The Eagles Prophecy

'Why did you remain here?'

'Had to,' Cato replied simply. 'Once we stumbled on the lookout station we had to put it out of operation and make sure it couldn't warn Telemachus of the fleet's approach. Once our ships arrive we'll go down the mountain and join them.'

'I see.'

Cato looked at him. 'Now, if you don't mind, there's some questions I'd like to ask you.'

'I'd be delighted,' Secundus replied, and gestured towards the steaming pot. 'Over a meal.'

'Of course. I'm sorry.' Cato picked up his mess tin and leaned over the fire pit to ladle some stew into the tin. He handed it across to Secundus and sat down as the other man raised the tin to his lips.

'Careful!' Cato warned him. 'It's bloody hot. Give it a moment to cool down. You can use this.' He tossed the man his spoon.

'Thanks.' Secundus cradled the mess tin in the folds of his cloak. 'Ask away.'

'Firstly, you're Narcissus' agent, aren't you?'

Secundus looked up sharply. 'What makes you say that?'

'Narcissus briefed us about what had happened to you. That's the reason why Macro and I were given this assignment in the first place. We were sent out with Prefect Vitellius to crush the pirates and rescue you.'

'I thought you said Vespasian was the prefect.'

'He is now. Vitellius made an utter balls-up of the opening stages of the campaign and Narcissus replaced him as soon as he got word.' He cleared his throat. 'In addition to defeating the pirates we were also tasked with retrieving the scrolls.'

Secundus tensed up for an instant, and then he raised a spoon of stew to his lips and blew across the surface to cool it down. He did not look up when he stopped blowing. 'Scrolls? What scrolls would they be?'

'The ones you were carrying back to Rome.'

'I was carrying quite a few messages back to Rome at the time of my capture.'

'Maybe.' Cato shrugged.'But I think you'd remember the scrolls I'm talking about. The Sybilline scrolls.'

Secundus stared at him. 'You know about them? Who else knows?'

'Macro, Vitellius, and now Vespasian, of course. Officially, that's the list of the people in the know.' Cato told the lie comfortably enough. 'We've been told to get the scrolls back at any cost. And you, of course.'

Secundus couldn't help smiling. 'But, according to Narcissus, the scrolls are the priority. My rescue was a supplementary goal. Am I right?'

'You know Narcissus.'

'Well enough… It seems that you've got your priorities the wrong way round, Centurion Cato. You've freed me, but the scrolls are still down there with Telemachus. I understand he wants to ransom them.'

'If only it was that simple. It's not so much a ransom as an auction.'

Secundus carefully sipped the soup off the spoon and smiled contentedly before he returned his thoughts to the wider political situation.'I imagine that if there's anyone else who wants to get their hands on the scrolls, the Liberators would have to be top of the list.'

'That's my thinking,' Cato agreed.'But let's face it; anyone with the right money and the right connections would have more than a passing interest in possessing the scrolls. It's not every day that the entire future of the Empire is laid out right in front of your eyes.'

'That's why it has to be Narcissus who gets them.'

'He's hardly a neutral power in this situation.'

'No. But he's a safe pair of hands, and because he only serves the Emperor, there's little risk of him using the knowledge to further his own ends. In every other respect I'd trust him about as far as I could spit a brick. He's a bastard all right, but at least he's our bastard.' Secundus paused to sip another spoon of stew. 'But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Telemachus still has the scrolls.'

'Do you know where he's keeping them?'

Secundus nodded. 'I think so. When I was first captured he kept me in a cell in the citadel. I was tortured for the first few days while they tried to get every scrap of information they could out of me concerning those bloody scrolls. First they beat me, then dragged me up to his private quarters where he'd question me. Him and that son of his. Young Ajax has a cruel streak a mile wide.'

Cato smiled. 'You might like to know he's been on the receiving end. We took him and two of their ships the other day.'

'Good for you, Centurion. Little bastard deserves it, after what he did to me… Anyway, that's where I saw them – the scrolls. On his desk. Telemachus had them out a few times when they were torturing me. The scrolls are kept in a small casket.' Secundus paused to fix the image in his mind. 'It's black, decorated with gold and onyx cameos. The last time I was questioned was over a month ago. That's the last time I saw the scrolls. I assume Telemachus is still keeping them safe in his quarters. There's something else you should know. I think Telemachus has a spy in the fleet. He once told me to give up any hope of being rescued. He boasted that he knew every detail about the Ravenna fleet. More than enough to ensure its defeat.'

'They gave us a hiding,' Cato confirmed. 'We lost several ships and hundreds of men. You're right about the spy. The pirates knew exactly where to intercept the fleet, and how vulnerable our lighter ships would be under their load of supplies and equipment. If we ever find out who the spy is I don't think any power on earth is going to stop the men from tearing him to pieces.'

'They said they had beaten the Ravenna fleet. I didn't believe them at the time.' Secundus shook his head sadly at the unlikely prospect of the reversal of arms. Like all Romans he was raised to believe in Roman invincibility. For Cato, at the sharp end of imperial policy, the successful defence of the Empire's borders by the widely spread legions and fleets seemed nothing short of a miracle.

Secundus continued quietly.'Seems that Telemachus is as good as he thinks he is after all.'

Cato shook his head.'He's had his run of luck. His time's up, or will be very soon. You'll see. Now tell me, what happened after the questioning was done with?'

Secundus gestured to his wasted body with his spare hand. 'I was sent down to the stables to look after the mules. Since then, it's been endless mucking out, and trips up to this place every three days. Rowing a bloody great boat across the bay, and then a bastard of a climb up this mountain.'

'How long before you and the others are missed?'

'We're expected back by nightfall today.'

'That's fine,' Cato replied.'I'm surprised they didn't keep you somewhere nice and secure. You might have escaped.'

'I was always watched.'

'Fair enough. You must have seen enough of this base to provide some useful information once you were ransomed.'

Secundus looked up at Cato.'What makes you think they were ever going to let me go? Besides, one of the guards told me that they were going to quit the bay soon, and find another lair, next to some new hunting grounds.'

'Did Telemachus ever mention the Liberators?'

'He said there were other parties interested in the scrolls.'

'Did he ever mention the name of their agent?'

'No. But I think I saw him once.' Secundus' brow crinkled as he recalled the details. 'I was loading the provision boat when a ship came in and landed a Roman. They took him under guard. Straight to the citadel. I never knew his name.'

'Then what did he look like?'

'Mid-thirties, maybe forty. Medium build… Nothing outstanding about him. Except the scar.'

'Scar? What about it?'

'He had a livid red mark on his cheek, like a burn… Sorry, that's all I can remember.'

'It's enough. If I could produce this man again, would you recognise him?'

'With that scar, I should think so.'

'If I'm right, his name is Anobarbus. That mean anything to you?'

'No. Sorry.' Secundus lowered his head and smelled the stew in the mess tin. 'I can't tell you how good this is.'

'There's plenty there, help yourself. But don't overdo it. It wouldn't go well with Narcissus if I saved you from torture and slavery only to kill you with kindness.'

Secundus laughed, drew a breath at the wrong moment and started choking on the stew, which dribbled from his nose as his body was racked by a fit of coughing. Cato sprang up in alarm and hurried round to deliver a hefty whack to the other man's bony back. He raised his hand to repeat the blow, but Secundus ducked away from him.