To Crown a Caesar (The Praetorian Series: Book II)

by Crichton, Edward

  Helena and I moved to cover down the long hallway, while Vincent watched Bravo’s backs. We sat there for a few minutes, waiting in eerie silence.

  “It’s quiet,” Helena whispered to me.

  “I was just thinking that.”

  “There aren’t any rooms. Just hallways.”

  I nodded. “I’ve noticed.”

  “It’s creeping me out,” she elaborated.

  I didn’t smile. “Me too.”

  She started to speak again, but was cut off when Santino voice came over the radio.

  “We’ve got a bogie. A doorway with a large room behind it. Minimal visibility. Suggest Alpha and Charlie regroup.”

  I sent a quick double click and heard Bordeaux’s follow just after mine.

  I patted Helena on the shoulder, letting her know I was moving out, and made my way down the hall at a trot. I quickly found myself at the door Santino described. It was very plain, almost morbid in its simplicity, but the doorframe was far different. Ornate, decorative and possibly colorful, it could easily allow four Bordeaux’s to walk through shoulder to shoulder.

  I squinted at the frame, noting some kind of serpent dragon stretched along the doorframe, from base to ceiling to base again. Small wings protruded from it body along the portion that ran horizontally along the ceiling, while at the foot of the door on the left side I could see a head with a forked tongue extending from its mouth and at the base on the right was a tail that more closely resembled that of a rattlesnake.

  Very interesting. The design was clearly Asian in origin, and had no reason for being in ancient Syria. There were many mythical creatures in most major mythologies of the area, but none as straight forward as a simple dragon. There were creatures like Cerberus, the three headed dog, or a chimera, an animal with a lion’s head, a goat’s body, and a serpent’s tail, and creatures like griffons and the Pegasus, of course, but no dragons.

  Fascinating.

  “What’s with the décor, professor?” Santino asked.

  “I have no idea,” I answered truthfully. “There’s something off about this entire building. Besides the exterior and first level, there’s nothing about it that resembles a Roman structure. Maybe whichever Roman ordered its construction hired someone from Asia to do the decorating and they decided to leave their own architectural and mythological mark here.”

  “That seems like a bit of a stretch,” Helena mentioned, catching up behind me.

  “Any better ideas?” I asked her.

  She thought for a second. “No.”

  “What about the tail?” Vincent asked. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but rattlesnakes are indigenous to the Americas, yes?”

  “Last time I checked,” Santino said unhappily.

  I shrugged. “It’s not that complex of a design. I assume it must symbolize something else. Any of you an expert on ancient Asian cultures?”

  No one said anything.

  “Wang?” I asked, turning to the small man of Chinese descent, who stood beside Santino.

  “I’m from Cardiff,” he replied matter of factly.

  There was a chorus of nervous chuckles from the group and I smiled beneath my mask. I let it go for a few seconds before motioning for Bravo Team to breach the door. As they did twice already, Santino’s team silently opened the door and streamed into the room in a manner that would make any SWAT team proud. By the time Charlie pulled up the rear, both Alpha and Bravo had fanned out through the large room, covering all the angles.

  The room seemed clear, but was so expansive that our NVGs had trouble penetrating the darkness. To remedy the situation, Wang withdrew a number of yellow chemlights from his pack, snapped them, and tossed them throughout the room. Santino did the same, and I followed suit, as did a few of the others. Washed in an almost day colored glow, I twisted my NVGs so that they sat on my head and I could view the room with my regular vision. I didn’t see anything of note.

  At least there weren’t any people in the room, people we’d probably have to kill. There was, however, a shit ton of evidence that indicated Agrippina was nearby. Gold, silver, jewels, statues and all sorts of trinkets lay scattered about. Further evidence of her presence was some of her obscene Venus/Agrippina art Santino and I had admired on her pleasure barge. Santino noticed as well and looked at me.

  “Can I…”

  “No.”

  He pouted but continued his sweep of the room.

  There were four levels to the room, each about six feet off the ground, with a small stairwell running through the center of each level all the way to the top. Charlie stayed near the door, while Alpha and Bravo slowly made our way up the stairs, clearing each level as we ascended. Each level had piles of treasure that reminded me of Aladdin, specifically the scene when the genie conjured up all that treasure in the cave.

  I always liked that part.

  Great musical sequence.

  As it happened, I was the first person to reach the top. The highest level not only had the highest density of treasure, but also had the most real estate to walk on. Amongst the treasure, at the very back of the room, stood three columns that came up to my chest. The center column had a gold box atop it, the one on the left had what looked like a burlap sack, while the one on the right was shrouded by a piece of fine cloth.

  The display seemed too distinct to simply ignore as simply more treasure, so I continued.

  I approached the middle column carefully, a sudden reminder of what happened in an Indiana Jones movie during an oddly similar moment creeping into my mind. It did occur to me that the whole scenario seemed a bit off, but having trophies on display didn’t exactly go against the grain. Vespasian had had spoils of war displayed in his praetorium, and if Agrippina was planning to stay, there was no reason she wouldn’t do the same.

  Even so, I reoriented myself towards the column with the burlap sack atop it. Gripping a corner tightly, I yanked it away.

  Beneath laid a spherical object, lightly radiating a dim blue light.

  I grunted, my sudden exposure to what I immediately knew as the orb hitting me like a wall of bricks. I didn’t feel pain or pleasure, compulsion or apathy, only surprise. To see it so innocuously placed and easily accessible was staggering. I half-expected to have to mow through a hundred Praetorians just to reach it.

  But then I felt the compulsion set in, an addiction I’d contracted long ago that forced me to reach out with my gloved hand and pick it up. Like on Agrippina’s pleasure barge, time seemed to slow as my hand moved steadily towards it, and my mind could barely even comprehend the fact that my friends were, for some reason, failing to intervene.

  I tried to think of something else, anything to focus my attention on anything but the orb. I thought about my future life away from Rome and with Helena in it, trying without hope to keep myself from doing whatever the orb was trying to make me do. When that didn’t work I tried to think of Helena in that skimpy imaginary bikini I’d hoped to see her in back at the outpost a few days ago and all the countless times we’d made love, but even such thoughts as those were unable to take hold in my mind.

  My subconscious spirit was broken, left adrift on a mission of its own, one I couldn’t even hope to fight against. Every precaution I’d hoped to take was suddenly left laughably at the door to this villa after I’d stupidly pulled away a piece of cloth that should have stayed where it was. Days and weeks seemed to drift by; time wasted as my soul and body continued their losing resistance against what my mind was trying to make them do.

  After what seemed like a lifetime, my bare hand finally touched the orb.

  And nothing happened.

  In a bout of clarity, my body no longer fought against my mind and I held the orb out in front of my chest and gazed into it like a crazed fortune teller. After months, years really, worrying what would happen should I come into contact with the orb again, my confusion and surprise only grew as I now felt nothing. I waited for something to happen. Anything. But nothing did. I tossed it between m
y hands for a few seconds, juggling it back and forth.

  I was so confused that I couldn’t even formulate a question to ask myself in this situation when, for once, questions were worth asking. Instead I felt my mind start to wander, and a sense of calm flowed over me. I felt almost peaceful as I daydreamed with my eyes closed before I finally caught myself. I forced myself to focus on the situation. With one last look, seeing nothing within, I secured it back in its burlap cloth with one last shrug.

  I turned to see Helena and Santino finally join me at the top.

  “What was that light, Jacob?” Helena asked.

  “Hmm? Oh, I guess it must have been this,” I said, holding up the orb. “It wasn’t very bright though. Good eyes.”

  She exchanged an odd glance with Santino, but shook her head and reached out to take it from me. As she placed it in her bag, Santino pushed past me and moved towards the gold box.

  “Don’t…” I warned him.

  “What? I was just looking at it.”

  “Sure you were,” I said, returning my attention back to Helena.

  She gave me a thumbs up after securing the orb. I clicked my com.

  “All teams report to the top level.”

  Really, I only needed Bordeaux up here, but it was best to consolidate all of us on high ground where we could more easily defend ourselves.

  “Uh… Jacob?” Santino asked from behind me. “You’d better take a look at this.”

  “What is it?” I asked, figuring he’d probably broken the golden box.

  Surprisingly, he was at the column with the fine cloth, peeking beneath it at what lay beneath. He brought his head up and tore the cloth away from the column.

  It revealed another blue sphere.

  “Am I missing something?” He asked before looking back down at it.

  I wasn’t sure. It certainly looked to be the same size and color, but how could it be another one of the orbs? Unless my math really was that bad, there should only be one left after we destroyed one of the two. Where did this third one come from? Where was the sense of compulsion and draw like the other one?

  “You think Agrippina got it to work?” Santino asked. “Made a second one just like we did?”

  “Maybe,” I replied, unsure. “Bag it and tag it. Might as well bring it along.”

  “Wilco, boss,” he said, securing the orb.

  I left him alone and went to find Bordeaux, who was pulling something big from his bag.

  “How big is that bomb?”

  He looked up at me. “Big enough.”

  “Big enough to bring down the entire building?”

  He smiled. “Just remember that it would be best to not be here when it goes off. I’m setting it for forty five minutes.”

  I looked at my watch. 0230. We’d only been in the building for about twenty minutes. Plenty of time. I watched as he buried the bomb beneath a pile of treasure.

  I watched as he worked but turned when I heard Titus’ voice from atop the treasure room ask, “What’s this?”

  I finished my turn just in time to see him open the gold box Santino had been eyeing earlier.

  “Don’t touch tha…” I started, but never had the chance to finish.

  As Titus opened the small box, a small spark ignited within. When the spark touched the contents of the box, a simple bowl containing a white, glittering powder, a flash of light as bright as a flashbang went off and engulfed the room. All I could see was white, and even my ear protectors had trouble dampening out the sound it had created.

  I groped at nothing, seeing nothing, the only thing my delirium allowing me to view being the abysmal white nothing. When I finally heard a clinking and clanking noise around me, I immediately wondered who had fell into the gold.

  Still unable to see anything, I felt myself trip and fall onto a gold pile of my own. I tried to push myself up, but before my hands could find purchase on anything stable, I felt a horribly sharp pain in my head, and instead of white, all I saw was black.

  ***

  I’ve been knocked unconscious quite a few times in my life. A few more than the average person I would think. Normally, when these lovely episodes of rest and relaxation were presented to me, hallucinations always seem to manifest themselves. They tended to revolve around loved ones or personal relationships, and were generally ambiguous as to their tone and meaning.

  But not today.

  Today I saw nothing, and as I came around I wondered if the lack of a hallucination meant something ominous was lurking. All I felt was a horrible throbbing inside the back of my skull, as if a construction worker had placed his jackhammer against it and was having his way with me.

  When I regained consciousness, I did so tediously, my eyes attempting to regain focus. As always, my first visual was nothing but a dense haze. I blinked a few times and shook my head to clear it, cringing as the motion doubled the amount of jackhammers on duty.

  Despite the pain, I knew I had to come to my senses quickly. I fought through the pain and fog and my eye sight started to clear. I found myself lying on my side with my hands tied behind my back. All my MOLLE combat gear had been stripped away including my thigh holster and my eyepiece system, and I realized that my shirt and boots had been removed as well. I laid their bare chested, unable to move my head, at least not without risking yet more pain, but I found that I could at least move my eyes.

  Titling my eyes downwards, I saw the legs of one of my team members. Based on the size and clothing, it could have been Wang, Santino, Titus, or Vincent. I had no idea which. Tracking my gaze upwards, I saw another body, this one lithe and shapely, also having been stripped naked from the waist up. It had to be Helena. I could see her hands were bound behind her as well, but blood dripped from her fingertips.

  Adrenaline coursed through my body, fear for Helena and my unborn child manifesting itself. It drove me as I struggled against my restraints, but before I could make much progress, I found myself manhandled by two men. I fought against them, but I was too weak to put up much of a fight and they maneuvered me into a kneeling position, my hands still bound behind my back. It made my head swim agin and I struggled to stay conscious. With a jerk of my head, the pain ever persistent, I grunted and breathed heavily before everything started to clear.

  I looked up, hoping to better understand the situation. It didn’t take long to come to an assessment.

  We were pretty much fucked.

  The room we were in was large, easily twice the size of the treasure vault, but was only a single level room. It was rectangular in design, had no windows, one door that I could see, and only a single chair. There were no decorations in the room, merely torches hanging from the ceiling and attached to the half dozen columns supporting the ceiling. Lighting was negligible. The room was dark and there were deep shadows in the corners.

  Arrayed around the solitary chair stood dozens of armor encased soldiers, Praetorians if I had to guess. Most had his right hand on his gladius and none appeared friendly, familiar or sympathetic. They stood at attention, arrayed in a semicircle around us, ready for anything. There were also a dozen or so Praetorian ninjas scattered about in a much more disorganized fashion. These men still wore their concealing facemasks, some leaning against pillars, others crouching in the shadows, but each was just as ready as his soldier counterparts.

  Those who were not standing at attention were manhandling our weapons and gear. I immediately identified Penelope by the numerous gadgets and tools attached to her. A pair of Praetorians was fondling her roughly and I felt my rage continue to grow.

  Finally, seated upon the simple chair was none other than Agrippina. Clothed, for once, she wore a simple dress, cut in a fashion more akin to modern day gowns. As was normal for her, it was low cut and had a long slit along the left leg. She looked elegant, if not evilly so. I had to give her credit. She had a shtick and she kept with it.

  She was seated with her right leg crossed over her left, her hands resting in her lap, and her light blon
d hair was tied up in an efficient bun with strands dangling to either side of her face. As opposed to the last time I’d seen her, when she had been completely naked and exposed, this woman could almost pass for regal monarchy.

  I continued to kneel, unable to quantify the rage that boiled within me. Only Agrippina could bring out hatred like this and I knew learning to fly would be easier than calming myself at this point. But I had to try. Anger had led me down a dark path last time. The only thing I could rely on was my old self, the one that could stay calm in time of crisis, no matter how forgotten that man was.

  “Agrippina,” I said hoarsely. “How’s the ass?”

  She smiled unexpectedly. A mischievously alluring one. She stood and slowly strolled to where I knelt and I almost expected her to fling herself sexually at me, but she merely leaned down and tilted my chin up with the tip of a fingernail, forcing me to gaze into her eyes.

  “It is quite perfect,” she said quietly, “but you of all people should already know that, Jacob Hunter.”

  I gritted my teeth and tore my head away from her hand. As was the case with my anger, only she could make me eat my own words like that. She continued to smile and walked to my left, glancing down at Helena as she passed by. Thankfully, she didn’t touch her, and simply made her way back to her chair and sat down.

  “Why do you continue to bother me, Jacob?” She asked. “I offered you access to the orbs once, but you denied me. Are you here to steal them for me now?” She scoffed and tilted her head up to look down on me. “Is it that you have seen me naked and now wish for more? Is that why you brought your Amazon this time?”

  I bit my tongue and forced myself not to rise to her bait.

  “We just want to go home, Agrippina,” I said, my voice starting to clear. Before I continued, I noticed movement to my right, and saw the rest of my team begin to regain consciousness as well. Santino was first to his knees, also the person that had been right next to me. I turned back to Agrippina. “The orbs are dangerous. You have no idea how harmful they can be.”

  “I know all about their potential, Jacob,” she said, nodding to one of her guards.