CHAPTER 7

The nervous excitement Finn felt at having pulled off the first part of the plan wore off the further he got from the amphitheatre, and as he approached Lucius’ villa, the question he had been avoiding rose again in his mind. Could he really poison someone? It was one thing defending yourself against an attacker in the heat of battle, but quite another to plan a cold-blooded, secretive assassination. That felt more like, well, murder.

On the other hand Lucius had more or less threatened to kill both him and Arthur, and it was hard to see Marcus suddenly deciding that he wanted to escape unless something dramatic happened. Also Finn was worried about Arthur. He knew that deep down his brother was loving pretending to be a gladiator, but the more time he spent in Gaius’ school, the more likely it was he would be seriously hurt, regardless of Lucius.

As Finn arrived at the villa he still did not know what he was going to do beyond telling Lucius that Titus was poisoned. He walked over to the small side door he and Gaius had used the previous evening and one of the guards accompanied him into the courtyard, calling out so that the silent slave appeared. The slave motioned for Finn to follow him into the house and then into the same room in which he had first met Lucius. Finn sat down on a bench and waited, staring with loathing at a bust of Lucius that decorated a small alcove.

It wasn’t long before another disturbing idea presented itself. If Lucius did believe that Titus was now poisoned then what use was Finn to him? In fact, wasn’t it in Lucius’ interests to get rid of Finn altogether – destroying the evidence? Just at that moment the door to the room swung open and Finn held his breath, before sighing with relief when Lucilla walked in.

“What happened?” She asked in barely more than a whisper as she made her way quickly over to where he was sitting.

Finn, grateful to have one person he could confide in, told her the whole story of his instructions to poison Titus and of the plot to fool Lucius into believing this had happened. The girl listened carefully, and when he had finished she thought for a while.

“So Titus was willing to help as long as you… dispose of Lucius quickly?”

“That’s how he put it, yes, but what am I going to do?” said Finn miserably. “The only plan that makes sense is to kill him and I don’t know if I can do it.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth Finn regretted them. How could he have been so stupid as to say that in this place, and to Lucilla?

“Give me the poison,” said Lucilla, her face drawn. “I will do it.” Finn couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “I hate him and I want revenge,” she hissed. “And if he lives then I will have to stay here with him – from what you’ve told me I now know that the marriage to Titus was obviously never going to happen.”

“It’s too dangerous,” said Finn, his brow creased.

“Finn, you have played your part. Now give me the poison and get back to your brother. What do you think my uncle’s plans will be for you now that he thinks you’ve done his dirty work? He’s ruthless Finn, he kills anyone who is a threat…”

Finn knew she was right but it felt very strange as he pulled the bottle from around his neck and handed it over…

* * *

When Gaius brought Marcus back to the school at the end of the day Arthur was relieved to learn that the gladiator had won his bout. Arthur had been practising with his net and trident on and off for most of the day. He fervently hoped that somehow Lucius would change his mind about sending Arthur into the arena for the bout that Ajax had been scheduled to fight the following day at the games, but he had seen and heard enough of the cruel senator by then to know that this was unlikely. By his own reckoning there were only two ways he was going to escape fighting, and probably dying, in the arena. If Titus and Finn’s plot had worked then there was a slim chance that Lucius would be dead by now. Otherwise the only realistic chance he had was to appeal to Marcus’ sense of honour, and to his belief that it was unfair to make an untrained boy fight in the arena, and persuade him to escape Rome tonight.

All the trainees and gladiators in the school were summoned to the training arena to hear Gaius announce the day’s winners and losers. There were cheers for the victors but little emotion spared for those who had died. Arthur got the sense that nobody wanted to think about the reality of gladiators dying in the arena, even though it was something that must have haunted all of them constantly. After the formality of these announcements, the men were told to wash and prepare themselves for a feast that Lucius would be providing. Arthur dashed across to Marcus before he could disappear, thinking quickly.

“Congratulations!” he said. “You won!”

“I always do,” was the simple reply. “I thought of you today Arthur and there is something I want to show you. Go and wait in your cell and I will be there soon.”

Arthur fizzed with energy. This was his first real chance to talk with Marcus of escape. His excitement mounted still further when he found Finn back at the cell. In hoarse whispers they filled each other in on the day’s events. Arthur’s eyes widened at the news that Lucilla was planning to kill her uncle, and Finn’s jaw tightened when he heard that Lucius intended to make Arthur fight in the amphitheatre. Finn quickly agreed that they must somehow persuade Marcus to escape with them that night, and when the gladiator stooped to enter the cell they were primed and ready.

Arthur introduced his brother, and Finn explained that he had been in the amphitheatre and had seen Marcus fight.

“I heard that you two were brothers,” said Marcus. “But I thought it strange that we never saw you training. Why has Gaius brought you here if not to fight? They are usually happy enough to separate families.”

The brothers looked at one another nervously, not sure how much to divulge, until Finn shrugged.

“I have chosen to be honest with two people already and they have helped me,” he began, and keeping his voice low Finn told his story again. Marcus listened intently, his brow furrowing when Finn told him that Lucius had adopted Lucilla after murdering her parents, and further still at the news that Lucius wanted to use Finn as an assassin.

For a long time after Finn had finished Marcus said nothing, and the boys began to worry that they had misjudged the situation and made a mistake in being so open.

“Let us hope that the girl succeeds in ridding us of this sick animal,” said Marcus eventually. “The world will be a better place without him. What sort of man sends boys to kill his rivals? What sort of man kills a child’s parents and then tries to become their father? And what sort of man sends an untrained youth into the arena to fight with gladiators? He has no honour, and nor do thousands of others like him in Rome. My brother was right…” he paused and put a hand to his chest. Something hung there from a cord around his neck and he pulled it over his head. In his open palm the boys saw a tiny wooden carving of a warrior on horseback.

“I too had a brother once,” he went on slowly. “He was some years younger than me when we were sold into slavery. I was fully grown and a lanista spotted me and bought me to train as a gladiator. By luck I was able to persuade him that my brother was also destined to be a fighter and he took a chance and bought my brother too, although he was not much older than you Arthur. The first day that I fought in the arena my brother gave me this carving for luck, and I have never lost. There is something very special between brothers who really believe in each other.” He paused and looked up at the ceiling.

“I was always the better fighter, but he had the bigger heart. When news reached us of Spartacus my brother saw something that I did not. He saw a chance to live as a free man. But I saw only certain death. We argued and argued and eventually I made him swear that he would not join Spartacus. He swore, but I could see in his eyes that it went against everything in his spirit. I woke one morning to find him gone. Years later I learned that he had become one of Spartacus’ most trusted soldiers. I knew then that he must be dead and ever since that day I have cursed myself for not knowing him better. I should never have made him swear to stay. It should have been the other way around – I should have been encouraging him to reclaim his freedom. Perhaps I should have even gone with him… And now I learn that the man who claims to own me is even more of a monster than I thought.”

“Marcus,” said Finn gently. “Your life isn’t over you know. You can’t bring your brother back but you can stand up to Lucius. You can help us stop him. And you can follow your brother in spirit by escaping with us and living as a free man somewhere. We have to escape – Arthur is not ready to fight in the arena and I… I am as good as dead if Lucius lives.”

Marcus stared at Finn, his eyes burning.

“Come with us and honour your brother,” Finn went on. “Come with us and help two brothers escape and survive together.”

There was fire in Marcus’ eyes as he opened his mouth to reply, but the words died on his lips as the door to the boys’ room opened and Gaius entered, followed by a thinly smiling Lucius and an ashen-faced Lucilla.