Decanus by Neil Denby

Author:Neil Denby [Denby, Neil]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-08-24T16:00:00+00:00

XXII: OMNES

There was another palpable silence, spreading like smoke from a wet wood fire in a shuttered room, filling the space between them. It was oppressive and both knew that if they left it, it would choke them. Finally, Quintus said, ‘Your gods or mine?’

‘Why not both?’

‘Mine are fickle and, at times, vicious. Sometimes they respond to prayer. Sometimes they strike down pride. Sometimes they save a body out of spite for another of their kind. Perhaps I might hope.’

‘Mine might spare you, but I doubt it.’

‘How might I live?’ Quintus dared to ask.

‘If it is my judgement you suffer, you will be tied to a stake at low tide. If the gods want you to live when the tide rises, you live. If they want you to die, you drown. It is uncomplicated.’

Quintus nodded. ‘Have any ever survived?’

‘Not in my memory. It just shows that we are excellent judges; the gods tend to agree with us. It is a custom peculiar to us, because of where we live, and the gods to whom we pay homage — gods of the river and sea as well as the earth and sky. Other tribes put their criminals through an ordeal of fire. If it is the Regni tribe that judges you, you will burn — all of you at the same time in a great straw man dedicated to their gods, or bound together on a wheel of fire.’

‘All together? Only I am guilty.’ The admission passed unmarked; both knew it already.

‘Not in the eyes of the gods. It is Roman pride that is guilty, Roman conceit, Roman hubris. You will all burn.’

‘Even the slaves, Jovan and Maxim? They are not Roman, they are Macedonian.’

‘Afforded the same chance that the gods will hold back the tides on their behalf,’ Aucissa said dismissively. ‘At least one of them is as guilty as you. The other may yet be given in part payment to the families. The matter is closed; your arrogance is what has sentenced you. You are guilty of murder. You compounded this by allowing our allies to attack us, when it could have been prevented. I can make no case for you.’

Quintus dared to be nettled. ‘I did not think I needed a case to be made,’ he said, once more stupidly filled with Roman pride. ‘We were attacked, and we defended ourselves. Afterwards, we treated them with honour and respect. We did not know their funeral rites, so we improvised; we used what we had. No murder was intended. No disrespect was meant.’

‘Maybe. But you were hasty. These were not attackers. The boys were scavenging — and even the ones that startled you were no threat. You could probably have shouted at them, waved your arms about, and like birds in the fields they would have flapped away noisily.’

Quintus drew himself up to his full height, vanity now overwhelming him. ‘Roman soldiers do not flail their arms at enemies,’ he said contemptuously. ‘They kill them.’

Aucissa exploded with fury. ‘Rome, Rome, god-cursed Rome — I am sick of hearing of it.

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