The Racing Factions Read online

  ‘It’s not something that’s occurred to me, Consul,’ Magnus replied truthfully, surprised at the thought that the loyalty Antonia had shown had been to him.

  ‘No, of course not, why would someone as lowly as you consider such things? Now tell me why I should place this bet with Ignatius?’

  ‘If you don’t we won’t tell you which race it’s going to be.’

  Ahenobarbus laughed; it was a grating sound. ‘That’s no threat, little man; I could take the information and then place the wager with anyone.’

  ‘But the other three bookmakers in the senators’ enclosure have all been in there for a very long time and consequently are very wealthy; even a bet ten times that amount won’t hurt them. However, Ignatius has yet to attain such riches as, up until now, he’s just been a bookmaker to the masses; if you place it with him it’ll ruin him completely and you can get your pleasure in chasing him for every sestertius.’

  Ahenobarbus folded his arms and contemplated Magnus. ‘Do you think that I derive pleasure from other people’s misfortunes?’

  Magnus knew that he had to reply with care. ‘I’ve heard that . . . you like to win.’

  There was a brittle silence in the room that was abruptly shattered by another hoarse laugh. ‘By the gods below, I do; and, what’s more, I like to be sure that I’m going to win. How can we be certain that this Ignatius will accept the wager?’

  ‘His greed; he wants to be as rich as the other three book-makers in the senators’ enclosure and he wants to be so quickly. As you know, one Colour finishing first, second and third is very rare indeed; he’ll think that your money is his the moment you show it to him and name your bet.’

  Ahenobarbus’ eyes narrowed and he compressed his lips so tightly that the skin around them went pale as the blood was forced away. ‘The bastard’s going to think he’s taking me for a fool; no one does that.’ Again the palms slammed down on the desk. ‘All right, I’ll do this. Tell me which race-day?’

  ‘The one in three days’ time.’

  ‘Which race?’

  ‘I’ll be able to tell you that just after halfway through the programme. Have one of your slaves waiting at the entrance to the senators’ enclosure; a man with a missing left hand will come and tell him which race.’

  Magnus heaved his way towards Servius through the crowds of Red supporters flocking along one side of the tenement-lined street leading to the Aemilian Bridge. The other side of the road was lined with Whites; as always on a race-day, the Urban Cohorts’ heavy presence kept the two sides apart.

  ‘I can’t imagine how people get any enjoyment from just watching the teams going to the circus,’ Magnus muttered, reaching his counsellor as the final twelve Red chariots of the day came into view to Red cheers and White derision.

  ‘It’s good for us that a lot of people expect very little from life, brother.’

  ‘It is indeed. Where’s Cassandros?’

  ‘He’ll be along any moment; he had to wait for his flexible little friend to help harness all the last twelve teams before he could slip out and report on their form.’

  Magnus took a few moments to scan the crowd and then looked up behind him; he caught the eye of Tigran in a window on the second floor of a plain, rickety brick tenement overlooking the Red crowd. A few windows down from him he discerned the ox-like silhouette of Sextus; Magnus nodded his satisfaction. ‘The lads are in position. Did you see Rufinus and his boys?’

  ‘I’ve just left them.’ Servius pointed up the street to Rufinus, who nodded at Magnus. ‘He’s waiting for your signal; his lads are ready and looking forward to it.’

  Magnus slapped his hands together. ‘So am I, brother, so am I.’

  The first of the Red chariots, driven by apprentice charioteers, drew level, raising the volume of the crowd all around them.

  Marius eased his way through the throng and up to Magnus as the Red teams streamed by, roared on with increasing passion by their supporters. ‘They’re all ready at the other bridge.’

  The last Red chariots drove by and Cassandros finally appeared.

  ‘Well?’ Magnus asked.

  ‘Well, of the last four races the teams in the first one are going to be driven by their three best charioteers.’

  ‘No good, brother, the Whites will put three of their six spare teams in that one and the rest in the next; what about the third race?’

  Cassandros grinned. ‘If they survive the first race the same three charioteers will drive in the third, and, what’s more, the teams have won two of their last eight races and been placed in another four.’

  Magnus slapped him on the shoulder. ‘That’s our one; top charioteers and teams with form. Well done, mate, I know how hard you had to work to get that information. You can have a rest from it now.’

  ‘No chance, brother, he fits me like a glove.’

  Magnus drew the air through his teeth, screwing up his face. ‘Literally I suppose.’ Shaking his head to banish the image he turned to Marius. ‘Off you go to the senators’ enclosure and tell Ahenobarbus’ slave: the second-to-last race of the day.’

  ‘Right you are, Magnus.’

  ‘Rufinus has given his men orders to let you across the bridge, just show him your stump and tell him which race. Oh, and Senator Pollo has got one of his young lads waiting there too, tell him the same thing.’

  Marius disappeared off into the crowd in the direction of the Aemilian Bridge as roars from the opposite direction indicated the proximity of the final twelve White chariots of the day.

  ‘Cassandros, get back down to the other bridge and tell the lads that we’re just about to start.’ As Cassandros moved off Magnus put his arm around Servius’ shoulder and guided him away. ‘I think we should step this way; some of the lads may not be so accurate.’

  ‘A wise precaution.’

  The roaring from the White supporters on the far side of the street intensified as their teams drew closer; at the same time the hisses and cat-calls from the Reds increased in animosity. Here and there small scuffles broke out that were soon dealt with by the men of the Urban Cohorts. Magnus caught sight of Rufinus slapping a miscreant with the side of his sword; their eyes met; the centurion nodded and moved away towards the bridge, taking his men with him.

  The White teams came into view, resplendent with tall white plumes adorning their heads and white ribbons decorating their manes and tying back their tails; high-stepping, heads tossing with jangling harnesses and flaccid-lipped snorts, the first team – four greys – came level with Tigran’s window as the bays behind them reached Sextus’. Within an instant the Whites’ cheers of approval had turned into howls of outrage as they, quite literally, saw red. A tongue of crimson liquid flooded through the air from Tigran’s window, expanding as it descended; a second jet of red shot through Sextus’ window. For a moment time seemed to slow as both airborne streams of red paint flowed inexorably towards the leading couple of White teams; with a wet slap and splatter the greys became piebald red and grey whilst behind them the bay team’s coats were spattered and their feathers dripped crimson.

  The reaction was immediate; enraged that their colour should be so soiled, the Whites charged at the perceived perpetrators of the outrage with the fury of the deeply offended. The Reds responded with equal measure; still smarting from the Greens’ ruse four days earlier, they were more than happy to fight anyone. With the men of the Urban Cohorts withdrawn the whole street erupted into an orgy of violence, trapping the White teams who reared and bucked in terror, ripping their traces and smashing their chariots.

  ‘That’ll do to start with,’ Magnus chuckled as he and Servius hurried away along the back of the crowd before they too were trapped by the fighting. ‘A conscientious centurion like Rufinus will have no choice but to close the Aemilian Bridge to everyone in order to prevent the fighting spreading across the river.’

  ‘And it looks like it might go on for a long time,’ Servius observed as Tigran and Sextus caught up with them.
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  ‘What a shame for the White teams stuck in it; they’re bound to miss their races now.’

  Sprinting towards the Tiber Island they soon outpaced the spreading riot. As they crossed the bridge Magnus looked back and waved at a second-floor window on the Whites’ side of the road. An instant later four streams of green paint spurted out and flew across the street, splattering the Red crowd; four more followed in their wake. It was now the Reds’ turn for righteous indignation; covered in the colour of their hated rivals who had cheated them so grievously a few days before they burst over the road and attacked the people who must have been responsible for the deeply offensive insult.

  Magnus and his brethren ran on; they traversed the Tiber Island and reached the eastern bank of the river, speeding on towards the Circus Maximus and leaving raucous mayhem in their wake.

  *

  ‘I thought I’d come and watch it with you, gentlemen,’ Euprepes said, sitting down next to Magnus and Servius as the gates of the Circus Maximus opened to admit the teams competing in the second-to-last race of the day. ‘My drivers understand their orders so now comes the moment of truth.’

  Magnus shifted uneasily on the stone seating as the three Red chariots appeared followed by the Blues, accompanied by cheers and jeers from the huge crowd. Suddenly his eyes opened wide in astonishment. ‘Juno’s bald crack! A White!’

  Down on the track a single White chariot trailed in after the three Greens to gales of laughter from the supporters of the other three factions.

  Magnus looked in alarm at Euprepes. ‘I don’t call that funny at all. I thought when they only put two chariots into the previous race it was because they only had five spare teams.’

  ‘They must have saved the sixth for a chance in this race. That’s Scorpus.’

  ‘The fuckers! He’s good.’

  ‘It’s all right, Magnus, my lads will deal with it.’

  ‘They’d better, my friend,’ Magnus said, thinking of the chances of keeping his eyes, or any other part of his anatomy, should Ahenobarbus lose his money.

  The ten hortatores entered the circus whilst the starter drew numbered coloured balls from a barrel; as each team’s number was called they could choose which of the twelve starting boxes to occupy.

  Once all the teams were loaded, slaves pushed the double doors back against the poles, behind each one, that were inserted into highly tensioned, twisted bundle of sinews. The doors were secured with a wooden bolt placed vertically through two overlapping iron rings – one screwed to each door; cords of twine, attached to each bolt, ran up to the roof of the boxes and then over, through eyelets, and down the back to the starter’s position so that all could be pulled open simultaneously. The hortatores then took up position in a line, fifty paces in front of their teams’ respective starting boxes as a slave patrolled the roof, checking each cord, making certain that all could run free.

  The crowd went silent with anticipation. From within the dark confines of the starting boxes the teams neighed and snorted; the hortatores’ mounts stamped and tossed as their riders struggled to control them.

  The presiding praetor – the man who had sponsored the day’s racing – stepped forward to the front of the senators’ enclosure and held up a white napkin; it fluttered in the breeze. The crowd drew communal breath as he paused for a few moments; then, with a flick, the napkin dropped. The starter pulled on the cords, the doors burst open and, to the delirium of the crowd, the teams sprang forward. Suddenly, from the Blue end of the circus, there came jeers and whistles; Magnus scanned the chariots to see that there were only two of that colour running. Looking back at the starting boxes he saw that one remained shut; of the slave on the roof there was no sign.

  ‘A starting-box malfunction,’ Euprepes observed with a look of false concern. ‘What a shame for the Blues. Still, it does happen from time to time.’

  Magnus grinned. ‘Especially if you can get your man on the roof.’

  ‘Now that would be cheating; we wouldn’t stoop to that.’

  ‘Never.’

  Down on the track the nine remaining teams stormed up the Aventine straight with a Blue in the lead, closely pursued by a Red with a Green outside him.

  ‘The Blue is Lacerta,’ Euprepes informed Magnus, ‘I’ve been trying to negotiate in secret with him to come over to our faction.’

  Magnus nodded dumbly. With tension constricting his throat, he remained silent as the first corner was rounded with Lacerta ten paces in front. Behind, the Green steered clear of the Red but not so clear as to make it obvious – just a hand’s breadth – as both chariots took the corner too fast and skewed out into the middle of the track. Hardly able to look, Magnus watched the next two Reds, battling with Scorpus the White on the inside and the remaining Blue – a Numidian – just behind, negotiate the 180-degree turn. Spraying clouds of fine sand, the four chariots skidded around behind their sure-footed teams, the charioteers all leaning to their left to prevent their vehicles from tipping over to disaster.

  They disappeared around the corner mainly obscured from Magnus’ vision by the angle of the statues that adorned the length of the spina. A roar went up from the White supporters on the Palatine side of the circus gates as the final two Greens entered the curve.

  Magnus strained his neck. ‘Fuck! What can they see?’

  Glimpses of fast-moving chariots, flashing across the gaps between the statues, tormented Magnus with their brevity.

  The Whites’ volume grew.

  The leading teams raced down the Palatine straight and angle lessened; the gaps grew wide enough for Magnus to see that Lacerta was still in front and also to discern the cause of the Whites’ excitement. ‘Shit! Scorpus has moved up into second and is gaining; he could fuck this for us. What are your drivers going to do about him?’

  Euprepes did not reply but stared intently down at the track, clenching his fists on his knees as the first dolphin tilted and Lacerta started the second lap with Scorpus just five paces behind him; the lead Red was a good twenty paces to his rear.

  The supporters of the Blues and Whites strove to outdo each other in the intensity of cheering as the next lap proceeded in a welter of dust and speed. Magnus glanced over at the imperial box where he could make out Antonia; next to her was the brooding figure of Ahenobarbus.

  The second and then the third dolphins tilted as Lacerta and Scorpus pulled away from the rest of the field in their own private battle for first place. The leading Red remained third, closely followed by the first Green with the Blue Numidian on his inside. The next two Reds were nigh on fifty paces behind and beyond them the final two Greens were out of the race, over half a length of the track behind the leaders.

  Magnus’ head slumped into his hands. ‘I’m going to have to get out of Rome, Servius; Ahenobarbus will tear the place apart looking for me.’

  The old counsellor looked grim. ‘That certainly looks to be the only option.’

  Euprepes remained silent, his fists still bunched, glaring down at the track with his jaw jutted out in concentration.

  The fourth dolphin tilted and the situation had worsened.

  Boys from the factions, based on the spina, threw skins of water out at their racers to quench their thirsts and to wash the dust from their stinging eyes. As the Numidian snatched at a skin aimed at him half a dozen smaller shapes hurtled through the dust from behind a spina statue. They cannoned into his team, catching the inside horse down its flank and on its jaw; the beast slewed to the right, buffeting its fellows and pushing the outside horse’s forelegs on to the wheel of the Green chariot next to it. The sharp edge of the iron tyre grated through skin and flesh and rasped the bone; the leg buckled and the horse collapsed to its right, crashing on to the side of the Green chariot, hauling its teammates down with it in a skidding spray of sand. With his team’s momentum violently checked the Numidian’s chariot arced to the right, snapping it from the central pole, hurling him, splay-limbed, into the air to somersault once before crunching do
wn on his back with lung-emptying force. The Green charioteer fought to control his team as they veered off to the right; the two trailing Reds swerved to avoid the wreckage, and moved past the Green.

  Euprepes fists slammed down on to his knees. ‘A hail of curses!’

  Magnus inhaled, deeply, suddenly aware that he had been holding his breath for a very long time. ‘Very good, my friend; nothing like nail-studded lead tablets to bring a horse down.’

  Servius nodded in appreciation, playing nervously with the loose skin on his neck. ‘And who’s to say who threw them, the track’s always littered with them.’

  Magnus glanced up at the dolphins as the fifth tilted down. Lacerta pulled his body back on the reins around his waist, slowing his Blue team, taking the bend tightly and allowing Scorpus to draw level with him as he took the longer route around the outside at considerably more speed; their supporters screamed them both on. They whipped their teams away down the Aventine straight for the sixth time, neck and neck; their hortatores both waved an arm above their heads indicating the position of the Numidian’s wrecked chariot. Ahead the trailing two Green teams could just be glimpsed rounding the far turning point.

  As the three Reds began their sixth lap, Magnus felt the bile rise in his throat and sweat trickling down his cheeks; he glanced over at Ahenobarbus in despair. ‘They’ll never catch them; our only chance is that Lacerta and Scorpus bring each other down.’ He looked with venom at the trailing Green teams, now almost three-quarters of a lap behind the leaders. ‘I never thought I’d say this but: fucking Greens!’

  As Lacerta and Scorpus turned into the last lap the last two Green chariots were only halfway down the Aventine straight.

  With another quick look at the imperial box Magnus saw that Ahenobarbus was sitting very, very still. ‘That’s it,’ he muttered, getting to his feet, ‘I’m off; I intend to be out of the city within the hour.’

  Euprepes grabbed his arm and pulled him back. ‘It’s not over until the final dolphin dives.’

  ‘It is for me.’

  Euprepes looked Magnus in the eye. ‘Trust me.’