Whom Gods Destroy: A Novel of Ancient Rome (The Sertorius Scrolls Book 4) by Vincent B. Davis II

Author:Vincent B. Davis II [Davis II, Vincent B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thirteenth Press
Published: 2021-04-30T22:00:00+00:00

Scroll XVIII

I kept myself busy after the battle. I staged the corpses, built the fortifications, held meetings—enough distance to distract me from the reality of what had happened. With no other objectives to steal my attention: I quickly remembered how wretched a city can appear after it is sieged.

Apollonius, Niarchos, and I walked through the streets together, looking for ways we could help the citizens.

Carts were stationed at random intervals, and they were already overflowing with the bodies and body parts of the fallen. Trampled babies lifeless and stiff like terracotta dolls lay just out of the reach of their mother’s cold arms. Livestock carcasses littered the streets, most of them nothing more than a wisp of fir and guts, unrecognizable.

Always a stark reminder, this made me hate war and all the destruction it brought. But it also reminded me why we fought. To avoid tragedies such as this.

We continued rebuilding for a few weeks until Didius tired of my presence and determined it was time I made my pilgrimage to Delphi.

The one reprieve to this was the thought of reuniting Apollonius with his niece, Anaiah. I thought he’d be thrilled at the prospect of making the journey and returning with his only remaining family. Again I misjudged my old friend.

“There’s no sense in abandoning one child who needs me to search for another I’m unlikely to ever find,” he said, gesturing to Kirrha.

Since the moment I’d met Apollonius, he’d thought of little else than rescuing Anaiah. I dwelled constantly on his reasoning and found no satisfying conclusion. I didn’t try to convince him. Instead, I asked for a physical description and how I might recognize her. He reluctantly described her golden hair, dark complexion, and brown eyes.

“Is there anything I might say to her that’d convince her you’re with me?” I said before my departure.

He considered it thoughtfully. “Tell her she’s the moon and the stars, my light in the darkness.” He looked away to avoid tears. Then I left.

A carriage was prepared for me outside the gates. When I arrived, friendly old Kallias was seated there on it.

“Good day, young Roman. I hope you don’t mind some company,” he said as I crawled up.

“Not at all, though I’ll need to write a letter or two as we travel,” I said, kissing his cheek. “I’ve found so little time to write to my wife.”

“You’ll learn this when you’re my age, my boy. The gentle lull of a carriage puts any old man to sleep.”

When our bags were secured in the back, the legionary whipped the two horses to a trot and we set off.

The priest said little but smiled and nodded to all passing travelers and admired the trees and flowers of the field.

I broke the silence. “So why have you decided to make the trek to Delphi?”

“It’s been many years since I’ve made the journey, and I’ve longed for it deeply. Before the Pythia I am no longer a priest but just a man, reverently beseeching the gods.

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