Part 21 (1/2)

'Sympathy does us little good, Doctor,' Amos noted.

'Nevertheless,' the Doctor replied. 'I will will help you with this,' help you with this,'

he concluded, waving one of the scrolls in his hand.

Edius Flavia arrived at the Villa P raefecius Villa P raefecius and strutted, arrogantly, like a peac.o.c.k with delusions of grandeur, into the great hall. and strutted, arrogantly, like a peac.o.c.k with delusions of grandeur, into the great hall.

Once there, he headed up the sweeping marbled staircase to the servants' quarters on the mezzanine. At the top of the stairs, he was approached by a nervous slave boy who asked if he required any help.

'No,' said Edius, flatly, 'unless you want to throw yourself onto the end of my sword for sport, yes?'

The slave, Gravus, mutely shook his head, bowed and hurried away without turning his back on the Roman tribune, who stared after him with a gloating sneer on his face.

Halfway along the corridor, he met another obstacle. This one was more formidable.

'The tribune requires directions, perhaps?' asked Drusus in a heavy and sarcastic tone.

Edius turned and stared Drusus up and down for a long and considered moment, 'Be advised, freedman,' he said, 'that I come upon this house exactly on the hour, on the strict and sole orders of Gaius Calaphilus. I have business with one that is within and not with the likes of you. Now be off with you before I have you flayed across a wheel until you die.' die.'

Drasus bowed so low that his head almost touched the ground. He stood upright, turned and slowly walked in the opposite direction with Edius staring hatefully after him.

The young soldier finally tore his eyes away from the departing figure and found the door that he was looking for. Without knocking, he threw it open to discover Felicia lying on her bed covered only by a thin sheet. She looked up at Edius and a smile grew on her lips. 'You came,' she said. I thought you might.'

Edius sat on the bed, roughly, and swung his feet around to kick Felicia in the back. 'Get on the floor and take off my boots, harlot,' he said with a cruel snarl. The handmaiden instantly complied.

She shook the sand from his leather sandals as she removed them and flung them into a corner as her vampire eyes looked up at him, hungrily.

'Now,' he said, 'my belt and sword need removing, unless you want me to fillet you.'

Felicia undid the silver belt-buckle and let the heavy scabbard fall away behind Edius onto the floor with a clatter.

Edius slipped out of his own tunic and knelt on the bed.

'Stand up,' he ordered. The handmaiden did so.

'Come here,' he continued.

Felicia did as she was told.

'Lie down and don't make a sound or you shall suffer for it,'

he concluded.

The s.e.x, when it happened, was cold and impersonal, Edius clawing at the skin on Felicia's back as she moaned softly and bit into her pillow.

Then, as Edius cried out in triumph at the climax, the door burst open once more and he turned, naked and embarra.s.sed, to find a dozen soldiers silhouetted in the doorway, most of them with wicked smirks on their faces.

Despite the circ.u.mstances, Edius felt powerful enough to scream an obscenity at them. Exhausted and drained, Felicia continued to lie on the bed, face down, sobbing into her sheets.

'What is the meaning of this?' demanded Edius in a shrill, almost feminine voice. Red-faced, he stood from the bed and began to walk towards the door, but stopped in his tracks when the guards parted to let Gaius Calaphilus through.

'Caught in a somewhat injudicious moment, seemingly, tribune?' asked the general.

Edius stared back defiantly and ridiculously, stark naked.

But he still saluted in the presence of a superior officer. 'Hail Caesar,' he said flatly, before adding, 'Do you think that this is an appropriate moment to invade someone's privacy, sir?'

he asked casually. 'As you can see, I'm busy giving this slave a moment that she will not forget in a long time.' He turned and poked Felicia in the side with his finger. 'Face the general when you address him, slave,' he ordered.

But the tribune's amus.e.m.e.nt turned to horror as his paramour spun around, her face lined with tears, and screamed loudly. 'That beast raped me,' she said with a mixture of pain and guilt. 'I said no but he would not stop.'

'She is lying,' lying,' shouted Edius, aiming an open-fisted blow to the handmaiden's face before anyone could stop him. 'You deceitful she-b.i.t.c.h, I shall have you dragged through the streets for your insolence.' He turned back towards the general, but as he swung around he was himself knocked back by a hard punch to the jaw, He skittered backwards, falling head over heels and lay in a crumpled heap at the foot of the bed. shouted Edius, aiming an open-fisted blow to the handmaiden's face before anyone could stop him. 'You deceitful she-b.i.t.c.h, I shall have you dragged through the streets for your insolence.' He turned back towards the general, but as he swung around he was himself knocked back by a hard punch to the jaw, He skittered backwards, falling head over heels and lay in a crumpled heap at the foot of the bed.

'Seize him,' said Calaphilus, as the guards poured into the room and pulled up their naked tribune, still shouting and protesting his innocence. 'Take him to the dungeons,'

continued the general. 'I shall be down to make an example of him later this day.'

As the screaming Edius was manhandled from the room, Calaphilus dropped a bag of coins on to the handmaiden's bed. excellent,' he told the girl, who was dressing herself quickly and drying her tear-stained cheeks. She picked up the bag, weighed it in her hand, opened it and tumbled the coins onto the bed where they lay, glittering in the dim candlelight.

'Thank you,' she said, her face cracking into a smile. 'And kindly thank Caesar for his generous bounty.'

Without another word, Calaphilus turned and left her alone with her money.

Chapter Twenty-Two.

The Culture Bunker, Part Six - Jehovahkill

For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce... But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things. I have foretold you all things.

Mark 13:22-23