Gaius bent over the cradle containing Gaia. She was sleeping and beads of sweat studded her curly black hair. When he felt her forehead, it was cool to the touch. She stirred in her sleep and yawned, two tiny teeth visible in her lower jaw. The worst, he hoped, was over. Glaecerys' fever had lessened but she had no teeth yet, just sore, swollen gums. He checked Fadia next. Her chest was still tight and raspy. Sejana gave her more of an herbal potion Victoria had used to loosen coughs.
"What a time for our family doctor to be on the other side of the Sea," Gaius said.
"It rains, it pours, then it hails," Sejana said.
Gaius sat down beside Marcellus, who also struggled with a fever, sore throat, and cough. He sneezed in his sleep and woke himself up.
"I don't feel good, Saba," he whispered.
"I know, Little Man," Gaius said.
He tucked the blankets around his grandson. So far, all the children were holding on with their father's stubborn grit.
"He threw his gumption all over these foals," Gaius said.
"Thank the Gods," Sejana said.
She remembered when Bolt was a baby cutting his first teeth. His fever soared. It was the first time he stopped breathing, before erupting in bile and coming around. He did it again at Fadia's age, when both he and Victoria had whooping cough and he could not stop wheezing and gasping. He had survived illnesses and injuries that would otherwise be death-dealing. She hoped history would repeat itself for his children. Lepida came into the room.
"Eleni thinks its time," she said.
Sejana followed her to Eleni's room as they awaited the midwife.
"Damn it, we need Victoria," Eleni said and cringed as a contraction coursed through her.
....
Julius Verus looked around at mayhem in the last place he expected to find it, the Temple of Jerusalem. Two days before Passover, the outer precincts of this glorious, sacred space were defiled. Bodies lay in piles on the glistening marble tiles. The floor, the walls, and the giant menorahs that could light the surrounding hills with their brilliance were splashed in blood. As Judean soldiers took over the area, he formed his men to go back whence they came. They hiked the stairs, their boots squelching. He could see fires in some of the houses on the terraces and knew that the city was far from quiet.
He dismissed his men to their quarters and found Cornelius, covered in blood, excrement, animal offal, and whatever else the crowd had been able to throw at him all day.
"When is it going to end?" Verus asked.
"Antipas is adamant that we take the honors out of Jerusalem," Cornelius said. "And Pilate won't budge."
"Why?" Verus asked. "We can march and fight without them. It's our training that gets us where we need to be, not a bunch of damned knick-knacks."
"Hey, watch it," Cornelius muttered.
"I'm not sorry." Julius said. "My first Passover in Jerusalem is over. There's no way we can clean this up in time to eat the seder."
"What are you going to do about Rufus?" Cornelius asked to change the subject.
"I want to kill him with my bare hands, but he didn't start this shit-show," Julius said. "Whipping, branding, and discharge. It's what I'd like to do to the real culprit."
He needed to clean himself up, write a report, court-martial Rufus, and supervise the cremation of five men who were overwhelmed, stripped, and beaten to death by the mob. His Optio, or Second-in-Command approached him.
YOU ARE READING
Domina Victrix
歷史小說Descendants of Triumvir Mark Antony through his little-known first wife, young cousins, Victoria and Marcus, have always known they were heirs to a mixed-blessing heritage. Roman men were expected to brutally dominate their families and the world a...
