A Gladiator's Tale by Ashley Gardner

Author:Ashley Gardner [Gardner, Ashley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: JA / AG Publishing

Chapter 14

I barreled inside after Regulus, Cassia directly behind me. Regulus halted on the walkway next to the practice field where gladiators trained despite the rain. He insolently stretched his arms and yawned.

Before I could ask Regulus where in Hades he’d hidden himself, Aemil rushed across the field at him, fury in his eyes and a wooden sword in his hand. I recognized the sword. We’d named it Nemesis.

“Do you think this is a bathhouse you can wander in and out of at your pleasure?” Aemil roared as he reached Regulus. “Where were you? Don’t lie to me!”

Septimius slammed the gate, and I heard the bolt slide across it, locking us in. The gladiators ceased training, turning to watch with interest.

Regulus glanced warily at the wooden sword then pretended to ignore it. “I was with a lady. Where’d you think? I was paid well, don’t worry.”

“I’ve explained time and again I’m not running a brothel,” Aemil shouted. “You return at curfew or you face the consequence.” The sword rose.

Aemil in his day had been the most celebrated gladiator in Rome. I’d taken over the title, but I knew I could never have bested Aemil. He’d never lost a bout, not even when he’d been a green tiro.

“I’m here now,” Regulus growled. “And tired. Can’t you beat me later?”

He spoke with bravado, but I heard the uneasiness in his voice.

“I will beat you any time I choose.” Aemil advanced on him. “You belong to me, not any trollop in the Subura. Get to your cell.”

“Not a trollop. Rich woman.” Regulus backed away toward the line of arches that fronted the cells.

“I don’t care if she was a handmaiden of Venus. You go out only with my permission, and you didn’t have it. Rufus and Ajax have died. You want to be the next stack of gladiator parts?”

Regulus started. “Rufus is dead?”

“Killed and chopped up. We thought you were too—Leonidas has been scouring the streets for you.”

Regulus moved his gaze to me, and his derision returned. “Leonidas couldn’t find his own ass.”

“Get inside.” Aemil smacked the sword across Regulus’s abdomen before Regulus could block it.

Regulus grunted with the hit, then he wisely turned and jogged toward his cell. Aemil strode after him, and I followed, keeping Cassia tightly next to me. The other gladiators watched us go with the smugness of men who hadn’t earned Aemil’s wrath that day.

Aemil was locking the door to Regulus’s cell when we reached it. Regulus leaned against the far wall, arms folded.

“I’m not a criminal,” he snarled.

“You’re a gladiator.” Aemil turned the iron key in the lock with a decided clank. The cells were bolted from the outside, the gladiators imprisoned inside. “You’re in my ludus for one reason—I paid for you.”

Regulus rumbled his displeasure, but he remained on the far side of the cell as Aemil withdrew his key and strode away. Regulus spit through the grating, but I noticed he made sure he had no chance of the spittle hitting Aemil.

Once Aemil had exited

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.