The Man With Two Names: A Novel of Ancient Rome (The Sertorius Scrolls Series Book 1) by Vincent B. Davis II

Author:Vincent B. Davis II [Davis, Vincent B. II]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thirteenth Press, LLC
Published: 2020-04-18T16:00:00+00:00

SCROLL X

DECEMBER 28, 648 AB URBE CONDITA; ONE DAY UNTIL ELECTION.

When I returned home from Marius’s tent that evening, I received a most welcome letter. It was from my mother, telling me she had arrived in Rome for the elections, along with Volesa and my nephew, Gavius. They were staying at an inn on the Caelian Hill, and she bade me to come visit them when I could.

I was thrilled. It was a chance for me to show my mother the work I had been doing, the man I had become. But regardless of how much I desired to spend time with my family, there was a great deal I needed to do in the domus. I was serving as an aide to Quintus and Gnaeus, running whatever errands they required of me and accompanying them to the Forum, where they spread word of their impending victory in the election. The Metelli and Aurelius Cotta spent a great deal of time with us, and smiles and good cheer abounded as they began to celebrate; it was as though Quintus and Pius had already won the election. I found such an abrupt shift in emotion odd. They’d displayed nothing but anxiety and discomfort since the beginning of the campaign, and a great fear of failure had loomed. But now, suddenly, they felt certain of their victory.

It wasn’t until the next day that I learned why.

That morning I accompanied Gnaeus to the morning levy. Quintus, meanwhile, was attending a meeting of the senate, wherein they discussed procedures for the elections that would begin in three days, if the signs were auspicious.

After Gnaeus had received all his clients, he asked me to accompany him to the peristylum.

“Sertorius, I am very glad that you have been a part of this campaign. It has been a pleasure working alongside you and seeing you grow into a man. I think you’ll have a bright future in Rome.” He sat down cheerfully on a bench beside the greenery.

“I’m deeply honored to have served Rome in whatever capacity I could, sir,” I replied.

“All this fuss will be over soon enough, and when things have settled down, we shall see to it that Nursia is rewarded for their loyalty… . And we shall see that you are rewarded as well.”

“Master Sertorius,” came Crito’s voice from the atrium. “A letter has arrived for you. The messenger is waiting at the door.”

I hastened to follow him.

“I swear, you could have written a volume on Rome with all the letter-writing you do!” Gnaeus shouted good-naturedly after me.

At first, I did not recognize the man at the door. He was clad in a simple tunic and bore a hood that shrouded his face. What little of him I could see was so grim that it made my stomach drop.

Finally I placed him. It was Marius’s body slave—the massive Numidian.

He brandished a scroll and placed it firmly in my hand.

“Read this quickly, young master,” he said. I was so perplexed that I could not reply until he had already turned on his heels and departed.

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