the sun.’ He turned and returned to the cabin.
They made small talk for an hour or so until the subject returned to Samothrace.
‘So, what do you expect to find on this island?’ asked India.
‘Don’t know,’ said Brandon, ‘But all the clues we have, point there. Sometimes the best way to get relevant information is to visit the scene itself. You saw that for yourself in Victoria.’
‘I suppose so,’ she said.
‘So, tell me about Troy,’ said Brandon, ‘If it was invincible, why doesn’t it exist today?’
‘Well,’ said India, warming to her favourite subject, ‘It was built about two and a half thousand BC and lasted until Greece sacked the city about twelve hundred BC.’
‘This, I know about,’ said Brandon. ‘The Greeks built a giant wooden horse and left it outside the gates of Troy. But inside, it contained armed Greek warriors, correct?’
‘That’s right,’ she said, ‘They waited until the city was asleep, and, after dropping from the wooden horse, opened the gates of the city from the inside, letting the Greek army in. What few people realise, is that several days earlier, Diomedes, a Greek warrior, crept into the city and stole the palladium. Don’t forget, the legend was, that as long as the Palladium was in the city, then it could not fall. With the theft of the Palladium, the city was vulnerable.’
‘Just because of a wooden statue?’
‘They believed in these things,’ said India. ‘Anyway, whatever the reason, the city fell a few days later and almost everyone was slaughtered. Some escaped but to all intents and purposes the city was wiped out. After a ten year siege, it was a great victory for the Greeks.’
‘Ten years? It wasn’t that long in the film!’
‘Don’t take the piss Brandon,’ she said, ‘These were real people and real events. Not a vehicle for Brad Pitt’s career, gorgeous as he is.’
‘Sorry,’ he said, ‘Anyway, that’s all very interesting. What about Samothrace?’
‘The records are a bit hazy there,’ she said, ‘It seems the cult of the great mother on Samothrace continued to grow from strength to strength. Over the centuries it became a great place of worship and many famous people visited there to become initiated, and that’s where Phillip the Second of Macedonia met his bride to be in 356BC.’
‘Hence the link,’ said Brandon.
‘Hence the link,’ confirmed India. ‘Not much, I know, but a historical fact linking Samothrace with our murderer.’
‘Well,’ said Brandon, ‘We’ll be there soon enough, I’m going to get some kip.’ He lay down on the deck and tilted his sun hat over his eyes. Let me know when we arrive.’
‘Yes, sir,’ murmured India sarcastically and dipped into her bag to pull out the tourist guide to Samothrace she had picked up in Athens. Two and a half hours later she shook Brandon’s shoulders.
‘Brandon, wake up,’ she said, ‘You have got to see this.’
Brandon got up and sat on the bench alongside India, gazing at the amazing sight of the island rising majestically out of the blue Aegean sea. The volcanic shape dominated the horizon and even from this distance they could see it was lush with green vegetation. Halfway up, it carved through a white halo of mist, formed by its own microclimate and the whole place screamed mystery across the water.
‘Truly a place of the god’s,’ whispered India in awe.
‘More like Jurassic fucking park,’ answered Brandon and ducked to avoid the half hearted slap from his colleague.
Chapter 13
Rome 64 AD
The fires had been burning across Rome for two days and Rubria was still locked in the tower with Nero. The Emperor’s mood swung from lyrical to savage as he alternately serenaded Rubria with his lyre or violently raped her, depending on his mood. Her face was swollen from the beatings and the once pristine white robes were grubby and bloodstained. Her hair was unkempt and her face dirty from the long dried tears. She lay curled into a ball in the corner, her hands tied tightly around a heavy table leg.
‘Beautiful,’ said Nero staring out at the flames raging across Rome, ‘Won’t be long Priestess, and the rebuilding can begin. A new era of magnificence, the likes of which has never seen. It could have all been yours, Rubria. Why did you have to spoil it all?’
Rubria didn’t answer.
‘It matters not,’ said Nero. ‘There are countless who will gladly consent to be my Empress. I have my choice of women or boys, married or chaste.’ He glanced sideways at her ominously, ‘Willing or not!’
‘Please,’ she whispered, ‘Let me go. You have had your way; please allow me to return to the temple.’
‘Back to the Temple?’ he laughed, ‘Why? You know as well as I that you have no future there. The Priestesses must all be Virgins. As soon as the Pontifex maximus find out you have lain with a man, your only future lies beneath the paviers of the Campus Sceleratus.’
‘You raped me,’ she said, ‘They will understand.’
‘And who do you think they will believe,’ asked Nero. ‘A mere girl, who has been pestering me for months or their glorious Emperor. Sorry, Rubria, your future has become somewhat limited, and, to be honest…’ He grabbed her chin in his hand and forced her head up to look at him. ‘It’s not even as if you were any good.’
A knock came on the door and Nero answered without looking up.
‘Go away, I am busy.’
‘Sire,’ came a voice, ‘You are needed, there is a problem.’
‘What problem?’
‘The fire is getting out of control. It threatens the Palatine.’
Nero looked up in concern.
‘The palace?’ he asked.
‘Yes, Sire, the Vigils are fighting the flames as we speak.’
Nero walked over to the door and withdrew the bolt.
‘How has this happened,’ he asked.
‘The wind changed, Sire, the whole hill is threatened, Caligula’s palace, the Domus, even the Forum is at risk.’
Nero glanced at Rubria.
‘What about the Temple of Vesta?’ he asked, ‘Does it lie in the fire’s path?’
‘No Sire, it would seem the Temple is safe.’
‘Hmm,’ said Nero, ‘I am not sure that is a fair situation. Why do our humble citizens suffer yet the sisterhood escapes the fire? Look at the situation again, soldier,’ he said, ‘Next time you report it would be better for you if I heard the Temple had burnt to the ground. Do you understand?’
‘Yes, Sire,’ said the soldier.
‘Good. Make sure you do. Now, gather the men and concentrate on saving the palaces.’
‘Yes, Sire,’ said the Centurion and Rubria heard him running back through the marble hallway.
‘Oh dear,’ said Nero, sitting back down next to her and peeling an apple with his knife, ‘It would seem that even if I were to let you go, there is nowhere for you to go. Or at least, there soon won’t be. However, that is irrelevant. You see, Rubria, unfortunately, I can’t let you leave here alive. Even though I am destined to be a God, there are some who would frown on your seduction, and, whilst I do not answer to them, it is an irritation I could do without. So, in a few hours, while I am becoming the saviour of the city and spend untold fortunes on saving my people, you, my dear Priestess, will be having a meeting with an assassins blade.’ He stood up to leave. ‘Listen to that, Rubria,’ he said, indicating the noise from the city below. ‘The sound of my people, begging for my help, and who am I to deny them. Goodbye, Priestess, Don’t bother screaming, no one can hear you up here. But worry not, you won’t be alone for long. The next person you see, will also be the last.’ He paused before finally adding. ‘When you greet your Goddess, Rubria, give her my love.’ He turned and left the room, slamming the door behind
