“A talent?” Bronwen repeated,obviously unfamiliar with the word, and under other circumstances,I would have found the manner in which she cocked her headcharming, but I still was more interested in killing her thanbedding her at that point in time. “I am not familiar with thisword, but I will ask the King.” She addressed Cogidubnus, and Istudied his expression; the way his brow furrowed in puzzlementgave me the answer before she did, so I was prepared for her toturn back to me and say, “King Cogidubnus has no knowledge of atalent or what it weighs. He said this is the customary method weuse here between the tribes in such matters and he assumed that youwould be familiar with it.”
Speaking in strict terms, I could see theparallels between the Briton system and what is used in our world,and frankly, the problem was less in the measurement than in thefact that I weigh a hundred pounds more than the average Romanman.
Deciding this was fruitless to pursue, Iasked Bronwen, “Why does King Cogidubnus think that I would haveaccess to that much gold?”
She relayed my question, and he did nothesitate to reply, and I heard the answer before she gave hisanswer when Cogidubnus said the name, the answer being, “Becauseyou are close to Germanicus, Centurion. You said yourself that hethinks highly of you, and the King knows that Germanicus is verypowerful, second only to your Imperator Tiberius, which means he isvery wealthy. The King is certain he will be willing to pay foryour safe return.”
Gnaeus, what the fuck have you done? Yourbig mouth might get you killed. This was what was running throughmy head, because there was no way that I was going to askGermanicus for help, but I also could not tell Cogidubnus this if Iwanted to remain alive, at least until my men departed, since therewas no way they would depart without trying to kill every lastParisii to avenge my death. And, as I had assured Ivomagus andCogidubnus, they would kill more than their share of Parisii, butthe numbers were too heavily in their favor.
“Well,” I spoke finally, “the only waythat has a chance of happening is if I’m allowed to talk toCenturion Saloninus.”
When she translated this, Cogidubnus did nothesitate to reply, and I learned why when Bronwen said, “Yes, theKing anticipated this. We have a horse outside, and you will beescorted to their camp so that you can instruct your Centurion onwhat to do.”
Before she was finished, Cogidubnus wasmoving towards me, gesturing at me to rise, and while I did, I didnot move.
Instead, I twisted at the waist and thrustmy hands out as I demanded, “What about cutting my bonds? My handsare asleep.”
He shook his head, although he did saysomething to Bronwen, who explained, “The King says that once yourmen have departed tomorrow, you will be freed, not beforethen.”
It was, I thought, a sensible precaution,but it did not make me want to kill him any less. However, it wasBerdic who made the mistake of taking his eyes off me as I waspassing by, but I did not. I knew it would hurt, and would addle meeven more, yet I did not hesitate to whip my head forward with asmuch force as I could muster, my forehead smashing into his nose,hard enough that I felt the blood from his shattered nose sprayacross my face, which added to the blood from the stitches I toreout by doing it. He staggered back, and I would have kicked him inthe groin, but Cogidubnus reached out and grabbed me by the back ofmy tunic, yanking me back from Berdic, who was holding his face inboth hands, blood pouring through his fingers. Cogidubnus wasstrong, I will give him that; still, he was not in the same classas I am, and I instantly knew that I could send him flying just byessentially bending over at the waist with enough power, but Irefrained. He shouted something in my ear as he shoved me down thehallway formed by the partitions at the back of the hall, whichBronwen practically had to yell as she hurried after us.
“The King says that was a very foolishthing to do. But,” she added, “he also does not blame you forit.”
I heard the rushing footsteps behind us, butit was actually Cogidubnus who spun about and bellowed at theonrushing Berdic, and I did not need to know his tongue tounderstand that this was a command, issued by a superior to asubordinate that the subordinate would be very foolish to disobey.Berdic snarled something, but there was a new nasal quality to hisvoice that made me grin, which he saw over Cogidubnus’ shoulder,his mustache and beard soaked with his blood, which also got on histeeth so that he looked like a ravening wolf as he shouted hispromise to destroy me, which needed no translation. I was notsurprised that Berdic obeyed, sullenly, then we began moving again,walking through the hall where men and women were sprawled out onthe hardpacked dirt floor, mostly between the tables, although Isaw a fair number of people stretched out on one of the tables, andtwo couples who had evidently been in the act of copulating beforethey passed out. Exiting the hall, I saw Ivomagus sitting on hishorse, looking down at me impassively, and for the second time, Ihad to fight the sudden surge of rage that, if anything, was evenmore powerful, and I struggled to keep the beast within myself.
“You,” I spat on the ground, “are theworst of all, you son of a whore! You betrayed us! You’re only freebecause…”
“I am only free because that ship wasso badly damaged that you had no choice, Centurion,” he saidcoldly. “If we had been able to land in Gaul, I and every otherParisii man would still be enslaved. So,” he pointed down at me,his mouth twisting, “do not daretalk to me of treachery!”
Before I could reply, a man led ahorse up to me then made as if to help me mount.
