Rome's Sacred Flame Read online

  Vespasian and Magnus continued up the hill towards Sabinus’ house, the heat of the afternoon almost unbearable. Vespasian looked down onto the Appian Aqueduct, which terminated on the Aventine, to see its flow had reduced to hardly more than a trickle. ‘If it goes on like this there will be an even more acute water shortage and that will only lead to disturbances. Once this business is over I’m going to get out of the city and spend some time on the estates, if you fancy coming, Magnus. You could bring Caitlín if you want and see how Castor and Pollux are after being so long away from them. I’ve already sent Flavia and Domitian off to Aquae Cutillae; I’ll probably go there first and then spend some time up at Cosa with Caenis.’

  ‘It would be good to see the dogs again. Yes, I’d be glad to; I’ve never known the city so hot.’ Magnus wiped his brow as if to prove the point as Vespasian halted abruptly. ‘What is it?’

  Vespasian pointed to the house two up from that of Decianus. ‘That house.’

  ‘What about it?’

  ‘It belongs to Corvinus; I know because he lives close to Sabinus on the Aventine and it was him that used one of the Aventine brotherhoods to try to kill me on the night that I was meeting Narcissus in your tavern.’

  ‘When my tavern was burned down and I was forced to retire as patronus of the South Quirinal; I remember it well, or not so well, if you take my meaning?’

  Vespasian carried on walking. ‘So that would explain how Corvinus might have known that Flavia was in need of money; he and Decianus are neighbours and I can imagine them having some nasty little chats together. I wonder what they’ve been up to. When Tigran questions the chosen member of Decianus’ household ask him to see if he can find out anything about his relationship with Corvinus.’

  ‘I will do; and I’ll tell the lads on lookout to report if they see the two together and to follow them to see where they end up.’

  Vespasian slapped Magnus on the shoulder and grinned at his friend. ‘That is a fine idea; I’m glad to see that despite your very advanced years you can still do a bit of thinking.’

  Magnus affected a hurt expression, which was not entirely successful as his false eye was staring in a direction of its own volition. ‘Now you’re mocking me again, sir. As I’ve always said: there’s plenty of fight and fuck left in me, just not both on the same day.’

  ‘I’m sure you’re right, my friend; let’s hope for Caitlín’s sake the former runs out before the latter.’

  ‘No, Vespasian, I won’t.’ Sabinus was adamant.

  ‘Sabinus, it won’t be for long,’ Vespasian insisted. ‘Just until I can sell this year’s new batch of mules and perhaps get some income from the camel importing and breeding business that I’m having Hormus set up in Africa.’

  ‘No, Vespasian.’

  ‘But my steward has told me that this year we have more foals than ever before and what with the continuing operations in Britannia and the need to replenish all those lost last year by your son-in-law in Armenia, the price is at a premium. By the end of the year I’ll easily have the money to repay you.’

  ‘No, Vespasian.’

  ‘But why not? You make fortunes out of being the prefect of Rome.’

  ‘I’ll tell you why not, you parsimonious little shit. Because of all that trouble you gave me about taking a loan from your old friend, Paetus; do you remember? You said that no one should ever take out a loan and you asked me how I could sleep at night and then you went on and on when you found out that I hadn’t paid it back after Paetus had been killed. All that disapproval that you heaped upon me for so long was very unpleasant and having suffered it I want to protect my little brother from the same thing. So for your own sake, Vespasian, I am not going to lend you three million sesterces.’

  ‘Don’t you turn it round on me, Sabinus; you’re just doing this out of spite.’

  ‘No, I’m doing this because you genuinely said that no one should ever take out a loan and I’m holding you to that.’

  ‘But I need some liquidity to run the estates until the foals are sold; you know how expensive that is. The steward has written to me saying that he urgently needs cash; plus, what if I can’t recover the pearls and Nero calls in the two million and I can’t produce it right away? What then?’

  ‘Then you’ll be in a very nasty situation.’

  Vespasian looked at his brother, unable to believe what he was hearing. ‘After all I’ve done for you: saving your life when you were part of Caligula’s assassination; coming to find you when you had been careless enough to let yourself be captured by druids, and you won’t even let me have the cash that might save my life.’

  ‘I never said that.’

  Vespasian was speechless for a few moments, frowning; his mouth opened and then closed. ‘What did you just say?’

  ‘That I wasn’t going to deny you the cash that might save your life nor was I going to deny you the cash that you need to keep your estates going until the mules are sold.’

  ‘But you’ve just flatly refused to give me a loan.’

  ‘Of course I’m not going to give you a loan, you hate them.’

  Vespasian slumped down on a couch utterly confused. ‘So what then?’

  ‘We’ll draw up a legal document whereby you mortgage one of your estates to me – and I don’t care which one – for three or even four million, it’s up to you, and then you’ll get the money.’

  ‘But we’re brothers.’

  ‘That’s why I’m doing you this favour. But it won’t be a free loan like you were expecting, not after all the self-righteous nonsense you forced on me. Agreed?’

  Vespasian choked back his anger, knowing that his brother did have a very good point: he had involved himself with the loan that Sabinus had taken when Paetus had offered it and he had threatened to tell the younger Paetus, Sabinus’ now son-in-law, about the loan when it became apparent that Sabinus had not repaid it. ‘I’m sorry, Sabinus. Looking back, I realise just how sanctimonious I was.’

  ‘You certainly were. Now, do you agree to my terms?’

  ‘I do, brother; I need the money.’

  ‘And, at that time, Vespasian, so did I.’

  Vespasian strode with purpose, behind his steward, into the atrium of his house to see Magnus along with a man, in his sixties, of eastern appearance with a blue-tinted beard, embroidered trousers and a long-sleeved tunic coming to below his knees, standing by the impluvium; the fountain trickled pitifully into the pool made shallow by the worsening water shortage. Behind them, waiting just inside the vestibule was a middle-aged man who, on first sight at a distance, Vespasian could tell was about as trustworthy as a Greek slave-merchant.

  ‘That is Drakon, sir,’ Magnus said, keeping his voice down and indicating to the man. ‘He’s a freedman of Decianus’ but, unfortunately, seems to have a few grievances; at least that’s what he has assured Tigran.’

  ‘He was very insistent on the point,’ the easterner confirmed.

  ‘Was he now, Tigran? Drakon, you say?’ Vespasian said to confirm that he had heard correctly and thinking the man well named for he looked very much like a slithering reptile. ‘How did you find him?’

  ‘He’s dealing with the possible sale of the pearls for his patron should you not submit to Decianus’ blackmail, senator; that’s how we got interested in him.’

  Vespasian was intrigued. ‘Go on.’

  Tigran looked at Magnus who took up the story. ‘Well, it was like this, sir: it occurred to me that Decianus might well be seeking to negotiate the sale of the pearls to another party in the event that you don’t submit to his blackmail; after all, they’re the only collateral that he has as he brought nothing else out from Garama.’

  ‘That we know of.’

  ‘Yeah, well, he only had that cloth bag with him, which he used as a saddlecloth on his mule and which must have contained the pearls, so it’s a fair bet that there was nothing else of value. He’s renting that house and, as you know, a house near the summit of the Aventine ain’
t cheap; and then he’s got to run it. He’d already lost all the money that he stole in Britannia and, although he maybe had a bit more deposited here in Rome, it was likely that after having nothing to show for the last few years other than four hundred and fifty-nine pearls he would be looking to cash them in as soon as he could, should you refuse him. So negotiations were probably already happening because he needs money quick.’

  Vespasian smiled at his friend’s reasoning. ‘And therefore the person negotiating on Decianus’ behalf would have knowledge of the whereabouts of the pearls.’

  ‘Exactly, sir. So I mentioned it to Tigran.’

  ‘I know of almost all of the people in the city who would be interested in such a purchase,’ Tigran said, ‘so I just had my men monitoring the household report any member of it who approached one of the dealers; and that led us to Drakon. All we had to do then was get him to come to me, which was simple enough seeing as it’s no secret in the underworld that the brotherhoods are always interested in such purchases.’

  ‘And it didn’t take long before we could sense his hostility to his patron,’ Magnus affirmed, ‘and now you know the rest. We’re just going to have to persuade him to hand over the correct information.’

  Vespasian was satisfied. ‘We are and I’m indebted to you both; obviously there’ll be a substantial consideration for your services once I’m clear of this predicament. He had better come in.’ He turned to his steward. ‘I’ll see the gentlemen in the tablinum, Cleon. Have chilled wine served.’

  ‘Yes, master,’ Cleon said, bowing his head as Vespasian turned on his heel.

  ‘He has made many promises of advancement to me but never has he kept one,’ Drakon said in answer to Vespasian’s question. ‘He has promised financial aid so that I can set up a brothel, as well as introductions to the local magistrates on the Aventine to get the licence to do so and make the business run smoothly, but they are empty promises. Instead, he has me scurrying after him, doing menial tasks that benefit only him and it makes me look like a man of no worth whatever.’

  ‘Well, that’s terrible,’ Vespasian said, rolling his wine cup in his palms and thinking that it would not take much to make Drakon look like a man of no worth. ‘And for how long have you served him?’

  ‘I was his slave since an early age; I must have been about eight when I was purchased into his household. He freed me seven years ago after serving as a slave for twenty-five years. Seven years ago!’ Drakon’s pinched face screwed up in outrage at the injustice of his treatment; his eyes, which could not quite meet Vespasian’s, betrayed the hardness of one who has had little in life and was determined that things should not remain so. ‘For seven years I have been little better than a slave in status. Seven years!’

  ‘Seven years? That is shocking,’ Vespasian crooned in his most sympathetic tone, shaking his head and his eyes widening with incredulity. ‘How ungrateful can a patron be to his freedman and client? Have you ever heard of such a thing, Magnus?’

  ‘I can’t say that I have, sir. I’m speechless; absolutely speechless. Speechless! Just the thought of such injustice makes me boil up with fury at a man who shows such little regard for those who serve him. As you can probably tell, I’m speechless; I don’t know what to say. The cruelty of it.’

  With a slight frown at the melodrama of Magnus’ reaction, Vespasian cut in. ‘So, Drakon, you came to Tigran for advice, did you?’

  Drakon’s eyes flicked around the room as he thought about the question, assessing it for any traps; he found none. ‘He invited me to come and see him on other business; recently I have been looking into the sale of certain items for my master and Tigran had got to hear of this and suggested that we might do some business together.’

  Tigran nodded his head in slow agreement. ‘Drakon’s unhappiness came out quite by chance in the course of our negotiations and so I suggested that perhaps he might like to share his burden with you, senator.’

  ‘When it was suggested I was only too pleased to come; especially as your brother is the Urban prefect and you are a proconsul of considerable influence.’ Drakon leant forward and spoke in a confidential tone. ‘The items I was referring to are pearls, black pearls; the ones that your wife had purchased from Decianus and were then subsequently stolen from your study.’

  ‘By you?’ Vespasian asked, resisting the urge to throttle the man.

  ‘By acquaintances of mine on Decianus’ orders; I had no choice in the matter and now regret it thoroughly.’

  ‘And how did these “acquaintances” know where to look?’

  ‘That would be betraying a confidence.’

  Vespasian just managed to refrain from asking if Drakon was always so sensitive about betraying confidences. ‘I see; so I have a traitor in my household.’

  Drakon neither confirmed nor denied this.

  Tigran broke the silence. ‘I saw immediately that there was a mutual interest here, senator. It seems perfect, seeing as I know you to be a man with an acute sense of justice; and I think that we can all agree, a man with such a sense of justice is exactly what is needed in this situation.’

  ‘Indeed, Tigran,’ Vespasian concurred with solemnity, placing his cup back on the desk. ‘This is a situation that demands a sense of justice and I shall be only too pleased if, somehow, by my actions I can help right this wrong done to you and at the same time avenge myself.’

  ‘If you could, senator,’ Drakon said, picking up no irony in Vespasian’s voice for there had been none, ‘then I would serve you faithfully as your client.’

  Until someone paid you to betray me, you snake, Vespasian thought as he smiled. ‘I would be honoured. What would you have me do to help?’

  Drakon was not short of ideas.

  ‘Obviously we can’t trust him,’ Vespasian said soon after Drakon had been shown out by Cleon, ‘but can we believe what he just said?’

  ‘That he’ll tell us where about in Decianus’ house the pearls are hidden once you’ve got Sabinus to issue the appropriate licence for him to set up his brothel? I very much doubt it,’ Tigran said, replenishing his cup.

  ‘Yes, so do I.’

  ‘The thing is, he’s well aware that if he and Decianus are the only ones who know their whereabouts and we go in and steal them, it will be pretty obvious to Decianus where the information came from. So then Drakon’s better off stealing them himself as Decianus will be out to kill him either way.’

  ‘There must be slaves in the household who have seen Decianus or Drakon taking the pearls out.’

  ‘There may well be but there may not. I don’t think Drakon’s stupid by any means, so he won’t bank on there being anyone else who knows the hiding place and therefore he won’t give us the real one.’

  Vespasian was forced to agree. ‘Yes, it seemed too easy; what he’s done is open negotiations with us. Still, what he has confirmed is that they are in the house, somewhere; if they were with one of the banking firms he would have said so because it’s best to tell the truth if it does nothing to weaken your position. The questions are: how do you pressurise Drakon into giving the correct information? And when do you retrieve the pearls before Nero comes back to the city for the three days of racing that conclude the Victorious Caesar Games at the end of the month?’

  Magnus was in no doubt. ‘As soon as possible; we go in tonight.’

  ‘Tonight?’

  ‘Yeah, Sabinus’ house is close by; we’ll use that as a base.’

  ‘But why tonight? I know it has to be done soon, but this soon?’

  ‘It stands to reason, don’t it? Today is three days after the ides of July; it’s a Black Day.’

  ‘And?’ Vespasian knew well that it was the anniversary of Rome’s defeat by the Gauls just over four hundred and fifty years earlier.

  ‘Well, nothing happens today as it’s considered really bad luck.’

  ‘So wouldn’t it be really bad luck to try to break into Decianus’ house and steal the pearls on such a day?’

&nb
sp; ‘That’s what anyone would naturally assume, isn’t it? But in reality it’s one of the best days to do something like this because that is just what everyone thinks. People just can’t wait to get the day over with so what do they do? What does everyone do on a Black Day?’

  Vespasian shrugged. ‘Go to bed early?’

  ‘Exactly; and at this time of year when the night hours are half as long as the day ones people have no trouble going to bed as soon as it gets dark. No one has late dinner parties or anything like that; they’re all tucked up in bed with their favourite slave or perhaps even their wife.’

  Vespasian could see the logic of it. ‘You’re saying that it’s far more unlikely that there’ll be no one around?’

  ‘No, I ain’t saying that; I’m saying that the chances are better of getting in, retrieving the pearls and then getting out without being seen. And besides, the Dog Star rises tonight a couple of hours before dawn and that, for me, has always been a lucky night.’

  ‘That’s all very well, but we don’t know where the pearls are yet.’

  ‘I wouldn’t worry about that, sir, we will do within the hour. Drakon ain’t going to make it all the way back to the Aventine; in fact, I should say that right about now Sextus is escorting him very politely to Tigran’s tavern.’