The Eagles Prophecy

They had the room to themselves and all four Romans breathed easily as the tension subsided. The room was large and almost square, with a shuttered window in each of the external walls. The remains of a fire glowed in a hearth and lit the room in a rich orange hue. A couch covered in a fine woven rug stood in one corner. At the other end of the room was a large wooden table and behind it a huge chair that looked more like a throne. On either side of the table were stacked small chests. Vitellius looked at them eagerly and then turned to his bodyguards.

'There you go, boys! Just as he said. Come on, let's have a look.'

Trebius and Silus crossed over to the table and Vitellius lifted the lid of the topmost chest. Inside they saw the dull gleam of gold. He lowered a hand, clenched a fistful of coins and raised them up for the others to see. The bodyguards and Minucius could not help but grin at the sight. Vitellius smiled at their reaction.'You can help yourselves, but keep it quiet. Now then,' he turned to Ajax. 'Show me the one I want.'

There was a slight hesitation as the pirate ran his eyes over the chests, then he pointed.'That one there, under the table.'

Vitellius' eyes followed the direction indicated and he saw an ornately decorated black box. He bent down and retrieved it. His heart was beating fast as he placed the box on the table. Vitellius could hardly believe he was in the presence of the Sybilline scrolls. He ran his hands across the lid, down to the catch and slid it open.There was a keyhole – but the box was not locked. He took a deep breath and lifted the lid. Inside, in the light cast by the fire, he saw three thick scrolls, in soft leather covers, laying side by side.

'Scrolls?' Minucius said in surprise. 'Is that it? Scrolls?'

Vitellius looked up at him with a thin smile. 'Yes. Just some scrolls.'

'But I thought it was something… special.'

'These are special, Centurion. Some of the most important documents ever written.'

'Oh?' Minucius shook his head and chuckled. 'Well, you can have them, sir. I'll content myself with the gold.'

'You do that…' Vitellius turned back to the scrolls, reached a hand out and touched them reverently. Then he looked up quickly.'Get whatever you want from those chests and let's get back to the boat.'

'And what happens to me?' Ajax asked. 'What of our deal, Roman?'

Vitellius looked at him. He needed the pirate a while longer, as insurance in case they ran into any of Telemachus' men. But once it was all over the pirate leader's son was as expendable as the rest of them. Vitellius placed a hand on the man's shoulder.

'Once we reach the boat, I'll set you free. You can return to your father's side.'

'And your promise to spare us, if the citadel falls?'

'You have my word.'

Ajax looked at the tribune suspiciously for a moment and then nodded, apparently satisfied. He made his way round the desk and sat down in his father's chair. He intertwined his fingers to form a rest for his chin as he watched Minucius and the two bodyguards start to open the treasure chests.

Vitellius picked the box up and moved over towards the fireplace. He set the box down and sat beside it. Reaching over to the woodpile, he placed two logs on the embers and stoked the fire up until there was enough light to read by. Then he opened the lid, picked up a scroll and examined the leather cover wrapped over the edge of the scroll. There was some faded text on the cover and he tilted the scroll handles to read it better. It was in Greek, as he had expected, and as the tribune silently translated the script his excitement increased to an almost unbearable pitch. His fingers trembled slightly as he slid the cover off and discarded it. The prophecies were written in fine red strokes on the best vellum he had ever seen. It was almost as soft as the skin of a baby, and he had to still a faint tremor of horror even as the comparison occurred to him. Vitellius rolled the scroll from one handle to the other, sca

When the last of the Claudians

By his own hand, is laid low,

Rome shall pass to one who

Bears the sign of the hunter's bow…

'What was that, sir?' asked one of the bodyguards.

'Nothing,' Vitellius replied quietly without turning round. 'It's nothing.'

The bodyguard looked at his master for a moment, and then shrugged before turning back to the boxes spread across the floor around the desk. Every box that he and the other two Romans had opened was filled with gold, silver and sometimes precious stones. There was enough wealth in the chests to buy any one of the finest houses in Rome and fill it with every luxury a man could imagine. Yet, as the muted sounds of astonishment and celebration carried across the room to Vitellius, he could not help but sneer at their antics in pure contempt. All the gold in the world was as nothing compared to the value of the scroll resting on his lap.

Vitellius hurriedly wound the scroll back to the start as he relished the knowledge that he was destined to be one of fate's most favoured sons. Later, when he was safe, he would read through the rest of the prophecies at his leisure. Carefully replacing the scroll in the box, he shut the lid and, with it tucked safely under his arm, the prefect rose to his feet.

'Time we were leaving.'

Minucius and the bodyguards hurriedly stuffed the last few coins and jewels into their purses and knapsacks. As the centurion turned to retrieve the prisoner from his father's chair there was a burst of shouting outside the window.

06 The Eagles Prophecy

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

For a moment the four Romans stood still as the shouting swelled in volume. Minucius was the first to break the spell and he crossed to the shuttered window, carefully slid the bolts back and eased the shutter open a fraction. Down below, the courtyard was swarming with men, some holding torches aloft. There was a grumble of wheels on cobbled stones and a moment later a narrow wagon lumbered through the gateway. The pirates made way for it as it circled the yard and stopped when it was pointing back towards the gateway. One of the torch-bearers shouted some orders and the pirates moved to the arch at the side of the gateway, threw back the doors and went inside. They reappeared shortly afterwards clutching javelins, bows and arrows, and Minucius realised that the pirates' arsenal must be under the courtyard walls. The weapons were deposited in the bed of the wagon and the pirates went back for more.

'What's happening?' Vitellius whispered.

'They're loading a wagon,' Minucius replied. 'Looks like they're getting ready to throw everything they've got at the marines when the assault goes in.'

'Damn…' Vitellius clenched his fist in nervous frustration. 'There's nothing for it. We'll have to wait until the courtyard's clear. Unless there's another way. Watch him!'

Minucius spun round and saw that Ajax was moving towards the door. At Vitellius' warning Trebius drew his sword and leaped towards the door, cutting Ajax off. For an instant the pirate's eyes narrowed as he calculated his chances against the bodyguard. The hesitation was long enough for Minucius to close on him from behind and kick his legs away. Ajax tumbled to the floor with a winded grunt.