“Praetor, I must say that I strenuouslyobject to your decision,” I said carefully, but Primus still becameangry immediately.
“You may object all you like, Prefect, butmy decision is final,” he replied hotly. In a quieter tone, hecontinued, “I know I don't have to remind you that I'm vested withProconsular imperium, so my word is effectively Roman law, assacrosanct as if it had been engraved on bronze tablets.”
There was no mistaking the menace thisthinly veiled threat carried, while I could see Scribonius shootingme a warning look, giving a minute shake of the head. For once, Iheeded, despite it feeling like a knife sticking into my gut to doso.
“No, sir, you don't have to remind me,” Isaid through clenched teeth. “And of course, we'll obey all lawfulorders to the best of our abilities.”
Oh, he did not like my use of the word“lawful,” but he apparently was cautious enough to keep from makingan issue of it.
“Very good, Prefect. Make sure you don’tforget. Now, Scipio, thank you for the information, but it changesnothing. We continue to Serdica.”
“Believe it or not, Primus actually did youa favor,” Scribonius told me that night after we made camp.
I stared at him, knowing that he would havea good reason for saying so but still finding it hard tobelieve.
“How so?”
“Because now you have a legitimate reason todemand to see Octavian’s written order, if one exists. And it wassmart of you to use the word ‘lawful.’”
“I wasn’t thinking about that when I saidit,” I admitted.
“It doesn’t matter,” he assured me. “And Isuspect that he knows that, which is why he'll try and scare youinto backing down. But you're completely within your rights todemand to see legitimate justification for what we're doing.”
I thought about what he said. While I knewthat he was right, it was one thing to talk about it in the privacyof my tent, and another thing entirely to march into thePraetorium to make such a demand. I sat there, trying torecall our initial conversation and whether or not Primus hadmentioned the Triballi by name, or if he had just referred toThrace in general. The truth was that I could not remember exactly,which to that point was still extremely unusual for me. My memoryhad always been excellent, yet I found that it was harder toremember small details that I had always been able to recall withease before.
“I don’t know for sure if Primus evermentioned the Triballi specifically,” I confessed toScribonius.
He frowned, thought about it, then saidslowly, “You better do a good job of convincing him that he did saywe were going after the Triballi. Do you remember if there wasanyone there who could refute your version?”
I shook my head.
“Not the first conversation; we werealone.”
“Good,” he replied quickly. “Then it willjust be your word against his. But, Titus, you can't waver. Youhave to be absolutely adamant that he said we were going after theTriballi specifically.”
I could feel my stomach start to twist intoa knot, but I nodded to Scribonius to indicate that I understood. Ihad one last question for Scribonius, suspecting I knew theanswer.
“When should I confront him?”
“Immediately,” Scribonius answeredinstantly, confirming what I thought. “You can’t let anothersunrise go by without bringing this matter up, or you'll have lostthe advantage. If you wait, he can always say that you only made anobjection later.”
I stood, sighing as I donned my armor, thenstrapped on my belt. I was going to see Primus in my role as CampPrefect, so it was important that I dressed the part.
“How do I look?”
“Fit to go into battle.” Scribonius grinnedat me.
It was a grim jest, but not far from thetruth. I left to go face Marcus Primus.
As usual, Primus was not alone, Masala beingpresent and they were eating a late dinner. Also present wereSilanus and Lucullus, both of them looking uncomfortable at myappearance, which I found curious. Primus looked up from stuffinghis face with some sort of delicacy, his fingers and mouth smearedwith the grease from it. His eyes took in my uniform, then made agrimace of distaste as he set the last morsel back onto his plateand pushed it aside.
“What is it, Prefect? What's so importantthat you must barge in and interrupt a perfectly lovely meal?”
“Please forgive the intrusion. Praetor, I'dlike to discuss a matter with you that I consider very importantand can't wait.”
Primus rolled his eyes, looking over atMasala with a smirk on his fat face.
“Did you hear that, Masala? It’s a veryimportant matter. What is it, Prefect? Are there some chickpeasmissing from the Legion stores? Or did one of those brutes in theranks lose his sword? What is it that you can’t handle on your ownwhere you need my assistance?”
Swallowing the flare of anger at hisinsulting words and tone, I said, “Actually, sir, I don’t thinkthat it’s something I should discuss in front of the others. It’sfor your ears only.”
“For my ears only,” he mimicked, shaking hishead in obvious disgust. “Prefect, I assure you that nothing youhave to say is something that these men can't hear.”
“Very well,” I replied evenly. “Given theinformation that we received today, and your decision to continueto Serdica despite knowing that it doesn't belong to the Triballitribe, I'm afraid that I must insist on seeing the written ordersfrom Augustus concerning this campaign.”
I do not believe Primus could have lookedmore shocked if I had slapped him across the face, while theexpressions of the others were not far behind his, but I swore Isaw the glimmer of a smile on Lucullus’ face. Primus partiallyrecovered, enough to address the others.
“Leave us,” he snapped, his voicestrangled.
The others hopped up immediately, almostfalling over each other in their haste to leave the room, none ofthem looking at me as they ushered past me out through the flap ofthe tent. Once we were alone, Primus stared at me with poisonoushatred; his fat lips pulled back, the grease from his meal stillcoating his mouth, shining dully
