“He said the same to me,” Renius muttered, testing the stew with a finger. Though it was clearly boiling, he didn’t seem to feel the heat.

“I thought that was why you came back with me. You could have stayed on with the Fist if you’d wanted.”

Renius shrugged. “I wanted to be at the heart of things again.”

Brutus grinned at the big man. “I know. Now Sulla’s dead, this is our time.”

Chapter 9

                  CHAPTER 9                  

I have no idea what you are talking about,” Fercus said. He strained against the ropes that held him to the chair, but there was no give in them.

“I think you know exactly what I mean,” Antonidus said, leaning in very close so that their faces almost touched. “I have a gift for knowing a lie when I am told one.” He sniffed twice suddenly and Fercus remembered how they called him Sulla’s dog.

“You reek of lies,” Antonidus said, sneering. “I know you were involved, so simply tell me and I will not have to bring in the torturers. There is no escape from here, broker. No one saw you arrested and no one will know we have spoken. Just tell me who ordered the assassination and where the killer is and you will walk out unharmed.”

“Take me to a court of law. I will find representation to prove my innocence!” Fercus said, his voice shaking.

“Oh, you would like that, wouldn’t you? Days wasted in idle talk while the Senate tries to prove it has one law for all. There is no law down here, in this room. Down here, we still remember Sulla.”

“I know nothing!” Fercus shouted, making Antonidus move back a few inches, to his relief. The general shook his head in regret.

“We know the killer went by the name of Dalcius. We know he had been bought for kitchen work three weeks before. The record of the sale has vanished, of course, but there were witnesses. Did you think no one would notice Sulla’s own agent at the market? Your name, Fercus, came up over and over again.”

Fercus paled. He knew he would not be allowed to live. He would not see his daughters again. At least they were not in the city. He had sent his wife away when the soldiers came for the slave market records, understanding then what would happen and knowing he could not run with them if he wanted them to escape the wolves Sulla’s friends would put on his trail.

He had accepted that there was a small risk, but after burning the sale papers, he had thought they would never make the link among so many thousands of others. His eyes filled with tears.

“Guilt overwhelms you? Or is it just that you have been found out?” Antonidus asked sharply.

Fercus said nothing and looked at the floor. He did not think he could stand torture.