Chapter 20

Corvus had managed to live in Gaius Gallicus's house for more than a month without knowing it had a dungeon.

Once the subject came up, it seemed rather obvious. The place had been a fortress once, a final redoubt built for the first New Roman settlers to fall back on if Rio were ever overrun by an enemy. Even now, a thousand years after it had been built, the estate maintained a small farm, emergency generators with massive reserve tanks, an underground spring, and dozens of cisterns for collecting rainwater. The Arx Terminus could still withstand a siege provided the enemy didn't have helicopters or bombers or anything else that could just fly over the wall and drop things on them.

It made sense that there were dungeons. Still, the first time Quad mentioned them, Corvus assumed he was making a joke. They'd been discussing new security protocols and the whole conversation already had a surreal edge to it. On an intellectual level, Corvus believed Quad when he said there had been assassination attempts against both him and his father, but he'd never even seen the would-be assassins.

Some of that must have shown in his voice as he listened to Quad's explanation of shift rotations, check-in protocols, security barriers, and round-the-clock surveillance. Corvus agreed every point and even asked follow-up questions to clarify points he wasn't entirely clear on, but apparently he didn't sound frightened enough because Quad said, "You need to take this seriously. I know it was fun to drive off with my cousin and leave me at the car dealership when there was a vague threat against all generals and their families, but they've drawn a bead on you now. If you get outside of your security coverage, you'll be in real danger."

Corvus had been taking it seriously, even if his attention had been divided. He and Quad were sitting in one of the estate's inner courtyards sharing a glass of wine and going over the day's business. They'd been interrupted by a call from his advocate to go over some last-minute details about their meeting the next day and by Clover with a question about the catering for the graduation party but it wasn't like Corvus had asked to be interrupted. He scowled at the implied reprimand. "I've got it, Quad - no running off and leaving my security detail behind. How long do you think these protocols will be necessary?"

Quad scratched the back of his neck like the question made him uncomfortable. "The enhanced protocols should stay in place until we can confirm the immediate threat has been neutralized. The Home Guard has been doing its best to wipe out Famul Ioshua and the other death cults in Rio, but the Christians are a bit like cockroaches. They go to ground and only come out where you're not looking."

Corvus sipped his wine. "Best guess on a timeline? I won't hold you to it."

Quad looked down at the papers he'd spread out in front of him like he thought they held the answer, but his eyes weren't really focused on them. "For the enhanced protocols? Two weeks maybe - maybe longer. We'd want to know that whoever sent the assassins was dead or in custody and that no one else took up that particular mission. It could have been over before it even started if the Home Guard had set up a proper perimeter before moving in on Famu Ioshua like we would have in Europe. Hopefully they learned something from that."

Corvus raised an eyebrow. "You don't sound particularly hopeful."

Quad gave a shrug. "The Home Guard has a thousand-year tradition of defending the capital and I don't think their commanders like being told how to do their jobs. I know they don't like having the Legion here. It's made things tense."

Corvus nodded thoughtfully. "Is there anything we can do to nudge them towards a more enlightened approach or ... I don't know, fill in where the Home Guard is falling down to push this to a faster a resolution?"

"You want to ... help the Home Guard do their jobs?" Quad frowned. "I think that would be taken even worse than unwelcome advice from the Legion."

"If the alternative is indefinite round-the-clock surveillance while they get their acts together, maybe it's worth pissing them off and letting them talk to my father about it when he gets back from Europe. We are talking about people trying to kill me, Quad."

Corvus couldn't interpret the look Quad gave him, but it wasn't a happy one. "Even once the immediate threat is abated, we should probably keep someone on you at all times. You're a target now. Cultists, nutters, kidnappers, criminals, they'll all take a shot at you if they think they can forward their agenda or make some money by doing so."

Corvus didn't like the sound of that, but he couldn't argue with the wisdom of it either. "So, I guess I should get used to the idea that I don't have a private life anymore?"

"Most of the time, we can watch you from a distance - secure access points, monitor the area, but stay out of sight," Quad offered. "You'll only know they're there if something goes wrong."

Corvus really didn't like the sound of that, but there wasn't much point in protesting the unfairness of it and he had a more immediate concern. "Anybody who's going to be guarding me closely enough that they might overhear my conversations needs to be absolutely trustworthy. Lanatus will run a thorough background check on each of them. Honestly, it would be better if they didn't speak Latin at all."

"Absolutely trustworthy guards who don't speak Latin. I'll put an ad in the classifieds." Quad deadpanned.

Corvus sighed. "Just make sure my security team doesn't become a security leak. The Galicii have enemies that could do a lot worse than just kill me if the wrong bit of information got out. What does Gaius do to keep information from leaking out through his security detail?"

"He ... leads a division of the Glorious New Roman Legion. There's a whole culture of loyalty built into service to the Legion that you won't get with hired help. To the rank-and-file, their general is like a god. Even to those of us who have worked with him on a daily basis, he's more like a patriarch than a boss." Quad shook his head. "You can't buy that."

Corvus nodded thoughtfully. "I'll have to earn it then. Just have Lanatus make sure whoever comes on-board is starting with a clean slate including the ones you've already hired. And the next time someone tries to assassinate me, see if we can't keep him alive long enough to tell us where the Famul Ioshua is hiding out. The sooner we can deal with them, the sooner I can minimize the number of people watching every time I take a piss."

There was more frustration in Corvus's voice than he'd meant to put there and it wasn't specifically directed at Quad. Corvus was under more pressure than he was used to handling gracefully. He'd had the run of his father's estate for four days and the forensic accountants hadn't turned up anything yet. Luculllus Memmius was recommending bringing in more people. Corvus was hesitating, unsure what would happen if one of them came across evidence of Gaius's sexual deviancy. Fusa had assured him that forensic accountants were supposed to be incorruptible, but Corvus suspected some were more incorruptible than others. On top of that, Crispa had kept her distance since their tryst in the arboretum and suggested she might not return until he could produce a contract.

In the meantime, the war of words with Atellus Rufius had escalated. Through Aquilina, Corvus had issued a statement saying the heartland senator was ejected from his parents' wedding reception for "outrageous behavior" and directed the press to ask Senator Rufius about it. Atellus's response had been an aw-shucks-I'm-just-a-farm-boy comment that he had no idea what someone like Corvus would consider "outrageous," but he certainly hadn't meant to offend anyone.

The press had gotten a good snicker out of that and asked Corvus's people for a clarification, but he'd let the matter drop. There was much more interest in what was being called Corvus's "man of the people" speech, which had been released at more or less the same time as Atellus was giving his press conference. Everyone seemed to have an opinion on it and Aquilina was struggling to keep up with the media's demands while filling the staff positions of people who had quit after Corvus's first day in the office.

Corvus was so absorbed in analyzing what was making him unusually tense that he almost didn't register what Quad said next.

"We left the last one alive. He hasn't told us much. Footsoldiers rarely know more than a tiny part of their organization."

"The guy who tried to kill me is still alive ... in custody?" Corvus asked, surprised.

"Sure. We've got him down in the dungeons."

That got a deep scowl from Corvus. "Seriously. Is he alive or not?"

"He's alive down in the dungeons," Quad repeated. "I can probably arrange for you to see him if you like. The Home Guard has him in custody, but it is your house."

It still took several more rounds of question and answer, but Corvus eventually managed to learn that the Arx Terminus did indeed have dungeons or, more accurately, subterranean detention facilities going back to its time as a working fortress. When Gaius took command of the Home Guard and their role changed following the attack on General Agricola's son, the general had leased the facility to the Guard and the Guard had put them to use holding Corvus's would-be assassin.

Corvus had noticed there were still soldiers on the grounds even with Gaius in Europe, but hadn't thought much about it. They stayed out of his way and didn't come to the main house. As far as he knew, they were just part of life at the estate.

"So, should I see about getting you in to see him?" Quad finally asked.

After a moment's consideration, Corvus gave a nod. "Yeah. I'd like to see who tried to kill me."

After Quad had left, Corvus sighed and rubbed his face as he once again iterated through his outstanding problems for anything he could do to resolve them. Quad was addressing security. The forensic accountants had long since gone home to sleep. Aquilina and Lanatus were handling staffing issues back at the office or more likely asleep themselves. His contract for Crispa was already written and the meeting scheduled for tomorrow at noon. All the details of the graduation party he could plan for had been planned for.

He sipped his wine and forced his mind into calmer patterns. In "Homo Politicus," Annicus had counseled the need to put work aside each night and enjoy the comforts of family and friends in order to renew the spirit and remind the political man what he was fighting for. Corvus suspected Annicus had had a much more orderly social life than his own. His family was all away - divided from him by the Atlantic Ocean or the similarly impassable wall of his new social status. His aunt had barely understood his problems when he was still a plebeian and his cousins had been worse than useless to him more often than not.

As for friends, Corvus had already done better as a patrician than he ever had as a plebeian. Through school, he'd been "the odd one with his nose in the book," which was preferable to being the poor kid whose mother is a whore, but hadn't caused anyone to warm to him very much. He'd had friends in the political sense, but not the personal one.

Now he had Quad, Crispa, and Crispa's friends, but Quad was mad at him for not wrapping himself in cotton and hiding underground until the danger of assassination passed, Crispa was staying away as a negotiating point and he hoped their mutual friends were the sorts who would support her by staying away as well.

Still, he had his girls. It was a measure of how much his view of the world had changed that Corvus saw sleeping with his beautiful slaves as anything other than the best possible use of his nights. They were an enormous comfort to him, but their world was limited by both law and custom. Clover and Rose would give themselves to him completely and even seemed to take joy in doing so, but they wouldn't challenge him or argue with him or call him an idiot when he was being one. He was both grateful for and frustrated by that at the same time.

Leaving the last of his wine in the glass, Corvus took a walk through the garden before heading up to his room. He knew his security detail was there, trailing him just out of sight or in the periphery of his vision, but if he chose not to look for them, he could enjoy the faux solitude for a little while.

When he reached his rooms, another guard he didn't recognize opened the door to his antechambers. He gave the man a nod of acknowledgement and made a mental note to learn the names of his security detail. If he was ever going to command the loyalty his father did, that was the first step, but it would wait until tomorrow at least.

As he stepped into his antechamber, Datura looked up at him and smiled brightly. "How may I serve?"

There was something infectious about her smile and Corvus found himself grinning back, wondering if he'd ever seen Regula Vitellius smile like that. He was pretty sure he hadn't. She'd smiled a lot, but in a polite, detached way, always pleased, but never happy.

"I'm going to bed. How would you feel about joining me?"

"I would be honored to do so. May I find someone to cover the desk?" Datura rose gracefully.

Corvus liked the precision of her answer. She didn't say she was happy or even pleased, but honored. It balanced neatly on the fine edge of being both truthful and what she thought he wanted to hear. He nodded his assent. "You can bring another girl if you like. It's up to you."

Datura didn't hesitate, but gave a perfectly-executed slave bob and disappeared into the side hallway. Corvus chuckled and headed into his bedroom. Telling Datura a decision was up to her didn't cause the momentary panic it seemed to with other slaves. Whether she came back alone or with another girl, it would reflect her own preferences. Corvus hadn't yet learned the language to express that he wanted his other girls to do that as well - that being in bed with two women who disliked each other wasn't nearly as enjoyable as when there was genuine affection between everyone involved.

He undressed quietly, knowing Clover and Rose were probably sleeping in the next room. Maybe it was normal patrician behavior to have one pair of slaves undress him in order to get into bed with a different pair, but it still felt weird to Corvus.

"How may we serve?"

Corvus shouldn't have been surprised to see Tansy at Datura's side when he turned. He had agreed to treat her like a slave in every way including this, but hadn't fulfilled the last part of that promise. As always, when he looked at Tansy, he saw no hint of his spy Alyse Londinia beyond the physical resemblance and even that was muted by posture and countenance.

It made sense that Datura would choose her. Everyone else in Corvus's service either had some grievance against her, was related to her, or both. Tansy, being new, wouldn't have any history with Datura or know about her first disastrous meeting with Corvus in the garden, which he'd forbidden his other girls to talk about. She stood waiting, lips faintly pouted, hips tilted sensually, eyes worshipful in a non-specific sort of way. Alyse had explained the deliberateness of Tansy's behavior, but that did little to dull its impact. A spike of desire hit him and he reached out to stroke her cheek. She rubbed up against his palm like a cat. At the same time, he extended an arm to Datura who moulded herself to his side and laid her head in the crook of his neck, her breath warm on his skin.

"Tansy, isn't it?"

Tansy opened her eyes to meet his. They were blue like Rose's. "As you've named me, sir."

Corvus let his hand trace its way up Datura's spine. "Why haven't I had you before, Tansy?"

Tansy pressed herself against his chest. "You haven't called for me. As soon as I joined your household, you sent me to serve Plautus Iunius."

"You've bathed since?"

Tansy gave him a puzzled look suggesting she didn't know why he was asking. "Yes, sir. I had a bath before bed."

As Corvus put his arm around Tansy, he found Datura had already drawn her in close. She kissed his neck. "Tansy promised she would show me some things you'd like if we were to serve together here."

Tansy kissed Corvus's chest and her fingertips stroked him through his boxers. "Provided you allow it, of course."

Corvus chuckled. "I will allow it, presuming you're right about what I like."

Tansy wasted no time, kissing her way down Corvus's chest until she was kneeling in front of him and drawing his boxers down. Datura raised her head so she could watch as Tansy gently stroked his cock to life and took it in her mouth.

Corvus tightened his grip around Datura's waist and gave a low, throaty chuckle. "Lucky guess. I like that very much."

Datura reached down and brushed Tansy's hair back in what might have been an affectionate gesture or might be just to give herself a clearer view. She watched intently, standing very still, brow furrowed in concentration.

Corvus laughed and kissed her neck before whispering, "You look like you're studying."

"I ... can't really see what she's doing," Datura said in a conversational tone. She turned to look at Corvus. "Is she using her tongue or just sucking?"

"I ... she ... yes, both." Corvus hadn't really been analyzing Tansy's technique as much as enjoying the net result and hardly thought it was a fair time for a pop quiz.

Datura craned her neck to watch more closely. "What are you doing with your hand?"

Tansy raised her head. "I'm squeezing here so that..."

"Tansy!" Corvus protested, laughing. She looked up at him for instruction and he stroked her strawberry-blonde hair. "Explain later, please. For now, just focus on what you're doing."

Tansy got back to it, taking him into her mouth again, her tongue teasing its way up and down his shaft, one hand squeezing the base of his cock to regulate how much blood could flow in and out of it. Datura continued to watch intently as Corvus closed his eyes and lost himself to the pleasure.

Minutes later, Datura whispered in his ear. "I think I understand what she's doing if you like."

Corvus's eyes opened. Datura was watching him, looking oddly hopeful. She didn't look overcome with desire, but rather like she was eager to accept a new challenge. Corvus nodded and said hoarsely, "Tansy, let Datura give it a try, please."

Tansy rose to her feet. "It might be easier for her if you lie down."

Corvus did as she suggested, stepping away from the girls long enough to lie on his back on the bed before gesturing for them to join him. They did, each climbing in on one side of the bed.

Datura knelt between his legs, gripped him in one hand, and took him into her mouth. Tansy crouched at her side and seemed to be whispering in her ear as her hands ran lightly over Datura's back and chest.

The sight was incredibly erotic and, if Datura lacked experience, it didn't seem to matter much. Even when she stopped to ask a question and, once Tansy whispered the answer, gave a surprised, little giggle, it did little to dim Corvus's desire, but he still gestured and said gruffly, "All right. Enough lessons for now. Come here."

Datura raised her head and straddled first one, then both of his legs. Tansy continued to whisper in her ear and stroke her, one hand sliding between her thighs. Datura closed her eyes and her breath caught as Tansy kissed her shoulder. The British girl met Corvus's eyes over Datura's shoulder and there was a question there. Not sure what he was being asked, Corvus nodded anyway, trusting she knew what she was doing.

Tansy straddled him behind Datura, pressing herself against the other girl, one hand staying between her thighs, the other cupping and kneading her breast. Datura had her eyes closed and her breathing accelerated. Tansy kissed her shoulder, her neck, and along the line of her jaw.

Only when Datura's pleasure had crested, her body quaking and wordless cries issuing from her throat did Tansy reach past her to take Corvus's cock in her hand and guide the other slave forward until she was impaled on it. Datura's eyes flew open like she'd forgotten for the moment that Corvus was there. But, she wriggled her hips as she sank down on him and laid her hands in the center of his chest to give herself more leverage as she raised and lowered her hips over his.

Corvus had been so aroused by what he'd watched that he found himself gripping Datura's hips to slow her pace and savor the moment a little before it was over. He had to get a good, solid grip before he could slow her enough but once he did, they fell into a good rhythm. Still, Corvus had to close his eyes to not see Tansy, who was still stroking and teasing Datura, now taking one ear gently between her teeth. That sight alone almost undid him.

Still, he only lasted as long as it took Datura's pleasure to rise and crest again. At the sound and the feel of it, his self-control unwound like a snake striking, electrifying his whole body as he exploded inside of her.

Even as he came to rest and Datura slid off of him, the motion didn't stop. When Corvus again opened his eyes, Tansy was crouched over Datura, kissing her stomach and again stroking between her legs. Datura watched her with amused uncertainty as she kissed fractionally lower.

Corvus reached down and stroked Tansy's red-gold hair. Tansy looked up at him, again questioning and a again Corvus gave a nod that he hoped meant, "Don't stop on my account." Tansy kissed lower still.

"Oh..." Tansy raised her head. "Tansy, I don't think you ... He just ... Oh." As Tansy's head settled between her thighs, Datura laid back and her hips rose seemingly over their own volition.

Corvus watched, fascinated. He was pretty sure that kissing a slave-girl's freshly-fucked sex was something he would leave to other slave girls, but in the moment, the sight of Tansy's fair hair spread across Datura's tan thighs was enough that it didn't take his body long to respond.

He rose and walked around to the end of the bed, kneeling between Tansy's thighs. Without raising her head, she spread her legs to accommodate him and his fingers spread her sex, finding her wet and ready. He ran his hand over her body, so much like Datura's, but different at the same time, slender at the thighs and hips, her curves soft and feminine, but not at all overstated.

He took Tansy and it wasn't until later that he would remember she was also Alyse and hope she accepted his actions as the homage to her skills that they were. She'd created the perfect simulacrum of a beautiful, desirable young slave and Corvus treated her as one.

Certainly Tansy didn't seem to mind. When he thrust into her, she pushed back, intensifying the contact. Each joining was more intense than the one before, but she never lost focus on the sweet torment she was inflicting on Datura until Corvus wasn't sure which sensations echoing through his body had originated with which girl or even which were his own.

Later, when he lay spooned up against Datura's back and dozed, Tansy snuggled in close to her on the other side. There were no tears on Datura's cheeks as she looked into Tansy's eyes and even a faint smile on her lips.

As dungeons went, the one Quad led Corvus to the next morning was something of an anticlimax - or at least the outer office was. Fake leather couches sat on speckled industrial carpet. The receptionist did have to talk to them through a speaker from behind thick bulletproof glass, but she ruined the effect by coming out to bring them coffee while they waited for clearance.

Corvus looked back at the elevator they'd emerged from. They'd descended from what looked like a non-descript utility shed on the estate's farm, but was just a facade for the elevator shaft. "This wasn't really what I had in mind when you said 'dungeons, ' you know."

Quad nodded. "The original ones are around somewhere I think, but these look a lot like the ones we build in Europe. They get even more utilitarian once we get to the holding area, but it'll still be closer to a modern office or an industrial space than stone rooms and iron shackles."

With a discordant buzz, the door from the office area opened and a man in a drab green uniform with no rank insignia emerged. He smiled and shook Corvus's hand. "Citizen Gallicus, thank you for coming. I'm Doctor Durmius."

Corvus shook the doctor's hand and followed him into the offices. Unless Quad had convinced the Home Guard to to request Corvus's presence today instead of asking them for permission, his wording was curious. Such subtlety didn't really seem like Quad's style. Plus, there was a tension in the doctor's shoulders that seemed inconsistent with his relaxed demeanor. He looked like a man being pleasant while performing a task he personally found distasteful.

Past the first security door were the facility's administrative offices. Apart from the flickering fluorescents overhead and the complete lack of natural light, they were defiantly mundane. If the people sitting at the rows of desks hadn't worn Home Guard uniforms, Corvus could have easily believed he was coming here to renew his driver's license.

It wasn't until they reached a back corridor that Corvus saw a really distinctive feature. Set into the back wall was a massive steel door that looked like it should lead to a bank vault. One of the men guarding it glanced at a clock on the wall and said, "Four minutes thirty seconds, doctor."

Doctor Durmius nodded. "That gives us a chance to schedule your return. Do you know how much time you'll need?"

Corvus glanced at the wall clock. "I should head back up no later than eleven thirty if I want to have time to change before I meet Crispa."

The doctor frowned. "That's only forty-five minutes. You may not be able to get anything out of him in forty-five minutes."

"Door has to be set to open at least an hour in advance," said the guard. "Security precaution."

The doctor nodded. "We can take you out the long way, but someone would have to drive you back up to the estate. The back door isn't on the grounds."

"I..." Corvus started to say.

"An hour should be fine. You don't really expect my cousin to be on time. Do you?" Quad offered.

"Not if there's an advantage to be had in being late," said Corvus, glad to have found some part of the conversation that made sense to him. "An hour is fine."

The guard typed something into a console in front of him. "The door will be openable from eleven hundred forty seven thirteen to eleven hundred fifty forty seven for two people. If you do not signal that you are ready to leave during that time, you will have to go out the long way. Is that clear to you, sir?"

"Not ... remotely," said Corvus.

Doctor Durmius shook his head. "Don't worry. I'll show you once we're through."

That seemed to satisfy Quad who said, "We're not here to interrogate the prisoner, just to get a visual confirmation of his existence and to determine if he's anyone Citizen Gallicus has seen before."

Strangely, that seemed to make the doctor more tense. He gave a sharp nod. "Of course. We should be able to take care of that quickly enough. You do realize that he's not a prisoner in the strict, legal sense of the word. Don't you?"

"I'm not following," said Quad, echoing Corvus's thoughts.

"The Home Guard took custody of Aculeo Cocceius from your team early on the morning of December tenth at your request." Doctor Durmius recited. "He was brought before the Special Tribunal that same morning, tried and found guilty satis scelerum. The Tribunal condemned him to be executed immediately and stripped him of his franchise. The Tribunal commuted the sentence long enough to lend him to us for questioning. He's not a prisoner. He's property. That means we can follow different protocols when questioning him than we would have to if he were still a citizen."

"Satis scelerum? That means he wasn't tried on a specific charge, but the judge decided he'd clearly done enough wrong to be executed without addressing every charge. Right? I thought that was an outdated statute." Corvus was impressed that he'd remembered that much history. Somehow the phrase had stuck with him.

Doctor Durmius shrugged. "I'm not a lawyer, but my understanding is that it's still on the books. If you have some concern about precedent, you should probably address it to your father's special tribunal."

The door gave a chirp. Both guards stood to one side of it, inserted keys in keyholes and turned them. A loud buzz sounded and the door moved with a loud grating noise of metal on stone.

"Doctor, you seem to be under the impression that I'm here to judge your operation," Corvus said once the worst of the noise had subsided. "I'm really just here to see the man who wanted to kill me and give you any information I might have about him."

"Of course." The doctor looked unappeased. "But you are going to be a senator at some point. Yes?"

Corvus nodded. He went on, "Then at some point, you will be asked to judge our operation and we really haven't had time to prepare for you, so I hope you'll forgive me if I say I was against granting this visit."