Orbilio had long since recognized the smell of blood seeped into the bark. Knew the damage such a small blade could inflict, and over how much time…
He swallowed. 'Why don't you just surprise me?' he said, and there was no quaver in his voice.
'Rest assured, Marcus Cornelius Orbilio, it will surprise you.'
There was no emotion in the Druid's voice as he checked the knots on the prisoner's ropes.
'Tomorrow, the planets align with the seasons. Night with day, earth with fire, wind with water, every element unites with its counterpart. It is the way of the universe, and at midnight tonight, in fact at the very turn of the autumn equinox, the gods will see their powers restored, but — ' he shrugged — 'the sacrifice does require a full day's preparation.'
A day. It would take a full day to die…
'First comes the scourging. The testing of the threshold of pain. That will commence now — '
The ferocity of the lash arched his back like a bow and sucked the air from his lungs.
'- and lasts for the length of this candle, after which we apply the Forty Sacred Cuts, and do not be afraid to scream, Marcus. Every man does, there is no shame, and in any case no one can hear you.'
The pounding in his ears came not from the cane that was being so expertly applied to his body. It came from the knowledge that he would die when there were still so many mountains to climb. Mother of Tarquin, there were so many places he hadn't seen, so many things left unsaid. The future that had looked, even this morning, rosy and golden was now merely dust at his feet. Failure that he was, he couldn't even boast children to carry his ancestry forward or glorious deeds to make his family proud — and he was glad now that he hadn't told Claudia that he loved her. Drawing a deep, shuddering breath, he counted to three.
'I can hardly wait to hear what you serve for dessert,' he said between gritted teeth.
'Death is not to be embraced hastily, my friend. After the Forty Sacred Cuts comes the Breaking of Fingers, then the Renunciation of Manhood.'
Vincentrix examined the hook of what Orbilio suddenly realized was a castration knife.
'Another marriage of elements. Human seed to fertilize our Mother Earth, and then, only then, Marcus Cornelius Orbilio, do we embark upon our ultimate sacrifice.'
At the flick of his wrist, a huge wicker frame was wheeled into the clearing. The frame had been fashioned in the shape of a man.
'At midnight exactly, when the stars are in perfect alignment, your ash will rise to the gods on the wind, and, yes, of course you will be alive for the burning.'
Twenty-Eight
'Did you find him?' Claudia asked, as Junius came striding down Marcia's elegant colonnade.
The young Gaul shook his head. 'At the barracks, they said he'd received an urgent tip-off about a forgery ring in Burdigala and gone straight off.'
'Rubbish. His belongings are still here.'
'Apparently not, my lady. It appears he sent someone to pack his things and send them on.'
'Orbilio?' She blinked. 'Are you sure?'
'His room is empty,' Junius confirmed, 'and I checked the apartment opposite the basilica, as you instructed, but there's nothing of his in there, either.'
In retrospect, Claudia wasn't sure there ever had been. 'What about Curvy Thighs?' she asked. 'What did she say?'
'The girl wasn't home. According to a neighbour, she screamed blue bloody murder when she found that he was gone and was last seen charging off like a horse with its tail on fire.'
Claudia wondered why that should leave her with a warm glow of contentment.
'There was one odd thing I noticed, my lady. I saw what looked like blood on the door jamb.'
Visions of Zina trying to kill Orbilio and throwing a tantrum when she found the 'body' gone flashed through Claudia's mind. Unfortunately, there were several things wrong with that theory, not least the fact that if a strong girl like that had wanted to kill him she wouldn't have bungled the job!
'Orbilio's a big boy' Claudia dismissed the stain. 'He's perfectly capable of looking after himself. It's Stella I'm worried about.'
'Luci was the last to see her,' Junius said solemnly. 'She said her mother promised to play butterflies with her.'
A knot tightened in Claudia's stomach. 'Find Hannibal,' she said. If Orbilio wasn't around to track down the killer of these missing girls, Hannibal should help. 'He must have been co-opted into the manhunt,' she added. Why else hadn't he been bowling around with the children?
'I fear not,' Junius said. 'I've just come from his quarters and you wouldn't know they'd ever been used.'
The portico started to spin, but she didn't know why. Hannibal said it himself, he couldn't be tied to one person or place, and it wasn't as though the Security Police didn't chase criminals all round the Empire, either. Not just Aquitania. She'd bumped into Orbilio in Sicily, Umbria, Histria, and even the little island of Cressia in the Liburnian archipelago turned out to have investigators round every corner. So what that Marcus took off without saying goodbye? What did it matter that he left without explanation? She clutched at a spinning pillar. That's what men did, wasn't it? Bugger off when you least expected it.
'Then it's down to you and me to find who's responsible for these women disappearing,' she told Junius. 'And if perfection is their stock in trade, it means they're here. On this estate.'
Colour drained from the young Gaul's face. 'And you think Stella is his latest victim?' He made a gesture she hadn't seen before. 'May the Hammer God strike pity on those poor children,' he whispered.
'We don't know for certain that she's dead.' Who knows what the bastard did to them first? 'There's every chance we can save her, Junius.'
'Where do we start looking? This estate is enormous, she could be anywhere. And who, my lady? Who would be responsible for such a terrible crime?'
Who indeed? Padi and Koros were both perfectionists in the art of bullshit, but neither seemed capable of murder. Their aim was more subtle, their ambition more cunning. Each was intent on turning slave into master by making Marcia reliant on them. Padi achieved this through his soothsaying nonsense, telling her whatever she wanted to hear, while Koros was controlling Marcia's health — and how soon before he added an extra irritant in the purge, a stronger narcotic at bedtime, before she was fully dependent on her physician? Slaves they might be, but each had recognized her vulnerability and were exploiting it for all they were worth. Murder was not in their sphere.
'The tomb!' Claudia clicked her fingers. 'We've got to get to the tomb!'
'Why?' Junius asked, as they pelted through the gates, down the hill.
'Because every able-bodied male has been assigned to tracking the Scarecrow today, and that's the one place privacy can be assured.'
Not in the forest, with teams of hunters criss-crossing backwards and forwards. Not in the house. (Never in the house!) It could only be Marcia's tomb the killer had taken her to.
As they crashed down the path past the herb beds, it seemed to Claudia that it was surely a million years ago that she had hidden herself in the fennel to wait for the misfit who lived in the woods. What is it about lonely people that drives them to destroy the one thing that could have made them happy? A man has everything he could wish for. A loving wife, a thriving business, children who adore him, yet he tosses them aside because he feels stifled.
Marcia was the same. It was loneliness that had driven her to become so ruthless in her business dealings that grown men feared her, so pitiless to her staff that they trembled at the sight of her shadow. Being sold into prostitution at the age of twelve taught her to be manipulative and devious, the need to survive outweighing everything else, until it reached the point where, hardened by her experiences, she was incapable of normal emotions. Control was her substitute for love, and sure she was happy to bleed Claudia dry when it came to finding out whether vines would thrive on Aquitanian hillsides, but that wasn't the reason she'd invited her to stay at the villa.