The Emperor Series Books 1-5. Conn Iggulden

… didn’t think about it.’ For the first time, Marcus looked unsure of himself and the general turned back to Gaius.

      ‘If I back you in this, I will lose some of the respect of the men. They all know you made a mistake and will be waiting to see what I do about it.’

      Gaius’ heart sank.

      ‘There is a way out of this, but it will cost you both dearly. Fulvio is the boxing champion of his century. He lost a lot of face today when you clipped him, Marcus. I dare say he would be willing to take part in a friendly fight, just to clear the air. Otherwise, he may well put a knife in you when I am not around to step in.’

      ‘He’ll kill me,’ Marcus said quietly.

      ‘Not in a friendly match. We won’t use the iron gloves, because of your tender age, just goatskin ones to protect your hands. Have you been trained at all?’

      The boys murmured that they had, thinking of Renius.

      Marius turned to Gaius again.

      ‘Of course, win or lose, if your friend shows courage, the men will love him and I can’t have my nephew in his shadow, do you understand?’

      Gaius nodded, guessing what was coming.

      ‘I’ll put you in against one of the others. They’re all champions at some skill or other, which is why I chose them for the escort duty to the Senate. You’ll both take a beating, but if you handle yourselves well enough the incident will be forgotten and you may even gain a bit of standing with my men. They are the scum of the gutters, most of them; they fear nothing and have respect only for strength. Oh, I can just order them back to duties and do nothing, letting you hide in the shadow of my authority, but that won’t do, d’you see?’

      Their faces were bleak, and he snorted suddenly.

      ‘Smile, boys. You might as well. There is no other way out of this, so why not spit in old Jupiter’s eye while you’re at it?’

      They looked at each other, and both grinned.

      Marius laughed again.

      ‘You’ll do. Two hours. I’ll tell the men and announce the opponents. That’ll give Renius time to sober up a little. I should think he would want to see this. By all the gods, I want to see this! Dismissed!’

      Gaius and Marcus walked slowly back to their rooms. Their initial levity had faded, leaving a sick churning in both their stomachs at what was to come.

      ‘Hey! Do you realise I put a century boxing champion on his back? I am damn well going to try and win this match. If I can hit him once, I can knock him out. One good strike is all it takes.’

      ‘But this time he’ll be expecting it,’ Gaius replied morosely. ‘I’ll probably get that big ape Marius was leading around by the head earlier; that would be just the sort of joke he likes.’

      ‘Big men are slow. You’re fast with the cross, but you’ll have to stay out of range. All these soldiers are heavy and that means they can hit harder than we can. Keep moving your feet and wear them down.’

      ‘We’re going to be murdered,’ Gaius replied.

      ‘Yes, I think we probably are.’

      Tubruk was calmly accepting when he heard the news back at their rooms.

      ‘I expected something like it. Marius loves contests and is forever staging them between his own men and those of the other legions. This is just his style – a bit of cheering and a deal of blood and everything is forgotten and forgiven.

      ‘Thankfully, you haven’t drunk more than a cup or two of wine. Come on, two hours is not long to get you warmed up and ready. You’d better spar for a while in one of the training rooms. Get a slave to direct you to one and I’ll find you as soon as I have some gloves. One thing – don’t let Marius down. Especially you, Gaius. You’re his kin, you have to put on a good show.’

      ‘I understand,’ Gaius replied grimly.

      ‘Then get going. I’ll have some of the slaves throw ice water on Renius – from a distance so that he doesn’t go berserk.’

      ‘What happened with him? Why was he drunk so early in the day?’ Gaius asked, curiously.

      ‘I don’t know. Concentrate on one thing at a time. You’ll have a chance to speak to Renius this evening. Now go!’

      While the rest of Rome slept through the heat of the afternoon, the men from the First-Born legion gathered in the largest training room, lining the walls, laughing, chatting and sipping cool beer and fruit juices. After the fights, Marius had promised them a ten-course feast of good food and wine, and the mood was relaxed and cheerful. Tubruk stood with Marcus and Gaius, loosening the shoulders of one then the other. Cabera sat on a stool, his face inscrutable.

      ‘They are both right-handed,’ Tubruk said quietly. ‘Fulvio you know; the other, Decidus, is a javelin champion. He has very strong shoulders, though he doesn’t look fast. Stay away from them, make them come to you.’

      Marcus and Gaius nodded. Both were a little pale under their tanned skin.

      ‘Remember, the idea is to stay upright long enough to show you have nerve. If you go down early, get up. I’ll stop it if you’re in real trouble, but Marius won’t like that, so I will have to be careful.’ He put a hand on each of their shoulders.

      ‘Both of you have skill and courage and wind. Renius is watching. Don’t let us down.’

      Both boys glanced over to where Renius sat, his useless arm strapped to his belt. His hair was still damp and murder glinted from his expression.

      Cheering began as Marius entered. He held up his hands for quiet and it came quickly.

      ‘I expect each man to do his best, but know that my money will be on my nephew and his friend. Two bets, twenty-five aurei on each. Do I have any takers?’

      For a moment, the silence held. Fifty gold pieces was a huge bet for a private fight, but who could resist? The gathered men emptied their pouches and some left for their rooms to fetch more coins. After a while, the money was there and Marius added his own pouch so that one hundred gold pieces were held in his great hand, enough to buy a smallholding, or a warhorse and full armour and weapons.

      ‘Will you hold the bag for us, Renius?’ Marius asked.

      ‘I will,’ he replied, his tone solemn and formal. He seemed to have thrown off most of the effects of drink, but Gaius noticed he did not try to rise and waited until the money was brought to him.

      Fulvio and Decidus entered the training hall to more cheering from the men. There was now no question where their support lay.

      Both men were wearing only a tight-fitting cloth wrapped around their groins and upper thighs, held by a wide belt. Decidus had the sort of shoulders and physique usually seen on the statues of the forum. Gaius watched him closely, but there were no obvious weaknesses. Fulvio did not wave to the crowd. His nose was bound with a strip of cloth tied at the back of his head and his lips were swollen and angry-looking.

      Gaius nudged Marcus. ‘Looks like you broke his nose with that butt earlier on. He’ll be expecting you to hit it again, you realise. Wait for a good opportunity.’

      Marcus nodded, engrossed as Gaius had been with his study of the man and his movements.

      Marius raised his hands again to be heard over the lively soldiers.

      ‘Marcus and Fulvio will fight the first bout. No time limits, but a round ends when one man has a knee or more on the ground. When one is unable to rise, the bout is over and the other will begin. Come to your marks.’

      Fulvio and Marcus came to stand on either side of the general.

      ‘When the horn is blown, you begin. Good luck.’

      Marius walked sedately to the sidelines with the men and signalled to one