Read Online Man of God by Debra Diaz - Free Book Online Page A

city
probably knew Rome better than anyone!
    It was possible Valerius was living here now,
especially since he’d been seen in Rome twice recently. The city
was as good a place as anywhere else in the Empire to hide,
considering its huge populace. The army could not be trusted to
find him, unless Caligula offered a hefty reward. Valerius’ own men
had respected him, and many of them probably wouldn’t report it
even if they did see him. Even the Praetorian Guard (that
elite unit of the army that thought entirely too much of itself!)
would hesitate to turn Valerius over to Caligula.
    Livias considered that he might be better off
concentrating his search on the woman. Beauty stood out from the
crowd, attracted attention…unless she kept herself covered all the time. No doubt they were both living under assumed
names.
    Well, it wasn’t much to go on…but he’d
started out with less, and been successful.
    * * *
    Flavius, friend to Paulus Valerius, a
believer, and centurion in the Praetorian Guard, resigned himself
to one of Caligula’s “night flights” as Flavius called them, and
began tying his newly sharpened sword into place. His prowess as a
former gladiator had earned him his present position as a special
escort to the emperor. Not only had Caligula been impressed with
Flavius’ skill with the sword…he’d been envious of the gladiator’s
fame and popularity. Caligula took him out of the arena (and out of
the public eye), made him a Praetorian and assigned him as his
personal bodyguard. Flavius usually accompanied him everywhere,
which even the emperor’s private force of German guards was not
allowed to do.
    Fair haired and blue eyed, his once handsome
face had suffered much abuse…his nose bore a distinct bump where it
had been broken, and a vivid scar traced from the corner of his
right eye to his chin. Other scars from stab wounds, cuts,
punctures and even claw marks, covered his body. He wasn’t sorry to
leave the gladiatorial life behind, but he was very sorry to find
himself thus attached to the emperor. He had witnessed things too
shameful to even speak of, which he found especially upsetting
since Paulus had led him to become a follower of the Nazarene.
Thankfully, much of it was done behind closed doors; still, it took
little imagination to realize what was going on. He had, in the old
days, been guilty of similar things himself…women had literally
thrown themselves at him in the streets.
    His new wife, Susanna, was a nurse to
Caligula’s daughter, Julia Drusilla…named after the emperor’s
sister, Drusilla, with whom Caligula had shared a definitely
questionable relationship. (Caligula remained in a frenzy of
mourning for weeks when Drusilla died unexpectedly, and proclaimed
her a goddess.) Susanna and himself were, to his knowledge, the
only believers in the emperor’s household, and he often wished he
had the courage to tell others about the Nazarene, as it was
clearly his mission to do. Somehow his boldness in the arena was
not matched by his boldness as a messenger; he knew Caligula would
not approve of his beliefs, for he had already expressed jealousy
of the Nazarene and considered himself to be the Jews’
Messiah. Flavius had no wish to be tortured, and certainly didn’t
want to think of that happening to Susanna.
    He could, however, try to exemplify those
traits worthy of a believer. He knew the other soldiers thought him
odd, for he no longer swore or drank with them, or indulged in the
sexual escapades he once had. Someday, he told himself, he would
take a stand…someday he would begin sharing his faith as Paulus
did. In the meantime, it was advantageous to be in the position he
now held. He had heard and witnessed things that made it imperative
for him to communicate with Paulus as swiftly as possible.
    In fact, he had heard everything the emperor
told Petronius. He had listened to conversations between Caligula
and his uncle, Claudius. He’d even been the unwilling recipient