‘Just the horses,’ Magnus muttered back, restraining Castor and Pollux by the collars, ‘and the crackle of the fire, of course.’ Vespasian listened again; no human sounds came from the burnt-out farm. Smoke still wafted from smouldering timbers; here and there was the flicker of flaming wood but ...
‘Dear boy, how are you?’ he said, waddling out of his study as Vespasian was let in slowly by the ancient doorkeeper. ‘Where is Sabinus? Did your parents find you? I told them not to go but I’m afraid when my sister wants something there’s no stopping her. Sit down and tell me what happened.’ Gai...
He opened his eyes; the room was still dark and a gentle breeze blew through the open window beyond which the sky heralded the coming day with a faint, pre-dawn glow. The kisses worked their way across his belly; with a sigh, Vespasian closed his eyes again and lay back in bliss. &nbs...
Vespasian looked up at him wearily through eyes squinting against the sun’s midday ferocity; his lips were cracked and his head throbbed from the heat beating down directly onto it in the absence of his hat. It was the second day after the sandstorm and they were all in a ...
His pugilist’s face was crowned with a heavy frown; dark eyes stared grim from above a battered nose at the suave man across the desk as his index finger took out his aggression on one of his cauliflower ears, drilling it deeply. ‘I’ve not come all the way here, Tatianus, to be told that the ship...
In the three years that you have been the Patronus of the Crossroads Brotherhood, here in the South Quirinal district, you have seen that I’ve always paid the not inconsiderable dues owed for your continuing protection in full and on time. I have always provided you with information on my clients...
Even in the middle of the night the city teemed with activity as suppliers made their deliveries with carts and wagons banned from Rome’s thoroughfares and lanes during daylight hours and the people feasted on the generous handouts made by the Emperor in thanks for the defeat of his persistent en...
A quick series of soft exhalations to encourage the dry shreds of cloth and fine woodchippings to start smouldering were successful and soon a tiny flame illumined the scarred, ex-boxer’s face of Marcus Salvius Magnus. One of his two companions, an ox-like man whose shaven head was sheened in swe...
‘The wicked deed that causes you all this distress was my doing; I confess it.’The audience roared with laughter at this well-delivered, purposely ambiguous line, slapping their knees and clapping their hands. The actor, playing the young lover, inclined his mask-obscured head in acknowledgement ...
Barrel chests sucked dusty air into their straining lungs whilst pounding hearts pumped blood to the muscles in their legs, which were working to the very limit of their power as they pulled a light chariot seven times around the track. They felt the reins tug back; they slowed, their current spr...