Gladiator: Vengeance Read Online Free PDF Page A

of the head.
    ‘He’s not used to this kind of work. I hope he doesn’t give himself away. You should have let me do it.’
    ‘Too much of a risk,’ Festus replied. ‘You recognized him quickly enough. Who is to say he couldn’t do the same?’
    ‘But there are slaves passing through his cells all the time. Hundreds, thousands maybe. I’m sure he wouldn’t remember me.’
    Festus pursed his lips. ‘Maybe, but why take the risk? Lupuswill do all right. He’s smart, even if he’s not much use in a fight. And that we need to remedy as soon as possible.’
    ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘It’s time we taught our young friend that the sword is mightier than the pen.’ Festus smiled. ‘While we’re tracking down your mother, and Decimus, we’ll teach Lupus how to use a few weapons, and try to get him in shape. I’ve a feeling we’ll need all the muscle we can get before this is over.’
    Marcus raised his hands in despair. ‘But … Lupus? Are you serious? Put a blade in his hands and he’s likely to be more of a danger to us than anyone else.’
    Festus turned to face him, hands on hips. ‘You think Lupus was any less promising than you were before you started training at the gladiator school?’
    Marcus thought for a moment and nodded. ‘As a matter of fact, I do. I was raised on a farm and I worked it alongside Titus and the few slaves we had. Lupus has always been a scribe. I doubt he would have survived what I had to go through even before I reached the school.’
    Festus sucked his cheek and nodded. ‘Fair point. Still, we’ll make the best of him that we can in the time. Better to have someone who knows how to use a sword at our side rather than not. I’m sure he can pick the basics up.’
    ‘I hope you’re right,’ Marcus replied doubtfully.
    ‘Let’s pray we don’t get ourselves into a situation where Lupus needs to draw a blade.’
    ‘How likely is that?’
    Festus stared at him a moment, then gestured for Marcus to follow as he turned and headed back down the street in the direction of the inn where they had taken a room.
    The hours passed but there was no sign of Lupus. Marcus had been fretting as the afternoon had drawn on. He sat on the worn bedroll with his back to the cracked plaster of the wall and rested his chin on his knees as he tried not to fear what might have become of his friend. Opposite him Festus lay asleep, snoring gently. Marcus wondered how he could rest so easily. In the end he could bear it no longer and, rising quietly, left the small room. He closed the latch behind him and stepped into the small courtyard behind the inn. In the past the rooms the landlord rented out must have been used for stores, or even animal pens, Marcus thought. He could still detect the residual acrid smell of goats. The doors to some of the other rooms were open to allow what breeze there was to pass through from the opening high on the wall inside. The only other occupants of the courtyard were six men sittingin a shaded corner playing dice as they shared a large jar of wine.
    Marcus wandered out of the courtyard into the street and looked both ways for any sign of Lupus, but there was little movement. It was a quiet neighbourhood on the fringe of Stratos, which was why Festus had picked it so they could avoid drawing attention to themselves. Most of the customers at the inn were passing through Stratos, heading north or south along the road that passed through the town. The kind of people among whom three travellers would be easily lost. He settled against the wall and waited for his friend to return. More hours passed and the shadows lengthened across the street. The men playing dice eventually finished the game and headed into the inn for supper, and Marcus was left with the distant sounds of urban life: the occasional cry of an infant, a snatch of conversation and the braying of a donkey.
    At length, his anxiety got the better of him and he decided to wake Festus and tell him they should