Page 1 of Of Love and Treason
I
CITY OF ROME
SEPTEMBER, AD 269
The merchant promised a miracle if Iris wore the pendant.
“It restores what has been lost.” His voice dropped, thick with secrecy, as if afraid he’d be overrun by every careless citizen looking for misplaced purses and apartment keys. “I watched it grow a full head of hair on a bald man and add two inches of height to a stooped old woman. I am certain the pendant will work for you.”
Iris fingered the thumb-sized piece of stone strung on a chain. It was heavy in her hand and the temptation to purchase it equally weighty. This day marked seven years of blindness. Some called it a curse of the gods. Iris called it unfair.
She bit her lip. She had to decide before the Markets of Trajan closed and her father came looking for her. “You’re certain it will work?”
“Absolutely, my lovely one.” He smelled of sweat and onions.
This merchant was new. Iris had bumped into his makeshift booth by accident as she left the bakery after her morning shift. He occupied most of the wide aisle between Yanni’s Silk Slippers, which were no longer made of silk, and the Fine Falernian Wine Shop, which now sold cheap wateryposca—but with class.
As if sensing her hesitation, the merchant continued. “These stones are special. Dug from enchanted mines high in the Alps wherefew dare to tread. Only priests who have undergone extensive purification rituals can enter the mines, and fewer make it out alive. This stone is enchanted, kissed by gods and blessed by priests. It will give you what you seek, if you are true of heart and belief.” Fingernails scratched against stubble. “It’s a small price to pay for your sight.”
Iris still hesitated. Past experience shouted that it would not work. But what if it did? What if this stone was what she’d needed all along? She’d long endured the whispers of neighbors and passersby, all murmuring about the poor jailor’s daughter and speculating about what heinous sin she’d committed against the gods to be cursed with blindness.
She’d always wonder unless she tried.
“All right.” She handed the pendant back to the merchant, shifted her walking stick to the crook of her elbow, and took out her purse. “I’ll take it.”
“A wise choice.”
A strange male voice spoke at Iris’s ear. “I wouldn’t buy it if I were you.”
She jumped and clutched her purse to her chest.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” He gave her arm a light tap. “Don’t buy the necklace.”
She lifted her chin and shifted away from him, fighting irritation over yet another well-intentioned stranger who thought she couldn’t make her own decisions.
Still... she sighed. “Why not?”
“It’s a chip of marble strung on a brass chain. He’s a swindler.”
“Hey!” the merchant snarled. “Thisis an enchanted stone. It restores what has been lost. I’ll take you to the magistrate on charges of slander.”
“Asterius?”The stranger’s voice brightened. “I know him well—tell him Val said hello.”
“How do you know it won’t work?” Iris pressed. Did she dare let a possibly enchanted necklace slip through her fingers at the dissuasion of a stranger? Of course, it wasn’t as if she knew the merchant any better.
She caught a faint whiff of sandalwood as the stranger leaned closer to whisper, his breath blowing herpallaagainst her cheek.
“He’s missing a tooth.”
Iris couldn’t stifle the laugh in time.
“Get away from my booth before I call over the guard.” The merchant’s voice rose in elevation as if he’d straightened to his full height. “This is a respectable business.”
Ah. There it was. A slight whistling of air between his teeth.
Heart sinking at yet another disappointment, Iris stepped away from the stall, sliding her walking stick along the cobbles. The stranger’s footsteps moved in tandem with hers. She looped her purse strings around her wrist and clutched it in her fist. Stopping in the cool shade of another shop front, Iris inhaled the musty sweetness of pears and melons thick in the air. Her stomach growled.
“Here.” The man’s voice moved low as he bent and scratched at the street before plopping a warm rock into her hand. “Nowthisis an enchanted piece of cobble. It reveals the name of whoever touches it—but it may also carry the plague, so be careful.”
