The Gladiator

The slave trader shrugged. “It happens often.”

“Were they starving?”

“Far from it. On a better day, I imagine the old man is quite rich.”

“How can you believe a swine who would sell his own family?” Caros asked, the question tinged with disgust.

“He swore it by the gods.”

“And why should I believe you?”

Aulus laughed. “Do you think I would lie to you when you could crush me like an acorn? Besides, why would I allow anyone to touch her and ruin a chance for greater profits?”

“Because you’re a swindler.”

Aulus didn’t deny the charge. A grin spread across his lips. He stopped beside an open wagon where three piteous women sat chained to the sideboards. He lifted his torch, pointing to a fourth female stretched out on the floor.

Caros’s gaze flicked over the sleeping girl. Purple bruises marred her small face. Long dark hair fanned out around her head, shining in the torchlight. “You intend to pawn this child off as a woman I can train for the ring?”

“I assure you she’s no child.”

“Why was she beaten? I’ve no need for a troublesome wench.”

“My scout said she disagreed with her uncle’s plans to sell her and the fellow disciplined her for it.”

“When?”

“Earlier this morning.”

“She hasn’t woken?”

“Once, not long after midday.” Aulus waved a fly from the tip of his nose. “She’ll come to, but there’s a nasty bump on the back of her head.”

Intent on the girl, Caros’s heart beat with an unfamiliar pang of compassion. Having been the recipient of the emotion so little himself, he’d almost forgotten it existed.

“I planned to sell her to a brothel, but since she’s a Christian, I’m weighing my options.” A wicked gleam sparked in the trader’s eyes. “I was told the authorities will pay…three thousand denarii for such criminals.”

His eyes narrowed on the slave trader. The claim wasn’t true. The authorities might send her to the arena if she didn’t deny her illegal sect, but they wouldn’t pay for the privilege. He knew what the other man was up to. Aulus thought he had designs on the girl’s virtue and would pay any price to have her. “I’ll give you fifteen hundred for her.”

Aulus laughed. “Oh, no, you won’t cheat me this time. I’ll take three thousand, nothing less.”

“I cheat you? It will cost me a fortune to fatten up those wretches you sold me. Fifteen hundred is an expected price for any female slave.”

“Ha! This isn’t just any female. Virtue is rare these days. Three thousand, nothing less.”

“Seventeen hundred.”

“Three thousand is my final offer, Bone Grinder. Take it or leave it, it matters not to me. I’ll have my profit from you or the authorities. Either way, she’ll end up in the ring.”

The girl moaned, drawing a concerned glance from Caros. A voice in his head warned him not to let her go. “You know the authorities will pay you nothing.”

“Perhaps.” A triumphant smile tugged at the trader’s lips as though he sensed Caros weakening. “If they won’t, a brothel will. There are few uses for a woman, but something tells me I’m bound to make a profit off this one.”

His pride chafing, Caros realized he’d fallen into the weasel’s trap. If he paid the three thousand denarii, Aulus would walk away with the exorbitant amount he’d originally demanded for the slaves and a healthy profit from the girl.

After another glance at the pitiful creature in the wagon, he didn’t even mind being bested. Why her plight touched him when he was surrounded by a sea of human tragedy confounded him, but he had to have her.

Calling for Gaius, he gave him instructions to fetch the necessary funds. Once Gaius ran to carry out the order, Caros took the torch from Aulus and returned to the wagon. Chains rattled as the other three women tried to scatter from his presence, but he ignored them. His newest slave consumed his concern.

He reached over the wagon’s side and caressed the girl’s flowing dark hair before examining the egg-sized bump on the back of her skull. With great care, he lifted one of her hands in his, noticing the fine bones and the soil caked under her fingernails.

“Master?” Gaius said, out of breath when he returned with a large bag of coins. “Shall I tell Lucia to prepare a mat for the new slave?”

The slave’s hand still in his grasp, Caros nodded. “Tell her to fix one of her herbal concoctions as well. When the girl awakes, she’s going to need relief from her pain.”

As soon as his steward walked away, Caros heard Aulus’s knowing laughter erupt behind him. “You’re already besotted with the wench, no? I wonder what she’ll think of you when she learns the number of Christians you’ve slain.”

Chapter Two

Angry, unfamiliar voices penetrated Pelonia’s awareness. Floating between wakefulness and darkness, she couldn’t budge her heavy limbs. Every muscle ached. A sharp pain drummed against her skull.

The voices died away, then a woman’s words broke through the haze. “She wakes. Fetch the master.”

Hurried footsteps trailed away, while someone moved close enough for Pelonia to sense a presence kneel beside her.

“My name is Lucia. Can you hear me?” The woman pressed a cup of water to Pelonia’s cracked lips. “What shall I call you?”

Pelonia coughed and sputtered as the cool liquid trickled down her arid throat. Swallowing, she grimaced at the throbbing pressure in her jaw. “Pel…Pelonia.”

“Do you remember what happened to you? You were struck on the head and injured. You have bruised ribs. From the swelling, one or more may be cracked, but I believe none are broken. I’ve been giving you opium to soothe you, but you’re far from recovered.”

Her eyelids too heavy to open, Pelonia licked her chapped lips, hating the rotten taste in her mouth. Uncomfortable heat warmed the right side of her face.

Gradually, her mind began to make sense of her surroundings. The warmth must be sunshine because the scent of wood smoke hung in the air, yet she heard no crackle of a fire. Her pallet was a coarse blanket on the hard ground. Vermin crawled in her hair, making her itch. Dirt clung to her skin and each of her sore muscles longed for the tufted softness of her bed at home.

Home.

Her muddled brain latched on to the word. Where was she if not in the comfort of her father’s Umbrian villa? Where was her maid, Helen? Who was this woman Lucia? She couldn’t remember.

Icy fingers of fear gripped her heart as one by one her memories returned. First the attack, then her father’s murder. Raw grief squeezed her chest.

Confusion surrounded her. Where was her uncle? She remembered the slave caravan, his threat to sell her, but nothing more. Had Marcus succeeded in his treachery, or had someone come to her aid?

Panic forced her eyes open. Light stabbed her head like a dagger. She squeezed her lids tight, then blinked rapidly until she managed to focus on the young woman’s face above her.

“The master will be here soon.” A smile tilted Lucia’s thin lips, but didn’t touch her honey-brown eyes. “He commanded me to call for him the moment you woke.”

“Where…am I?” The words grated in her throat.

“You’re in the home of Caros Viriathos.”

The name meant nothing to Pelonia. She prayed God had heard her plea and delivered her into the hands of a kind man, someone willing to help her contact her cousin Tiberia.

The thought of Tiberia brought a glimmer of hope. Somehow, she must contact her cousin at the first opportunity.

Her eyes closed with fatigue. “How…how long have I…been here?”

Lucia laid her calloused palm to Pelonia’s brow. “Four days and this morning. You’ve been in and out of sleep, but now it seems your fever has broken for good. I’ll order you a bowl of broth. You should eat to bolster your strength.”

Her stomach churned. Four days and she remembered nothing. Tiberia must be frantic wondering why she’d failed to attend the wedding.

As children, she and her cousin had been as close as sisters. They’d corresponded regularly and maintained their deep friendship ever since Tiberia’s family moved to Rome eight years past. When Tiberia wrote of her betrothal to a senator, that the union was a love match, no one had been more pleased for her than Pelonia.

She opened her eyes. “I must—”

Lucia placed her fingers over Pelonia’s lips. “Don’t speak. Rest is what you need. Now that you’ve woken, Gaius, our master’s steward, says you have one week to recover. Then your labor begins whether you’re well or not.”

“My cousin. I must.

“You don’t understand, Pelonia.” Lucia hooked a lock of pitch-black hair behind her ear. “You’re a slave in the Ludus Maximus now. A possession of the lanista, Caros Viriathos.”

Lanista? A vile gladiator trainer?

“You have no family beyond these walls. You’d do well to accept your fate. Forget your past existence. Your new life here has begun.”

“No!” She refused to believe all she knew could be stolen from her so easily.

Lucia frowned as though she were confronting a quarrelsome child. Tight-lipped, she crossed her arms over her buxom chest. “We will see.”

Heavy footsteps crunched on the rushes strewn across the floor. The new arrival stopped out of Pelonia’s view, but the force of the person’s presence invaded the room.

The nauseating ache in her head increased without mercy. What had she done to make God despise her?

Focusing on Lucia, she saw the young woman’s face light with pleasure.

“Master,” Lucia greeted, jumping to her feet. “The new slave is finally awake. She calls herself Pelonia. She’s weak and the medicine I gave her has run its course.”

“Then give her more if she needs it.”

The man’s deep voice poured over Pelonia like the soothing water of a bath. Despite her indignation, some of her tension eased. Curious to see the man who had such a unique and unwelcome effect on her, she turned her head, ignoring the jab of pain that pierced her skull.

“Don’t move,” Lucia snapped. “You mustn’t move your head or you might injure yourself further.”

Pelonia stiffened. She wasn’t accustomed to taking orders. Neither her father nor the tutors he’d hired to teach her had ever raised their voices.

Lucia glanced toward the door. “She’s argumentative. I have a hunch she’ll be difficult. She denies she’s your slave.”

Silence followed Lucia’s remark. Pelonia’s nerves stretched taut as she waited for a response. Would this man who claimed to own her kill or beat her? She’d heard of men committing atrocities against their slaves for little, sometimes no reason. Was he one of those cruel barbarians?

She sensed him move closer. Her skin tingled and her tension rose as if she were prey in the sights of a hungry lion. At last, the lion crossed to where she could see him.

Sunlight streaming through the window enveloped the giant. A crisp, light colored tunic draped across his shoulders and the expanse of his chest contrasted sharply with his black hair and the rich copper of his skin. Gold bands around his wrists emphasized the strength of his arms, the physical power he held in check.

Her breath hitched in her throat. She could only stare. Without a doubt, the man could crush her if he chose.

“So, you are called Pelonia,” he said. “And my healer believes you wish to fight me.”

Her gaze locked with the unusual blue of his forceful glare. For the first time, she understood how the Hebrew David must have suffered when he faced Goliath. Swallowing the lump of fear in her throat, she nodded. “If I must.”

“If you must?” Caros eyed Pelonia with a mix of irritation and respect. He was used to grown men trembling before him. With her tunic filthy and torn, her dark hair rippling in disarray across the packed earthen floor and her bruises healing, his new slave looked like a wounded goddess. But she was just an ordinary woman. Flea-bitten and trodden upon. Why did she think she could defy him?

To her credit, she wasn’t a simpering wench. Her resistance reminded him of his own the day he’d been forced into slavery. Beaten, chained by his Roman adversaries, he’d sworn no one would ever own him. He’d been mistaken, of course. This new slave would be proven wrong as well.

“Then let the games begin,” he said, his voice thick with mockery.

“Games?” she asked faintly. “You think…this…this is a game?”

The roughness of her voice reminded him of her body’s weakened condition—a frailty her spirit clearly didn’t share. Crouching beside her, he ran his forefinger over the yellowed bruise on her cheek. She didn’t flinch as he expected. Instead, she closed her eyes and sighed as though his touch somehow soothed her.

Her guileless response unnerved him. The need to protect her enveloped him, a sensation he hadn’t known since the deaths of his mother and sisters. As a slave, he’d been beaten on many occasions in an effort to conquer his will. That no one ever succeeded was a matter of pride for him. Much to his surprise, he had no wish to see this girl broken, either.

“Of course it’s a game.” He lifted a strand of her dark hair and caressed it between his fingers. “And I will be the victor. I live to win.”

“It’s true.” Lucia moved from the shadows. “Our master has never been defeated.”

Defiance flamed in the depths of her large, doe-brown eyes. She didn’t speak and he admired her restraint when he could see she wanted to flay him.

Challenged to draw a response from her, he trailed his fingers over her full bottom lip. “You might as well give in now, my prize. I have no wish to crush your spirit. I own you whether you will it or not.”

She turned her head toward the stone wall, but he gripped her chin and forced her to look at him.

“Admit it,” he said with no pity for her loss of pride. “Then you can return to your sleep.”

She shook her head. “No. No one owns me…no one but my God.”

He dropped his hand away as though she’d sprouted leprosy. “And who might your god be? Jupiter? Apollo? Or maybe you worship the god of the sea. Do you think Neptune will leave his watery throne and rescue you?”

“The Christ.” For the first time, her voice didn’t waver.

So, she admitted following the criminal sect. Caros studied her, wondering if she were a fool or had a wish for death. “Say that to the wrong person, Pelonia, and you’ll find yourself facing the lions.”

“I already am.”

He laughed. “So you think of me as a ferocious beast?”

Her silence amused him all the more. “Good. It suits me well to know you realize I’m untamed and capable of tearing you limb from limb.”

Her fingers clutched at the dirt floor. “Then do your worst. Death is better…than being owned.”

Lucia scoffed under her breath, drawing Caros’s attention to where the healer waited by the window, the noonday sun coursing through the open shutters.

“What foolishness.” Lucia came to stand by a roughhewn table littered with the bottles and bowls of her medicines. “I warned you the girl would argue, Master. I’d wager she deserved the thrashing she received if all she did was quarrel.”

“The slave trader did mention she’d been beaten for a disagreement with her uncle.” Caros’s attention slipped back to Pelonia, who’d grown pale and weaker still.

Concerned by her pallor, he berated himself for baiting her, for depleting her meager strength when he should have been encouraging her to heal. Without pausing to examine his motives, he reached down and lifted her into his arms, prepared for her to protest.

When she sagged against his chest without a fight, her acquiescence alarmed him. She weighed no more than a laurel leaf and it occurred to him she’d eaten nothing more than tepid broth for the last several days. In her weakened state, had he shoved her to the brink of death?

Holding her tight against his chest, he whispered near her ear. “Tell me, Pelonia. What can I do to aid you? What can I do to ease your plight?”

“Find…Tiberia,” she whispered, the dregs of her strength draining away. “And free me.”

Chapter Three

I will not weep.

Pelonia paused in weeding the kitchen’s herb garden and wiped perspiration from her brow. Scents of basil and mint mingled with the sweetness of wild jasmine. A small fountain’s splashing water and the aroma of fresh-baked bread reminded her of home.

The garden’s rich black dirt stained her fingers, resurrecting painful reminders of her father’s burial less than a fortnight ago. Fangs of betrayal bit deep. How could a loving God allow one of His most kind and humble servants to suffer so heinous a death?

Why had God delivered her to this gladiatorial training ground, this disgusting den of violence, to serve as a slave? How did He expect her to face Caros Viriathos on a daily basis when each sight of her captor filled her with resentment and simmering rage?

She ripped a weed from the dirt and flung it into a basket beside her. The lanista didn’t have a right to imprison her here! In the week since Caros carried her from the slave quarters, he’d provided for her needs and seen her cared for, but his vow to rule over her kept him from finding Tiberia. His adamant refusal to contact her cousin, regardless of Tiberia’s certain anxiety, stoked her frustration and her fury.

She sneered at the garden wall that marked the boundary of her prison. Caros Viriathos had stolen her life and she would see it returned. In a few days, her injuries would be completely healed and the occasional blurring of her vision would disappear the same as the knot on her head.

She would escape and find Tiberia, who wouldn’t hesitate to buy her freedom. It didn’t matter that a runaway slave faced the penalty of death. She couldn’t abide the abysmal future she faced living as less than someone’s chattel.

The weeds she’d discarded drew her attention. Bitterness bloomed until she tasted it. That’s what God had done to her. Uprooted her from the flourishing soil of home and cast her aside as if she meant nothing. How could she trust a God who delivered her into such a deep chasm of despair?

The snap of a twig startled her out of her grim thoughts. A low growl directly behind her raised her hair on end. She froze, her breath lodged in her chest. Why hadn’t she sensed the animal’s approach? She’d heard the roar of big cats and sounds of various game in the training yard, but was the beast here?

Her heart stopped when warm, moist breath caressed her neck and a large wet nose sniffed her hair. From the corner of her eye, she saw the orange-and-black-striped head of a…tiger.

“Cat!” Caros’s deep voice boomed across the garden. Pelonia’s heart raced as though it meant to escape her chest.

“Cat!” he called again, his swift steps crunching dried leaves along the garden’s path. “Come, before you terrify my new slave to death.”

The tiger sniffed Pelonia’s hair once more before he returned to his master. The animal’s long, curved tail flicked her in the face as it sauntered off.

An eon seemed to pass before she took an even breath. Her muscles unlocked and she almost pitched forward into the herbs, her hands shaking with latent fear.

Caros’s long shadow stretched across the herb bed in front of her. From her seat on the ground, he seemed as tall and formidable as a colossus.

He crouched beside her, his intense blue gaze riveted to her face. “Are you well or did my pet scare you speechless?”

Not wanting him to see her tremble, she tightened her fists and tried to ignore the tiger’s golden eyes fixed upon her. “Your pet? Are you insane?”

He shrugged. “Some claim so.”

“I agree with them.” She pulled another weed. “Only a lunatic would allow a tiger to run loose in his garden.”

“He wasn’t actually free. He yanked his lead from my hand. It’s your fault. You were in his domain and he wished to inspect you.”

She gave him a level stare. “It’s not my will that keeps me here. I’ll gladly go to my cousin’s home if I’m making the beast ill at ease.”

“Beast?” Caros stroked the tiger’s wide head and ignored her statement. “Hardly. He’s as placid as a lamb with people he tolerates. He didn’t kill you, so he must find you acceptable.”

The powerful animal rolled to his side and Caros began to scratch his chin. Pelonia marveled at the sight of the huge contented cat. Sensing the affection between master and pet, she couldn’t help but smile when Cat’s eyelids began to droop and his body relaxed. Within moments he was stretched out in peaceful slumber.

“See? As placid as a lamb.” Caros grinned. “His snoring will begin any moment.”

As if on cue, a low rumble emanated from the sleeping creature. She reached out her hand, then drew back. “Can I touch him?”

“Of course,” he said. “Move closer so you don’t stretch and hurt your ribs.”

His thoughtfulness continued to perplex her. She brushed the excess dirt from her hands and did as he said. Hesitant at first, she stroked the top of the animal’s head, surprised by the softness of its fur.

“Have you ever seen a Caspian tiger?”

She shook her head. “Sketches only. My father took me to a menagerie once. There were lions and a panther, but no tigers. Have you had this one long?”

Caros continued to watch her. “Three years, since he was a cub. He was the runt of his litter. My old lanista, Spurius, refused to feed him since Cat was sickly and he doubted he’d grow large enough for the ring. I fed him part of my rations and when I won my freedom a few months later I took Cat with me. As you can see, proper care has made him as healthy as any of his kind.”

“You were freed? You were a slave once?”

He plucked a sprig of mint from a plant at the path’s edge. “For ten years. From the age of fifteen, I fought as a gladiator.”

She reached for a clump of basil to divide and replant. “Then you’ve lived the horror of having your freedom ripped from you and your life pitched on end?”

His face darkened. He nodded.

“Did you enjoy being a slave?”

“Why ask foolish questions? Who would enjoy being a slave?”

“Perhaps you liked killing for sport in the ring?”

His eyes narrowed. “I killed because I didn’t wish to die.”

Then how could he enslave others? The injustice of his actions soured her stomach with disdain. She tossed the basil into the dirt and rose to her feet, wincing at the twinge of pain in her ribs.

The tiger opened his eyes, instantly alert. Wary of the predator, she stepped away, but her temper burned too strong to completely curb her tongue.

“You’re a hypocrite, Caros Viriathos. How can you buy and sell flesh when you know firsthand of its brutality?”

Dropping the mint leaves, Caros stood, his stance suggesting he was ready for battle. “Think before you insult me, slave. Have I not been kind to you? Perhaps I’ve been too kind if you believe you can question me like an equal when you are not.”

She chafed at the reminder of her degraded status.

“You’re my property,” he continued with confidence. “Remember your place.”

Hot with indignation, she stared at him, silently defying his ownership. Eventually, she admitted, “I’m your prisoner, but once I find my cousin, I will buy back my freedom.”

“You aren’t for sale.” His fists clenched at his side, his eyes turned the color of a stormy sea. “You are my slave and will be until I tire of you. Remember I hold your life in my hand. If I choose to see you dead, it will be so, but you won’t be sold.”

Inwardly, she trembled at the power he held over her. Tension crackled between them like a growing blaze. Cat sprang to his feet and began to pace with restlessness.

She took a step closer to Caros, a part of her wishing for death to end the misery she’d endured since leaving home. “My God alone can grant you the power to take my life. Should He do so, I will rejoice. Not only will I be free from you, but I will see my father in heaven and be face-to-face with my Savior.”