Vulcan's Fury: The Dark Lands Read Free

tiger, she immediately saw. It was a hexatiger, a very, very rare animal that Pelonius, her tutor, had later told her was a gift from the gods after the world began to recover from Vulcan’s Fury. Hexatigers, he had said, were one of many animals that had not existed before that ancient cataclysm, and had been sent by the gods to replace some of the animals they had destroyed in their anger at Man. Her finding the cub was an omen of momentous import. Valeria’s mother, after getting over the shock that her daughter had been wandering about the forest with aught but a single guard to protect her, commanded that all would be done to nurse the cub to health. And so it was that by the time they reached Valeria’s father, Hercules was an energetic, toothy bundle of orange, black, and white fur that was inseparable from the young girl.
    Now Hercules was bigger than a horse. Not a single man of her guard detail was tall enough to see over his back. She had often ridden him when she was younger, and while he had never seemed to mind, she eventually came to the conclusion that to do so was a terrible indignity to visit upon such a magnificent creature. She clearly remembered her parents breathing a great sigh of relief the day she announced she would no longer treat Hercules like a common draught animal. Hercules went with her nearly everywhere, and everyone, especially Marcus Tullius, firmly believed the beast had been sent by the gods to protect the child. From what, however, no one knew.
    Tullius bobbed his head toward the silver-haired man in the white tunic. “Greetings, Pelonius. Thank you for coming to save what little remains of our dignity.”
    “Ah, centurion,” Pelonius, chief scribe to the Emperor, said with a smile, “I take it that the fearsome beast again took you to task?” Hercules very gently butted his massive head against the old man’s chest, and was rewarded with a vigorous scratch behind the ears. “Hercules, you must at least pretend to let them win once in a while.”
    “Pelonius,” Valeria said, “I want to see my father before we begin our lesson for the day, if you wouldn’t mind.”
    Paulus, directly behind her and at the head of the guards, groaned. “Please tell me you’re not going to bother the Emperor about that silly business in Aquitania that caught your fancy.”
    She turned and favored him with her best glare, squinting her eyes and scrunching her lips together. “I most certainly am. And why not? Father won’t mind. Come on, Paulus, you must admit that it sounds intriguing!”
    He shook his head. “It’s just another attempt by a bunch of discontent provincials to get the Emperor’s attention, and yet more proof that you’ll use any excuse to try and get away from the capital.”
    “Of course, I will,” she pouted. “It’s so boring here.”
    “Aquitania?” Pelonius’s bushy eyebrows shot up. “Ah, yes, now I remember. Strange goings-on have been reported along the coast. Sightings of odd beasts upon the land and in the sea, that sort of thing, wasn’t it?”
    “Yes,” Valeria nodded, that single word laden with the breathless excitement she had felt building inside her since she had first heard the rumors from one of her friends, a daughter of a senator, who had overheard her father discussing a report from a business associate in Aquitania. Rome was the greatest of the Empire’s many cities and a marvel to behold, for certain, but it was all old hat as far as Valeria was concerned. Performances at the Colosseum, be it stage plays or gladiators in combat. Boring. Parties and social gatherings, to which endless invitations were extended to the Emperor and his family. Boring. Visiting the temples to pray to the gods. Boring. Listening to government functionaries babbling in the palace, or having senators old enough to be her grandfather trying to woo her, or woo her on behalf of their sons or grandsons. Boring. “You at least have the prospect of some excitement