I called Alex’s name, and when he looked up,I called out, “Where’s the scale? How do they plan to weighit?”
I was a bit abashed because, of course,Ivomagus understood me, so he was the one who answered;fortunately, he was clearly more embarrassed to admit, “We do nothave any scale here in Petuar that is capable of handling this muchweight.”
I was about to ask how they were going toverify that Alex had brought the correct amount, but then I saw thelid fully opened, and despite knowing it was my imagination, I wasconvinced I saw the reflected glow of all that gold bathingIvomagus in its light. What was not in my imagination was howIvomagus took a step backward, his jaw hanging open at the sight,but Alex was already opening the second chest. Then, he bent over,and while I could not see, I was certain that he was rummagingaround in both chests to make sure Alex had not substitutedsomething for the gold, like lead. We had actually discussed thisbriefly, but dismissed it for this very reason, and I watched asIvomagus examined the contents of the second chest, then he stooderect. Ivomagus let out a small shout, and for the second time in ashort span, I felt as if I had been stabbed again at the obviousjoy he was showing. He turned and shouted down to Cogidubnus, butthis time, I made sure not to look in his direction, certain that Iwould make him feel the stabbing pain I was experiencing in a morevisceral manner. Most importantly, Ivomagus nodded, and Cogidubnussnapped an order to the men in the other chariots, informing methat they had not been brought as guards as much as labor, and theyhurried up the plank. It took two men to handle one chest, and theywere clearly struggling as they lifted it up and onto the plank,then hopped up, picked it up, and slowly made their way down to thedock. Even from where I was standing, I heard them panting from thestrain, then the second pair of Parisii followed them. The instantthey stepped onto the dock, without a glance at Cogidubnus, Istrode up the plank, but I will not lie, my upper body was rigidwith the tension that comes from expecting some sort of missile tostrike me between the shoulder blades. Ivomagus was standing there,still on the ship, and while I had expected him to hop up onto theplank so that we would meet halfway, he remained there until Idropped down onto the deck. We stood there for a long moment,saying nothing; honestly, I did not know what to say. My feelingstowards Ivomagus the Parisii were, and still are, hopelesslyentangled. I still fault him for allowing Cogidubnus to do what hehad done to me, yet at the same time, I could not fault him forbeing loyal to his brother. And, I believed, and still believethat, if it was within his power, he would have done thingsdifferently. Finally, I broke this quiet, and I regret that mybitterness got the better of me, because I jerked my head towardsthe dock.
“Go on, go join your brother andcount his money. Then you canplan on how to spend it.”
This made Ivomagus’ face darken, but it washis expression that helped assuage my anger more than anythingelse.
“You were not treated with honor,Centurion Pullus,” he spoke with a voice that conveyed his feelingsmore than his words. “And for that, I am truly regretful. Yes,” hismouth twisted, “I was made a slave, and I served Rome against mywill.” He took a deep breath, then continued, “But that was notyour doing, and I will never forget that you saved my life.” In asurprise, at least to me, he thrust his arm out in our manner. “Iwill pray to our gods that you are returned to your home safely.And,” for the first time, he gave a glimmer of a smile, “that Inever see you as Mandubracius saw yourgreat-grandfather.”
I accepted his arm, and I was being honestwhen I replied, “Your brother doesn’t deserve your counsel,Ivomagus.”
He shocked me by replying simply, “I know.”Then he abruptly spun about and hopped up onto the plank, but hewas about halfway down when he stopped to call over his shoulder,“I hope my gift to you helps repay my debt.”
Then he strode off, and while I wascurious to know what he meant, getting away from Petuar was moreimportant than asking him. Within a heartbeat after his feet hitthe dock, two of the crewmen were hauling the plank back aboard,and it barely hit the deck when the ship’s master Squillus shouteddown the order to his Hortator. I have no experience in such matters,but I believe that the Salaciapulled away from the dock of Petuar more rapidly than anyship in history. I could not bring myself to watch the Parisiicelebrating at this fabulous increase in their wealth, so I spunaround to face the stern as the ship pulled away and out into thecurrent of the river. Alex joined me, even turning away as I had,but I felt his eyes studying me.
“I’m fine,” I tried to assure him, buthe was not fooled.
“No, you’re not,” he replied flatly,then before I could protest, he said, “And I’d be worried about youif you were. But,” he added emphatically, “the important thing isthat you’re safe now. And, we’re going home.”
Home. That
