Read Online Spartacus: The Gladiator by Ben Kane - Free Book Online Page A

returned to Spartacus, appraising him. Then he glanced at Seuthes and Getas and gave a tiny snort of contempt. ‘No, Your Majesty. Only a fraction survive for more a year. The rest are soon defeated; wounded and humiliated in the arena, they are executed in front of a crowd baying for their blood. When it’s over, their bodies are dragged outside. Each corpse has its throat slit to make sure that none are playing dead, before being thrown on the communal refuse heap.’
    Ariadne could not help herself. A tiny gasp of horror left her lips.
    ‘You don’t like the idea of that, eh?’ asked Kotys, rounding on her like a striking snake.
    She said nothing, which told him everything he wanted to know.
    ‘Imagine Spartacus, and his friends,’ Kotys lingered over the words, ‘being in such an arena with thousands of Romans screaming for their deaths. Hundreds of miles from home, they would be totally alone. Abandoned to their fate. I cannot think of a worse death.’
    Nor can I, thought Ariadne, listening to the screams of Seuthes’ and Getas’ wives rend the air. You evil whoreson.
    Adrenalin coursed through Spartacus, and he opened his eyes. It might be fighting for the amusement of a mob of stinking Romans, but it sounds better than what Kotys has planned for me. He stole a glance at Seuthes and Getas and took heart. There wasn’t a trace of fear in their faces, just a cold, calculating rage.
    ‘How exactly are they executed?’ enquired Kotys lasciviously.
    ‘A variety of ways. In one of the most common, the loser has to kneel and lift up his chin to expose his throat. Then the winner of the fight stabs him like this.’ Phortis mimed the action of a sword entering the hollow at the base of his throat. ‘The blade slides down into the chest cavity, severing half a dozen major blood vessels. It kills instantaneously.’
    A quick, honourable death, thought Spartacus.
    The image described by Phortis and the blood in her mouth combined to make Ariadne feel faint. Swaying from side to side, she struggled to keep her balance.
    Kotys was delighted by the intensity of her distress. ‘What will you give me for these creatures?’ he demanded of Phortis.
    Dionysus, help Spartacus, Ariadne begged. A few angry shouts went up, but no one dared even to approach the king’s bodyguards. Her spirits fell into a deep abyss.
    ‘They don’t look up to much, Your Majesty,’ muttered Phortis, narrowing his eyes.
    ‘Looks often deceive,’ retorted Kotys. ‘Spartacus, the first one, has just returned from years of service with your legions, so he must have some skill. In his youth, he was one of the tribe’s best warriors. The others are tough men too, veterans of many campaigns.’
    ‘Really, Your Majesty?’ said Phortis in a disinterested voice.
    ‘Don’t fuck with me!’ Kotys’ face was purple with rage. ‘Remember that you and your men are only here by my grace. One click of my fingers and my warriors will carve new arseholes for you all.’ He glanced at the nearest bodyguards, who grinned and fingered their weapons.
    ‘Forgive me, Your Majesty,’ said Phortis quickly. ‘I meant no offence.’
    Kotys’ scowl eased a fraction. ‘Spartacus is the perfect type of material you’re after. So are his two friends.’
    ‘Indeed, Your Majesty,’ agreed Phortis. He cast a sly look at the king. ‘And the rest?’
    ‘They’re not for sale. Just these three.’
    To Ariadne’s surprise, a tiny ray of hope shone down into the pit of her despair. Could some good could be wrenched from this situation?
    ‘May I ask why?’
    ‘They were plotting to overthrow me.’
    Phortis didn’t look surprised. ‘What will you take for them, Your Majesty? A thousand pieces of silver?’
    ‘You’ve got balls, I’ll give you that! Do you really think that I’d give these lumps of dogshit away free?’
    ‘Of course not, Your Majesty,’ replied Phortis smoothly. ‘How does fifteen hundred sound?’
    ‘It’s two and a half thousand,