The Immortal Scrolls (12 page)

Araceli felt nauseous from the shaking. She sat down and started fanning her face.

“Are you all right, dear?” asked the magistrate’s wife.

“She is with child,” said Antonius proudly. “Water,” he said to a slave.

“Felicitations,” said the magistrate and several others.

Araceli felt a little better and looked around at the arena. She glanced at the people in the box and saw the woman Amara looking at her. Feeling slightly unsettled, Araceli smiled politely and looked away. Something about the woman was very strange.

Her husband Tiberius was wagering with the other men in the box. Then the magistrate made his announcements for the start of the games. They began with the executions for the day. Araceli averted her eyes and prayed for the day to pass quickly.

Androcles was putting on armor and waiting for his turn to fight and possibly die. Lucian came over to him and handed him a sword.

“You are next. Fight well or die well,” he said encouragingly.

Androcles took the sword and nodded to Lucian. Then he closed the piece of his helmet that exposed his face. He prayed to the gods silently for strength. His leg still pained him a little. That was his only concern. Suddenly the doors burst open, and some men dragged back the bloodied, dead bodies of two gladiators from his ludus. Someone pushed Androcles on the back toward the door. He felt as if the world was moving in slow motion as he walked cautiously into the arena. In the center there stood a large man with two swords.
The fights are always a bit unfair
, he thought. However, Androcles was confident in his skill. The two men rushed at each other. Their metal swords clanged and crashed into each other. Androcles sliced the man’s upper arm, causing him to drop one sword. He may have had two swords, but the man was inexperienced in holding them. Then the man swung at him. Androcles rolled on the ground to dodge the blow.

“This one used to be a centurion for the legion,” said Tiberius. “Then he got sold as a slave for committing some offensive crime to his dominus, apparently.”

Araceli head snapped around and looked at the two men fighting in the area. She squinted her eyes and blocked the sun with her hand to try to get a better look. Both men were heavily covered in armor. Then she looked down at the man on the ground. She saw a familiar jagged scar in his leg and gasped.
Androcles!
she screamed inside her head.
Could it really be you?
she wondered.

The man standing knocked off his opponent’s helmet and made a strike at his head. But the man rolled away and swung his sword at the man’s leg, chopping it off at the knee. Then he stood up and turned around. To Araceli’s amazement, it was Androcles. She scooted to the edge of her seat, watching the end of the fight more intently. Androcles swung his sword again at the fallen man and chopped off his head. The crowd cheered wildly. Araceli was smiling broadly and clapping. She was already plotting how to see him. She stood up in the box, hoping he would look her way.

“Have a favorite, Araceli?” asked the magistrate as he noticed her enthusiasm. “Or did you just win a large wager?” He chuckled.

Antonius looked at Araceli and then to the arena to see what captured her interest. It was her former guard and lover. Antonius was enraged but didn’t show it. He thought for sure the man would have been sold farther away and instantly regretted stopping Marcus from executing him. He noticed the lady Amara was clapping wildly for the man as well. Antonius thought about what to do for a moment. He knew the man would be refought later in the day. He excused himself and went to speak to his guard.

Androcles was holding his arms in the air, yelling and encouraging the crowd to cheer for his victory. For the first time in his life the games excited him. He felt more alive than ever. He turned around and around, stopping in front of the magistrate’s box. Androcles saw a woman standing and clapping. He squinted his eyes and took a few steps forward.
It couldn’t be
, he thought. His heart started to pound rapidly in his chest. Araceli was watching the game. She was here in Herculaneum, and she was all right. He was ecstatic to see her. Androcles placed his hand over his heart and bowed at the box. He could see her smiling, and he knew she had seen him. Androcles backed away to his cell where he would wait for his next fight. Some men were already dragging back his opponent’s corpse.

“Well done,” Lucian said, clapping him on the back.

Androcles nodded. “Thank you.” He went back to his cell and sat down on the ground to rest. He had no idea what he would have to face next. A guard walked up to the cell.

“Water?” the guard asked.

“Please,” said Androcles as he reached for the cup. He drank quickly and handed the cup back to the guard. The guard looked around sneakily and rushed off.

“No one offered me water,” said a man he didn’t know in the cell next to him. “Wonder why they are licking your ass.” The man’s voice was full of disdain.

Androcles looked over at the man. His skin was covered in bloody slashes. “I’m sorry. I would have shared.”

The man made a disgusted snorting noise and looked away.

Androcles lay down again. He felt very tired all of a sudden.
The rush of the kill must be wearing off
, he thought. He felt a little dizzy and shut his eyes.

Antonius returned to his seat. Araceli was lively and happier than he had ever seen her. He knew it was because of Androcles, and he was consumed with jealousy. Antonius saw a movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned to look and saw his guard had returned. The guard nodded at him. Antonius gave him a slight nod and turned back to watch the next match.

“I find what you do so fascinating. Can I come by and watch them train?” Araceli asked Tiberius.

“It would be an honor to have a cousin of the emperor visit our humble ludus,” Tiberius said politely.

“Absolutely not,” said Antonius angrily. Everyone in the box turned to look at him. He could tell they thought he was unreasonable. “The baby,” he added.

“She would be well looked after,” interjected Tiberius.

Araceli knew she would have to work on Antonius to gain his trust so she could sneak off and try to talk to Androcles at the ludus. She had no idea that Antonius knew which guard she had been intimate with. She didn’t know he had sent a spy.

“Maybe one day we will both come see your ludus,” Antonius said, trying not to offend Tiberius and make himself look bad in front of the magistrate.

Antonius watched the next few games without much attention. He was anxious for Androcles to come back out. His guard had slipped him a powerful sedative that they sometimes used to rig the fights. This would hopefully be the end of Androcles.

Lucian walked furiously to Androcles’s cell, where the guards were unsuccessful at waking him. He was followed by two slaves carrying a large pot of water. The guards opened the cell door, and the slaves threw the water on Androcles. Androcles sat up, gasping in shock.

“Get up, Androcles!” Lucian yelled. “What’s the matter with you?” He reached his arm out to help Androcles up. Androcles took his hand and stood up, feeling weak and dizzy.

“I don’t know,” Androcles said, confused.

“Don’t fuck this up,” Lucian said angrily. He thrust a helmet into Androcles’ chest. “You could be one of the best.”

Androcles took the helmet and put it on. He grabbed a shield and walked unsteadily to the door. A guard handed him a sword. It felt heavy in his hand. His vision was blurring. Androcles scraped his shoulder on the wall as he neared the door.

“Something is wrong,” Lucian whispered to his guard. “Has anyone been by?”

“No, dominus. Not that I know,” replied the guard.

“Inform Tiberius,” Lucian said.

“Yes, dominus,” said the guard.

Lucian walked back past Androcles’s cell.

“Glad I didn’t have that water after all,” said the gladiator next to Androcles’ cell. Lucian’s head snapped around to look at the man. Then he rushed off to speak with his father.

Araceli’s heart started to pound when she saw Androcles re-enter the arena. He was walking slowly and unsteadily. He dragged his sword along the sand as he walked. He didn’t look good. Androcles was up against two large men. One had a huge spiked helmet and carried a spiked ball on a chain and a spear. The other man had no armor, only his subligaculum, a net, and a triton. Androcles had been stripped of his armor except for his helmet and shield and was only wearing a similar loincloth as well.