“Insult me all you want. I still say water cannot change.”
“If water cannot change then what do you think steam, is?” Lucius shot back.
“Everyone knows steam is smoke. Don’t be stupid.”
Lucius started to get up, but Adas intervened. “How can you be so stupid, Falto? Of course ice and steam comes from water. Cold water turns to ice; hot water turns to steam. I can’t believe you’re even arguing about this. Now both of you—shut your mouths!”
Adas strode up the garden path to put some distance between himself and his men. It had been a long three days and he was desperate for some privacy. However, Lucius’s break from his usual reticence was informative. Adas had been unaware Lucius’s ancestors originated in Gaul, which explained his height, pale eyes, and aggressive temperament. The warriors of Gaul were feared for good reason.
Lucius eyed Weasel with contempt. He stood up and trod around Falto, “accidently” kicking his foot. Falto started to protest, but instead blinked into the man’s menacing expression and shut his mouth. Falto could occasionally exhibit some good sense when it came to self-preservation.
A hush settled over the men, enabling Adas to think about the last few days. Fortunately, none of the expected riots had occurred. Adas made sure the tomb was well sealed. Volcanic ash and water made good cement. For two nights, nothing happened. No one came. The cement hardened. No one could possibly tamper with the tomb. Adas looked around at the sound of female voices. A group of Hebrew women carrying knapsacks were approaching. Adas stepped forward to confront them.
Abruptly, the earth shifted. Everyone tensed, trying to steady themselves. A man appeared before them dressed in brilliant white. His face glowed as if lit by an internal light. The four soldiers stared, mouths gaping open, eyes wide with terror. The man looked directly at Adas. In that instant, he knew the man was not of this world. Then there was nothing. Adas and the other three soldiers lay unconscious on the ground.
Adas opened his eyes and sat up. He had no idea how much time had elapsed, but he knew something phenomenal had happened. His men were lying on the ground. The women were gone. Seeing the tomb was open, he hurried inside. It was empty. There was a short track in the sand where the stone had been rolled. Next to the track were footprints of a single individual. The mysterious man had pulled the boulder from the seal, even though it weighed as much as ten men. Adas was numb with shock.
Lucius and the other two sat up, and tried to shake off their bewilderment. “Who was that man?” Lucius demanded. When he saw the tomb was open, he stumbled over to it. “By the gods, Valentius will have us executed for this! How can it be empty? The body was there when we sealed the tomb!”
Hektor and Falto looked inside. Hektor exclaimed, “How did this happen?”
“I don’t know,” said Adas. “None of this is possible, yet, it happened.”
“It seems obvious to me,” declared Lucius. “They stole the body!”
“Did you look in the tomb?” asked Adas. “The burial linens are there. They wouldn’t take the wrappings off the body first, and then steal it.”
“Maybe they did,” Lucius said defiantly, “who can understand these people?”
Falto looked at the sun-dial stick. “Ohe! The shadow has barely moved!”
“That doesn’t mean anything,” said Lucius.
“Yes it does,” said Adas. “We were unconscious only a few minutes. But go look at the burial linen. The wrappings are still in the shape of a body. The linen wasn’t unwrapped; it was—vacated. All of this is impossibilis!”
“What have we done?” exclaimed Hektor. “Did we really kill a son of the gods? Perhaps the glowing man was Zeus, himself. He will come back and take revenge on us.”
“No, I think the man was an angel of God,” said Adas.
“This talk is useless,” Lucius grumbled. “Pilate won’t care about an angel or an earthquake! In fact, we don’t need to tell Pilate anything. It’s the Sanhedrin we need to inform. They were afraid the Nazarene’s followers would steal the body. I say we turn this to our advantage.”
“Are you forgetting who is in command here?” Adas demanded. “You don’t make suggestions unless I ask for them.”
“My mistake, Centurion, but Decurion Quintus told us Pilate does not want to be bothered with this matter any further. He said we are to go to the Sanhedrin if there is trouble. So what are your orders?”
“I agree Pilate won’t care about an explanation. All he will care about is our failure. He will care very much about that.”
Hektor pursed his lips. “Sir, why do we need to report anything to anyone? Why don’t we just reseal the tomb? As far as we know, the women ran off and don’t even know the body is gone. If we reseal the tomb, no one will know besides the four of us.”
“I suppose we could,” Adas admitted. “However, something extraordinary happened and our lies won’t change that. I think if we cover this up, it will haunt. . .”
“Ohe!” cried Falto. He pointed toward the city gate. “Two men are coming! It’s too late to re-seal the tomb! What do we do now?”
Lucius grabbed his gear. “I’m going to the Sanhedrin. If they want me to lie they’re going to pay me.”
Adas rounded on him. “Legionary Octavean, stand down! I’m going to report to Valentius and the three of you are going with me.” At the centurion’s order, Hektor and Falto picked up their gear and prepared to go.
“Do you want to risk punishment—or worse?” demanded Lucius. “Valentius could have us executed! He will start with you, Centurion!”
“You dare to challenge a direct order?” Adas’s hand went to his dagger.
The legionary took hold of his sword, meeting Adas’s anger with defiance. “Would I disobey a direct order from you? Maybe. However, I do not disobey orders from Cohort Centurion Valentius. He outranks you, Centurion. All the centurions at the Antonia outrank you.”
Lucius turned and ran. Hektor and Falto glanced at each other, and then ran after Lucius. Adas would have shouted for them to stop, but he didn’t want to alert the approaching strangers.
Two Hebrew men were almost to the garden entrance, and there could be more. There was nothing he could do about his men, and he was out of time. He grabbed his gear and dove behind a ground-sweeping tamarisk tree in a corner of the garden. He was well hidden behind its dense grey-green foliage, but he could still see the tomb.
Lucius and the other two ran from the garden and circled around behind. Safely out of sight, Hektor caught Lucius by the arm. “Octavean, you had better know what you’re doing because we just signed our death warrants if Valentius betrays you.”
Lucius shook the man’s hand off. “I know what I’m doing. Valentius is desperate for revenge against the Longinus family. Believe me; he will cover for us against the centurion’s accusations. For now, we need to tell our story to the Sanhedrin. They’ll pay to cover this up. Falto are you with us?” Falto nodded. Lucius headed for the city gate. “Then let’s go.”
Hektor stopped Lucius again. “And tell them what, exactly?”
“The truth, of course! I can’t think of a better story than what really happened. Can you?”
“Will they believe us?”
“They better not! If they do, there will be no need to bribe us. Do you really think they would admit they had their Messiah killed?”
“What if Pilate finds out?” asked Hektor, still not convinced.
“The Sanhedrin will cover for us because an investigation would spread the news faster than a rabble