The Gladiator's Goddess (The Gladiators' Gifts) (5 page)

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that Hebides told the master that you had asked him to run away with you. He was infuriated—first, that you would even think of running away, and secondly, because you tried to ensnare Hebides in your plot. What were you thinking, Nardine? Did you think this would escape my attention, or the master’s? What is wrong with you?”

Nardine remained silent. Her anger against Hebides almost spilled over. Not only had he tricked her, he had stolen Abedi’s amulet. Now she would be punished or sold, and she could do
nothing about it.  She tried to remain expressionless and looked to the ground while addressing the mistress.

“What will happen to me?” Nardine asked.

“The master wanted to sell you, Nardine. He was angered at your disloyalty.  But I talked him into punishing you. You will be beaten Nardine. And you will no longer serve in the infirmary, only the kitchens.  And there will be no more sleeping with gladiators. That is over, for good, Nardine. You had your chance and you ruined it.”

A beating! What would happen to her unborn child?
She trembled all over just thinking about it. Nardine kept her head lowered, hoping Cornelia would believe she would submit to her punishment willingly. She supposed this to be better than being thrown out on the street or being sold to an even crueler master. She had brought it on herself. In her anxiety to find her freedom, bear her baby, and live with a man, she had ruined her chances for all three.   

“You will remain in your room for now,” Cornelia said. “Be prepared on the morrow. You will be whipped in front of the entire
ludus.”

Cornelia left the room and Nardine sank back on her pallet.
She tried to beat back the despair engulfing her, without much success. Her entire body seemed to have lost its life-giving force, and she hoped again that her unborn child wouldn’t die. She tried to think. Abedi couldn’t save her this time. The master’s decision killed her plans for escape. After being whipped, she would be in no shape to run away. She wondered again whether the baby would survive the whipping.

Defiance rose up in her. Yes, the baby would survive the whipping. And she would live. If she had to bear the baby in the
ludus
, they would have to accept it. And she would not be parted from it. She held onto that hope—the only thing that could sustain her through the pain of the coming days.

Chapter Eight

Abedi wondered why Hebides approached him so confidently. He obviously had some message he wished to share.

“I have news for you, Abedi,” Hebides said as he sat beside him on the bench in the practice yard. “Your friend, Nardine, is in trouble.”

“Oh really?” Abedi did not want to reveal the depth of his feeling for Nardine, but he immediately began to suspect Hebides’ involvement. “What happened?”

“She is to be beaten. The master learned of her plans to escape the
ludus
.”

“Oh, yes?” said Abedi, suspicion twisting his insides. “And how did the
lanista
learn of her plans?”

“I told him,” replied Hebides. “He rewarded me with gold
, and the funny thing is, the foolish girl rewarded me as well.” He held up the amulet.

“It is beautiful,” said Abedi, touching it again for luck. “Perhaps it will bring you good fortune.”

“Why do you say that?” asked Hebides.

“Oh, I don’t know,” replied Abedi. “They say you reap the reward you sow.” It took all his effort to keep his anger from
showing on his face. He wanted to strangle Hebides. 

“Well I have sown nothing but good fortune so far. I thought she had stolen this trinket from the mistress, but nothing’s amiss. I plan
ned to sell it at the market.  Perhaps I will keep it for luck in the arena, as you suggest.” 

“I hope you receive the luck that is coming to you.  When is the whipping to take place?”

“Tomorrow morning. The entire
ludus
will watch. The
lanista
announced it just a few minutes ago.”

Abedi had seen the master talking to a group of gladiators. He had since left the practice field. Hebides got up and walked away, then picked up a wooden sword and engaged in a mock match with a younger gladiator.

Abedi didn’t know how he could help Nardine. His injury hobbled him to the point where he could not help her escape, and the
ludus
would be filled with guards watching for any potential escapees tonight. He would be forced to watch Nardine endure pain before the entire
ludus
—and he would be helpless to stop it.

He must find a way to comfort her.

*****

Nardine stirred listlessly when she heard a knock on her cell door. Claudia entered, carrying a plate of food. She set it down on the table by Nardine’s bed,
and then stared down at Nardine, who still lay on her pallet.

“It isn’t much, I know,” said Claudia.  “Just bread and soup.  But perhaps it will give you strength to endure what you must go through tomorrow.”

Nardine sat up.  “I will try to eat it, Claudia. What I need most right now is a friend.”

“I am your friend, Nardine. But I cannot stay long. I am expected back in the kitchen, and Cornelia will be informed if they think I’ve been socializing with you. I wished you would have listened to me. I wish you would have just run away without telling anyone, and then you might be free.”

“I tried, but Cornelia discovered me in the courtyard. The whipping is something I simply must endure.”

“You know I hoped it wouldn’t come to this, don’t you?”

“Of course I do.” Nardine thought of the baby and almost told Claudia about it, but stopped. She’d learned her lesson with Hebides.

“I must go,
” said Claudia. “But I will be back in the morning. I will bring you something to eat.”

“Thank you,” said Nardine.  She stirred the soup and took a sip. It tasted vile. Cornelia, or the
lanista
, must have given the cook instruction to only feed her the worst food, in the most minimal amount.

She stood up and walked over to her box
, and began searching through it. She found the vial Mila gave her and carried it back to the table. Perhaps she should take the mixture now. How could she bring a baby into the world, where it would have to cope with so much pain and loneliness? She could mix the concoction with the remaining soup. If she took it now, she would bleed in the morning, and that might prevent the whipping. What kind of a life would her baby have now, growing up in a
ludus
? Or worse, being sold as a slave and growing up with no mother or father. Then she remembered her vow from earlier in the day. That the baby
would
be born, and that she would find a way to freedom.  She picked up the vial, opened her window and leaned out and dumped the liquid onto the ground outside. Now the baby would have to live. She lay back down on the pallet, putting her head down. She wished she had never given Abedi’s charm to Hebides. She could use some good luck now. 

*****

Nardine awoke when her cell door squeaked.  The light from a full moon streamed through the window in her room. She sat up, alarmed. Someone entered her room. She could not imagine who it might be.

A strong
hand slipped across her mouth just as she started to scream. “It is me, Abedi,” he whispered. “I have come to give you strength for tomorrow.” 

“How did you get in here?” asked Nardine. “I thought you were locked in your cells at night?”

“I have done what the
lanista
does not suspect,” said Abedi. “I have made friends with my jailer. “He owes me a favor, and I have never left my cell before. They know I will not leave the
ludus
in my condition,” he said, pointing to his leg.

Nardine nodded. “I am glad you came, Abedi. I suppose you have heard what is to happ
en to me tomorrow. I am sorry about your amulet. I had hoped so much that Hebides would keep his word. He promised he would not tell the master of my escape plans when I gave him the charm.”

“How well I know
; he told me himself what he had done. He is proud of it. The master rewarded him with gold. And he boasted of the goddess, waving it around in front of my nose, as if I were unfamiliar with it.”

“Why have you come, Abedi? You know we cannot escape. You risked a great deal by coming here.”

“I came here to comfort you. You will need it. I have been whipped, and you need to have mental strength.” He turned, and Nardine saw his scars in the moonlight. She cringed and began to cry.

“How will I be able to stand it, Abedi? I am only a woman. I have no strength.”

“You will stand it, because you will have my love.  You must hold onto it, like I once held on to the amulet. The goddess will bring you luck. I have prayed to her for you.”

Abedi placed his arm around Nardine and she settled into it. “I feel so safe here with you, Abedi
. I wish you could slay the
lanista
and his wife both. I cannot believe what they will do to me in the morning.”

“If I could slay them both, I would. But the guards would kill me immediately. And I plan on living, Nardine, as should you.”

He placed his hand on her waist. Nardine turned toward him suddenly and threw her arms around his neck. He sat down on the bed, bringing Nardine with him.

As he kissed her, Nardine felt her insides slipping away. She hungered for this man. He
wanted to protect her, to strengthen her, and it worked. Nardine removed her tunic and lay down on the pallet. Abedi remained seated, as he patted her body and breasts.

“You are glowing in the light of the moon. So beautiful,” he said.

Nardine looked down. Her nude body, illuminated brightly in the moonlight, did appear to glow.

“I could look at you all night under this
brightness, so lush and plentiful,” he said as he rubbed his hand across her abdomen. “Your body reminds me of…”

He stood up
quickly and pulled away from her.

“What is the matter, Abedi?”  His sudden movement broke the spell for Nardine. Why had he stopped?

“You are with child!” Abedi shouted.

“Abedi!  Speak more softly. Yes, you are right. How could you tell?”

“I can tell by looking at you. I was going to say you reminded me of a mother. But I can tell by the look of your breasts and that line running down your belly that you are pregnant. I had a wife who was pregnant when I was captured, so I know the signs. Why did you not tell me?”

“Why should I tell you?” asked Nardine. “Tell you that I am pregnant by another man? Will that draw me to you? And I’ve already got myself in trouble by talking too much. I thought it better to keep silent.”

For a few moments neither of them spoke.

“You are right,” said Abedi. “I am shocked that you are pregnant by another man. But I knew you were in love with a
gladiator now dead. I just never expected you to be bearing his baby. How did you expect to escape while pregnant?”

“I am not showing yet. At least not much. And I thought I could run away and find a place to have my baby before they would know about it. I
thought I could find a gladiator who would accompany me.”

“Well, it can’t be me, at least not now. And you must do something soon. You will be in no shape to do it after the whipping tomorrow.
And the baby might not survive it. We must get you out tonight. First we have something else to do. It won’t take long.”

Abedi smiled at her and took her hand. He sat down next to her on the bed, all the while staring at her with his huge brown eyes. He played with her hair for a few moments,
and then smiled as he embraced her. Nardine could feel her arousal in every part of her body. Abedi’s ability to do that always amazed her.

He
gently lay on top of her, and then kissed her a few times and deeply at that.  She felt the stars again, exploding in her head and throughout her body.  An invisible force drew her to Abedi, something she had never experienced before. She responded to him immediately, and she didn’t want his kisses. She just wanted him inside her.

She grasped the back of his shoulders.

“Now, Abedi, now!”

He complied immediately, plunging into her again and again, and
she soared into a wave of satisfaction. Abedi climaxed a moment later.

Their
quick and powerful coupling took Nardine’s breath away. She lay on her back for a few moments, cherishing the peace she knew would soon be gone.  But Abedi managed to pierce her despair and bring her hope. Perhaps she could manage to get away. 

Chapter Nine

Abedi followed Nardine silently into the kitchens. She showed him where the knives were stored. He chose a large one from the box, one designed for cutting meat. He would need it. Carrying their shoes, they slipped out of the kitchens and down the hallway, toward the entrance facing the courtyard. Abedi pushed the heavy door open, and they stepped outside.