Sebastian had taken to saying The Lord’s Prayer and the Hail Mary—particularly the Hail Mary for Selene’s sake—upon waking each day. Every day that he awakened a virgin he counted himself lucky, living in fear as he did of the ruthless Xiphokles. For now the monstrous Athenian contented himself with conversation and wine with Sebastian. At the end of the first day the slaves of the Athenian aristocrats had arrived with heaped provisions borne on their bent backs.
The camp was made early and kept late. On this, the second day after the slaying of Doryklus and their capture, they passed Megara and camped early again. Their captors seemed to be looking for people to despoil on the road, but found none. Sebastian was not impressed with Xiphokles as a commander.
Governor Soto would have slain him in his bed for rising late, and he seems to fear pushing his unruly troops too hard through the day.
Never-the-less Sebastian was forced to humiliate himself as the body servant of the terrible man; pouring his wine; sharing his meals, and oiling, massaging and scrapping him.
Ancient life, while not as filthy and circumscribed as that which I was born into, is even more brutal in its way. Priests might have raped their altar boys and senior monks their juniors. But they did so behind cloistered walls, ashamed of this act. Xiphokles and his depraved brother and the rabble they command have no shame in such things.
God save her soul from self-damnation. She might even now have consigned herself to her own purgatory.
No one had it harder then Selene. After the first night the poor woman, who had fought so well defending them, had been violated beyond all hope of redemption at the hands of the pitiless Piraens. Arlene had been able to do little to relieve her. Xiphokles permitted no contact between the two women, which included the offering of the 21st Century medicine Arlene took to prevent pregnancy. Arlene was beside herself with grief over this. Arlene was thankfully treated with kindness and respect by all. But this unfortunately widened the divide between herself and Selene, causing her much pain.
I am glad that she did not give into the stupid woman’s suggestion that they both be ravished by half the lot. Now at least we have one woman with dignity intact as opposed to two women equally devalued beyond redemption.
He felt the haft of Xiphokles spear brush his hip as the master of this murderous mob rode by him on the road to Irythrae. He brought himself to smile at the cruel man, not wanting to end up like Selene. Polos also had followed this course, acting in a manner suggesting a courtship with Jason, rather than resisting. They both knew that they were just putting off the inevitable.
The road here curved around the base of some low mountain, the last in the chain that had shadowed their journey since they turned away from the coast above Megara and made for the gap between them and the Gulf of Corinth. Irythrae would be almost within sight when they traversed the shoulder of the mountain near its base.
Now Polos came running back along the line with a message for the commander. “Master, four files of mercenary hoplites, of the light kind, await at the Irythraen Gate.”
The man seemed happy. “Good boy, go get yourself some wine from the Slaves.”
Xiphokles then called the unit leaders together and made a plan, which Sebastian, being his drinking companion and future lover, was permitted to hear. “We have us a fight up ahead boys. Some sods think they are going to stake out this road and demand something of us. They are well-armed but inflexible, just files-of light pike men. I would like to arm you boys from the Streets and Tie-up with these weapons. The Corinthians will come on but one deep with the Cretans behind firing into their ranks to keep them packed together. The Piraens will follow me and flank left, while the Bilge Rats follow my brother and flank right. Troan will stay behind the line with the Cretans on his pony to deal with any breakthrough.
The men all began scrambling. Two Bilge Rats pushed Selene down in the dust of the road and attacked her for some minutes before running off to join the others. The dust-covered woman was left naked in the road to be watched over by the slaves of the aristocrats, who were callous men and might be expected to take sexual liberties during the battle.
Look, Arlene seizes Polos and questions him. She now gives him instructions and he races off toward the overlook ahead. What is amiss?
Sebastian was then cracked in the side of the head with the haft of Troan’s spear, who was a burly man with no heart and less brain. “Come on to the overlook to watch. We can’t have you lurking back here to cause mischief.”
Sebastian complied and tramped uphill toward the overlook to witness the small military spectacle that was unfolding.
Why the red heathens of La Florida would have already cut these fools down. I would venture that if the Scythians had not betrayed Doryklus he would now be commanding this mob.
