‘You,’ he gasped and took a step towards her, the hilt of a Gladius sticking out of his back.
Rose backed up against a wall and cringed in fear as the executioner staggered towards her. Halfway across the room he dropped the knife and fell to his knees.
‘You bitch,’ he said, ‘I will kill you for this,’ and crawled across the floor, his strength failing. Less than a metre away he fell onto his face coughing up blood onto the shining marble floor. Rose edged past him, and, placing her foot on his back, withdrew the Gladius. She placed the point of the sword on the back of his neck.
‘This is for every girl that’s ever suffered beneath your stinking body, Lembus,’ she said and thrust the blade down to sever his spine.
Rubria closed her eyes in disgust as the man died beneath the blade.
Rose stood above him, breathing hard. Eventually she regained her senses and turned towards Rubria, sword in hand. She ran forward and using the blade, started to saw the binds around her wrists.
‘Don’t worry, Miss,’ she said, ‘I’ll get you out of here.’
‘Who was he?’ asked Rubria.
‘His name was Lembus,’ said Rose, ‘He used to be a slave but won freedom and the trust of the emperor many years ago.’
‘How?’
‘He and some other slaves were paid to assassinate the emperor by one of his enemies, but he betrayed his comrades and told Nero of the plan. The plotters were crucified and Lembus was given a role within the palace as slave overseer. He also became Nero’s chief executioner, and held sway over many of the household staff. He raped freely, and, if any resisted, they conveniently disappeared.’
The corded rope fell apart from the attentions of the blade and Rubria stood up, rubbing her wrists to improve the circulation.
‘Are you okay, Miss?’ asked Rose.
‘Worry not for me, Rose, there are those who are in greater danger. Come on, there is little time.’
‘Wait,' said Rose, ‘We can’t go through the palace.’
‘Why not?’
‘Nero surrounds himself with loyal guards and they would stop you leaving. It is no secret that you are here and he has been boasting amongst his bodyguards about, well, you know, what he has been doing to you. If they see you attempting to leave you would be held until his return.’
‘Is there another way?’ asked Rubria.
‘Yes,’ said Rose after a moment’s thought, ‘Though it is beneath someone as holy as you.’
‘My holiness has long gone, Rose, I just need to get out of here before it is too late.’
‘Then come with me,’ said Rose, ‘I will get you back to your Temple. She led Rubria out of the cell and down a side passage. At each doorway or junction in a passage she signalled Rubria to wait until the coast was clear before hurrying on into the lower levels where the servants and slaves were quartered. Finally they ended up in an empty room, lined on each side with a wooden topped stone bench. Along each wooden seat were several round holes.
‘This is it, Miss,’ said Rose.
‘I don’t understand,’ said Rubria, ‘This is a latrine, there is no way out.’
‘There are many ways out of the palace, Miss, but all will be guarded by Nero’s personal guard. There is only one exit that is not manned, and that is here.’
‘Where?’
‘Through the sewers,’ said Rose.
Rubria’s face dropped as she realised the implications.
‘Is there no other way?’ she asked.
‘No, Miss. The palace is heavily guarded and you would be caught in minutes. This sewer leads under the palace walls and to the base of the Palatine.’
‘I don’t understand,’ said Rubria, ‘If this is such a good escape route, surely it would be guarded against the escape of slaves.’
Rose looked at her in silence.
‘Sorry, Rose, I didn’t mean…’
‘It’s okay, Miss,’ she replied, ‘I know what I am, and you are right. It would seem that this is indeed a good escape route. But most slaves see no need to run from the palace. It is warm, we are fed, and apart from the attentions of some of the soldiers and the overseer, it is relatively good life. Tens of thousands of slaves across Rome have it far worse than us, and anyway, even if we escaped, where would we run to. As soon as the alarm was raised we would be caught before we reached the city walls. It has been attempted, but all have been caught and are crucified in front of the rest. We are forced to watch until the victim breathes their last breath and sometimes that takes days. No, overall, the fate of those who stay is like heaven compared to the alternative.’
‘So why are you helping me?’ asked Rubria. ‘Surely if you are found out, your fate also lies on the cross.’
‘As a little girl back in my homeland, my mother used to take me to the Temple of the Goddess to worship,’ answered Rose, ‘But my father ran up huge debts and had to sell me into slavery to pay his way. I was brought here and grew up with only this as a reminder of my family.’ She pulled out a necklace from beneath her tunic and held up a tiny wooden carving.
‘You are a worshiper?’ said Rubria.
‘Yes, Miss, and as I got older and realised the Vestal Temple lay at the foot of the palace, I became the perfect servant in order to gain favour. Soon I was being allowed out on errands and whenever possible, I would seek blessing at the gates of the Temple. So you see, I could not stand by and watch a Priestess die at the hands of a monster. I only wish I could have come sooner.’
‘Oh, Rose,’ said Rubria, ‘You have done more than enough. I will take the tunnels you speak of, no matter how despicable. You must come with me and seek the protection of the temple.’
‘I can’t do that, Miss,’ said Rose sullenly.
‘Why not?’
Rose hesitated.
‘The Phasma,’ she said eventually.
‘Phasma?’ queried Rubria.
‘It is said the tunnels are haunted, Miss,’ said the slave, ‘And I know I am probably very stupid but I can’t help what I believe. The spirits of many people walk the tunnels and I would rather die myself than meet them in the darkness. Besides, I need to do something out here.’
‘I don’t understand,’ said Rubria, ‘Why don’t you just come with me? I will look after you, Rose, and when we get out of here the Order of Vesta will ensure you are given a good life.’
‘I would gladly come, Miss, she said, but at the end of the sewer is an iron grill blocking the path. It is locked from the outside. I can leave the palace without raising suspicion and will open it for you to pass.’
‘Do you have the key?’ asked Rubria.
‘No, but I know where to get it.’
‘Where?’
‘On Lembus’s belt!’
Rubria stared at the slave girl in horror.
‘Rose, you can’t go back up there,’ she said, ‘His body may have already been found.’
‘I have no choice,’ she said. ‘It did not occur to me to get the key at the time. The only thing is, if you go into the sewers, and I am caught, then you will be stuck down there with no chance of escape.’
‘It is a chance I have to take,’ said Rubria. ‘I will go through the sewer and welcome it as a penance for my sins. If it is the Great Mother’s will that I die in filth then I will go to my death knowing I have failed her.’
‘But you are not sinful,’ said Rose, ‘You are a Vestal Virgin, the very essence of purity.’
‘Not any more, Rose,’ said Rubria. ‘Perhaps my sin is of self importance and vanity. Perhaps it was I who led our Emperor on. If it was not for the safety of my fellow Sisters, then I would gladly have met Lembus’s blade with head held high.’
‘Don’t say that, Miss. You are not responsible for the lusts of men.’
‘We shall see, Rose,’ said Rubria, ‘It is in the hands of the Goddess. Now, where is this tunnel?’
Rose pulled the rug away and revealed a trapdoor beneath. They both pulled on the recessed metal ring and the trapdoor rose, lifting with it the stench of the filth beneath. Rubria raised her finger to beneath her nose while Rose turned her head away to take a clean breath. Below them, the maintenance shaft dropped away into a stone lined tunnel leading from the latrine. The flow of water at the bottom was evidence of the importance of the sewer and it was obviously fed by a water supply somewhere upstream as a means of flushing away the filth.