Wrath of Rome (Book Two of the Dominium Dei Trilogy) Read Online Free PDF Page A

asking the last apostle to help him find refuge within the underground Christian movement as Marcus had anticipated back in Rome. No, he would break the old man out under the guise of a prisoner transfer to Ephesus for a trial before the governor. He could think of nothing better to drive Domitian insane than to make John vanish from custody and magically appear in the streets of Ephesus, publicly discrediting the Dei. The truth would destroy Domitian’s lie to the Christians and expose the false accusations that Athanasius of Athens was Chiron.
    Of course, the Romans could quickly kill him and John, but the damage would have been done. And if Athanasius could stay alive long enough—that is, outlive Domitian—there was yet hope he could one day return to Rome, reunite with Helena and wreak vengeance on his turncoat rival Ludlumus.
    But what if John balked? There was always that remote possibility. In that case, Athanasius would have to persuade him in his own vernacular. To prepare for his visit with the last apostle, he decided it best to study what the apostle wrote.
    So on his third day after fleeing Corinth, Athanasius dug out the scrolls of Christian scripture from Chiron’s trunk. For several days he sat at his cabin’s desk, studying the collected gospels, letters and Book of Revelation, pausing only to take meals at his desk, sleep in his hammock and relieve himself in the nearest latrine at the stern—an empty amphora, once filled with something else, that drained to the bilge at the bottom of the ship.
    It didn’t take him long to see why The Way had so spooked Rome: According to the “good news,” the only sacrifice to God that the Christian superstition required had already been made in this man Jesus. And the only religious sacraments he could find—communion and baptism—were not requirements of the faith but symbols of remembrance. They were certainly a far cry from the urban legends in Rome of drinking blood and drowning people.
    As for money, Jesus didn’t seem to bother with it, except to drive out moneychangers at the temple in Jerusalem who forced people to pay to pray. He also offended his rich followers by telling them their money would not get them into heaven and to give it away to the poor, not to the temple or even his organization. It was this kind of thinking that apparently so set off his treasurer Judas, who later betrayed him.
    All this so they couldn’t boast of their charity to God.
    Well, Athanasius concluded, without sacrifice or money involved, Christianity could not be defined as a religion at all. Indeed, it was antithetical to everything the gods of Rome demanded for survival.
    Most galling of all, Jesus was quoted as saying that there would be surprises in heaven. Not everybody who used his name on earth would be granted admission. Meanwhile, he said that others who had never heard of him would be welcomed.
    Athanasius now understood why so many disciples deserted Jesus toward the end of his life, and he could see why he would too. He especially took issue with the entire
deus ex machina
return of Jesus at the end of history.
    Believing in Jesus, let alone waiting for him to come back, wasn’t going to get him out of his mess. Only action.
    There was a knock at the door. “Enter.”
    The steward who had replaced Galen in serving him walked in. He was the young, peppy anti-Galen. “Tribune,” he said brightly, even as his knees practically knocked together in terror. “The captain wanted you to know we’ve spotted Patmos.”
    Athanasius went up to the deck to get a glimpse. It was just before sunrise, and the dark cliffs of the island rose from the horizon like a jagged rock jutting up from the sea. As they rounded a cape, Athanasius saw a small white harbor nestled at the foot of the gloomy mountain.
    Somewhere in that mountain was a cave, he thought, and inside that cave a man who claimed to have seen the end of the world.
    A voice beside him said, “Tribune, are