Wrath of the Furies Read Online Free PDF

precarious.”
    â€œBut I’m not a banker or a greedy merchant,” I said. “I’ve never hurt or exploited any of those people.”
    â€œBut you are a Roman, nonetheless. And this is not a time for any Roman to plan a trip to Ephesus!”
    I frowned, then raised an eyebrow. “If it’s my accent that always gives me away, then perhaps I can simply keep my mouth shut.”
    Kettel smiled. “That hardly seems practical. How would you pull that off, by pretending to be a mute?”
    I gazed at the dark horizon and blinked. “Why not?”
    â€œBut how would you make your way, or ask directions, or accomplish anything else you needed to do? Absurd!” Kettel laughed and slapped a meaty hand against his knee.
    Berynus made a sour face. “I fear our young Roman friend has made up his mind not only to go to Ephesus, but to travel under pretense of being mute. A Roman who lacks the power of speech—a double handicap!”
    They were right. I was letting my imagination run ahead of me. A trip to Ephesus inevitably would entail unforeseen difficulties and some degree of danger. To make my way without ever uttering a word would likely be impossible. Unless …
    â€œWhat if I traveled with someone?” I said. “Someone who could speak for me?”
    â€œWho would that be?” asked Kettel, pursing his lips at my foolishness. “Some urchin hired at the waterfront, who’s likely to steal your money and run off the first chance he gets—or worse, betray you to some petty official the moment you get to Ephesus, and laugh while they lock you in a cell and throw away the key?”
    I shook my head. “It would have to be someone I trust, of course. Someone I already know. Someone who knows me, well enough to speak for me if we should find ourselves in a tight spot. But who?”
    I had made numerous acquaintances during my months in Alexandria, but who among them was suited to be my traveling companion on such a journey, and would be willing to do so?
    Another man’s slave, young Djet, had accompanied me on my recent journey into the wilds of the Nile Delta. Sometimes Djet had been a great help to me; at other times, a handicap. At any rate, it was unlikely that his master would allow me to take the boy on such a long journey, so soon after our return.
    The two eunuchs were among the more respectable people I knew, and had become my closest friends, but they certainly had no intention of going with me. Most of my contacts in the city were not nearly as reputable or trustworthy. As I went down the list in my head, I was struck by the number of actors and street mimes with whom I was acquainted, not to mention professional informers and poison merchants, purse-snatching street urchins and tattletale slaves. To be sure, I knew a few philosophers and scholars as well, but I could hardly expect those men to accompany me on such an uncertain journey.
    Bethesda cleared her throat. I looked down at my feet on the rug—she had not picked them up after letting them drop—and then past my feet, to see her sitting back with her head cocked to one side, staring at me with that indecipherable catlike expression of hers.
    I looked at the eunuchs. They, too, were staring at me with curious expressions. They seemed to be amused at my confusion.
    â€œDid I miss something?” I said.
    â€œOnly the most obvious solution to your dilemma,” said Berynus. “The answer is right in front of you.”
    I frowned and shook my head. What was he talking about?
    Berynus looked at me askance, with the haughty, exasperated expression typical of royal bureaucrats everywhere. “Literally: right in front of you. Oh, come now, Gordianus, must I point at the girl to make you see?” He extended a bony finger in the direction of Bethesda, who was now looking at me with the slightest hint of a smile.
    â€œTake Bethesda with me? Of course not!”