The Venus Throw by Steven Saylor Read Free Book Online Page B

remained of the one hundred who came from Alexandria to confront the Senate, armed with righteous indignation and the certain favor of the gods for a just cause. Attended only by our slaves we made our bedraggled way to Rome. There was no grand entrance for us! Instead we slunk through the gates like thieves, hoping to escape notice. We dispersed ourselves about the city, staving with friends and acquaintances; many turned us away, when they learned of the tribulations we had brought upon our hosts in Neapolis and Puteoli, and the destruction of Palla’s property! Meanwhile, we petitioned the Senate for an audience—but the Senate answered us with silence.”
    He turned toward the brazier and stared into the flames. “What a winter! No winter in Alexandria was ever so cold. How do you Romans stand it? I cover myself with blankets at night and still I can’t stop shivering. What misery! And the murders . . .”
    He began to shake and couldn’t seem to stop.
    “Shall I call a slave to bring you a blanket?” I said.
    “No, no, it’s not the cold.” He hugged himself, and at last managed to take a deep breath and stopped shaking.“During those terrible days in Neapolis and Puteoli and on the road, I kept one thought in my mind:
When we reach Rome
, I told myself,
when we reach Rome . . .
    “But you see, there was a fallacy in my reasoning, for I never really finished that thought. When we reach Rome—then what? Did I tell myself, When we reach Rome, there shall be only ten of us left? Did I ever think that the Senate would snub us, and refuse even to hear me? Or that there would be still more treachery and betrayals, until I would lose my faith even in the men I most trusted when we left Alexandria? Or that we would be murdered one by one, until only a handful remained—by the very fact of their survival, traitors and tools of King Ptolemy? Do you understand what has happened to me, Gordianus?” He held out his hands in a gesture of supplication, and on his face I saw the full measure of his despair. “I left Alexandria full of worry but also full of hope. Now . . .”
    “Murders, you said. Here in Rome?”
    “Yes. At least three since we arrived. We all stayed in different houses, under the roofs of men I thought we could trust. I feared another full-scale attack, you see, until I realized that Rome is Rome, not Neapolis or Puteoli. Even King Ptolemy would never dare to stage a massive assault or manufacture a riot in the shadow of the Senate. The men who rule Rome tolerate such flagrant crimes at a distance, but not in their presence. No foreign king could be allowed to stir up the masses or set files or practice open warfare in Rome itself.”
    “You’re right. Senators reserve those privileges for themselves.”
    “So the king changed his tactics. Instead of trying to kill us all at once, he turned to assassinating us one by one.”
    “By what means?”
    “Quietly. By poison. Suffocation. Stabbing.”
    “With the complicity of their hosts?”
    Dio paused. “Perhaps. Perhaps not. Slaves can sometimesbe bribed or blackmailed. But masters can be bribed or blackmailed as well, especially when the pressure comes from the kind of men allied with King Ptolemy.”
    “Men such as Pompey?”
    He nodded. “And I suspect there are respectable Romans—perhaps even senators—who are not above committing a murder or two to gain Pompey’s favor or repay some debt they owe him.”
    “Be careful, Dio. So far you’ve accused your own king of being behind this slaughter. Now you’re implicating a man who happen to be Rome’s most beloved general and very possibly her future dictator.”
    “I tell you, these are the men behind the killings. King Ptolemy is not even in Rome any longer. He’s retired to Ephesus for the winter, leaving everything in Pompey’s hands. And why not? Pompey has as much to gain as Ptolemy if the king can keep his throne, so Pompey has continued the attacks against the delegation. Since