Cossus, heavy-lidded, looked at the men in the room and his dark eyes moved slowly from man to man as if seeing into their hearts and judging their enthusiasm for this plan. “Rome has been led by our families since the day that the kings were removed” he said with passion. “I still remember those plebeians” his eyes flared with anger “who slept on the Capitol Hill and almost cost us everything. The people remember that Marcus Manlius saved them. You” he nodded to Javenoli “gave him the title of Capitolinus in lieu of his deed that day, and you made the geese that Juno sent to call out the alarm instead of the plebeian guards, sacred.
“I was there with him Cornelius. I threw my spear alongside his. Who is to say that my spear wasn’t the first to strike a barbarian?” Javenoli watched as men turned startled faces to him. “You see, your reactions show that we have been swayed by the words of one man. Here” he held up his right fist and grinned “is a mortal hand, yet a hand that fought in the front line on that day. I gave the people hope by promoting Capitolinus because he told me that Jupiter had given him immortal strength that day. The gods know we needed a hero after the months of starving on top of that hill. But” and he turned to Marcus as he continued to speak, catching his eye and repeating the words he’d spoken to him prior to the meeting as he discussed his plans. “I created the monster that has turned against me, against us. His lies, his devious plans to undermine us all” he shook his head “he fooled me as he has fooled everyone. I’ve learned that he’ll say anything to protect himself, to stop others from seeing through his deception. As Camillus said, he’s used the name of Jupiter to control the minds of the people and we must wrestle them back. If we try to do this with violence he’ll lash out, and with the force he seems to have behind him” he looked to Marcus again. “It’ll do more harm than good. We must discredit him and his plans before we move against him. Timing is everything, gentlemen, and the time is not yet right”
Cossus nodded, as did most heads in the room.
********
Istros moved to a better vantage point as he chewed at an apple. The fight between the two boys continued unabated; a punch, a kick, one boy throwing dirt in the other boy’s eyes. It was a good distraction from days of boredom sitting in Brevo’s house. He sat on a step, the house slave eyeing him warily as he moved back into the shadow of the doorway. The taller boy was caught by a glancing elbow as the shorter boy twisted from his grip, a freak accident, but nevertheless it was the last action the boy took as the bony protuberance caught him flush on the chin and he sank to the floor as if he’d been felled by a Gallic axe.
The crowd cheered, the smaller boy panting like a race horse as he stared defiantly at the prone body for a second before he realised his luck. Smiling, Istros bit into the apple and crunched at it as his gaze wondered across the square. People began to return to their jobs, some slapping the boy on the back, others kicking dirt on the one on the ground in disgust. Two men suddenly caught his eye as they were staring directly at him, both men turning away instantly as he looked up. Without hesitation he moved, turning to his right and pushing through the crowd towards the fountain and narrow roads beyond. Glancing back, he could see the figures following at a run, so he increased his own pace and started to consider his path ahead. The roads led towards the Caelian on his left and the Aventine to his right, probably best to get to the Aventine, he thought, as he knew the roads better than the Caelian. Pushing on through the crowds he caught a hooded figure in the shadows, catching the eye of the man shadowed under the cowl, one that troubled him for a few seconds as he started to pick up his pace. After a moment he realised who it was, Auguronos. The boy had sold him out. He half laughed as he ran, Loose ends, he said to himself.
********
Brevo turned an angry glare to Antonius, his long-time fellow centurion, and placed his hand on the table. “This is nonsense” he stated, dismissively. “Tell me again what the decree means” he asked as Narcius glared back at him and tightened his lips.
Antonius let out a sharp breath which showed his frustration, and turned a glance towards all the officers who sat around the table in The Goat’s Horn, a favourite inn of the centurions which backed onto the harbour. “Look Brevo, it’s a chance to get yourself back on the straight and narrow. This” he tapped a wooden tablet which Brevo had thrown back on the table with a sour expression, “gives every man around this table a guaranteed income of a thousand a year plus any agreed booty from campaigns. You get the usual share of any captured treasures, but you also get a land grant guaranteed for you and an annual income for family even if you don’t come home, Brevo. Guaranteed” he stressed the last word, each man understanding just what he meant as many families had suffered when they lost the head of the clan, which Brevo knew more than most. “We want you back, brother” said Antonius.
Brevo turned his eye to Crastinus, who sat scowling at him. “All of you?” he asked.
Narcius leant forwards and placed one hand on top of the other. “We all want you back, Brevo” he said sincerely. “Who wouldn’t want the hero of Satricum as his centurion?”
Brevo acknowledged the compliment with a small flick of his head, but his eyes fell on Crastinus. “You don’t look too happy about it.”
Crastinus, who was sat back leaning against the wall, now moved forwards. “I’m not convinced you’ve given up gambling and aren’t still a liability to every man who you might lead” he said coldly. “I wouldn’t have you back, but I’m one voice against six” he said, motioning his head towards the other centurions.
Brevo relaxed at this, his gaze returning to Narcius despite the fact that Antonius had done all the talking so far. “So, you want me back as a show of support for the new decree from the senate, a message to the people? At least I trust Crastinus, he speaks it as it is, not how you’ve been trained by Camillus.” His words caused the reaction he expected as he sat back with a wry smile at the scraping of the chair across the table, just as Capitolinus had told him it would be. Narcius bared his teeth and moved to stand before Crastinus put a hand on his forearm.
“Brevo, you and I go back a long way. You saved my life, I know that, but I’ve repaid that debt many times over. I stood up for you when every man in the centurionate would have seen you dropped in the Tiber in a sack. You turned your back on me, you ignored my advice and you acted for yourself, as you’ve always done.” He leant his elbows on the table. “Yet, here I am, giving you another chance to get your family back to where they deserve to be. Camillus and the senate offer us an opportunity to do some good, to become senior men in the army and then to hold civic positions in new colonies” he glanced to Narcius who was listening intently. “I want to be a part of that future, Brevo. If you don’t” he flicked his chin towards the door. “Go. Leave. I won’t waste any more of my time on you. If you can see beyond your own petty problems and see the sense in these proposals” he reached out and pushed the tablet across the table “then take this, read it and come back to us tomorrow with your answer. You won’t get a second chance” he finished.
Brevo let a smile creep across his features. “I don’t need a second chance, Crastinus. Capitolinus told me you’d come creeping to my door, begging me to come back to the army. I serve him now, he saved me, Crastinus, not you” he turned a disgruntled look to each of the men who were sat across from him, each man now frowning or scowling in turn. “I know what this is. It’s a ploy to remove Capitolinus from his place on the Capitol Hill with Jupiter, a ploy set up by the senate to discredit him with the people. You think we’re stupid” he shook his head with anger as he stood and pointed to the tablet. “That’s just words, there’s no future in Rome for the likes of you and me. I’ve seen it all before and Capitolinus is right. The senate just want control over your lives, to lead you to do their bidding and fill their vaults with treasure paid for in your blood. Capitolinus saved my life, not you” he said as he eyed each of the centurions. “I’m done here” he said as he pushed the chair back with his leg and
started to stride towards the exit.
Narcius stood and spoke firmly as Brevo yanked at the door, “he killed Mella, Brevo. Your new hero killed our brother. Think on that before you step away from this opportunity. He’ll drop you like a stone from the Tarpeian Rock if you cross him.”
Brevo turned a cold eye back to Narcius as he stood in the doorway, his brows furrowing as he took in the words. “He said you’d try and persuade me with lies” he muttered, shaking his head as he turned and stepped out into the street.
********
The chill of the evening was just starting to bite as Capitolinus turned his face towards home. His speech had gone well, the people who stood listening in the Boarium had cheered and booed at the right moments and his message appeared to have been adopted by the majority as they shouted at how the senate had mistreated them. he bustled along the road, his breath steaming in the darkness as he marched up the Capitol Hill, the long slope not easy after a few hours on his feet. As he entered his home he shrugged the woollen cloak from his shoulders and walked straight through to the back room where several faces turned to him.
“Ah, all on time I see” he said as he took a small plate of food and moved to a seat at the head of the table, munching on the bread and fish that he’d been handed. “I’m sorry I’m late” he said as he turned to look at the men in the room. “We have one agenda item” he stated in a business-like manner as he turned to Sicinius, the plebeian tribune nodding as he caught his eye.
“We’ve found some evidence of four men attending the meetings who are linked directly to patricians such as Camillus and Cossus. These are their names” he placed a slate on the table with four names scratched into it. “They will be removed tonight” he said with a glance to Brevo, who simply shrugged as others looked to him in silence. “We can’t have spies taking back our thoughts to the patricians.”
Capitolinus interjected before Sicinius could continue. “This is a war, gentlemen. You know it as much as they do, casualties are inevitable. They came to Brevo yesterday and tried to coerce him into joining them and turning the people against our plans. They will stoop to every trick to get at me, and we cannot allow them to do so. This” he waved a hand filled with a half-eaten chunk of bread towards the slate, “will send a message to them that we know their tricks and will not allow them to defeat us. What we stand for is a new future, a future where all of this” he waved a hand expansively towards the walls “will be mine to champion, not Camillus and his empty words. How many of your sons will die before you’re given a parcel of land just big enough to hold one goat under this new system? Camillus and the senate try to trick you all, but Jupiter has given me the strength to see beyond their trickery. I will lead you to a new, better future. Not Camillus and the sheep that follow him. As your chosen champion I will lead you to a future where you will hold power, where you will vote for change and I will be your leader, not patrician clans who have no hold over you.”
Menenius glanced to Sicinius and then to Brevo, both men appearing in awe of Capitolinus’ words.
“All I ask of you now, my friends” he said as he lowered his voice and turned to look at the statue of Jupiter in the alcove behind him “is that you accept me as your leader. Vote me. Now, as your dictator, your leader for this struggle. Accept me as the man to make hard decisions in hard times. Here, now” he said as Brevo placed a knife on the table, the iron sharpened into a deadly point and gleaming in the candlelight. Menenius swallowed as he stared at the knife, Capitolinus’ words filling the room. “As your champion, your dictator in your hour of dire need, I vow to do your will. Each of you must cut your hand and place your blood sacrifice here” he’d moved to the statue and lifted a small silver bowl, bringing it to the table as he spoke. He placed the bowl on the table as Brevo picked up the knife and handed it to him, his eyes glinting as sharply as the blade. He nicked his palm and squeezed several drops of blood into the bowl, his teeth showing in his beard as he did so. “Jupiter, I swear to speak with your voice as we move against the patricians, destroying their evil hold over your people. Jupiter” he turned his eyes to the men at the table “accept our sacrifice, make me the dictator, the leader of this group as we bring your will to the people.” He handed the knife to Brevo, who flicked the knife at his own palm, blood dripping into the bowl and mingling with that of Capitolinus, who grinned at him as he passed the blade to Sicinius. The plebeian tribune hesitated a moment, his eyes looking to Capitolinus. “Jupiter has given me this role, Sicinius” said the self-proclaimed plebeian leader “join me and be one of my closest advisors as I champion the cause of the common man.” Sicinius caught Brevo’s hard stare and so flicked the blade across his palm, feeling the sting of a slice that was too deep and wincing. His blood soon dripped into the bowl and he pulled his hand back to watch the blood continue to drip onto the table. Capitolinus dropped a cloth square on the table and motioned towards him to wrap his hand in it as another of the guests cut his hand and squeezed his blood into the bowl.
Menenius watched in horror. What was happening? This wasn’t what he had expected. Why was Capitolinus now declaring himself as a dictator? The arrival of the soldier, Brevo, to the inner group had changed the man completely. The arguments for change had turned to ever increasingly violent acts, the voices which were raised against their plans for a new role for the plebeians was turning into a voice for Capitolinus to be a great leader, with military force threatening anyone who disagreed, His mind raced as the blade was pushed across to him by Brevo, his eyes staring at him waiting for him to show some sign of disagreement. He picked up the knife and, quickly, cut the base of his little finger, the red line soon flowing with enough blood to drip into the bowl. The blade was passed to the man to his right, and Menenius relaxed as Brevo’s glare moved to the next man. He glanced to Sicinius, who was watching the bowl as if he thought he might be asked to drink it, fear mingled with distaste showing in his eyes.
“Excellent” said Capitolinus as he lifted the bowl and turned back to the statue. “Mighty Jupiter, here is my sacrifice to you. I am crowned dictator for the struggles of these men against their oppressors. They bind themselves to me as I bind myself to you. We, your servants, will fight the oppressors and bring glory to your name. We” and at this he placed the bowl at the foot of the statue and turned back to the group. “Call on you to honour me as your champion once again. Let these men know that I am your sword, dispensing your justice.” He turned to Brevo. “Friend, with the knowledge that your actions are for the greater good of all plebeians, take this slate, remove these men and give a message to the patricians that they cannot defeat us.” He lifted the slate, two drops of blood from Sicinius hiding some of the letters of those named on its cold grey face and passed it to Brevo.
********
Three hours later as Menenius wandered along the side street towards his own door he felt numb. Not with cold, even though the temperature was enough for two thick cloaks, but with a foreboding of something not being right. Capitolinus had sworn them all to secrecy under the watchful eyes of Jupiter, but the content of what he’d spoken was so inflammatory that Menenius’ mind was exploding with fear. His eyes watched the floor as he, numbly, continued his slow pace to home, the slippery stoned flags causing him to slow even more as he wasn’t concentrating. Every other man at the meeting had seemed in awe of Capitolinus, their fervent clapping, agreement to every demand he was making and total adherence to all of his plans had been frightening. He lifted his head, seeing the Archway to his street and the thin steps flickering in the low moonlight. His lamp was almost useless except for the low heat it gave to his cloth wrapped hand, but he continued to hold it out in front of him as he rounded the corner into the dark tunnelled archway.
“Marcus” whispered a voice from the darkness, making Menenius jump and twist towards the sound, his eyes boring into the dank recesses under the arch.
“Who is it?” he said, his voice quavering as he responded to the voiceless person hi
dden in the tunnel.
“It’s me, Lucius” came the reply. “Sicinius.”
Menenius stopped dead, his heart leaping into his throat. “What…what do you want” he asked, cursing himself for forgetting to bring a dagger with him.
Sicinius stepped out of the shadows, his face appearing ghost-like as he moved closer. “We need to speak. I thought this was the best place” his head twitched “no-one around.”
“What do you wish to speak about?” asked Menenius nervously.
“Tonight” came the hushed response, Sicinius’ eyes flicking from side to side as he spoke. “What do you think of Capitolinus’ plans?” asked his fellow tribune as the two men stood in the weak light of the lamp.
Menenius felt a trick coming, he looked around expecting to see Brevo ready to pounce on him, that blade dripping with his own blood. He stared back at Sicinius, who had a haunted look, his eyes filled with fear. “What did you think?” he asked nervously.
Sicinius moved closer and his wet eyes looked directly into Menenius’. “The man’s mad, Marcus. Mad” He swallowed hard, his throat moving up and down as he did so. “I…I don’t know what to think. The things he said.” He fell silent again. “Killing our own people” he was shaking his head.
The King of Rome Page 54
