TW11 The Cleopatra Crisis NEW Read Online Free PDF Page A

oracle?"
    "This is the man, Caesar."
    Travers beckoned the hooded figure forward.
    "Pull back your cowl," he said.
    The man pulled back his hood. He was completely bald, with a prominent, hooked nose and deep-set dark eyes that gave him a sepulchral look. His face was long, with a pointed chin and pronounced cheekbones.
    "What is your name'?" asked Caesar.
    "I am called Lucan, General," the man said softly.
    "You know who I am?"
    A brief nod.
    "They tell me that you can see into the future."
    "I have that gift."
    "I would have you look into my future and tell me what you see."
    Lucan nodded. "Please, sit down," he said.
    They sat down at the table.
    "Do you require an augury?" asked Caesar
    "No. That is not the nature of my gift. Give me your right hand," said Lucan.
    Caesar held out his right hand, palm up. Lucan took it in his own right hand and covered it with his left, then closed his eyes. Nothing terribly dramatic, so far. Travers thought. An oracle without much imagination. Caesar looked slightly disappointed.
    "You are a man of great ambition," Lucan said without opening his eyes. "You have made many enemies. Some who were once your friends."
    A safe assumption to make about a famous general, thought Travers, though not the sort of flattering beginning that he had expected.
    "That is true," said Caesar.
    "Please," said Lucan, opening his eyes. "I do not wish to offend, but I must ask you to remain silent until I have finished."
    Caesar nodded.
    Lucan shut his eyes once more and remained silent for almost thirty seconds. He was frowning slightly.
    "I see that you are about to embark upon undertaking a great risk. Old friends will become your bitter enemies. There shall be great conflict, yet you shall succeed, though not without cost."
    Caesar smiled.
    "But this undertaking . . . this war . . . will be only the beginning for you. I see that you aspire to greatness and you shall achieve it, as did Alexander, whom you so much admire."
    Travers raised his eyebrows. The man must have been briefed by someone.
    Probably he had asked questions about Caesar from the men who had been sent to fetch him. Caesar's admiration of Alexander was hardly a secret.
    "I see great power in your future," the oracle continued, speaking softly. "Absolute power. And your fame shall last throughout the ages. You shall have many conquests, both martial and romantic. I see that you will fall in love with a wise and ambitious foreign woman who will smite you with her beauty. A young queen who shall bear you a son."
    Travers stared at the oracle intently. This was unusually specific. And also uncannily true. He was talking about Cleopatra. No, he thought, don't be ridiculous. How could he possibly know that? It was just flattery that happened to be coincidence. Caesar had several queens as mistresses at one time or another. It was not an unusual assumption to make about a famous Roman general and a provincial governor who had regular contact with local royalty.
    "I also see violent death in your future," Lucan said. "There will be portents and warnings. You must not ignore them. For if you do, I see the image of your body bleeding, pierced with many wounds. You will not fall in battle, but at the hands of those you think your friends. Beware the Ides of March, Caesar. Beware the names of Casca, Brutus, Cassius, Cimber . . ." His eyes fluttered open. "I am sorry. I can see no more."
    Caesar was frowning. Travers held his breath. He could scarcely believe what he had just heard. The oracle had just named Caesar's assassins!
    "This violent death you see upon the Ides of March," said Caesar "It will occur soon?"
    “In five years' time."
    Travers almost gasped. He had pinpointed the time precisely!
    "And is there nothing I can do to alter this fate?" asked Caesar.
    "Perhaps. To a man who takes his fate into his own hands," said Lucan, "nothing is impossible."
    "What must I do, then, to avoid this violent death?"
    "Give me your left hand," said the