Last Seen in Massilia by Steven Saylor Read Free Book Online

snorted. “Hardly. These fellows aren’t engineers. They’re simple men. They just needed a bit of drilling so they won’t trip over their own feet in a tight spot.”
    I nodded thoughtfully. “I suppose any reasonably bright fellow could pick up what to do on the spot.”
    “Certainly. Any fool could. And if something did go horribly wrong, he’d die just as quickly as the ones who’ve been specially trained for the mission.” He snuggled under his blanket, closed his eyes, and sighed.
    A red glimmer appeared along the jagged horizon to the east. I shrugged off my blanket and told Vitruvius he would have to watch the sunrise alone. He didn’t answer. I retreated to the sound of gentle snoring.
     
    In the officers’ tent I managed to wake Davus and pull him from his bed without rousing the others. Half-asleep and confused, he nodded as I explained to him my intention.
    From Meto I knew how Caesar arranged his camps and where stores of surplus equipment might be found. The tent I was looking for was just behind that of Trebonius, and unguarded. What penalty would the commander deem appropriate for two outsiders caught stealing weapons during a siege? I tried not to think about that as we searched in the dim light among dented helmets, nicked swords, and mismatched greaves.
    “This one fits perfectly, father-in-law. And I can’t find any damage at all.”
    I looked up to see Davus trying on a helmet. I shook my head. “No, Davus, you misunderstood. My fault for explaining while you were still half-asleep. I will be going through the tunnel, not you.”
    “But I’m coming with you, of course.”
    “There’s no need. If Vitruvius is correct, the city will be open in a matter of hours. We can meet up again tomorrow, perhaps even tonight.”
    “And if the engineer is wrong? You know what Meto says: Things never go exactly the way they expect in a battle.”
    I ran my fingertip along a dull, rusty sword blade. “Davus, do you remember the scene the day before we left Rome? Your wife—my daughter—was very, very upset.”
    “No more than your wife! Bethesda was frantic. Those curses she  uttered made my hair stand on end, and I don’t even know Egyptian.”
    “Yes, Diana and Bethesda were both distraught. But the night before we left, I made my peace with Bethesda. She understood why I had to come here, why I couldn’t sit idly in Rome wondering about Meto, not knowing for certain if he was alive or dead. Diana was another matter.”
    “She understood too, in the end.”
    “Did she? I can hear her now: ‘Papa, what can you be thinking, taking Davus with you? Didn’t you just trek all the way to Brundisium and back to fetch him from Pompey’s clutches? Now you want to go off to yet another battlefield and put him back in harm’s way.’ She had a point.”
    “Father-in-law, you couldn’t possibly have traveled here alone. A man your age—”
    “And you made Diana see that. Congratulations, Davus—you wield more influence over my daughter than I ever did! But before we left, she made me promise that I wouldn’t put you in danger if I could possibly avoid it.”
    “So…you’re saying that this tunnel business is dangerous.”
    “Of course it is! Men were never meant to burrow through the ground like rabbits, any more than they were meant to fly, or breathe underwater. And people tend not to like it when an army appears out of a hole in the ground.”
    “You could be killed, father-in-law.”
    I ran my fingertip over another blade and gasped when it cut me. I sucked at the thin trickle of bright red blood. “It’s possible.”
    “Then I’m coming with you.”
    I shook my head. “No, Davus—”
    “It was agreed that I would come along to protect you. You haven’t had much need for protection until now.”
    “No, Davus. I promised your wife that I’d bring you home alive.”
    “And I promised your wife the same thing!”
    We stared at each other blankly, then both laughed. “Then I