Cato 06 - The Eagles Prophecy Read Online Free PDF Page A

list.’
    Macro smiled at him.’ Have another look. A good look, if you know what I mean.’
    The guardsman heaved his shoulders in a weary sigh, to make it quite clear that he had been down this route many times before. He leaned back from the desk and shook his head. ‘Sorry, sir. I’ve got my orders. No admittance to the palace unless your names are on the list.’
    ‘But we are on the list,’ Cato insisted. ‘We have an appointment at the army bureau. With the procurator in charge of legion postings. Right now, so let us through.’
    The guardsman raised an eyebrow.’ You know how many times someone’s tried that one on me, sir?’
    ‘It’s true.’
    ‘It’s only true if you’re on the list, sir. You ain’t on the list so you don’t have an appointment.’
    ‘Wait a moment.’ Cato concentrated his attention on the guardsman.’Look here, there’s obviously been some kind of mistake. I assure you that we have an appointment. I arranged it with the procurator’s clerk yesterday. Demetrius was his name. Send word to him that we’re here. He’ll confirm the story.’
    The guardsman turned towards a small group of slave boys squatting in a niche to one side of the columned entrance to the palace. ‘You! Go to the army bureau. Find Demetrius and tell him these officers here say they have an appointment to see the procurator.’
    ‘Thank you,’ Cato muttered, and pulled Macro away from the guardsman’s desk, steering his friend towards the benches that lined the walls each side of the entrance.
    As they sat down Macro grumbled,’ Officious little prick. Gods! I’d love to have him on a parade ground for a few hours of hard drill. Soon see how tough he is. Bloody Praetorians! Think the world owes them a living. And the palace guard are the idlest bastards of ‘em all.’
    They waited in silence for the messenger to return and Cato looked up at the vast edifice of the palace looming above them. Built on to the side of the Palatine Hill, there were several tiers of accommodation rising high over the Forum. He had been raised within those walls. They had been almost the whole world to him - until his father died and Cato had been sent to join the legions over two years ago. Now, the once-familiar walls and columns felt like strangers, and seemed smaller, somehow. Of course, he reasoned, he had left the palace as little more than a boy, and had travelled across the Empire, across the sea, and had seen the horrors of battle. It was bound to have changed him, and made him see the world differently. But to feel like a stranger before the colossal walls that held so many memories for him made Cato’s heart heavy. He suddenly felt far older than his years and shivered, clutching his military cloak tighter about his shoulders.
    When the messenger boy returned there was a quiet exchange of words with the Praetorian Guardsman before he turned round and beckoned to the two centurions.
    He nodded at Cato.’Seems you were right, sir. Demetrius will see you now.’
    ‘Oh, he will, will he?’ Macro sniffed.’That’s bloody good of him.’
    The Praetorian made a wry smile. ‘You can’t imagine. Anyway, follow this boy.’
    They marched through the entrance portico, across a small yard and into the main body of the palace. Inside, the iron nails on the bottom of their thick leather boots echoed sharply off the high walls on each side of the passage. They passed wide doorways through which they could see the scribes and the clerks working at the endless record-keeping that kept the wheels of the Empire turning. The walls of the offices were lined with racks of scrolls and slates, every pigeonhole neatly marked with a numeral. Light poured into each room through latticed windows high up on the wall and Macro wondered what it must be like to spend long years working in such a confined space, with no view of the outside world.
    They reached a narrow staircase at the end of the passage and climbed four flights before