The Gladiator Read Free Page B

great force tore at him, dragging him out of the grasp of his comrades. He tightened his grip on the rope around Julia’s waist while he clamped his fingers into Macro’s shoulder for all he was worth. All sense of direction was lost as the ship rolled over, and his ears were filled with the roar and rumble of water boiling around him. Something struck him, and then thrashed around, tearing at him, and he realised it must be another ofthe crewmen. Fingers groped at his face and tore at his cheek. Fearing for his eyes, Cato had to release his grip on Macro and fight back, desperately thrusting the other man away. Then a fresh surge of water swept up both him and the other man, swirling them away from the stump of the mast in the darkness. For a moment the other man struggled like a wild animal, fighting for its life. Then he was gone and Cato felt himself rolling and twisting, over and over, as he clamped his mouth tightly shut and held his breath as best he could. Then, at last, he could bear it no longer and opened his mouth, desperate for air to ease the fire in his chest. Salt water surged down his throat and into his lungs, suffocating him, and he knew he would die.
    The wave swept on, leaving a swirling maelstrom in its wake. The hull of the merchant vessel came to the surface in a froth of bubbles and spray and lay glistening in the failing light for a moment before it slowly rolled upright. As the side rail and then the deck struggled to break the surface of the sea, there was little of the original super- structure that could be recognised. The figurehead of the Egyptian god had sheared off, leaving a splintered stump. The mast, sail and rigging had been swept away and the steering paddles were gone, taking the captain and the steersman with them. As the waters parted across the deck and gushed out of the scuppers, the
Horus
continued to roll, and for an instant it seemed that she might overturn again. Then, at the last moment, she paused and rolled back to settle low in the water, a floating wreck where once there had been a proudly kept vessel. Around the
Horus
swirled the flotsam of the shattered mast and spar, together with tendrils of the rigging. A few bodies bobbed to the surface and then settled on the water like old rags.
    Macro’s head swayed to one side, and he blinked his eyes open and coughed, spraying salt water as he struggled to clear his lungs. He shook his head and looked around the deck. A handful of other figures were stirring, battered and dazed but alive, thanks to the ropes that secured them to the ship. Macro vomited up some water from the pit of his stomach, and spat on the deck to clear his mouth.
    ‘Charming . . .’
    He turned his head to see Sempronius smiling weakly at him, before he too began to cough and splutter. Sensing movement on his other side, Macro turned and saw Julia’s face tightened into a painful grimace as she retched.
    ‘All right, miss?’
    ‘Oh, perfectly fine, thank you,’ she muttered, and then froze. ‘Cato! Where’s Cato?’
    Macro’s gaze swept the deck, but there was no sign of his friend. He tried to think back, through the terrible darkness of the sea that had engulfed him. ‘He was holding on to me when the wave struck. Then . . . then I can’t remember.’
    ‘Cato!’ Julia cried out into the gloom, struggling to free herself from the rope that still bound her to the stump ofthe mast. Once she had loosened it enough she wriggled out and stood up. ‘Cato! Where are you?’
    Macro eased himself out of the cords looped round him and rose up beside her. He took a good look around the deck, but it was clear that there was no sign of Cato.
    ‘Cato’s gone, miss.’ ‘Gone?’ She turned to him. ‘No. He can’t be.’ Macro stared at her helplessly, then gestured around the deck. ‘He’s gone.’ Julia shook her head and stepped away from the centurion, raising her voice to cry out hoarsely, ‘Cato! Cato! Where are you?’ Macro watched her for a