Page 6 of House of Serpents and Slaves

As we ate, the slaves chatted and laughed, but there was an underlying tension as the battle drew nearer. The gladiators finished eating and left the room to ready themselves. Some of the slaves left too, assigned to help them get their armour on. I rushed through the rest of my meal, keen to watch. I had finished my chores for the day, although I would need to be available after the fight in case any gladiator requested my company.

After the fight, the men would often need to find ways to calm themselves, and the majority would take a slave to their beds. I had been going since I became a woman at fifteen storms. I had been later than most, but Drusus had patiently waited, his position as my owner meaning he would be the one to introduce me to carnal activities. From what I'd heard from other slaves, Drusus had been kinder than most, though he’d got rougher as I got older. Sadly, I seemed to be one of his favourites, but I had soon worked out that if you acted keen, most men could be kind, though there were always exceptions.

Clearing my plate, I headed out of the eating area, but instead of heading straight to the arena, I made my way back to my quarters. I shared a room with four other female slaves, but there was no one there as I reached the room. They must have already got ready for the fight.

Working fast, I removed my tunic and slipped behind the curtain in the corner of the room, using the water basin and a rag to clean my body quickly. As one of the higher ranking slaves, I had the privilege of owning two tunics, and I pulled the cleaner one over my head, smoothing it down.

I pulled the wooden pins out of my dark hair, letting it fall to my shoulders. I brushed it through, wishing I had some of the scented oil my mother had often used to brush through her hair. Instead, a simple brush through would have to do. I pinned my hair back up again into a bun at the nape of my neck, but pulled a couple of locks of hair down to frame my face.

A roar came from the arena and my head snapped up. They were starting. Not wanting to miss any of the fight, I quickly did up my sandals and ran out of the room. I made my way to the bottom of the stands underneath the crowd above, squeezing past the animal handlers to where a few of the slaves were standing to watch. I looked out into the arena and my heart raced from the energy in the arena – the electric hum in the air before the storm of violence.

My friend Octavia turned as I reached her side. Another imperial slave, she had been sold when her father had run up debts he couldn't pay. She'd been seventeen storms when she'd arrived at the arena, only a month after I had, and she'd taken one look at me and stubbornly decided we were going to be friends. I hadn't had much choice in the matter and we'd been inseparable ever since.

"You took your time," she said. "I thought you weren't going to bother tonight."

I grinned at her. "When do I ever miss a battle, Tavi?"

"Well, there's always a first time.”

“Never going to happen. What animals have we got tonight?"

"Oh, no animals," said Tavi, her dark eyes sparkling with excitement. "Haven't you heard? Drusus got another arena to bring more gladiators to the town for ours to fight. He promised them a big reward if they can best ours."

"No wonder the crowd is so riled up," I said, peering over the wooden divide to try and catch a glimpse of these strangers. "Ifthere's going to be human blood spilled. Who's fighting? Do you know?"

Tavi closed her eyes, trying to remember. "Marcus, Septimus, Antonius, Vaius, Andus, Lucius, Tarsus and... Cato."

I grunted at the last name, secretly offering up a prayer to the gods that tonight was the night Cato met a messy end. I said as much to Tavi, and she quietly agreed. None of the slaves liked Cato. He did some of the training, and he was a bully. Around the slaves he liked to swagger and throw his weight around, always reminding us that we were worthless and that he was a great fighter.

"He is good though," she murmured. "Even Marcus says he's one of the best."

"Mmm..." I said, glancing over to the enclosure where our gladiators were getting ready to fight. I watched as a slave helped Cato on with his helmet.

"He is very good..."

"But?" asked Tavi.

"But he's... predictable. He used the same patterns and techniques over and over again. It's so easy to see what he's going to do next, and he doesn't adapt well."

Tavi nodded. "I see what you mean," she said.

A roar went up and I looked out to see Drusus striding out into the arena. He held up his hands and the crowd quieted.

"Veredus!" Drusus bellowed. "Tonight our fine warriors face a threat greater than ever before. Tonight I give you... the killers of Hikma!"

The trumpets blared and the opposing gladiators strode out into the arena and even I felt a jolt of excitement as I saw them. Their leathers were black and well used, and their skin colour ranged from light brown to almost black. Each face had been painted with the image of a skull - a threat of death that sent chills down my spine. The leader was a huge man that wouldpossibly equal the height of Antonius. He held his hands up, encouraging the crowd who roared their approval.

"Well, he knows how to play the game," commented Tavi.

"He does indeed," I said, watching him closely. The crowd was already in a frenzy, eager to see bloodshed. Our gladiators emerged from the gates, their armour glinting in the sunlight. Marcus was among them, his presence commanding respect. Antonius and Septimus followed behind, then the others.

The leader of the challengers did not recoil. He strode forward, holding his hand out. Marcus grasped his wrist, and he did the same to Marcus. It was supposed to be a symbol of good sportsmanship, something I'd always thought stupid considering they were about to try and kill each other.

"We will destroy you," said the challenger calmly.

Antonius stood at Marcus's side and he grinned.

"Will you? I must say, it's nice to see you girls dressed up for us. I apologise for not doing the same." He turned and shouted over his shoulder. "Quick lads, we forgot to put our makeup on too!"

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