go in your place,” I said, loosening the short sword Priscus had provided me. “You will be safer here.”
“No.” The word was abrupt. “If I do not attend, it will go wrong.”
“There is too much open space at the harbor,” I argued. “At least let me scout. I will send for you if all is clear. ”
Priscus turned a hard eye on me, the affable man who’d spoken so familiarly with me gone. “You will do as I say, gladiator.”
I had no power here, and he knew it. I bowed my head, but I’d never been submissive. “My fee will be the same whether you live or die.”
Priscus’s hand shot to the dagger at his side as though he’d strike me down in his breakfast chamber. If I fought him off and injured him, I could be condemned to death with no hope of pardon. I waited, letting fate hang in the balance.
Priscus released the dagger’s hilt and deflated. “You are right, Leonidas. It is a terrible risk I take. But I must take it.”
“Tell me why.” It was no business of mine, except that I might die for this man today.
“I wish I could. The burden is great. But spies are everywhere, and I am sworn to secrecy. I do not mind you guarding my life, but some things are more important than existence.”
Priscus strode away from me, squaring his shoulders, and I could only follow.
He declared he would pay for and retrieve his cargo himself, with only me for protection, but I persuaded him to bring a few more servants. It would appear normal for him to have a retinue, plus he’d have witnesses if the deal went sour.
Priscus scowled at me but sharply ordered his valet and his horse’s groom—his most loyal men, he said—to join us. The two looked relieved that I’d talked him into bringing them. I convinced Priscus to include three more of his strongest servants, and we all set off toward the harbor, the caskets of coin strapped to a donkey’s back.
We hadn’t gone half a street when I heard quick footfalls behind us.
A glance back showed me Cassia walking along, a basket on her arm, as though she headed out to do some shopping. I frowned at her, but she ignored me.
“Aren’t slaves supposed to be obedient?” I asked Priscus in attempt to lessen his tension.
Priscus sent me a tight smile. “Theoretically. But when you make slaves of conquered peoples, their defiance remains. Even after generations, the spirits of their ancestors fill them. It is not the best system, but without the labor of slaves, Rome ceases to function.”
I wondered what Cassia would say to this. She was certainly like no other slave I’d encountered, including myself.
Ostia’s harbor spread from the mouth of the Tiber to the sea. The day was fine after yesterday’s rain, high clouds forming shadows on the deep blue water.
A building under construction at the harbor mouth sported a tall crane, with several men walking inside a giant treadwheel to raise a large block of stone into the air. A small man with a pouch of scrolls slung over his shoulder watched, hands on hips, as the block moved higher and swung out over the roof, where more men waited to guide the block into place.
Additional cranes worked the wharves, hauling goods into and out of the ships docked there.
The number of vessels roaming the harbor astonished me. The high decks teemed with men, and oars lifted and fell in tight precision, flashing in the sunlight.
I would like to come to this place at my leisure, to gawp at the ships and watch them maneuver. The thought that I was free to do so whenever I wished was a jolt. Freedom was difficult to grow used to.
We took a street lined with tall buildings that blocked our view of the harbor. Colonnades formed shaded walkways, though we kept to the middle of the street with Priscus’s horse and the donkey. Ostia did not have the restriction on private vehicles during the day that Rome did, and so we had to move aside for wagons and carriages. Priscus wore his toga with the purple stripe, revealing he was a man of high rank, but he did not insist all give way for him.
He turned his horse abruptly into a side lane, and I was hard-pressed to keep up with him. We hadn’t gone far before Priscus dismounted and moved quickly toward a dark doorway.
I dared to step in front