On Hadrian's Secret Service by Gavin Chappell

Author:Gavin Chappell
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781511703383
Publisher: Schlock! Publications
Published: 2015-04-13T04:00:00+00:00

—12—

Accompanied by the spare horse, Flaminius and Medea rode southward across the moor. The sun rose as a line of red on the eastern horizon while they travelled onwards, but they dared not halt for fear of Caledonian ambush. So far they had been lucky, thanks to the unwilling aid of Falco, but now their luck was walking on weary legs northwards and away from them.

‘I’m glad you decided to keep me with you,’ Medea said shyly. ‘I wouldn’t want to trek back all that way with Falco.’ She paused.

‘I hope I won’t be a nuisance,’ she added.

‘Not at all,’ said Flaminius gallantly. ‘You should brighten up a long cold journey considerably. Now hush, though, we need to ride hard.’

‘I’ll keep quiet,’ she promised, and added, ‘I’m not a complete innocent. The life of a concubine encourages you to learn how to survive. This is the first time, though, that I’ve done something for the good of the empire.’

Flaminius grunted. ‘I’m doing this for Probus,’ he said. ‘Riding with only his shade for company would have been a lonely business. Instead I have you.’

On they rode under the paling, grey dawn skies.

As the noonday sun shone down on the hill fort, Catavolcos—newly returned from business elsewhere—received two Roman visitors in his great round reed thatched hall. Probus saw the summons to the hill fort as a sign that recent events had rattled the old warrior, he needed to retreat to familiar ground rather than speak with them in their camp. The commissary centurion strode along the straw strewn, packed earth floor of the great hall. At his side was the provincial governor, who had also only recently returned from high adventures in the South. The pair made for awkward companions.

As Probus approached the high seat where Catavolcos sat in barbaric splendour, his boots rang hollow on the rough-hewn boards that covered this part of the hall. The Caledonian chieftain sat bolt upright, with an expression of savage dignity on his face. In his hand he held a ceremonial sword, and round his shoulders he wore a wolf skin.

‘Signal fires blaze and messenger birds flit the length of the kingdom,’ Catavolcos boomed. ‘Trackers have found Flaminius’ spoor. A troop of charioteers is on his trail, but he is nearing the borders of our realm. We have heard nothing from his pursuers for some time.’

‘I have proscribed the malefactor,’ Falco said. ‘That means he is now outside Roman law, you understand, my lord—and I’ve sent messages southwards to that effect. Let us hope they reach the imperial outposts before he does! Wherever he goes, his name will have a black mark against it—indicating that he may be killed on sight. If he is taken alive… well, his citizenship has been stripped from him and he has lost all Roman rights.’

‘My lord,’ Probus interjected, ‘Tribune Gaius Flaminius Drusus is a Roman citizen with a commission in an auxiliary cohort attached to the Ninth Legion. I insist that he is treated as an officer and not as a common criminal.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.