Mark of Mars Page 11

  “He is arrogant, opinionated and pig headed.” Jenna looked up to see Senator Aurelius trying to control his laughter. “Did I say something amusing?”

  “Yes, my dear. You and he are so well suited.”

  “I would say we are complete……” Jenna never got to finish. A hooded figure stepped out from the shadows of the narrow street they were in, brandishing his sword at Senator Aurelius.

  “Forgive me, Senator, but the purse you are carrying looks a little heavy.”

  “No, it’s fine,” Senator Aurelius replied smoothly.

  “I really think you should hand it over,” the man threatened.

  “And why would I want to do that?”

  “My friend here will hurt your companion otherwise.”

  Jenna jumped as someone grabbed her from behind. Without so much as a second thought, she threw her head back and hit her assailant right across the bridge of his nose. He loosened his grip immediately, giving her the chance to drill an elbow hard into his ribs. She spun around and dealt him a hefty blow to the groin, as he dropped to his knees she pulled the dagger from his belt before hitting his nose again with the flat of her palm. She heard the sickening crunch of his nose breaking. She turned quickly and threw the dagger with pinpoint accuracy into the other attacker’s right hand shoulder, causing him to drop his sword instantly. He fled immediately. Jenna bent down to retrieve the sword and passed it to Senator Aurelius.

  “The good citizens of Rome might think it a little strange seeing a temple handmaiden carrying a sword.” She pulled her head wrap back into place and continued along the street, with one very impressed Senator Aurelius.

  “Your father taught you extremely well. I have never seen a maiden disarm two men with such ease. You are not descended from Sparta are you?”

  “No,” she laughed. “But perhaps you Romans might think twice about invading my island now.”

  “You spared their lives, when you could so easily have killed them?”

  “I cherish life, it is not my place to take it.”

  “You are such an intriguing young woman, Jenna. Perhaps I might put you in the gladiatorial arena after all when you lose our Latrunculi match.”

  “I think I might prefer it,” she retorted. “But then I don’t plan to lose.”

  Jenna recognised the Temple of Minerva, they were almost back to the sanctuary of Apollo’s temple. “Thank you again for walking me back safely, Senator.”

  “I get the distinct feeling it was you protecting me. How do you feel about coming to work for me as my head of security?”

  “I’ll stay with being a temple handmaiden for now, Senator,” she laughed lightly.

  Senator Aurelius smiled and took his leave of her. It had been a most interesting walk from the theatre. As he headed back to his residence, he was aware of the figure in the shadows, gaining ground on him.

  “I thought you’d want to talk to me.”

  “What are you up to, father?” Mars growled.

  “Learning more about our time walker. And doing a damn sight better job than you. All you’ve managed to do is antagonise her.”

  “That’s because she is the most irrational, outspoken creature I have ever met. She makes my sisters look positively tame.”

  Jupiter laughed. “You’re trying to dominate her, son. Of course she’s going to react to that. I, on the other hand, appear as a father figure and she is starting to trust me. And from what I learnt tonight, she is very much in need of a father.”

  “What do you mean?” Mars grunted.

  “Her parents died four years ago. She is a very wealthy orphan with no father to give her advice or guidance.”

  “That might explain why she is so outspoken,” Mars’ attitude softened a little. Although he was not about to forgive her that easily for injury she had inflicted on him. No-one does that to a God and escapes retribution.

  “Yes. And I plan to use that knowledge to gain her trust completely. I want to be the one she turns to for advice.” Jupiter was lost in his own thoughts. Once he had her trust, he knew she would talk far more openly about her world.

  “What was that trick you pulled in the alley?”

  “She said she could defend herself. I needed to see how well.” Jupiter could not contain his admiration. “She disarmed two men with the greatest of ease. I don’t think she even disturbed a lock of hair.”

  “I’ve already seen her handiwork close up,” Mars muttered.

  “Perhaps next time you see her, you might approach a little more softly. A united front would be much more fruitful.”

  “I shall be sweetness and light to her, father.” Mars threw his father a dark look. As if! He was a God and people bent to his will, not the other way around. Perhaps in his old age, his father had lost track of the way of the world.

  “Was that Mars I saw leaving?” Juno appeared in Jupiter’s study.

  “Yes, my dear.”

  “You two have not had another fight have you?” she glared pointedly at her husband.

  “Strangely enough, no.”

  “Then why did he look so black?”

  “Female trouble,” Jupiter grinned.

  Juno laughed. “Women normally fall at his feet. What sort of problems is he having?”

  “This one is doing the exact opposite.”

  “I am intrigued. Tell me more about this siren.” Juno perched on a bench waiting eagerly for her husband to fill her in.

  “The girl in question is a time walker who possesses the extraordinary ability to get right under his skin. He has come up against the one female he cannot control.”

  “A time walker? They usually keep an extremely low profile. In fact it’s virtually impossible to detect them.”

  “This one can touch him through his statue.”

  “How remarkable,” Juno breathed. “She must possess quite a gift.”

  “She does. The gift to drive the God of War insane,” Jupiter chuckled. “I have to say, she is a breath of fresh air to have around.”

  “You have met her?”

  “Yes. Quite a few times. She is one very intelligent and knowledgeable girl. She is here to study Rome and I plan to learn everything I can about her world. I will introduce you to her shortly.” He stood up and walked over to his wife. “How about I tell you more about this delightful girl over dinner.”

  CHAPTER 14

  “Where did you say we’re meeting Augustus and Julius?” Jenna yawned as Amelia pulled her along the street. She hadn’t slept that well the last few nights, her birthmark was irritating her again. She should probably get it checked out by the medical team at McVale, but she was loathed to return for something so trivial.

  “Outside the entrance to the Forum Vitae,” Amelia hustled her along the street.

  “Okay, easy on the arm,” Jenna whined. “I know you’re keen to meet up with Captain Courageous, but you’re about to dislocate my shoulder.”

  “I just don’t want Augustus to think we’ve stood him up, especially as he has his little brother with him.”

  “I know where this is leading,” Jenna pulled a face. “I distract the kid whilst you and he can become better acquainted.”

  She danced out the way as Amelia attempted to swat her. “Nothing of the sort. But I do kind of need a chaperone.”

  “Now I feel like an ancient spinster,” Jenna moaned.

  “Talking of which, have you noticed those lines starting to appear.”

  Jenna poked out her tongue in response.

  Augustus and Julius were already waiting for them at the Forum. Jenna could not believe how like him his younger brother looked, with his headful of gorgeous brown curls. It made her feel a little sad that Augustus was in his centurion uniform, did the guy ever get time off?

  “Hey, Julius,” Amelia smiled down at him. “Are you taking us down to the Tiber?”

  “Yeah,” he grunted sulkily. “I wanted to see the gladiators practice but Augustus said no.”

  “We saw the
gladiators the other day,” Jenna flapped her hand dismissively. “Far more exciting things could be happening at the river.”

  “Like what?” Julius showed a vague interest.

  “A testy ten year old could get his first swimming lesson,” Augustus muttered.

  Amelia swatted his arm. “Beastly brother.” She leant down and whispered in Julius’ ear. “No-one knows this but Jenna is a skilled gladiator in our homeland. Find two large sticks and challenge her.”

  “Girls don’t fight,” he whispered back.

  “Where we come from they do. And I’ll let you into a secret no-one else in Rome knows. She’s already put the Marshall on his butt twice.”

  She heard Julius’ sharp intake of breath. “No way?”

  “Honest truth,” Amelia winked. “She’ll teach you more than any gladiator here can.”

  Augustus noticed the sudden interest his brother had taken in Jenna as they headed down towards the river. “What did you tell him?”

  “Just that if he wanted to learn to fight, the best person to learn from is Jenna. She is better skilled than anyone in the city.”

  “Jenna is a woman,” Augustus looked at her a little scornfully.

  “Who is not only highly trained with a sword but has also studied unarmed combat from several different cultures around the world. She’s fairly lethal, so don’t upset her.”

  “Luckily for me, you are not as fiery.”

  “Just don’t push me,” she shot him a warning look.

  “Are all Arulian women like this?”

  “Pretty much. We’re born with attitude.”

  The walk along the Tiber was rather romantic in Amelia’s eyes. The afternoon sun has lost some of its fierce heat and it just seemed like a serene afternoon stroll along the riverside. Augustus pulled her down onto a soft spot of grass on the riverbank whilst Julius ran rings around Jenna.

  “Tell me more about your homeland?” he asked.

  “What did you want to know about?” Amelia plucked at a blade of grass.

  “Are your parents still alive?”

  “Yes. My father is a physician.” Close enough to surgeon, Amelia thought. “And as he still pays my bills, I practice humility from time to time.”

  “How come he let you travel? Surely he would want to see you married and settled?”

  Amelia gave a shiver. “Women from Arula don’t generally marry until they are much older.”

  Augustus laughed. “Is marriage such a repugnant thought?”

  “At eighteen it is, for me at least. I want to truly live first and see the world.”

  “You are completely at liberty to govern your own life?”

  “Yes.”

  “I envy you. To be able to do what you want.”

  “You are not restricted by convention, are you?”

  “No. I am restricted by my class and responsibilities.”

  Amelia looked at him curiously. “What do you mean?”

  “I am a low born Roman. My prospects are not that great. Added to that, I have my family to take care of.”

  “But you don’t always plan to stay a centurion, do you?”

  “My dream is to join the Praetorian Guard.”

  “You’d look good in purple,” Amelia remarked then blushed profusely.

  Augustus laughed and ran his hand over hers. “I want to serve the Emperor, not just cut a dashing figure.”

  “When can you join?”

  “I have already asked to be put forward but so far nothing has come of it.”

  “Perhaps you are closer to your goal than you think.” Amelia glanced over at Jenna fending off Julius with a stick. “It’s all about who you know in Rome. And one of its leading military figures is rather keen to impress that lady over there.”

  “I could not possibly ask Jenna.”

  “But I can. I just have to pick a time when she and the Marshall are not fighting. Right now is probably not good.”

  “Yes. I think he has only just started to walk normally again,” Augustus smirked. He glanced back at Jenna. “Do you think we should rescue her?”

  Amelia shook her head. “No. She looks like she’s having fun.” She looked back to find Augustus staring oddly at her. “What? Have I got something on my face?”

  “No. Your face is quite perfect.” He ran the back of his hand down the side of her cheek. “Will you have dinner with my mother and me one day soon? She is keen to meet this foreigner I so often talk about.”

  “I would love to. I’ve yet to experience a Roman family dinner.”

  Jenna was having a terrific time with Julius. He’d found two good sized sticks and insisted she showed him how to fight Arulian style. He was a quick learner too and had bags of energy. She’d forgotten how children could just keep going and going. She made the mistake of getting distracted by something Amelia shouted in her direction, giving Julius the opportunity to land a heavy blow on her stomach.

  Using this to full effect, she bent over double, fell to her knees and wailed “You have slain me, young warrior,” before flopping face first down on the grass.

  After she failed to move, Julius edged near her. “Are you alright, Jenna?”

  When she didn’t respond, he leant forward and prodded her with his stick. Jenna rolled over, quick as a flash and pulled Julius down onto her lap, tickling him furiously. He let out a loud squeal.

  “The most important rule of all, Julius,” she laughed, “is to always be on your guard.”

  “You don’t fight fair,” he shrieked as Jenna continued to tickle him.

  “Girls never fight fair, that is lesson number two.”

  She eventually let him get back to his feet. “One day, I will beat you,” he grumbled.

  “You can try,” Jenna chuckled, standing back up and brushing the grass off her dress.

  Amelia and Augustus wandered over towards her, Jenna could not help but smile watching the two of them together, the chemistry between them was evident.

  “Time to start to head back,” Augustus ruffled Julius hair.

  The young boy grunted in response and swatted at a nearby bush with his stick. Jenna felt a pang of pity for the poor lad, it could not be easy growing up in this city.

  “What do you do during the day, Julius,” she asked. “Do you go to school?”

  He shook his head. “Only well born Romans and nobleman go to school.”

  “Does anyone teach you to read?”

  “Augustus tries, but I want to learn to fight, not be a scholar.”

  “If you are to become a top General for the Empire, then you must be able to read orders that are sent to you.”

  His brows knit together. “I hadn’t thought about that.” He swatted another bush. “Perhaps I might pay more attention.”

  “So how do you fill your day?”

  “I run errands for people. They give me a few coins.”

  “What does your mother do?”

  “She works for a cloth merchant. I deliver packages sometimes for her.”

  “Does that take you all over the city?”

  Julius looked at her blankly. “Of course not. Only the wealthy can afford new clothing.”

  Jenna shook her head. She loved the way kids pointed out things so bluntly. It was the same back home.

  They crossed a small plaza where a young girl was wailing underneath a tree.

  “What’s wrong?” Julius asked.

  “My …my kitten is stuck up there?” she sobbed.

  Jenna and Julius both looked up to see a small tabby kitten perched high up the pine tree.

  “He’ll come down as soon as he gets hungry,” Jenna tried to placate her.

  “He can’t,” she cried. “He’s stuck.”

  Julius looked pointedly at Jenna and then at the tree, as if he was challenging her. She was supposed to be capable of all manner of feats.

  “Oh, very well,” she muttered, surveying the tree. In one very swift movement, she’d vaulted up onto the first branches.


  “Have you lost your mind, Jenna?” Augustus was shocked.

  “Unlike you Romans, us Arulians aren’t afraid to climb trees.”