Page 33 of Of Love and Treason
“But?” He waited.
“I don’t know what changed your mind.” Hector tipped his head and took a drink. “But I won’t forget the look on my Lill’s face when you came with the contract.”
Valens squinted.All this to say thank you?
The other two men set their cups on the table and turned questioning looks on Valens.
Hector lowered his voice further. “Will you do it again?”
XI
QUINTUS LURCHED TO HIS FEETwith a salute and a deep bow when the old man entered, draped in pristine white robes bearing a red- and purple-striped border. A crow perched on his shoulder, glittering like charred wood. He did not require an introduction.
“It is an honor indeed to be graced with the presence of the chief augur of Jupiter, Best and Greatest.” Quintus slowly straightened. “I am in your service.”
Gaius Favius Diastema, chief augur and interpreter of the will of Rome’s highest deity, glanced around the room before answering. “I would speak with you privately, Jailor.” Rain dripped down the sides of his balding head, soaking the neck of his robe. The crow tilted his head, centering Quintus in one obsidian eye.
Quintus nodded. “We are alone.”
Favius hesitated, rubbing a liver-spotted thumb along the worn spot on the curved divining rod he held. Quintus waited, hardly believing his good fortune. He’d meant to purchase a meeting with the augurs and have them divine through the flight pattern of the birds whether Iris would see again. He’d never imagined the chief augur would come tohim. The gods were surely smiling upon him today.
Gaius Favius lifted his chin and took a deep breath. “I need you to arrest someone for me.” He kept his voice low. “Off the record.”
Quintus waited in vain for the augur to elaborate. “What are the grounds for arrest?”
Favius shifted. “None yet.”
“To knowingly arrest and hold an innocent would put my job and reputation at great risk.” Quintus’s mind raced over the ramifications. No one could be imprisoned on suspicion alone, and besides, the carcer was more of a halfway point between conviction and execution or banishment.
“The arrest must take place under utmost secrecy. There can be no witnesses; do you understand? The arrest happenssub rosaor not at all.”
Quintus opened his mouth but said nothing. Chief augur or not, how could he risk his reputation, his livelihood, his daughter—for such a venture? Yet perhaps...
The augur’s eyes narrowed. “I will protect your reputation and reward you,handsomely.”
At this, Quintus’s head lifted. How handsomely? Enough to get him and Iris out of Rome? Enough to pay the debts?
The augur’s eyes sparked with triumph and the crow reared his head back with a sharp cackle. Quintus gave a quick nod when Favius named the target and his price.
“I will do it.” An idea lit within him. “But my condition is this: You must ask Jupiter, Best and Greatest, if he will restore sight to my daughter. When he answers, I will do as you say.”
Irritation flashed through the old man’s eyes at the bargaining, but he agreed to perform the auguries.
A week passed before a messenger arrived at the carcer with a single word.
Yes.
Hope surging, Quintus began his search.
XII
VALENS WANDEREDTHROUGH THE PUBLIC GARDENcovering a large portion of Caelian Hill, looking for the meeting place he’d been directed to. He hadn’t told anyone about the ex-legionnaires and thinking about them now only brought his mind back to Iris. He’d tried multiple times in the last week to find her again, but his duties had brought him into the office earlier and earlier and kept him so late in the afternoon that by the time he got to the bakery, Iris had already gone. He prayed the opportunity to speak with her again would come soon and that her willingness to hear the truth would not be hindered by the way he’d left her the last time. He winced at the memory.
Low shrubs wearing the crinkled, wilting leaves of early autumn adorned the terraces cut into the rise of the hill. Cypress and palms stood tall, the untrimmed dead fronds rustling in the damp breeze. Valens hurried toward the cedar grove ahead that provided cover amid the sparse autumnal gardens. That must be it. All thoughts of Iris were put aside for the moment as he entered the ring of trees.
As promised, three couples and two additional men waited in the grove, faces upturned as if wondering if the clouds would empty rain upon them. Better if they did. There would be less chance of anyone else happening upon them.
He lifted a hand, recognizing Hector and Lillith and the two ex-soldiers Hector had introduced at their compulsory meeting.The brides, in traditional saffron-colored veils, were older than most women entering marriage but still within childbearing age. Valens glanced at the other two men, standing apart, arms crossed. Their presence filled the requirement for five witnesses. Hector didn’t bother with introductions but gave Valens a look that assured him they could be trusted.
