Killer of Rome

by Alex Gough

  Killer of Rome

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Chapter One Germany, AD 27

  Chapter Two Rome, AD 28, January

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Author’s note

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Also by Alex Gough

  Copyright

  Cover

  Table of Contents

  Start of Content

  To my father for all his encouragement and love

  Ian Gough 1940-2021

  Chapter One

  Germany, AD 27

  Subura in Rome, with its crowded buildings and stench of human activity, he could still never shake a feeling of discomfort when he was out in the wilderness, all fresh air and trees and not an insula or bathhouse in sight. He caught a root yet again, cursing as the pain from his toes shot up his leg. He had no idea why they were out here, patrolling into German territory. The various tribes of Germania were fairly quiet at the moment, and Brocchus couldn’t see the point of stirring them up. The new tribunus laticlavius, however, temporarily in command while the legate was in Rome, seemed determined to make a mark. They always did, thought the veteran centurion with a sigh.

  So here they were, his century turned into a vexillation, stumbling through Bructeri territory on a damp autumn afternoon, instead of back in their barracks in Castra Vetera. Not exactly lost, though not entirely sure where they were either. Cold, tired and generally miserable. Life as a Roman foot soldier, you couldn’t beat it.

  One of the new recruits stumbled on a tree stump and went sprawling, entrenching tool, saucepan, scutum and gladius all flying in different directions. The veterans hooted with laughter as the recruit regained his feet, mud caking his face.

  ‘Shut it,’ growled Brocchus. ‘In case you’ve forgotten, we are legionaries patrolling in enemy territory, not children playing games. Keep your wits about you. And you, Pullus, pick up your shit and try to stay on your feet.’

  Pullus bent down to pick up his saucepan, and the first arrow to come from the trees sang through the space his head had occupied half a heartbeat before, and lodged in the throat of one of the laughing veterans. Brocchus’ mouth dropped open, then he filled his lungs to yell a warning as a hail of arrows descended on them, close behind the first.

  ‘Ambush!’ he screamed. ‘Close formation, shields up, they’re both sides of us.’

  The endless weeks and months of drilling saved the lives of most of them. A mere half a dozen had fallen before the shields clamped into place around the century, their own instant fortress, and then the majority of the arrows clattered harmlessly away. Brocchus peered out from between locked shields, catching glimpses of shirtless warriors darting between the trees, waving axes and swords. War cries echoed all around them, and Brocchus cursed his miserable luck.

  The storm of arrows ceased, and the cries came nearer, together with the sounds of bodies crashing through the undergrowth.

  ‘Here they come lads. Get ready to brace. And remember we are Romans. Let’s show these fellators who they are fucking with.’

  The wave of screaming Germans crashed into the shield wall, rocked back first one side, then the other as the pincer movement hit them. The legionaries at the front, braced by their colleagues behind, largely held firm. Nevertheless, some fell, knocked off-balance, or victim of a chance thrust through a gap in the defences. Wherever a shield dropped, sharp, heavy weapons struck, causing devastating injuries wherever they landed.

  As soon as the initial impact had passed, Brocchus gave the order to advance. Huge axes and broadswords cleaved through Roman helmets, shields were dragged aside, limbs amputated, bodies decapitated as the berserk barbarians hacked at the soldiers. Roman discipline meant everything though, and their short stabbing swords thrusting between their shields into the unarmoured Germans soon took a savage toll.

  In what seemed like years, but was only moments, the momentum of the German attack died down, the madness started to fade, and they began to back away. Brocchus waited until the Germans looked like they were about to break, picking his moment with precision.

  ‘Right flank, hold fast, left flank, on me. Charge!’

  Shields forward, the left flank of the century charged at the enemy, who hesitated then broke. Many escaped, less encumbered than the Romans, but the legionaries exacted a vicious revenge on any too slow, or too foolish to flee. The attack on the right flank faltered as the Germans saw their comrades running, and Brocchus’ optio, Gratius, chose the moment to lead his own charge.

  As quickly as the ambush had started, it was over. Brocchus had his buccinator sound the recall, and his men dutifully reformed. Brocchus inspected himself. An arrow had sliced across his ribs, but had not penetrated deeply, and his left arm was bruised from the impacts of axes and swords on his shield. He would hurt tomorrow, he knew, but he had got away lightly. Unlike many of his men.

  Nearby, Pullus was sitting against a tree, clutching at a deep rent in his abdomen. Between his fingers, guts were bulging and blood was flowing freely. Pullus’ eyes were wide, and as Brocchus bent down next to him, he stared at the centurion in pain and terror. Brocchus put an arm around him, and held him as the young recruit grew paler and paler. He seemed to want to speak, but couldn’t get the words out. Brocchus for his part could think of nothing to say. He watched as the life faded from Pullus, and when he slumped and let the last sighing breath out, he gently laid him on the ground. With a grim shake of his head, he stood, and looked for his optio, who had been watching from a respectful distance.

  ‘Gratius, report,’ he said.

  ‘Twelve dead, five who won’t make it, six who will need to be stretchered. The rest can still walk.’

  Eighty down to fifty-nine in the time it took to eat a meal. Time to head home. He turned to give the order, then noticed, through a gap in the trees, a whisp of smoke rising into the air. Gratius followed his gaze.

  ‘A settlement?’ suggested Gratius.

  ‘Those bastards had to come from somewhere. They showed some co-ordination, but they didn’t have the numbers to suggest anything more than a hastily organised ad hoc attack. They must have spotted us and raised what numbers they could at short notice from the local villages.’

  Brocchus looked around him. The dead were already being arranged for a speedy burial, the dying being comforted by their friends, the wounded groaning or crying aloud, while the rest of the century, almost all nursing injuries of one sort or another, looked sullen and angry.

  ‘Legionaries,’ said Brocchus, raising his voice. ‘We won. But many of them escaped, and they hurt us badly. We could march straight back to our barracks to lick our wounds. Or we could get some payback. It looks like there is a Bructeri village over there. Shall we take it? What do you say?’

  There was a ragged chorus of shouts.

  ‘Make them pay!’

  ‘Let’s get the cunni!’

  Brocchus organised his men, a small, protesting detachment left behind to guard and tend the wounded, while the rest formed up to march. When they were ready, he led them forwards towards the smoke. The forest thinned and soon they reached a huge clearing. Within it were two dozen huts, simple thatch-roofed wattle and daub constructions. Betwee
n them ran women with babes in arms, old men and children, grabbing possessions and fleeing. A handful of German warriors remained, clustered together, looking defiant but resigned. The majority of the fearless warriors that had ambushed them earlier seemed to have fled, Brocchus realised with a wry smile.

  At the sight of the century entering the village, women and children screamed and ran for the woods. The Bructeri men hefted their axes and swords and waited. Brocchus marched his men forwards at a steady walk, then, when they could clearly see the anxious eyes of the Germans, he gave the order to charge.

  The Germans were barely able to swing their weapons before the impact of the front row of legionaries’ shields bashed them to the ground. The second row despatched the fallen warriors with ease, and as simply as that, the village was theirs. The legionaries looked to Brocchus, a lust for murderous vengeance in their eyes. Brocchus looked around. A boy, no more than three or four, was sitting in the dirt, wailing loudly. His mother, already carrying a baby and with a toddler holding onto her leg, screamed desperately for him to run. An old lady stood in the doorway of her hut, leaning on a stick, and spat defiance when she caught his eye. Then Brocchus thought of Pullus, not much more than a child himself, spilling his blood and guts because of these cowardly barbarians.

  He looked at his men. ‘Do your worst.’

  With a cheer, the men dropped their shields and scattered. Brocchus watched impassively as the butchery started. It wasn’t nice, it wasn’t pretty. It was life. His eyes were drawn to a small, innocuous looking hut on the far side of the clearing. His men hadn’t entered it yet, looking for better pickings of women, gold and food in the larger, more impressive dwellings. Brocchus approached it, stepping over the twitching corpse of the young child, and kicking away some chickens. He peered in, but his eyes were adapted to the outdoor light, dim as it was, and he could see nothing. A movement from the edge of the clearing caught his attention. From the corner of his eye, he saw a woman, robed in white, but when he turned to look she was gone. Then he heard a noise from within, and he drew his gladius.

  A figure lurched out and fell against him. A foul stench accompanied it, and Brocchus instinctively twisted and hurled the apparition to the ground. He looked down at a naked man, befouled in his own excrement, hair dirty and matted, beard long. He lifted his sword to end the creature, who raised his hands in supplication.

  ‘Roman.’ The voice came out in a croak, but it was clear. ‘Mercy. I’m a Roman soldier.’

  * * *

  The legionaries ate and drank beer, a taste Brocchus himself had never acquired. He indulged them, but only to a point. They were still in enemy territory, and the last thing they needed was to be caught drunk by a larger enemy party. Soon he would gather them up and get them marching. He wanted to be a good distance from here before night fell. He threw the chicken leg he had been eating away, and walked over to where Gratius was sitting with the Roman he had found. Gratius and a couple of the others had helped clean him up, but he still looked a horror. He was lean, though not emaciated, and he was well muscled. His captors had obviously fed him, and put him to physical work. His wrists were chafed. They had found rope in the hut he had been in. He had clearly been bound, and managed to free himself.

  Now he was cleaned up, the centurion could see that his body was covered in scars. Large straight wounds, burns, criss-cross incisions and bruises covered his torso and arms. His face was distorted, old breaks of his cheekbones and jaw and nose, Brocchus thought, and many of his teeth were broken stumps. He handed him a long cloak he had taken from one of the dead Germans – he couldn’t bring himself to strip the corpse of one of his own men. The man took it gratefully and wrapped himself in it.

  ‘What’s your name, soldier?’ asked Brocchus.

  ‘C… Cicurinus, sir,’ he replied. The words seemed hard to get out.

  ‘How long have you been a captive?’

  ‘Long… long time.’

  ‘What legion were you? How were you captured? What battle was it?’

  Cicurinus opened his mouth to reply, then caught sight of something in the forest. Brocchus turned to see what he was staring at, and saw the white-robed woman again. Her age was hard to determine, but she had long dark hair with a hint of white in it. She gazed at Cicurinus, and something seemed to pass between them. Then she looked at Brocchus, turned and was gone.

  Cicurinus looked down at the ground, pulling his knees up under his chin and hugging his legs. He started to tremble violently.

  ‘Gratius, get after that woman.’

  Gratius looked up, confused. ‘What woman, sir?’

  Brocchus looked out into the forest, but there was no sign of her. He sighed. It would be foolish to send out a small detachment now. It surely didn’t matter. Anyway, this place made his skin crawl. And he had heard stories about those German priestesses. The things they were capable of doing to a man. Maybe Cicurinus was a first-hand witness to that. It was time to leave.

  ‘Legionaries, form up. Time to move.’

  With some grumbling, the soldiers gathered up their equipment, their arms, and their newly acquired treasures and slaves. Discipline held, Brocchus was pleased to see. When they were all lined up, he gave the order to march out. As they left, he looked behind him. The village was a ruin, the fires set on the huts starting to die down, leaving smoking embers. Corpses littered the ground, and the soldiers had even nailed a village elder to a tree, where he hung, still just alive. Brocchus expected to catch another glimpse of the white-robed woman, but the forest was dark and quiet again. He squared his shoulders, faced to the front, and led his men away.

  * * *

  Cicurinus walked through the streets of Castra Vetera. It was his first night back within the borders of the Empire since he had been captured, all those years ago. The tribunus laticlavius, shocked at the state of the rescued legionary, had immediately released him from service with back pay and a pension. He would not want for the necessities of life.

  Castra Vetera was a military town, newly built, and it had little in the way of amenities. As home to two legions though, the Vth Alaudae and the XXIst Rapax, a small industry had rapidly arisen to supply the needs of nearly ten thousand soldiers. Every spare space was taken up by sellers of hot food smothered in garum, taverns, barbers and brothels. Cicurinus stopped and purchased a pie.

  He bit into it and winced. Broken teeth, a gift from Veleda the priestess, reacted to the heat of the filling and shot arrows through his jaw. He ignored the pain, as he had learned to do in captivity, chewed the tough meat and swallowed it down. A trip to a dentist would be necessary. He could suppress pain, but there was no need to embrace it for its own sake. Even if Veleda had taught him he should.

  The priestess had been his constant companion throughout his long captivity. Hate and fear had transformed into adoration and need as their relationship had developed. She had broken him and reforged him. For every injury she had inflicted on his body, she had strengthened his soul. She had beaten him and kissed his forehead afterwards. She had set him to fight against the strongest warriors in the tribe and when they had left him bloodied and broken, she had tended his wounds. She had set him to tasks of unimaginable endurance that had left his muscles and sinews weakened beyond what he imagined was the point of recovery, only to see them grow back stronger. And she had taught him the meaning of honour.

  He missed her.

  Two legionaries emerged from a tavern, supporting each other. One bent at the waist and vomited his last few drinks, while the other laughed uproariously. Around the corner, in a small alley, another drunk legionary was rutting against the wall, the prostitute whose legs were wrapped around him staring blankly at the opposite building. Two local men burst out of another tavern in a tangling of flailing limbs, hurled out by the owner to continue their fight on the street.

  Cicurinus shook his head. This wasn’t how he had envisaged his homecoming. Rome had been a city of marble, transformed from bricks by Augustus. His me
mories were filled with fine temples, grand bathhouses, noble senators declaiming in the forum, honest citizens smiling in the streets as they chatted and traded. Had the Empire changed, or had he?

  He stopped and watched as the legionary finished with the prostitute, adjusted his clothing and stumbled away. The prostitute caught him watching and wandered over to him. She was young, acned, with long, tangled, greasy hair.

  ‘One copper coin for me to suck you, two for you to fuck me,’ she said, in a dull monotone. Cicurinus looked at her in horror and revulsion. An image came to his mind, the tall, beautiful, perfect Veleda. The priestess who had cared for him, tortured him, tended to him and abused him. What would she think of this town, this Empire? He could picture her contempt.

  He turned and walked away. He had no idea what he was supposed to do now. Life was completely without purpose. He had enough money to subsist, so had no need to earn more. He had no goals, no friends. He squared his shoulders, suppressing the almost panicky feeling of dismay that threatened to overwhelm him, and entered a tavern.

  It was crowded and noisy, and he shrank back from the press of flesh. It had been so long since he had been part of a crowd, and he shuddered at the proximity. He could smell people’s breath, the rank odour from unwashed bodies, even feel the body heat from those closest to him. He swallowed and fought his way to the bar.

  ‘What can I get you, sir?’ asked the bartender.

  ‘Water.’ His voice was hoarse. He wondered if it always would be, now. He suspected that the amount of screaming he had done had led to some permanent damage. ‘And some soup.’

  He found a free seat at a table against a wall, and started to sip at the hot soup. It scalded the exposed pulp of his teeth, but he swallowed it down, savouring the warmth in his stomach. He swigged from the cup of water for which the barman had charged him an inflated price. It tasted both bitter and metallic.

  From the corner of his eye, he noticed two legionaries on the next table looking at him. He looked down at his dish, then feeling that was impolite, he looked up again and raised his cup to them.