol Invictus Mithras.
It was a shrine to Mithras, and from here they could remain hidden while watching the progress of the Praetorians.

     "Selene," came a deep voice. Ulrika turned to look up into blue eyes filled with questions. "And yet not ... You resemble her."

     It had been a long time since she had spoken German, but it came back easily to her lips. "Selene is my mother, and you are my father." He was so handsome, so strong and heroic looking, as if he normally lived with Thor and Odin. She could see why her mother had fallen in love with him.

     Frank surprise stood on his face. "I am your father?" His eyes roamed her hair, her features. He smiled. "You are Selene's daughter, yes, but now I see my mother in your eyes, your chin. I did not know ..."

     He drew her into his arms and clasped her in a strong embrace. He held her for a long moment, while Ulrika heard the steady thumping of his warrior's heart. Then he drew back and said, "Your mother is well? Our time together was short, but it was memorable."

     "Mother is in Ephesus. And I believe she is well. How did Vatinius catch you?"

     He smiled. "I am not as swift as I once was."

     "This is Sebastianus," she said. "My husband." Ulrika then introduced her father to Timonides, Primo, and Rachel, and as she explained how they had all come to be standing before Emperor Nero, she thought: What an
odd mix we are—a wealthy Spanish trader; a veteran of the Roman army; a Greek astrologer; a Jewish widow; a hero of the German revolt; and myself, a girl once lost but who has found her way.

     "Where do you go from here?" Wulf asked in halting Latin, and Sebastianus said, "We go to Galicia."

     Primo muttered, "We won't be going anywhere if we don't find a better hiding place. The Praetorians are getting close."

     Wulf's look darkened. "It is me they want, not you and your friends. Vatinius will not rest until I am recaptured. If I go, they will come after me, and you will be free to go your way."

     "No!"

     "Ulrika, I must return to the Rhineland, and you must go with this man who is your husband."

     "Wulf, my friend," Sebastianus said, "travel with us to the port of Ostia, for there I can see that you are disguised and well provisioned, and placed with a safe and trusted caravan leader. They are all known to me, and many owe me a favor."

     Wulf nodded in agreement, and then he went to stand guard with Primo, who was keeping an eye on the throngs filling the Forum, and the Praetorian guards searching among them.

     Ulrika first made sure that Rachel was all right, and found that she was already being taken care of by Timonides, who had cleared the marble bench of autumn leaves to make Jacob's widow comfortable. The cedar chest with its precious contents was tucked securely against the altar of Mithras.

     Ulrika then turned to Sebastianus, who was also keenly watching the crowds among the temples and government buildings. "Why do we go to Galicia?" she asked.

     In the intimacy of the small and ancient grotto, Sebastianus took Ulrika by the shoulders and looked long and deep into her eyes before saying, "Ulrika, someone might say it was the coincidence of an earthquake and shoddy craftsmanship that brought those mosaic tiles down. But I call it a miracle, for the tiles came down in a shower of stars that looked just like the star-shower over my homeland the night Lucius died. It not only saved all our lives, Ulrika, but pointed the way as well. I believe it was a sign that I am
meant to return home after years of roaming. It is also the answer to where we are to take Jacob's relics. To Gaia's altar, which is a sacred place."

     Ulrika turned to Rachel and said, "You will not be safe in Rome."

     Rachel nodded. "We will take Jacob to that sacred place."

     "Master," Primo said, "we must be going. We cannot stay here any longer. The Praetorians are searching around the Treasury building. This is a good time to make a quick escape."

     "But where do we go?" Timonides asked, rising from the marble bench. "Nero confiscated your estate and caravan. He left you penniless."

     "Do not fear, I have many friends who will help."

     "I, too," Primo said.

     "And there are members of my faith," Rachel added, "who will help."

     Ulrika opened her hand and discovered, to her amazement, that she was still clutching the emerald. Timonides whistled. "That will be worth a good price!"