‘My friend here is a veteran of the arena,’ he said patiently. ‘I need only say one word and he will wring your neck like a sacrificial chicken. He knows a thousand ways to hurt you. We can continue this conversation all day, to your pain and discomfort, but I would rather be on my way.’
Julius licked his lips and flicked a glance at Valerius’s wooden fist. ‘We—’
‘Shay muffing.’
The words were as mangled as the mouth from which they emerged, but their message was clear enough. Julius’s lips clamped shut. Valerius placed a casual boot across Felix’s throat to silence him. Julius stared at his partner’s purpling features, and shook his head. Serpentius smiled and Valerius winced at what was coming next.
‘You’re a handsome boy. I’d wager you have lots of girls chasing after you. That right?’ Suspicion flickered on the spy’s face, but there was something in his eyes Serpentius instantly recognized. Pride. And in pride, he sensed weakness. ‘Yes.’ He turned to Valerius. ‘A pretty boy like him would be good with the ladies.’ Julius produced something between a squawk and a groan as Serpentius slipped his right hand beneath the expensive tunic and his cold fingers closed on the boy’s testicles, squeezing just enough to cause discomfort. Julius’s complexion went from red to white in a single moment. ‘Of course,’ the Spaniard continued conversationally, ‘to be good with the ladies, you have to have the right equipment.’ The clawlike fingers closed and this time his victim gave a little squeak of anguish. The dark eyes sought Valerius.
‘Please …’
But this was no time for mercy. They needed answers. Felix squirmed beneath Valerius’s boot, though whether that was because of what was happening to his partner or because he was in danger of suffocating seemed uncertain. Valerius nodded to Serpentius and the Spaniard tightened his grip with a vicious twist of the wrist that had Julius shrieking in disbelieving agony. The words came out in a gabble. ‘WeweresentbytheEmperor …’
‘Let him speak.’
Serpentius relaxed his grip and Julius let out a long groan of relief.
‘Slowly,’ Valerius said. ‘And do not miss out any detail.’
The young man swallowed. His body seemed to have gone into spasm and he stood with his knees bent in a defensive crouch. ‘We were sent by the Emperor’s freedman, Onomastus. Our orders were to follow you as far as the border and ensure you kept to the route. If you deviated we … were to report back.’
Valerius noted the hesitation, and it seemed Serpentius had too. Like a conjuror’s trick, a curved knife appeared with the point pricking Julius’s throat. The young man froze.
‘Don’t take us for fools, my little spy. Men like you and me don’t report back. That’s not what we’re paid for. Now, tell me again, and this time get it right, or I’ll cut those delicate balls off, fry them in lard and make you eat them for dinner.’
If it was possible for Julius to go any paler, he did. ‘If you stopped for any length of time, or left the road, we had orders to kill you.’ Serpentius removed the dagger and the boy dropped his head.
‘Now that wasn’t so difficult, was it?’ The Spaniard brought the haft of the knife round in a vicious backhand swipe that hammered into the young man’s temple. Julius dropped like a stone and Serpentius turned to Valerius. ‘What now?’
‘You should have cut their throats,’ the Spaniard complained.
‘I gave my oath to the Emperor. I don’t think I’d be honouring it if I went around killing people who were following his orders.’
Serpentius grunted and urged his mount up the steep gradient. They were crossing the rocky spine of Italia by now, with frost in the air and chills all around, but tomorrow they would begin the downhill journey to the sea. ‘They could come after us. Someone will release them sooner or later.’
‘After what you did to the boy?’
‘I have a feeling he’s tougher than he looks.’
Valerius nodded absently. ‘But his friend will know he talked. They sense these things. If we’re lucky, they will cut each other’s throats.’
The Spaniard acknowledged the possibility. ‘You still haven’t explained why the Emperor should send men to spy on us.’
‘Because Otho thinks it’s a suicide mission, and normal people would be reluctant to offer their necks to the sword. Every Emperor is suspicious of his own mother, and with reason, if you remember Agrippina. Otho has been in power for less than a month. He trusts no one.’
‘So much for your oath.’ Serpentius went quiet for a while. ‘Are you saying we’re not normal?’