Arms of Nemesis Read Free Page A

is it ex-soldier? — that I won't be placed in tactical jeopardy?'
    Mummius narrowed his eyes. 'I said you'll be safe.'
    'Very well. Then I think I shall leave Belbo here, for Bethesda's protection; I'm sure your employer can supply me with a bodyguard if I require it. But I shall want to bring Eco with me. I take it your employer's generosity will extend to feeding him and giving him a place to sleep?'
    He looked over his shoulder at Eco with a sceptical gleam in his eye. 'He's only a boy.'
    'Eco is eighteen; he put on his first manly toga over two years ago.'
    'Mute, isn't he?'
    'Yes. Ideal for a soldier, I should think.' Mummius grunted. 'I suppose you can take him.' 'When do we leave?' I asked. 'As soon as you're ready.' 'In the morning, then?'
    He looked at me as if I were a lazy legionnaire asking for a nap before a battle. The commander's edge returned to his voice. 'No, as soon as you're ready! We've wasted enough time as it is!'
    'Very well,' I yawned. 'I'll just tell Bethesda to gather up a few of my things—'
    'That won't be necessary.' Mummius pulled himself up to his full height, still weary-looking but happy to be in charge at last. 'Anything you need will be supplied to you.'
    Of course; a client willing to pay four hundred sesterces a day could certainly supply mere necessities like a change of clothing or a comb or a slave to carry my things. 'Then I'll take only a moment to say good-bye to Bethesda.'
    I was stepping out of the room when Mummius cleared his throat. 'Just to be sure,' he said, looking at me and Eco in turn, 'I don't suppose either one of you has a problem with seasickness?'
    II
    'But where is the man taking you?' Bethesda demanded to know. (Yes, 'demanded'; never mind her status as a slave. If her impertinence seems unlikely, that is because you have not met Bethesda.) 'Who is he? What makes you think he can be trusted? What if he's been sent by one of your old enemies, just to lure you away from the city where he can slit your throat with no one to see?'
    'Bethesda, if someone cared to slit my throat, they could go to far less trouble and do the job right here in the Subura. They could hire an assassin on any street corner.'
    'Yes, and that's why you have Belbo to protect you. Why aren't you taking him with you?'
    'Because I would rather he stayed here to protect you and the other slaves in my absence, so that I won't have to worry about you while I'm gone.'
    Even roused from sleep in the middle of the night, Bethesda was spectacular. Her hair, black with strands of silver, tumbled about her face in unkempt glory. Even pouting, she maintained that same air of unshakable dignity that had first drawn me to her in the slave market at Alexandria fifteen years ago. I felt a shiver of doubt, as I always do at parting with her. The world is an unsafe and uncertain place, and the life I have chosen often courts danger. I learned long ago not to show my doubts. Bethesda did the opposite.
    'It's a great deal of money,' I told her. She snorted. 'If he tells the truth.'
    'I think he does. A man doesn't survive in a city like Rome for as long as I have without gaining a grain of judgment. Marcus Mummius is honest, insofar as he can be. Not very forthcoming, I'll admit—'
    'But he won't even tell you who sent him!'
    'Indeed, he won't tell me, but he openly admits that he won't. In other words, he tells the truth.'
    Bethesda made a rude noise with her lips. 'You sound like one of those orators you're always working for, like that ridiculous Cicero, saying truth is a he and a lie is the truth, however it happens to suit you.'
    I bit my tongue and took a deep breath. 'Trust me, Bethesda. I've stayed alive until now, haven't I?' I looked into her eyes and thought I saw a slight warmth amid the cold fire. I laid my hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off and turned away. So it always goes.
    I stepped closer and put my hands on the back of her neck, sliding them under the cascades of her hair. She had no