Volusianus glanced at the man hanging in the middle of the cell. ‘Keep him alive, in solitary confinement. Don’t let him talk to anyone. We may need him as a witness.’

*

A bitter wind whipped down the Sacred Way as Murena walked past the Temple of Venus and Rome. The street was nearly deserted. The weather was inclement, but tens of thousands of Romans had thronged to the Colosseum. It was five days before the Nones of October, the opening of the Ludi Augustales. The first Emperor Augustus might have taken their political freedom, but the people loved the games held in his honour.

It was mid-afternoon, the courts had been shut for hours, and the Forum was not busy. Murena angled across towards the far corner and the Senate House.

Why had Volusianus asked about Severus and his men? As the Praetorian Prefect had said – assuming that they were not already dead or captured – they should be near the Caspian Sea. There was no possibility that there could be any news. Did Volusianus suspect Murena’s hand in the mission? No, it was not that. If Volusianus had been suspicious, Murena would have been the one strung up from the hook. The Praetorian Prefect was thorough, his actions decisive and never hampered by sentiment.

Before he reached the Senate House, Murena turned into the Argiletum that ran between the Curia and the Aemilian Basilica.

It was no more than wishful thinking on the part of Volusianus. The unpremeditated comment about the possible mutilation of the old Emperor gave it away. For all his intelligence, Volusianus was a westerner. They lacked the deep subtlety and cunning of the east. Murena was descended from good Italian stock, but his ancestors had lived in Syria for generations. Climate and geography and the surrounding culture had had their effect. Just as Volusianus could unravel the poetry employed by alienated senators, so Murena could read the preoccupations of the Praetorian Prefect.

Volusianus was determined that Gallienus would campaign in the east. The Praetorian Prefect would move Olympus to secure the release from Persian captivity of his great patron, the old Emperor Valerian. If Volusianus could bring that about, it would secure his influence over the imperial court. But Gallienus was set on marching over the Alps to avenge his son. If Prince Sasan fell into Roman hands, it would precipitate war along the Euphrates. If the King of Kings attacked Syria, Gallienus must march to its defence, and Volusianus would get his wish.

Still, Volusianus’s question had unsettled Murena. That was why he was walking down to the Subura, to remind himself that he had power over the lives of others, and thus over his own destiny.