Wolf’s Empire: Gladiator by Claudia Christian and Morgan Grant Buchanan Read Free Book Online Page A

but didn’t betray any emotion. “I don’t teach beginners.”
    â€œI’m no beginner. Let me try out, you’ll see.”
    â€œThe Ludus Magnus is for serious athletes. If you’re injured, you can’t go running to papa and complain. When a gladiator swears the oath, it’s with total commitment, there’s no going back. How would that work? You an aristocrat and me a commoner? How could you take my orders? And even if you make the cut, the men won’t make it easy for you.”
    â€œIt doesn’t matter. I won’t stop.”
    â€œWon’t stop until what?”
    â€œUntil I’m the best.”
    He didn’t look impressed.
    â€œI heard that you were the only trainer in the capital who heeded his own mind, that’s why I came to you,” I said. “Now I can see you’re a coward, afraid of what the old men in the Senate will think of you.”
    He shrugged and turned to the gladiators running through their drills. “Lenticulus! There’s a girl over here who says you’re too slow with your spear.”
    â€œCome to my bed tonight,” the man called to me, “and I’ll show you a spear that will be more than enough to satisfy you.”
    â€œYou’ll have to suffer that kind of ill-mannered talk and much worse if you train here,” Marcus said to me. “You see, this is hardly the place for a lady.”
    â€œIf you can last a round against me, you can show me whatever you like,” I yelled at the spearman. Striding past Marcus and stepping into the practice ring, I let Orbis fly. The spearman managed to deflect my first cast, but by then I’d closed the gap. I snatched my weapon out of the air and recast, and within twenty seconds, Lenticulus lay bleeding on the ground, both his hamstring and spear tip neatly severed.
    â€œNot bad,” Marcus said as the medic rushed to treat my injured opponent. “You’re a left-hander; that will give you an advantage. Make it hard for your opponent to work out which way the discus will fly.”
    â€œYou’ll train me?”
    â€œI’ve got to tell you, it will be a big pain in the ass having you on board, I’ll never hear the end of it from the other owners, and these gladiators will complain about having a woman fighting, they’re very superstitious. But you know what I like more than anything? Winning matches and earning the prize money. That means I can keep doing what I love. You worked over Lenticulus good and proper, and he’s one of my best. You could be a winning horse. The odds in the gaming pool will be stacked against you from the outset, so I’ll win some money betting on you when they put you up against second-raters, and if you survive long enough to get a few matches under your belt, the crowds will swarm to see a noble Viridian gladiatrix. Win and keep winning, and we’ll get on just fine. You lose one match and you’re out, even if the crowd spares your life. If you talk back to me or complain, you’re out. If you’re late for practice, you’re out. Understand?”
    I could barely contain my excitement. “I thank you.”
    â€œI’ll have to teach you to control your weapon, teach it to retract its edge. We can’t have you wounding my fighters in practice. The only question is, when the crowd makes their call, can you deliver the death sentence to a gladiator you’ve wounded?”
    â€œI’m totally focused on my goal. Nothing will stand in my way.”
    â€œAll right. Training starts at five A.M. tomorrow. And don’t thank me—now is when we’ll see who’s the coward. Personally, I don’t think you’ll last a week.”
    â€œThe art of the discus is all about anticipation and timing,” Marcus said to me on my first training session. “Your weapon has a limited intelligence. It will always find the shortest path back to your hand, but