The captain shrugged. “Pray to those gods that they can raise it, or over the side you go, with a bit of chain to hold you down.”

Suetonius sank back in apparent despair, though Julius knew he would consider himself to have outwitted the pirate.

“You, Centurion? Are you from a rich family?” the captain asked.

Gaditicus glared at him for a moment before speaking. “I am not, but nothing I say will make any difference to you,” he growled before looking away.

The captain frowned in thought. “I think . . . yes, for a centurion, a captain no less, like myself . . . it would be an insult if I asked less than twenty talents. That would be about five thousand in gold, I think. Yes.”

Gaditicus ignored him, though he seemed to sag slightly in despair.

“What is your name?” the captain asked Julius.

For a moment, he too considered ignoring the man, but then his headache throbbed and a spike of anger rose in him.

“My name is Julius Caesar. I command a twenty. I am also the head of a wealthy house.”

The captain’s eyebrows rose and the others muttered amongst themselves in disbelief. Julius exchanged a glance with Gaditicus, who shook his head in a clear message.

“Head of a house! I am honored to meet you,” the captain said with a sneer. “Perhaps twenty talents would be right for you as well.”

“Fifty,” Julius said, straightening his back as he spoke. The captain blinked, his easy manner vanishing.

“That is twelve thousand pieces of gold,” he said, awed out of complacency.

“Make it fifty,” Julius replied firmly. “When I have found you and killed you, I will need funds. I am far from home, after all.” Despite the pain in his head, he mustered a savage grin.

The captain recovered quickly from his surprise. “You are the one that had his head broken. You must have left your wits on my decks. I will ask for fifty, but if it does not come, the sea is deep enough to hold you.”

“It is not wide enough to hide you from me, whoreson,” Julius replied. “I will nail your men to a line of crosses all along the coast. Your officers I may have strangled out of mercy. You have my word on it.”

The soldiers erupted into a shout of cheers and laughter at the captain, who paled with anger. For a moment, it looked as if he would step farther into the cell to strike Julius, but he mastered himself and looked around scornfully at the baying men.

“I will set high prices on all of you. See if you cheer then!” he shouted over the jeers as he left with his crewman, who locked the door securely behind him, shaking his head in disbelief at Julius through the bars.

When they were sure there was no one to hear, Suetonius rounded on Julius.

“What did you do that for, you fool? He’ll beggar our families for your stupid pride!”