Chapter 6

As disturbing as the ride through the neighborhood surrounding it had been, the auditorium itself was that much more of an oasis. The building was a covered stadium, probably too small for bullfighting or most team sports, but certainly big enough to hold a boxing ring and a couple thousand seats.

The parking lot was well-lit, surrounded by a high fence, and patrolled by security guards with automatic weapons. It surrounded the stadium like a moat. Most of the cars here looked expensive. In spite of the invitation he'd received, Corvus hadn't expected such a largely patrician audience, considering pugilism to be a fairly lowbrow form of entertainment.

"I guess the car will be safe," acknowledged Quad. "Legionnaire Asellio, you can join us inside and help provide personal security."

"Thank you sir," said Asellio.

Corvus looked around at all the cars and people. "How are we going to find Crispa Iunius in all this?"

The legionnaire whose name Corvus didn't know gave an ungracious snort. Before Corvus could ask what it meant, Quad was glaring. "Would you rather wait with the car, Legionnaire?"

"No, sir." The man lowered his head.

Quad turned, setting the pace towards the stadium. Corvus caught up with him after a few steps. "What was that about?"

"If we go to the box seats, we'll find Widow Iunius in the Decius skybox. She's a guest of the senator's son," said Quad.

"And..." Corvus prompted.

Quad gave him a quick glance. "Crispa is a ... distant cousin of mine. She and I share certain physical traits."

Corvus couldn't help the bark of laughter that escaped. "She has your chin?"

"She has a prominent jaw," said Quad evenly. "It's not as pronounced as mine, but it has led to some unkind comments about her appearance in the past."

Corvus didn't say anything. A jaw could be awfully pronounced and not as much so as Quad's. The squareness of the centurion's face went beyond pronounced into something else - over-enunciated perhaps.

"She's really a very beautiful woman," insisted Quad.

Corvus pursed his lips and nodded. "I won't be unkind to your cousin, Quad. But, if I'm about to walk in on some gorgon, please tell me. It's easier to be kind when one is properly braced."

Quad shook his head. "She's a beautiful woman. She just has the one unusually masculine characteristic."

"All right." Corvus clapped him on the shoulder gamely. "We'll find out soon enough."

Only, it turned out not to be as soon as that. The process at the gate seemed impossibly and unncessarily slow. Too many in the crowd were patricians and didn't hold tickets, but were there as someone's guest. Every time one of them reached the front of the line, the ticket-takers would have to call someone to come identify them and escort them in. The largely plebeian crowd with general admissions tickets would flow through one of the gates for a while until someone would block that gate while a runner was retrieved to escort them to the skyboxes. At one point, six of the eight gates were blocked.

"You would think they'd stand aside and let the ticket takers process other people while they wait for an answer," muttered Corvus.

"They might if asked," said Quad quietly. "But, it wouldn't occur to them and the plebes running the gate would never ask."

When it was finally their turn, Corvus gave the information about whose guest they were and where she could be found then purposely stood to one side to let the line continue. The ticket-taker stood, staring blankly forward and the line of plebeians behind him kept their distance, not crowding him.

After he was sure everyone involved had observed the situation and had time to process it, Corvus cleared his throat. "You can help the people behind me while I wait."

The ticket-taker flinched and said apologetically. "I'm terribly sorry, sir. I'm sure it will only take a few minutes."

"What?" Corvus shook his head. "No. I'm not complaining. I just mean that it's all right to handle these people while I wait. I won't be offended."

The ticket-taker now looked more worried as he reached for the phone. "Let me call again."

Corvus opened his mouth to try to explain again that he wasn't complaining, but trying to help, but the look of panic on the ticket-taker's face suggested that one more word might send the man into a blind panic. He looked at Quad like the man might help in some way.

"A valiant attempt at egalitarianism," said Quad dryly. "Defeated by a mere thousand years of tradition."

Corvus was still trying to come up with a clever rejoinder when a woman emerged from the crowd from beyond the gate. "Corvus Gallicus?"

He forgot Quad and found himself staring. She was beautiful, although more as a matter of bearing that form. In spite of the gold provenance mark on her neck, she carried herself like a queen.

But, that wasn't what made Corvus stare or the crowd give her a wide birth. He'd never seen an actual African before. Even on television they were rare. Some European nations had outposts there and Roman explorers had started mapping the continent, but trade was almost non-existant.

"Corvus Gallicus?" she asked again.

"Uh, yes." Corvus finally got past his surprise enough to speak.

She bowed. "My mistress, Crispa Iunius sent me to find you. If you please, I will bring you to her."

Corvus passed through the gate, following the exotic slave through the long, winding hall and up to the skyboxes. Even if she hadn't been the darkest person Corvus had ever seen, the head-to-toe skin-tight leather outfit the color of dried blood would have drawn attention. When he started to regain his composure enough to look around at the other patrons, Corvus hoped he hadn't gawped like that, but strongly suspected he had.

No one spoke until they were ushered into the skybox. There were about thirty people in the long, curved room. Approximately a third of them appeared to be patricians, arrayed on couches around the one plexiglass wall that looked down on the sandy high-walled pit where the fights would be tonight. Currently, a string quartet was set up there and playing to no one's obvious entertainment.

The woman who rose to greet them was dressed in a light-blue gown clearly inspired by the Musselman fashions that had been all the rage lately. The lower layer clung to her breasts and hips, only slightly larger than the swimsuits he'd seen earlier. A second layer, worn over it, was gauzy enough to see through clearly, but gave an air of decency. Natta Manilus would undoubtedly have known a patrician who disapproved of it, but Corvus would not have been that patrician.

He didn't even notice her jaw until she'd kissed him on the cheek and was drawing back. "Corvus Gallicus. So good of you to make it."

"Crispa Iunius," he said. "Thank you for inviting me."

She turned to look next to him and grinned, eyes widening. "Cousin Quadratus. I didn't know you would be here tonight. I hadn't heard you were back in the Empire."

Quad hugged her and she hugged him back. "How long have you been back?"

"Three months," admitted Quad. "I wasn't sure I was staying until this unfortunate business with Agricola's son. We're on homeland defense now."

"Come. Both of you, please sit down," said Crispa, warmer and much less formal now. She made room for the two of them so that they sat to either side of her on an L-shaped couch. "Corvus, I didn't know you knew my cousin."

"I didn't know he was your cousin until we were on the way here," said Corvus. "And we've only known each other a couple of weeks now."

"I'm his personal guard," said Quad. "I really shouldn't be sitting."

Crispa waved that away. "Don't be silly. Nothing's going to happen here and you have that strapping young legionnaires lurking behind you just in case someone gets past Ibis."

"Ibis?" Quad asked.

"My African." Crispa leaned towards the woman and stroked her cheek with one hand. "Isn't she fabulous? She was a gift to grandmother from the Britannic King."

"She is remarkable," acknowledged Quad. "But, unless she's got some serious weaponry under that catsuit you've got her dressed in, I'd be more comfortable..."

"Nonsense," said Crispa. She turned to Corvus, "Do tell him to relax, please. It's been years since I've seen him."

Corvus chuckled. "Stand down please, centaurion. If anyone questions your doing so, tell them I insisted."

Quad sighed and sat where he was. While the cousins caught up, Corvus took the opportunity to consider Crispa more carefully. Under that gossamer layer, she was all long, tan limbs and lush hair the color of honey ale. She did have an unusually strong jawline that might seem more appropriate on a man, but Corvus doubted he'd find it very distracting. It merely added character to a lovely young woman.

It wasn't more than a couple of minutes before she was turning back to Corvus. "There. Now I know everything interesting my cousin has done in the past three years. I've been looking forward to meeting you ever since I found out we were dating, Corvus Gallicus."

"It did seem a pity to have never set eyes on my first girlfriend," admitted Corvus with a faint smirk.

Crispa's eyes widened. "Your first? Now, I am honored." She leaned in closer. "Tell me, does that mean you've never dated or that you don't count plebeian girls now that you're among the high and mighty?"

Corvus considered the question. The words seemed mocking, but they were delivered with such casual insouciance that he found he couldn't take offense at them. Instead, he decided to spar a little. "Who says that has to be an either-or question?"

Crispa laughed and gave a single clap of her hands. "Well said." She called out. "Cato, do come meet General Gallicus's son."

Cato came gliding over, a glass of dark, red wine in his hand. "Ah, yes. I should have recognized you. I saw your picture somewhere. Where was it that I would have seen his picture, Crispa?"

"Absolutely everywhere?" Crispa suggested.

"Yes, that's it." Cato Decius held out an oddly delicate hand to shake. "I can't take a shit without someone hanging a newspaper with your face on the bathroom wall."

Now that, Corvus could easily have taken offense at, but there was something about the way Cato and Crispa were watching him that suggested it was some sort of test. So, he chose to smile. "I hope in some small way, I helped ease your passing."

Cato laughed and raised his glass. "Welcome to my father's skybox, Corvus. I think you'll fit right in."

"Don't tell anyone he said that," Crispa informed him. "It will ruin any good reputation you've managed to accumulate for yourself."

A slave-girl came over and knelt at Crispa's side, holding a tray with a glass of white wine on it. She wore an outfit similar to the patricians, but made of darker blue fabric. But, there was no underlayer on top. When she moved, Corvus's eyes were drawn to her dark nipples clearly visible through the gauzy gown.

He recognized her almost before he looked at her face. Corvus had seen those breasts before, had entertained long, drawn out fantasies where those breasts had been given a starring role. The rest of the woman was beautiful too, but the breasts were magnificent.

At a prompting from Crispa, she came and knelt at Corvus's side, holding out the empty tray. "How may I serve?"

A few of the more straightforward fantasies flashed through his mind at breakneck speed, but he managed to say evenly. "Whatever they're drinking will be fine. Thank you."

Once the slave-girl had withdrawn, he turned to Crispa. "You own Sunya Green?"

Crispa gave a little shake of her head. "I hold her contract until she starts filming another movie next summer. She belongs to the Green Group."