Simon Scarrow - Praetorian

PRAETORIAN

SIMON SCARROW

Copyright (c) 2011 Simon Scarrow

The right of Simon Scarrow to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.

First published as an Ebook by Headline Publishing Group in 2011

All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library

eISBN: 978 0 7553 5721 5

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Simon Scarrow worked as a lecturer before becoming a full-time writer. PRAETORIAN is his eleventh novel about Macro and Cato, heroes of the Roman army; all the earlier Roman novels, including the No. 1 bestsellers CENTURION and THE GLADIATOR, are available from Headline.

Simon Scarrow is also the author of a quartet of novels about the lives of the Duke of Wellington and Napoleon Bonaparte. YOUNG BLOODS, THE GENERALS, FIRE AND SWORD and THE FIELDS OF DEATH have been published to warm acclaim.

To find out more about Simon Scarrow and his novels, visit www.scarrow.co.uk .

The Roman Series

Under The Eagle

The Eagles Nest

When The Eagle Hunts

The Eagle And The Wolves

The Eagles Prey

The Eagles Prophecy

The Eagle In The Sand

Centurion

The Gladiator

The Legion

Praetorian

The Wellington and Napoleon Quartet

Young Bloods

The Generals

Fire And Sword

The Fields Of Death

For Carolyn

As ever, my first debt of gratitude is to my wife Carolyn who carefully checked through each completed chapter as the novel was written, and who puts up with me when I get totally absorbed in the tale.

In the Praetorian Guard

Tribune Balbus - in charge of the bullion convoy

Centurion Gaius Sinius - an ambitious back-stabber

Tribune Burrus - commander of the Third Cohort of Praetorians

Centurion Lurco - practically part-time commander of the Sixth Century of the Third Cohort

Optio Tigellinus - Lurcos frustrated subordinate

Guardsman Fuscius - a recent recruit who thinks hes a veteran

Prefect Geta - commander of the Praetorian Guard

At the Imperial Palace

Emperor Claudius - a fair ruler, though not always a coherent one

Empress Agrippina - his wife and niece, and mother of

Prince Nero - a pleasant boy with artistic ambitions

Prince Britannicus - the son of Claudius, clever but cold

Narcissus - imperial secretary and close adviser to Claudius

Pallas - another close adviser to the Emperor and Empress

Septimus - an agent of Narcissus

In Rome

Cestius - a vicious and ruthless leader of a crime gang

Vitellius - playboy son of a senator, and long-standing enemy of Macro and Cato

Julia Sempronia - the lovely daughter of Senator Sempronius

The Imperial Palace Complex

The Praetorian Camp

The Boarium

The Great Circus

The Warehouse District

The Subura Slum District

T he small convoy of covered wagons had been on the road for ten days when it crossed the frontier into the province of Cisalpine Gaul. The first snows had already fallen in the mountains to the north that towered above the route, their peaks gleaming brilliantly against the blue sky. The early winter had been kind to the men marching with the convoy and though the air was cold and crisp, there had been no rain since they had left the imperial mint in Narbonesis. A bitter frost had left the ground hard and easy going for the wheels of the heavily laden wagons.

The Praetorian tribune in command of the convoy was riding a short distance ahead and as the route crested a hill he turned his horse aside and reined in. Ahead the road stretched out in a long straight line, rippling over the landscape. The tribune had a clear view of the town of Picenum a few miles away where he was due to meet the mounted escort sent from the Praetorian Guard in Rome - the elite body of soldiers tasked with protecting Emperor Claudius and his family. The century of auxiliary troops that had escorted the four wagons on the road from Narbonensis would then march back to their barracks at the mint, leaving the Praetorians, under the command of the tribune, to protect the small convoy for the rest of the journey to the capital.

Tribune Balbus turned in his saddle to survey the convoy marching up the slope behind him. The auxiliaries were Germans, recruited from the tribe of the Cherusci, large, fierce-looking warriors with unkempt beards thrusting out between the cheek-guards of their helmets. Balbus had ordered them to keep their helmets on as they passed through the hills, as a precaution against any ambushes from the bands of brigands that preyed on unwary travellers. There was little chance that the brigands would risk an attack on the convoy, Balbus knew well enough. The real reason for his order was to cover up as much of the auxiliaries barbaric hair as possible to avoid alarming any civilians they passed. Much as he appreciated that the German auxiliaries could be trusted with guarding the mint, owing their loyalty directly to the Emperor, Balbus felt a very Roman contempt for these men recruited from the wild tribes beyond the Rhine.

Barbarians, he muttered to himself, with a shake of his head. He was used to the spit and polish of the Praetorian cohorts and had resented being ordered to Gaul to take charge of the latest shipment of silver coin from the imperial mint. After so many years of service as a guardsman, Balbus had very fixed ideas of how a soldier should appear and if he had been posted to a cohort of German auxiliaries, the very first thing he would have done would be to order them to shave off those wretched beards and look like proper soldiers.

Besides, he was missing the comforts of Rome.

Tribune Balbus was typical of his rank. He had joined the Praetorians and served in Rome, working his way up through the ranks, before taking a transfer to the Thirteenth Legion on the Danube and serving as a centurion for several more years and then applying to return to the Praetorian Guard. A few more years of steady service had led to his present appointment as tribune, in command of one of the nine cohorts of the Emperors personal bodyguard. In a few more years Balbus would retire with a handsome gratuity and take up an administrative post in some town in Italia. He had already set his sights on Pompeii where his younger brother owned a private bathhouse and gymnasium. The town was on the coast with fine views of the bay of Neapolis and had a decent set of theatres as well as a fine arena, surrounded by taverns selling cheap wine. There was even the prospect of an occasional brawl with men from the neighbouring town of Nuceria, he mused wistfully.