Rome: Sword of the Legion (Sword of the Legion Series)

by R. Cameron Cooke

  Oddly, the leader did not turn to face her, but simply stared straight ahead. One of the dagger thrusts must have punctured his heart, because Lucius saw the life leave his eyes. Lucius reached up and retrieved his gladius as the man fell to the floor dead.

  The remaining camel warriors cried in horror at the sight of their slain leader. They looked fully intent on slicing Lucius and Arsinoe to ribbons, but they paused when a voice from the other side of the tent began speaking to them in a strange language. It was Ganymedes, and he was speaking in a tongue that the warriors obviously understood, because they stopped their attack, seemingly at his bidding. They simply watched as the eunuch moved over to the confused queen who was still holding the bloody dagger. Ganymedes looked down at Arsinoe now with an arrogant expression that Lucius had often seen on the eunuch’s face but never when Arsinoe was around. Then, quite unexpectedly, Ganymedes struck the young queen hard across the face and swiftly took the dagger from her hand. Lucius moved to stop him, but the eunuch quickly had the queen in a firm hold from behind with the dagger held to her throat. The fresh blood on the dagger left red streaks on her skin.

  “Do not move, Roman, or I will kill her!” he said. “I know how fond you are of her.”

  Arsinoe appeared puzzled, but not entirely frightened. “Ganymedes,” she said. “What is the meaning of this?”

  “The meaning, my queen, is something I think even your crocodile brain can figure out before long. Now, take the Eye from your neck and put it around mine.”

  “What?”

  “Do it, I say! If you want to live, do it!”

  With slow and steady hands, Arsinoe pulled the band away from her neck, and turning slightly, draped it around the eunuch’s.

  “If you harm her –” Lucius started, but was cut off by Ganymedes.

  “Quiet, Roman dog!” He then turned to the camel warriors, who seemed stunned by the action, and proceeded to tell them something in quite lengthy terms in the foreign tongue. Apparently Ganymedes had convinced them that, since he now wore the Eye, they must serve him. Either that, or he had made some sort of promise to return it if they did what he said. Several times during his dialog, he gestured at Lucius, as if he were giving the camel warriors instructions regarding Lucius’s fate.

  “If they make one move toward me, eunuch,” Lucius snarled. “Yours will be the first neck I cut!”

  Ganymedes gave him a patronizing glance, then cut his eyes once at the queen, as if to imply that Lucius’s threat had no teeth as long as the queen remained under the eunuch’s dagger. He then snapped a two word statement at the warriors that sounded like a command. Whatever the words meant, Lucius suspected they were not in his favor.

  The camel warriors began moving toward Lucius, their blood-drenched swords ready to hack him to pieces. Lucius knew that he could not take them all on at once. There were five of them, and his sword arm had been pierced through. But he was resolved to take as many as he could before breathing his last. He was about to try to catch them off guard by rushing them, when a dozen men surged through the door. At first, Lucius thought it was more of the black-clad warriors, but then he saw Demetrius at their head, his sword instantly swinging in a horizontal arc that caught the nearest camel warrior under the chin and struck off his jaw in an eruption of blood and teeth. The remaining four were run through by the royal guards that had entered with Demetrius.

  Examining the carnage in the tent and prompting his men to check on the fallen guards, Demetrius gave an appreciative nod to Lucius and then turned his attention to Ganymedes who still held the dagger to the queen’s throat.

  The eunuch’s malevolent eyes looked once at Lucius and then back to Demetrius. Then, as everyone in the tent watched, a metamorphosis took place. The eunuch’s expression suddenly softened and the playful grin once again returned to his face.

  “Well,” he said, releasing Arsinoe and handing her the dagger. “Good thing I can think on my feet.”

  The queen stood in front of him with her hand held out, and it took several moments before Ganymedes seemed to realize that she wanted the Eye of Horus back. The eunuch smiled, removed the amulet from his neck, and placed it neatly in her hand. This was immediately returned with a sharp slap across the face from the queen, her nails leaving three distinct scratches on his cheek.

  “Don’t ever put your hands on me again, dog!” she said, angrily waving the dagger before his nose.

  “But, Your Majesty!” Ganymedes pleaded holding his hands out in submission. “Why all this venom against me? I simply did the only thing I could think of to save you?”

  “Keep that lying tongue of yours silent!” Demetrius commanded.

  “But, I saved the queen,” the eunuch said. He then looked over at Lucius. “The guards were losing the fight. I heard the Roman tell me to do something, and I did. I did the only thing I could do. Not all of us are endowed with physiques made for sword work. Some of us must use our mind as our chief weapon.”

  Demetrius glanced at Lucius. “Is that true?”

  “Damn it, yes.” Lucius muttered. “But I don’t believe his intentions were as innocent as he says they were.”

  But Arsinoe seemed to have already forgiven the eunuch. She now put a hand to his cheek. “Oh, Ganymedes, my trusted servant. How could I ever have doubted you?”

  Lucius saw Demetrius roll his eyes before reporting. “My queen, the enemy has retreated. They are in full rout. And there are enough stray camels running about that I believe we can make it home. We have suffered heavily, and I’m afraid many more will die of their wounds before we get out of the desert.”

  “Very well, Captain,” Arsinoe said, hardly looking in his direction, but seemingly distracted by the mess that her royal tent had become. “Are there any of your men who are not wounded?”

  Demetrius looked confused, but answered. “Yes, my queen. A scant few, but there are some.”

  “Good! Then send them in here to clean this place up. Get these bodies out of here and arrange all my things as they were before.”

  Lucius gasped audibly at the order and then looked at the Egyptian captain in disbelief.

  Demetrius almost drew blood from biting his lip before he obediently replied. “Yes, my queen.”

  XV

  Alexandria had not changed much in the weeks since they had left. They arrived at night, after a long day on the march, the distant flames atop the great lighthouse enticing them to the end of their journey. A battered column of trudging ghouls that hardly resembled a troop of militia, much less the royal guard, entered the city through the Canopian gate and marched through the grid of arrow-straight streets littered with engines of war and makeshift army camps. It was anyone’s guess who the different varieties of Egyptian troops lounging about the shops and houses bore allegiance to – Arsinoe, Cleopatra, or Ptolemy. Those few citizens and soldiers on the streets at this late hour simply watched as the long train of weary camels meandered by in the darkness.

  Pitch laden missiles streaked across the sky near the harbor. Caesar still held out within the palace walls. Undoubtedly, the plans to poison the palace water supplies had not had the effect Ganymedes had predicted, and the Alexandrian siege appeared to have made little progress in the past weeks. As Lucius marched along with the column, he considered that Caesar and the legionaries holed up in the palace were probably in much better shape than the ragged troops limping along beside him. The journey back to the city had taken its toll on the brave Alexandrians. Half of the wounded had succumbed to their injuries or the heat of the desert. Most of the others would never carry a spear again. Demetrius took each death to heart, and had given over his own camel, preferring to walk so that another wounded man could ride. Lucius had done the same, not so much out of desire to help the wounded, as wanting to prove to the Alexandrians that Romans could march as far or farther than they could.

  Arsinoe and Ganymedes, on the other hand, had shown no compassion for the convalescents. They procured the best of the dromedar
ies to tote the queen’s personal baggage, leaving many of the wounded without mounts, forcing them to walk. Completely ignoring Demetrius’s tactful warnings about the dangers of upsetting the same soldiers who had fought so bravely for her, Arsinoe became more and more detached. She spent all of her time with Ganymedes, planning out the rise of her new kingdom. Only after repeated pleas from Demetrius did she part with some of the water reserved for her nightly baths to make up for shortages in the troops’ supply. Each night, Arsinoe saw to it that her tents were placed well away from the troops, that she might not be disturbed by the wails of the suffering men.

  The amulet had changed her. Either that, or it had allowed her true self to finally shine through. Needless to say, as one man after another died from exposure to the elements, the grumblings of the men reached a new height.

  “I have a commission for you, Centurion,” Demetrius said to Lucius, the day after arriving in Alexandria, as the two men waited in the courtyard of Arsinoe’s house for an audience with the queen. “Are you up for it?”

  “I can’t imagine lifting a finger to help you ever again,” Lucius replied. “I expect to get my reward from that eunuch today, and then be on my way.”

  Demetrius seemed amused at that. “Where will you go?”

  “I haven’t decided yet. Anywhere but here.”

  At that moment, a new set of bodyguards, that seemed even bigger than the first, announced the queen’s presence. The royal entourage entered the room, having grown considerably from that of only a few weeks ago. It now contained several well-dressed men, Alexandrian nobles trying to ingratiate themselves with the young queen. Word had gotten out about the Eye’s discovery.

  Arsinoe took her place on a bejeweled chair with a smug looking Ganymedes standing just behind her. Once again, she wore her royal white robes as she had on the day Lucius was first brought before her. This time, however, she also wore an elaborate gold headdress that, coupled with her face paint, made her look almost like a temple statue. Standing out from all of it, the Eye of Horus hung proudly from around her neck.

  “What is the first order of business, Supreme Chancellor?” she addressed Ganymedes by his new title. She spoke as if it were not obvious that Demetrius and Lucius were the only two subjects awaiting an audience with her.

  “The Captain of the Royal Guard, and the Roman, Great Lady,” Ganymedes said, eyeing the two men complacently, as if some grand scheme of his was about to come to fruition.

  Arsinoe no longer made playful eyes at Lucius, and he suspected that she had quite moved on from him. It might have had something to do with the fact that he had spurned her on the trip back to Alexandria. She had summoned him, more than once in the dead of night, desiring him as before. But, much to Lucius's own surprise, he had refused every time, not wishing to be in the queen's presence, even for a few hours of mindless passion. Sure, the pain in his throbbing arm had something to do with it. But if he was completely honest with himself, he knew that it was more out of a feeling of shame. Though they were his enemies, Lucius felt a soldier’s bond with the wounded men in the royal guard. They had been forgotten by their sovereign. The plight of those men resonated with the centurion in him, and perhaps the injustice reminded him of too many of his own experiences. Perhaps it had hit too close to the mark. Either way, how could he enjoy a night of lust under the queen’s tent while those men, whom he had fought side-by-side with, suffered out in the howling wind and blowing sand?

  Lucius now cursed himself for getting too caught up in the ridiculous state of affairs that was Egyptian politics.

  “Speak, Captain,” Arsinoe commanded, after Demetrius finished bowing to her.

  “My queen, I have come with this Roman to see that his bounty is paid, as was promised by the illustrious supreme chancellor. The Roman has served us well. He has completed his commission. It is now time for us to honor our part of the agreement.”

  Ganymedes leaned over the back of the chair and whispered something into the queen’s ear, all the while looking at Lucius.

  When the eunuch had finished, the queen blinked once, as if to steady herself, and then said. “We have reconsidered our position in the matter. This Roman has carried his sword in the defense of our pretender sister and has slain many of our followers. He is, therefore, our enemy. He is to be removed from our presence and beheaded at once. His body is to be fed to the dogs. His head is to be thrown over the palace walls that the Romans there might see his fate and tremble at our might. We charge you, Captain, to see that it is done.”

  Lucius had never expected Ganymedes to keep his end of the bargain, but he had not expected this. He glanced at Demetrius as if he might have to break away from the Alexandrian captain and try to escape, but Demetrius did not appear in any way ready to carry out the queen’s orders.

  “Why, Great One?” Demetrius said simply. This caused a stir among the others in the room who were used to the queen’s wishes being fulfilled without hesitation. But this did not perturb him, and he went on. “Why must we lower ourselves to the deceptive ways of the Romans? We made an oath to this man. We have the means to fulfill it. Is that not the way of great leaders, to honor their word, and acknowledge the sacrifices of those who have served them?”

  Arsinoe looked shocked by his rebuttal and Ganymedes stepped forward in anger.

  “How dare you speak to Her Majesty in this fashion?” the Supreme Chancellor demanded. “You will carry out her orders, at once! You will do everything she has commanded, and you will report back here when it is done! Is that clear, Captain?”

  Demetrius said nothing, but looked back at the eunuch in defiance.

  “Your queen is waiting for an answer, Captain!” Ganymedes said, visibly exacerbated. He snapped his fingers and the two giant bodyguards approached to flank him, each cradling a massive curved sword. “And I’d advise you to consider your next words very carefully, Captain.”

  “I have considered them,” Demetrius finally said. “I have been considering them for a long time. Too long, in fact.”

  Lucius was calculating how they might fare, Demetrius's dexterity and his bandaged sword arm, up against the two well-armed giants. But, again, Demetrius did not move. He appeared completely collected as he stared down the scowling eunuch. Then Lucius saw him make eye contact with the bodyguards. A simple nod was the only gesture he made, and the two giants nodded back. The realization of what was happening flashed across Ganymedes's face just as each guard grabbed one of the eunuch’s feeble shoulders with a meaty hand.

  "Treason!" Ganymedes shouted, eyeing the brutes with terror. "It's treason, Your Majesty! Guards, help! To the queen! To the queen!"

  The doors burst open, and a flood of royal guards in white tunics and polished armor rushed into the room. Their swords were drawn and their faces fierce, as if they had fully expected to join a melee in progress.

  "Your captain is a traitor!" Ganymedes cried at them. "Save me, and save your queen!"

  But the soldiers did not respond to the order. Instead, they took up positions around the queen as if to guard her, and then their officer approached and saluted Demetrius.

  "Reporting as ordered, Captain," the officer said.

  "As ordered?" Ganymedes replied incredulously as he struggled beneath the iron grip of the bodyguards. "He didn't summon you in here, you fool! I did! Now arrest him, at once, and have your men deal with these beasts before they tear me in two!"

  "Your orders, Captain?" The officer said, not even glancing in the struggling eunuch's direction. "We can't castrate him, sir. So, should we have this camel's turd skinned alive?"

  At this, Ganymedes's face turned as white as his supreme chancellor's robe. His eyes looked across the room at Demetrius and then at the queen. "Please. Please, no! Your Majesty! Captain!" His eyes moved around the room looking for someone, anyone, who might save him from such a fate. Then he met Lucius's amused eyes. A look of hatred flashed across the eunuch's face at first, but then he assumed a piteous look toward eve
n the Roman.

  Lucius just laughed. "If you're looking for a man with no Egyptian blood to carry out this task, I'll gladly volunteer. Of course, my sword arm is a little weak right now, so it might take a good long while to get the job done."

  Ganymedes’s eyes went wide with fear.

  Demetrius smiled. "That was not the commission I had in mind, Centurion."

  The captain then approached the royal throne.

  “My lord the supreme chancellor will be taken into custody,” he said, eyeing the restrained eunuch. “Others will decide his fate. His devil’s tongue will no longer preside over this court.”

  Ganymedes’s expression indicated that he was uncertain whether this was a better sentence than the one the officer had suggested for him.

  “You have no authority to make such a –” he started to say, but was silenced by a single venomous look from Demetrius.

  Demetrius then turned his attention to the queen, who was still seated, surrounded by the royal guard, and looking quite uncertain about the events that had just transpired.

  “My lady,” Demetrius said cordially, before bowing and holding out a hand for her to take.

  Visibly breathing a sigh of relief, the queen smiled at him, then took his hand in hers and rose from her seat. “Oh, my loyal Demetrius, bless the gods that I have a servant like you to protect me from such serpents lurking within my court.” She pointed to the supreme chancellor with an upturned nose as if he were now some repulsive, unsightly creature. “You may have that foul wretch put to death at once.”