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whip in the sand.
A bad lot, all of them. That tall monster s the worst. We have to keep them
in line. A few whippings every day and they remember they re animals, not men,
as Ptolemy tries to tell them. Quintus executed a mocking bow. I regret if I
offended your sensibilities, master. This is Numidia, not some perfumed
bedchamber in Rome.
I checked my anger and allowed him to conduct me toward the stifling main
tower. He said apartments had been prepared there for Locusta and myself. As
we passed her cart I made introductions. Quintus studied her breasts when they
glimmered beneath her sweaty gown. His eyes slid from her breasts up her
throat to her face, clotted with lust.
A pleasure, my lady. I trust you ll be comfortable among round, unlettered
soldiers.
She smiled. A strong whip arm is the guardian of the Empire, centurion. I
admire your firmness. I m sure I ll enjoy my stay.
I was sickened by the vapid courtesan s smile she lavished on the bad-tempered
soldier. Before he conducted me inside the tower, he paused, turned and
saluted Locusta again. His eyes glittered like a rutting animal s.
At dinner that night, Quintus appeared dressed in his finest armor. He was
plainly interested in putting on a display for Locusta. He couldn t do it with
the table he set. The food was poor and the wine poorer.
The legionnaires of the first cohort made no attempt to tone down their vulgar
remarks because a woman was present. The dismal dining hall with its
complement of listless black servants depressed me. One young Numidian girl
protested when a soldier slid his callused hand up between her bare legs. This
provoked another outburst from Quintus. The girl received three strokes of his
whip, while his men applauded.
I remained silent and morose, sloshing down pot after pot of the inferior
wine. Locusta, however, praised Quintus for his strength as a disciplinarian.
She said hardly a word to me. And neither did he. Quintus was totally ignorant
of her background. He was also untroubled by her age, or the streaks of gray
shining in her reddish hair. He went ahead pawing over her and offering the
crudest kind of flatteries until I went to bed in disgust.
As the days went on, I was virtually ignored by the two of them when we ate
together. I had no objection. At least when Locusta fawned over the centurion,
she wasn t badgering me about the heat or our wretched existence. One sultry
night I heard thick laughter and the unmistakable sounds of passion in her
apartment below mine. From then on I slept more easily. I felt no jealousy. I
had long since lost any desire whatsoever to touch her.
The first weeks at the fort were occupied with construction of a number of
two-wheeled cage carts to hold the beasts we intended to round up. Lumber for
these vehicles was shipped in from Iol Caesaria by means of a prior agreement
with Publius. Quintus was forced to lend his slaves to work and his soldiers
to oversee the labor.
I spent long hours in the sun. Sweat drenched me while I pegged planks
together with a mallet. I worked as hard as the Numidians, provoking
contemptuous remarks from the legionnaires, who always managed to find the
nearest patch of shade. But physical exhaustion helped me forget the past. And
Acte.
I d abandoned any hope of going after unicorns. None existed anywhere in this
yellow waste. Upon completion of the carts we were ready to begin trapping
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less mythical animals. I held several conferences with Quintus. He was barely
civil. I kept my temper in rein. We set out at last on our first expedition,
after boar.
The company included myself, Quintus, six legionnaires and ten Numidians, with
the tall, mahogany-shouldered Ptolemy one of them. Carrying provisions in
three cage carts, we rode in three others drawn by oxen. Straight out into the
blazing waste we went.
Three days westward from the fort, the land changed from treeless sand to
thinly forested slopes leading up to distant blue mountains. In camp at night
we heard animals screeching and crashing in the brush. That night again I
noticed, as I had before, that the other blacks treated Ptolemy with
deference. They paid heed to what he said when they gathered around their own
fire at night.
In the morning we scouted a twisting watercourse, long since dried up. At its
end we stationed four Numidians with a large and closely woven hemp net. The
net stretched from wall to wall in the gully. The remainder of the party
journeyed up to the head of the watercourse.
One of the Numidians ranged ahead. He returned to report in labored Greek that
he d sighted a small herd of boars. Stripped to our waists, black and white
men alike crept in a loose half-circle through the brush. Each man was armed
with a spear, except for Quintus, who also carried his lash tied to the broad
belt of his clout.
The black Ptolemy began to smile as we bellied through the undergrowth and
peered out at the herd of tusked beasts. Ptolemy was clearly in his element
now.
Quintus stood up and parted the brush. He sniffed the wind, then raised his
spear.
Drive them!
Yelling and screaming, we broke from the brush and charged the boars.
Frightened, they stampeded. Their hooves raised clouds of dust as they plunged
down the nearest escape route, the watercourse.
Two Numidians followed along the bottom of the gully. The rest of us took the
faster way, racing ahead along the high banks. The boars appeared around a
bend, tiny eyes fired with fright. The netmen just below us braced their legs
for the onslaught. When the first boar struck, it would take great effort to
keep the nets from slipping. If we trapped six of the herd, we would do well.
Tusks flashing, the first boar dove into the net. The fury of his charge
jerked the strands violently. The other boar piled into the first, squealing,
kicking sensing the trap.
All of a sudden Quintus went white. He leaped and skidded down the gully wall.
Hold on, you black scum! Hold on tighter! They ll slip underneath
One of the animals gouged the earth savagely with his tusks. He rammed his
head beneath the net and raced through.
Then he wheeled, pawing, ready to charge and kill. A Numidian on the net was
thrown off balance by the lunging of the other animals. A large section of the
net sagged.
I plunged down the slope after Quintus. He cursed wildly, uncoiling his whip
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