‘Forget the helmet. Do you think I care if you put it back now? Mercury won’t mind.’
‘Mercury will mind.’ Felix dug in his heels. ‘I can’t lose it. I – I need it. My task. It’s mine.’
A candle flickered to life against the dark.
‘Did you ever stop,’ said a voice, ‘to consider why that is?’
Felix nearly vomited again.
Orange flame carved shadows on the planes of Servius’s face, reflecting in his colourless eyes. He stood centred beneath an arch, hands gloved and boots laced.
This was the man who had killed Felix’s father, who had made Felix watch and who hadn’t felt a scrap of remorse for either life he ended that day.
‘The hunt around town, the stunt you pulled at the vineyard, none of that was necessary,’ said Servius. ‘Had you brought me the helmet the first day, I could have told you the truth. Why you alone can handle it. I tried to show you, remember?’
‘Move.’ Loren drew his gladius. ‘You won’t be warned again.’
Servius smiled. ‘Commendable for you to come for him, Master Lassius. Or is it Master Fortunatus? You managed to join two wealthy houses without the complication of marriage. Congratulations.’
Loren detached from Felix’s side and lunged. His sword flashed in the meagre light, aimed true at Servius’s chest. A clang echoed down the hallway as a second blade emerged and intercepted Loren’s. Time slowed to a trickle, a bead of sap oozing. Darius swapped spots with Servius in a blink, met Loren’s next swing easily, kept meeting them as Loren hacked over and over.
‘Stop,’ Felix mumbled. He slumped against the wall, knees threatening to give.
When Loren’s fire was lit, by the gods, he was unstoppable. But he was equally an impulsive fool who thought nothing through. One mis-timed thrust and Darius had him pinned, sword to his neck. Loren’s gladius hit the tile and Servius stooped to collect it.
‘That was amusing.’ Servius slid the blade into his belt. ‘I’ve been waiting ages for you to wake, Felix, after Darius overestimated the dose. Come, let’s discuss this in the courtyard.’
‘I can’t hold them both,’ Darius said, annoyed.
‘You won’t need to. Keep a hand on Master Lassius and Felix won’t risk a thing.’ Servius studied Felix, still half collapsed. ‘Why don’t you fetch the helmet from the study? Don’t try anything clever, or your boy will bleed to death before he hits the floor.’
*
Moving outside, the lighting didn’t change. Flashes of glowing amber and red burst in the pitch-dark sky, crackling with thunder. Falling rock pinched and sizzled against flesh. Foetid air scorched Felix’s lungs. The courtyard was smaller than Julia’s garden, but no less lavish, with lush grass and a long reflecting pool. If not for the dusting of ash and the fact that the world had reached its end, it wouldn’t be a bad place for a picnic.
Maybe Loren’s diagnosis was right: Felix was losing it.
Servius had erected a makeshift altar near the pool, topped with a burning bowl. Overkill, in Felix’s estimation; enough was on fire without Servius’s help.
‘Untraditional not to do this in a temple, but it appears the Priest of Jupiter is indisposed,’ Servius said. ‘No matter. By virtue of my political position, I’m qualified to act in Umbrius’s place.’
Priests, politicians, poppy sap. The same story cropping up throughout Felix’s life.
Darius gripped Loren’s neck, sword trained at his throat. He wriggled, face screwed up, but Darius forced Loren to his knees. A pained hiss. The noise shot to Felix’s fingertips with how badly he ached to reach.
A child darted from the surrounding portico, dropping by Loren’s side.
‘You’re alive,’ Celsi said, breathlessly relieved in a way he had no right to be.
Loren’s pain shifted to puzzlement. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘Betraying you,’ Felix said. ‘Choose better friends.’
Loren recoiled. Felix half expected him to lash out, curse or plead or question, but all Loren said to Celsi was, ‘Camilia is looking for you.’
Celsi scrunched himself up and crawled to crouch beside Servius, who petted the top of the boy’s curls the way one comforts a dog. Felix’s skin crawled. The ridges of Mercury’s helmet dug into his flesh, he clutched it so tight. The pain grounded him. Kept him from drifting.
Servius beckoned Felix to the altar. When he didn’t budge, Darius flexed his hand. Almost imperceptibly, Loren winced.
