The man staggered back, falling against the side of the tent, his hands gripping his throat as he tried in vain to stop the gushing blood that came out of his neck.
“You fucking bastard!" the second gladiator yelled, but before he could draw his sword, Maurus appeared behind him, thrusting his own blade into the man’s lower back, before letting him fall dead.
“Move the bodies in here, quickly — and silence that one,” Gaius said as he stood back to his feet.
Maurus grabbed the man he killed and dragged him further into the tent, stashing his body in the corner while Cato walked over to the still alive man in the far corner and quickly pushed his dagger into the man’s chest, killing him instantly.
“Good, get outside and stand guard,” Gaius then ordered before he turned and faced the woman, who sat, her back pressed up against the side of the wall.
“Who are you?” she cried out, still panicking.
Gaius raised his finger to his lips and indicated for the woman, who looked to be in her early twenties, to be silent. He could see that she was a slave, as her brand was easily seen on her right shoulder. She was perhaps the body slave to Paullus, loyal to him to a fault, which would explain why she had remained by the consul’s side all this time.
“I am Gaius, and I’m a soldier of Rome,” he answered, his voice low and calm as he moved over towards the frightened woman, whose spirit seemed to lift when he revealed himself to her.
“Who are you?” he asked as he took her hand and helped her off of the ground, before moving her aside so he could look down at the man who lay on the ground, covered by a bear’s pelt.
“I am Claudia. I’m the property of Consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus,” she answered as Gaius examined the man who lay beneath the blankets. His face was swollen and bruised. He had several gashes on his cheeks and forehead as well, and as Gaius lifted the blanket. He saw that the man had been cut up pretty bad. He clearly had a temperature as buckets of sweat beaded down from his deformed brow. He doubted that he would live more than a few days, if that. If he didn’t get Paullus back to Rome, and soon, the state would be without one of its most important leaders for the foreseeable future.
“This is Consul Paullus?” Gaius asked just to make sure.
“Yes. He was injured during the battle. His men escaped with his body. We were attempting to get to Rome, but these…” She seemed lost for words as the woman knelt back down to her knees and started crying.
Gaius turned and tried to comfort her, and to keep her quiet. He couldn’t afford to draw any unwanted attention, not until it was time to move.
Then Gaius heard Paullus utter something as Claudia’s sobbing brought him around.
“Sir, be still. I’m here to take you back to Rome,” Gaius said as he stood over Paullus.
With his one good eye, he leered up at Gaius as if he was trying to place his face, as it was covered with flakes of mud and grit, as well as beaded drops of blood and wine. And then Paullus’ eye widened ever so slightly as he seemed to recognize him.
“Gaius?” Paullus muttered in a low, barely audible voice.
He tried to raise his hand up and touch Gaius’ face as if the physical contact would convince him what his eyes were seeing was real.
Gaius took the consul’s hand and held it.
“Yes sir, it is me, and the whole Sixth Legion is with me as well. They’ll be along shortly, and then we can get you out of here and back to Rome. The city will need you, so you have to stay strong and hold on as long as you can.”
Paullus closed his eye as a single tear ran out of it.
“No…Rome…” His words were spoken with considerable effort, but Paullus’ forced them out. “…needs you. Julia needs you, Gaius…you must…you must protect…” And then he was gone, slipped back into unconsciousness.
Gaius took a moment to compose himself as he looked down at the most powerful man in Rome. He felt helpless.
Carefully putting Paullus’ limp hand under the covers of the warm blanket, he turned back towards Claudia and spoke.
“Here,” Gaius reached behind his back and removed his dagger, which was sticky with blood, and handed it over to her. “Take this, and if anyone other than me or a Roman comes into this tent, kill them. Do you understand?”
“I am just a slave?” Claudia commented as she reluctantly took the dagger.
“Not tonight you are.”
Claudia nodded as she held the dagger; its weight feeling strange in her hands.
“Thank you,” Claudia said before he left.
“Don’t thank me right now. We aren’t out of this yet,” he answered truthfully before leaving her and the consul alone once more.
“Was it, him?” Maurus asked as he stood to the right.
“It is. Be ready. If what our man said was true, when Valerius attacks, they will come and kill Paullus the first chance they get.”
“Just the three of us, against all of them?” Cato asked, the veteran sounded nervous.
“Is that a hint of fear I hear in your voice, my friend?” Maurus asked with a chuckle.
“Up yours, brat! I will kill more than you this night, which I promise you.”
“We’ll see about that, old man,” Maurus sneered as he rested his hand on the hilt of his sword.
Gaius knew that the time was fast approaching. If everything went according to plan, which he assumed it had, since life in the camp handed changed with a sudden alarm, all the sentries must have been terminated, most of the Romans freed, and any second now Valerius and hundreds of men would come storming through the camp. And afterwards, the true slaughter could begin.
The only problem was Valerius was late.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
“The old man gave us one hour, right?” Maurus asked as he started to fidget some as he noticed that a few of the gladiators had glanced over at them, staring longer than he was comfortable with.
“I know he isn’t as quick as he used to be, but he is coming, right?” Maurus nervously asked again.
“Just shut up and do your fucking job,” Cato bellowed as he stared-down any man who glanced over at him.
Gaius, on the other hand, remained silent. His eyes were fixed on one gladiator who walked with a group of four other men. He then realized this man was the same that had exited the tent, before he had killed the two guards who had originally been posted here.
“Oh no,” Maurus muttered as he watched the man stop in his tracks, and turn towards the three Romans.
“Be calm. I will deal with this,” Gaius uttered under his breath.
“Where are Dougal and Torin? I told them not to leave their posts,” the man called with a rough Greek accent.
The gladiator was very tall, muscular, badly scared and twice Gaius’ age. More imposing was the fact that this man was built like a bear. There didn’t seem to be an ounce of fat on his body, which had been hardened by decades of battles won in the arena. And for a moment as the man and his escorts neared, Gaius thought that he recognized him as well.
His eyes flashed red when he saw the medallion, knowing what it meant: this man had killed Antony and took the bond that represented a brotherhood of two boyhood friends.
“I said…” the gladiator tried to say, but Gaius roared as he drew his sword and rushed the tall man, whose eyes opened wide with surprise.
Gaius heard between his blood rage the name Calfax as it was yelled by one of his escorts as Gaius spilt first blood.
Calfax just barely heeded his man’s warning as he stepped back, but not far enough as Gaius’ sword ran across his stomach.
The blade went deep, but not deep enough to cause any serious harm to him. He had worse injuries and in time, it would just be another scar to add to the many hundreds more that crisscrossed his body.
“Bloody hell!” Maurus cried out as he and Cato each drew their swords and rushed forward, joining Gaius as they attacked the four other gladiators who tried to protect Calfax.