Read Online The Last Disciple by Sigmund Brouwer - Free Book Online

the screaming of the mobs . . . well, it frightens them so badly some just lay down.”
    He grimaced. It formed an ugly mask across his face. “And if the lions are afraid of the Christians, that will be catastrophic. I have senators to entertain, you know.” He lowered his voice. “Who is that man in there, the one talking with you?”
    “My brother,” Leah whispered.
    “Well then, this is where you can help. Talk to those people. They won’t listen to me. All they do is speak of a resurrection and sing hymns, like tomorrow’s carnage is going to be a great celebration for them. Tell them what I have to propose, and I’ll make sure that your brother is spared along with the children.”
    “Spared!”
    “He’ll have to be sold as a slave, of course. But isn’t that much better than facing the lions?”
    She nodded.
    “Then listen to this,” he began. And he told her what he wanted.

    Nearby in Rome, Helius faced Leah’s older brother Caleb in an opulent room in the center of the imperial palace, with an array of torches and expensive lamps giving ample light.
    “My brother Nathan faces the lions tomorrow,” Caleb said.
    “I’m sure he deserves it,” Helius said. “The empire dispenses justice without prejudice.”
    Helius sat in a large chair. No guards. No slaves. This needed to be a private conversation. But it would have been nice to have slaves fanning the air nearby; although it was evening, the air had not yet cooled enough to be comfortable.
    As Helius regarded the handsome, black-haired, young Jew in front of him, he thought with regretful tenderness that it was a pity such a fine specimen would have to die.
    “Nathan was arrested because someone reported to the authorities that he is a Christian,” Caleb said. “A man named Vitas spent a great deal of time interrogating him.”
    Helius made a waving motion as if impatient. In the last months, Vitas had interrogated more than a few Christians, trying to learn if they were the threat to the empire that Nero decreed. Helius had been part of the interrogation of Nathan, as Vitas tried to prove the Christian beliefs were not treasonous.
    “As I said,” Helius answered, pretending not to be familiar with Nathan, “your brother deserves his fate. Nero has made it very clear that the Christians are a treasonous group. What does that have to do with this letter?”
    Helius held up the scroll marked with the three-letter Greek word that Christians had been placing across the city in public places.
    “It was the only way I could think of to get an audience with Nero.”
    “I serve in Nero’s stead,” Helius said. “Why did you want this audience?”
    “I love my brother,” Caleb said simply.
    “How touching.”
    “My father is a famed Jew named Hezron,” Caleb continued. “A man considered to be the greatest rabbi among the Jews in Rome. An excellent scholar and a wise old man with years of experience in debate. I have followed closely in his footsteps, and many feel I am already close to an equal in learnedness.”
    “Delightful.”
    “I do not say this to boast but to let you know that I can deliver on my promise. And that my reputation will have credibility in circles that matter.”
    “I haven’t heard your promise.”
    “First,” Caleb said, “I want your word that if I am successful, you will release my brother from the arena.”
    “Of course,” Helius lied smoothly. “But that’s assuming what you have to give in exchange is worthwhile.”
    “You have the material from the archives,” Caleb answered, “and you know how damaging it could be to Nero.”
    Helius shrugged.
    Caleb smiled with confidence. “A wealthy merchant knows a simple fact. If there is no apparent need for a good, create that need. Then the sales of it will be easy. I found what I did in the archives to create that need. That in itself should show you I am an excellent scholar.”
    “I fear nothing from the archives.”
    “Then why am I still