‘If you choose to disband the Senate, there will be civil war again, with the city in flames once more,’ Antonidus said. ‘However, I suspect you would emerge triumphant at the end. You know you have unwavering support in the legions.’
‘That is the path of kings,’ Sulla replied. ‘It draws and repels me at the same time. I loved the Republic, would still love it now if it was run by the sort of men who ruled when I was a boy. They are all gone now and when Rome calls, the little ones who are left can only run crying to me.’ He belched suddenly, wincing, and as he did so Antonidus felt a worm of pain begin in his own gut. Fear brought him to his feet, his glance falling to the bowls, one empty, one barely touched.
‘What is it?’ Sulla demanded, pulling himself upright, his face twisting in the knowledge even as he spoke. The burning in his belly was spreading and he pressed his hand into himself as if to crush it.
‘I feel it too,’ Antonidus said in panic. ‘It could be poison. Put your fingers down your throat, quickly!’
Sulla staggered slightly, going down onto one knee. He seemed about to pass out and Antonidus reached towards him, ignoring his own smaller pain even as it swelled.
He pushed a finger into the Dictator’s limp mouth, grimacing as a flood of slippery pulp vomited out of him. Sulla moaned, his eyes rolling back in his head.
‘Come on, come on, again,’ Antonidus insisted, pressing his fingertips into the soft flesh of the inner throat. The spasms came, ejecting dark bile and saliva from the lips until the Dictator heaved drily. Then the wrenching chest sagged and the lungs ceased to draw, failing with one last wheezing breath. Antonidus shouted for help and emptied his own stomach, hoping through his fear that he had not taken enough to kill him.
The guards were quick, but they found Sulla already pale and still and Antonidus semi-conscious, spattered with a stinking broth of all they had eaten. He had barely enough strength to rise, but they were frozen, unsure without orders.
‘Fetch doctors!’ he croaked, his throat feeling raw and swollen. The pain in his stomach began to level off and he took his hand away, trying to gather himself.
‘Seal the house. The Dictator has been poisoned!’ he shouted. ‘Send men to the kitchens. I want to know who brought this slop up here and the name of everyone who touched it. Move!’ His strength seemed to leave him in that moment and he let himself sag back onto the couch where he had been so peacefully discussing the Senate only minutes before. He knew he had to act quickly or Rome would erupt in chaos as soon as the news hit the streets. Once more he vomited, and when he was done he felt weak, but his mind began to clear.
When the doctors rushed in they ignored the general to tend to Sulla. They touched him at the wrist and neck and looked at each other in horror.
‘He is gone,’ one of them said, his face white.
‘His killers will be found and torn apart. I swear it on my house and my gods,’ Antonidus whispered, his voice as bitter as the taste in his mouth.
Tubruk reached the small door that led out to the street just as shouts erupted in the main buildings of Sulla’s city home. There was only one guard there, but the man was alert and ready, his face forbidding.
‘Get back on your way, slave,’ he said firmly, his hand on his gladius. Tubruk growled at him and leapt forward, punching him off his feet with a sudden blow. The soldier fell awkwardly, knocked senseless. Tubruk paused, knowing he could step quickly over him, through the little trade entrance and be gone. The man would recognise him and be able to give a description, though he could well be executed for failing to hold the gate. Tubruk took a grip on the despair that had filled him since killing Casaverius. His duty was to Cornelia and Julius – and to the memory of Julius’ father, who had trusted him.
Grimly, he drew his small knife and cut the soldier’s throat, standing clear so as to avoid getting blood on his clothes. The man gurgled with the cut, his eyes clearing for a moment before death took him. Tubruk dropped the knife and opened the gate, stepping out onto the city streets and into the thin crowd of people, walking their peaceful journeys unknowing as the old wolf moved through them.
He had to reach Fercus to be safe, but there was more than a mile to go and though he moved quickly he could not run for fear of someone spotting and chasing him. Behind, he could hear the familiar clatter of soldiers’ sandals as they took up position and began halting the crowds, searching for weapons, looking for a guilty face.
More legionaries ran past him, their gazes sweeping the crowd as they tried to get ahead and close the road. Tubruk took a side street and then another, trying not to panic. They would not know yet who they were looking for, but he had to shave the beard as soon as he was safe. Whatever happened, he knew they must not take him alive. At least then, with luck, they might never link him to the estate and Julius’ family.
As the soldiers began to close the road, a man in the crowd suddenly ran, throwing aside a basket of vegetables he had been carrying. Tubruk thanked the gods for the man’s guilty conscience and tried not to look back as the soldiers brought him down, though the man’s squeal was desperate as they cracked his head onto the stone street. Tubruk walked through turning after turning with hurried steps and the shouting was left behind at last. He slowed his pace in the darkening shadows as he reached the alley that Fercus had told him to make for. At first, he thought it was deserted, but then he saw his friend step out from an unlit doorway and beckon to him. He went inside quickly, his nerves close to breaking, finally collapsing in the dirty little room that meant safety, at least for a while.
‘Did you do it?’ Fercus asked as Tubruk tried to get his breath back and his racing pulse to slow.
‘I think so. We will know tomorrow. They have closed off the streets, but I made it clear. Gods, it was close!’
Fercus handed him a razor and motioned to a bowl of cold water.
‘You still have to get clear of the city, my friend. And that will not be easy if Sulla is dead. If he is alive, it will be next to impossible.’
‘Are you ready to do what you have to?’ Tubruk said quietly, rubbing the water into the bushy growth that covered his face.
‘I am, though it hurts me to do it.’
‘Not as much as it will hurt me. Do it quickly once I have shaved.’
He noticed his hand trembled as he used the narrow blade and cursed to himself as he cut the skin.
‘Let me do it,’ Fercus said, taking the razor from him. For a few minutes there was silence between them, though their thoughts ran wildly.
‘Did you get out without being seen?’ Fercus asked as he worked at the stubborn bristle. Tubruk didn’t answer for a long time.
‘No. I had to kill two innocent men.’
‘The Republic can stand a little blood on its hem if Sulla’s death restores equality to Rome. I cannot regret what you have done, Tubruk.’
Tubruk remained silent as the blade cut away the last of his beard. He rubbed his face, his eyes sad.
‘Do it now, while I feel numb.’
Fercus took a deep breath, walking around to face the old gladiator. There was nothing left of the shambling Dalcius in his strong face.
‘Perhaps …’ Fercus began hesitantly.
‘It is the only way. We discussed this. Do it!’ Tubruk gripped the arms of the chair as Fercus raised a fist and began to beat his face into an unrecognisable mess. He felt his nose break along old lines and spat onto the floor. Fercus breathed heavily and Tubruk coughed, wincing.
‘Don’t stop … yet,’ he whispered through the pain, wanting it to be over.
When they were finished, Fercus would return with Tubruk to his own home, leaving the rented room behind without a trace of them. Tubruk would be chained into a coffle of slaves leaving the city, his face swollen.