The Gladiator's Goddess (The Gladiators' Gifts) (8 page)

Nardine noticed Abedi still limped, although she could tell he tried to disguise it. He looked handsome and strong, and ready to fight. But so did Hebides. The match began with Hebides making the first move.  He lunged at Abedi, plunging his sword toward him and missing as Abedi simply stepped out of the way. Abedi danced around Heb
ides in a circle, taunting him with a short sword and waving his shield in front of him.  Abedi wanted to wear Hebides out. Nardine had seen Abedi fight once before and knew this to be one of his favorite strategies. But it didn’t always work.

The constant movement irritated and frustrated Hebides, though. He lashe
d back and forth with his sword, unable to connect with Abedi, who smiled. When he managed to get behind Hebides, Abedi slashed him across his back with the short sword, drawing blood. Hebides groaned loudly and the crowd stood and cheered. They wanted to see blood. Nardine worried the end might come too soon. If Abedi died, Nardine’s hopes for a happy future would be over.  

So far, only a little blood had been shed and none of it Abedi’s. He continued to dance around his opponent, jabbing at his feet and the back of his neck. Hebides tried a different approach.  He dropped the sword on the grou
nd and grabbed a mace he carried on his hip.  It looked deadly and Hebides wielded it like a club. Nardine’s heart dropped when Hebides slammed the mace into Abedi’s right shoulder.  Abedi crumpled to the ground, and Nardine made a concerted effort to remain seated.  The baby chose that moment to start wailing, almost as if she knew Abedi’s dilemma. Nardine tried to quiet Firi, not wanting to miss what happened on the arena floor.

Abedi slowly crawled to his feet, facing down Hebides, who stood a few feet away, watching. Hebides drew his left
hand through his own long hair, a gesture Nardine recognized as one of impatience.  Perhaps if Abedi waited long enough he could bring Hebides down. But Hebides, taller and larger than Abedi, looked stronger too. 

Abedi pulled his short sword out and moved in, jabbing Hebides in his leg. This time, he drew blood and the crowd oohed. Hope skittered into Nardine’s awareness.  Perhaps Abedi could defeat Hebides.
She squinted in the sunlight to better see what transpired on the sands of the arena. She hoped Abedi would continue to flourish in the fight.

Hebides countered with a blow to Abedi’s right leg. His sword bounced off Abedi’s shin, but Hebides got the worst of it when he stumbled and Abedi managed to stab him in the side.  The crowd noise intensified, and Nardine smiled with a
quiet confidence that Abedi would kill Hebides.  

Hebides arose, however, and could still walk. The wound didn’t slow him down much.  He parried blows with Abedi then stepped backward to observe his foe and waited, using the sword to help him stand. As Abedi moved in, Hebides took up the sword with both hands and swung at his left leg, right at the
old injury.

Abedi went down with a
whump
! Lying flat on his back, he pulled his shield up to cover his mid-section. Hebides tried to slam his sword into Abedi’s left leg again, but he managed to move the shield just in time. 

Nardine watched as Abedi managed to climb to his feet once again
, biting down on her lower lip. Small shivers of fear began to shake her insides. Now Abedi limped noticeably. He could no longer dance around Hebides and use his short sword to jab him. This time, he waited for Hebides, who walked around him, holding his sword at eye level.  

Hebides swiped at him, trying once more to inflict more hurt on his old injury. Abedi surprised him by moving in and
quickly shoving his short sword upward into Hebides’ chest. Abedi backed away quickly.

Hebides raised the sword and Nardine wondered whether he would manage to strike Abedi, who stood several feet away. But after taking two steps, Hebides toppled to the ground. Nardine watched as Abedi quickly walked over and knelt beside Hebides, his short sword at his neck. At first, it seemed Abedi
would slit his throat; then she noticed he merely cut a cord from around Hebides’ neck.  She watched as he shoved the amulet into the leather brace at his waist, and then stood to accept the crowd’s acclaim.  Wild cheering sounded throughout the amphitheater.

Nardine let out a long breath. She was one step closer to her dream of freedom. Abedi was still alive and had won a victory for the house of Marcus Antonius. She briefly wondered how the
lanista
would react to Abedi’s victory. Then, she refused to be distracted. She had to find her way to Abedi. Now. While they could still escape.

*****

Abedi tried to catch his breath. He’d defeated Hebides, killing him as he’d been instructed. He waved to the crowds as he strode off the arena floor. Next, he would collect his winnings. The master of coin distributed it to gladiators immediately after a victory at the match. Then the
doctore
collected it, and gave it back to the gladiators at the
ludus
.

After he walked off the arena floor, he searched out the man who
paid him. Runners, gladiators, and all of those who provided medical help crowded the area. When Abedi reached the bench occupied by the master of the coin, he did not see the
doctore
. Abedi saw a chance and quickly walked up to the man, his hand outstretched for his payment. The master gave him a bag of coins without any comment, and then turned to speak with a gladiator he’d been arguing with. 

Abedi
picked up his bag of weapons and slipped out into the back hallway of the amphitheater. He calmly walked into an anteroom and quickly donned the white tunic he’d stored. Abedi shoved the coins into the weapons bag. He walked at a normal pace, out to a back exit of the amphitheater. Then he strode out of the amphitheater, and began to run.  

Chapter Eleven

Nardine found her way to the bowels of the amphitheater. The baby cried and Nardine tried to quiet her, growing frustrated with all the noise surrounding her. She must find Abedi among all these people, or she might never have the chance again. She reached a gate to the area where the gladiators waited for the matches, and saw a guard. A hulking man with greasy black hair, he might have been a gladiator himself at one time.

“What do you want?” he asked her.

“I am searching for a gladiator. I must find him.”

“You can’t go back there,” said the guard. “You are not allowed anywhere near the gladiators. And what are you doing with that baby?”

“I need to find Abedi. He is a black-skinned gladiator. He just won the last match.”

“I have not seen any
black skinned gladiator. I can give him a message if you like.”

“Tell him — tell him Nardine was here.”

A hand came down on her shoulder. “Nardine. How —interesting to find you here.”

Nardine
’s heart dropped into her abdomen. She turned around to see Cornelia staring down at her. All hope fled as the mistress glared at her and at her daughter.

“A baby. I see you have borne your child. All the better. Now we get two slaves back for the price of one.”

A guard Nardine recognized from the
ludus
accompanied Cornelia. “Hold her, along with the child,” said Cornelia. “I will summon help.”  

Nardine
slowly let out her breath and stared at Cornelia as she hurried away. Defeat filled her again, this time in a more permanent way. Now she had lost not only Abedi, but also her baby daughter Firi. She would be beaten and perhaps sold, never to see her child or Abedi again. How could this have happened? She had been certain the gods would have helped her find Abedi, and some happiness in this life. 

*****

Abedi ran the entire way to Joseph’s home after leaving the amphitheater. He would not be a welcome guest, but he had a few things he wanted to say to Joseph. Joseph had allowed Nardine to leave his home.  Abedi wanted answers. 

“You cannot stay here,” Joseph said to Abedi as soon as he arrived at the back entrance of his home. “They will remember me
from the
ludus
and come looking for you.”

“They don’t know where you live, Joseph
! It will take them a while to find you, if they find you at all. By that time, I will be long gone. What I don’t understand is why you let her go. You knew I would be here, that I never would have sent her here if I didn’t plan to come afterward.”

“It took longer than we anticipated. Myriah was getting tired of her, especially after the baby was born. And what I told you at the
ludus
was true. We did not throw her out. She ran away. But the biggest news is that she did not carry your baby. It was a white baby. You were not the sire.”

“That is not news,”
Abedi said. “I knew it had another father.”

“Well, I’m not going to question you about why you are running after a girl who bore another man’s baby. But it did take you a long time to get here. We weren’t certain she was telling the truth after so much time had passed.”

“You are right, Joseph. It did take a long time for me to get here. But I must find her.” Abedi had to acknowledge the truth. His leg had stubbornly resisted complete healing.  He originally planned to follow Nardine to Joseph’s house after only a few weeks, but it had taken months for him to prepare to go back to the arena. And the
doctore
had been against it. “Where would she go? Have you looked for her?”

“We did look around the marketplace,” said Joseph. But she spent most of her time here. She wanted to remain hidden. We had no idea where she would go. I gave her small amounts of coin. Maybe she went looking for you. Maybe she was at the arena today, watching your match. The neighbors knew of the event.”

Abedi wondered about that. “If she went there, she could not have found me. They would not have left her in to see me.  I hope she did not run into anyone else she knew. That would be quite dangerous.”

Joseph nodded. “I don’t know how you will find her, Abedi. They will be looking for an escaped
African gladiator, and you will be easy to spot. You must be very careful.”

Abedi smiled. “I am always careful, Joseph. And I will do what I can to find my second goddess. I already have the first one.” He lifted the amulet up from his neck to show Joseph. “She will help me locate Nardine.”

*****

A shiver of terror rocked through
Nardine. Locked inside a cell, not far from where the gladiators lived, she pondered her future. This time, she had no chance of escaping. Nardine had been jailed since she arrived at the
ludus
two days ago. Her baby had been taken from her and she would be whipped before the
ludus
the next morning. Then, according to Cornelia, she would be sold. No one could help her, or her child. Tears rolled down her face as she looked at the moon, full once more, through the tiny window in her cell. Abedi walked somewhere under that same moon, she told herself. If only they could be together.

A rustling noise distracted her. Nardine could not imagine who would be up at this hour. She could not see into the darkened hallway, but she could hear someone fiddling with the lock.

“Who is there?” she asked. “What do you want?” She walked up to the cell door and looked at the man standing there. She could not believe what she saw. Joy filled her heart.

“Abedi?” she whispered. “Is that you?”

“It is me,” he answered. “Now keep quiet. We must not be heard.”

“But how did you get in here? How did you get the key?”

“Let us just say I have friends in high places. I heard of your plight from the medicine woman, whom I saw leaving the
ludus
yesterday. I knew they would be keeping you down here.”

“But where are you planning to take me? I cannot leave here without my baby. They are going to beat me tomorrow, but I will not leave here without Firi.”

“There is no time for that, Nardine. We must be away as quickly as possible.”

“No,” she decided. “I love you Abedi, but we must at least try to get the baby.
She is in the upper rooms somewhere. Better that you just leave me here than take me without the child.”

Nardine could feel
him staring at her, even if she could not see his eyes.

“Fine,” he said. “But we must get you out first.”

He got the lock opened and grabbed Nardine’s wrist, pulling her out of the cell and down the hallway behind him. Nardine could barely breathe. The other cells appeared to be empty. He left the key on the floor beside the exterior door and pulled Nardine outside. Rain fell from the sky, and Nardine looked around at the darkened
ludus
in the moonlight.

“No
time to tarry,” said Abedi. “Come.”

She followed until they came to the rear
gate entrance to the
ludus
.  No guard patrolled this entrance since it was usually locked.

“The jailer told me he would leave this door unlocked for me,” muttered Abedi. He pushed on the wide wooden doors and they slowly creaked open.  Abedi hurried through, and Nardine followed. He grabbed her wrist again and they ran into a nearby clump of trees.
Nardine fell to her knees on the soft wet grass, breathing hard and looking at the
ludus
, towering above them.