‘Do you know the rules?’ Elias asked, and at first Felix wondered if he, too, was prodding around in his head. All Felix ever thought of were his rules –Don’t get attached. Reject belief or pay the price. Stay in the present.But Elias only gestured to a handful of dice.
‘Sure,’ Felix said. ‘What’s the wager?’
‘Let’s trade something more fun than coin. Question for question.’
‘Loren tried a game like that already.’
‘Who do you think taught him to play?’ Elias gave a flat smile. ‘Roll.’
The game began.
For a seasoned player, the rounds moved quick. Dice were matched and swapped in a heady mix of luck and strategy. To Elias’s credit, he had a fair dose of both, but when the last round rolled, he couldn’t compete with Felix. Few people could.
Face stony, Elias stared at Felix’s winning sweep. Clearly, he hadn’t anticipated losing.
‘I think I won an answer,’ said Felix.
After a slow drink, Elias reset the game. ‘I said you could ask. Remind me where I promised a response.’
Felix’s lips twitched despite himself. Elias was sharp. In other circumstances, they might have got on. Dropping his dice one by one into the cup, Felix’s attention drifted back to the rich men in the corner.
‘This city. Who runs it?’
‘The duoviri, of course.’
Heads of the council, Felix’s arse. At best, the duoviri ran their mouths. ‘Arealanswer. I wasn’t born yesterday.’
‘May as well have been. You’re, what? Fifteen?’
‘Seventeen.’ Felix bristled. He might be many things, but a baby face he was not. Besides, Elias could hardly be older than him.
‘You like your head attached to your neck?’
‘Ideally.’
‘Then reconsider that question. Better off asking, who holds the power?’ Elias followed Felix’s stare across to the group. ‘Pompeii caters to a specific bunch. Senators. Ex-senators. Lawyers. Rich bastards who travel here from Rome at summer’s end, and the council bends over backwards for them. They have no choice. Pompeii is a Roman colony.’
‘They’re tourists?’
‘Worse. Tourists with an agenda. I was a child, barely bought and brought here by my first master, when the last big quake wrecked the place. Wiped out most of the town, and we still haven’t rebuilt. Thecouncil is scrambling to put together the taxes Rome demands, so there’s nothing left for local repairs, and the quakes this summer are driving more people out.’
‘So you have a long line of rich tourists traipsing through a broken city while the capital demands more money, with few actual residents left to tax.’
‘Smart Fox. Rome’s envoys keep pressuring the council to levy deeper taxes. A couple of strongholds are resisting the proposals, landowners and merchants, but it’s only a matter of time before they give in, too. Or are wiped out.’
Felix studied him. ‘How do you know all this?’
‘Secrets of the trade, and you’re out of questions this round.’ Elias smirked. ‘Roll.’
The game continued. Matched. Swapped. Matched again. Once Elias adapted to Felix’s style, he proved a formidable strategist, skill wasted throwing dice in a tavern. When he won, Felix was only a little sore. He swallowed a mouthful of beer to wash away the taste of losing – and the spike of nerves that came when Elias’s gaze turned calculating.
‘Don’t look so nervous.’ Elias winked. ‘I’m saving my question for later.’
As if that made Felix feel better, but he didn’t intend there tobea later. ‘Take your time.’
‘I will.’ Leaning closer, Elias cupped his chin in his palm. ‘You know, your questions remind me of conversations I’ve had with Loren. Politics. Local affairs.’
The comparison rankled Felix. He and Loren had nothing in common. Felix’s interest in politics revolved around knowing who to avoid. Loren wanted tobethe type of man Felix avoided.
