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Authors: Humphry Knipe
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Euodus, I thought of Basilicus and I thought of the Alexandrian scholar I’d watched die on the cross. Agrippina wanted me to copy her star diary, I was almost certain of that. What if I’d misread her? Why would she want an enemy to know her future when she wanted no one except for Balbillus to know mine?
I forced myself not to hurry to my cubicle. Once there I closed the door, listened for passers bye, unrolled the star diary. At the top of the scroll was a spoked wheel on which planetary symbols were inscribed: Agrippina's horoscope. I dried the sweat off my hands and made a tracing of her wheel. The diary itself, covering the month past and the one to come, extended over almost half a scroll of densely packed writing. The terminology was cryptic, there wasn't a sentence in three that I could make any sense of, but within fifteen minutes I had it all down in shorthand. Then I locked the original away with the rest of her documents and placed the key under my pillow. Perhaps I shouldn’t have, because I was hounded by dreadful nightmares.
The next day during the siesta I met Basilicus the Syrian outside the temple of Mercury on the Aventine. Once again I went without guards, and once again I was sure I was being watched.
"Well?" he said.
I nodded.
"All of it?"
"Yes."
"Excellent! Let's go."
"Where to?"
"You'll find out soon enough."
He set off briskly up the hill in the direction of the temple of Diana and rang the bell of a grand mansion with spectacular views both north and south.
"Your patron?" I asked.
He waited until the gatekeeper admitted us. "Yes."
Except for a fine gilded bronze of Caligula, the statues in the atrium were unfamiliar to me. We were shown into a library, two walls of which were covered with books which looked as if they'd never been touched. In a niche on the third wall, however, stood the lion-headed statue of Chronos wrapped in his snake. The shelves on this wall were stuffed with astrological titles that one could tell, from their worn wrappers, had been well thumbed.
There was the light tap of sandals on marble. Basilicus cleared his throat deferentially. Moving as smoothly as a river, a woman entered, jeweled hair piled high, pride riding on the angle of her chin. It was Lollia Paulina, the ex-empress who'd congratulated Agrippina on choosing me by my stars.
She arched an eyebrow in inquiry. "You have something for me?"
I handed her the scrolls.
She unrolled them impatiently. Her gasp of pleasure was almost sexual. "Her horoscope! Are certain your copy is completely accurate?"
"Yes domina. It's a tracing."
"Good. What about the diary itself?"
"Every word is there and in its right place. I transcribed it from my own shorthand."
Lollia Paulina examined the horoscope. Again that passionate intake of breath. Her upper lip rose to unveil the pearls which capped two of her smaller front teeth. "So that's her birth time! Well done, Epaphroditus."
My thoughts flew. Lollia's appearance on the scene meant that my introduction to her had been the starting point of the plot to steal Agrippina's star diary. Barely an afternoon had elapsed between Agrippina's assurance that I was the soul of discretion and Basilicus's appearance. For some incomprehensible reason Agrippina wanted her rival to have a list of her unlucky days.
Now that Lollia had that list she didn't need me, I realized that. In fact my continued existence was an inconvenience. If I was going to be of further use to Agrippina I had to survive. When the time for explanations came, I was sure she would understand that.
"Thank you domina,” I said when Basilicus handed me a heavy bag of coins, “although I'm sure that I can do even better. Balbillus, the emperor's astrologer, has an office in the palace. I happen to know that he's not as careful about keeping his documents secure as he should be."
Lollia examined me thoughtfully. It looked as if she was changing her mind about something.
Three days
I forced myself not to hurry to my cubicle. Once there I closed the door, listened for passers bye, unrolled the star diary. At the top of the scroll was a spoked wheel on which planetary symbols were inscribed: Agrippina's horoscope. I dried the sweat off my hands and made a tracing of her wheel. The diary itself, covering the month past and the one to come, extended over almost half a scroll of densely packed writing. The terminology was cryptic, there wasn't a sentence in three that I could make any sense of, but within fifteen minutes I had it all down in shorthand. Then I locked the original away with the rest of her documents and placed the key under my pillow. Perhaps I shouldn’t have, because I was hounded by dreadful nightmares.
The next day during the siesta I met Basilicus the Syrian outside the temple of Mercury on the Aventine. Once again I went without guards, and once again I was sure I was being watched.
"Well?" he said.
I nodded.
"All of it?"
"Yes."
"Excellent! Let's go."
"Where to?"
"You'll find out soon enough."
He set off briskly up the hill in the direction of the temple of Diana and rang the bell of a grand mansion with spectacular views both north and south.
"Your patron?" I asked.
He waited until the gatekeeper admitted us. "Yes."
Except for a fine gilded bronze of Caligula, the statues in the atrium were unfamiliar to me. We were shown into a library, two walls of which were covered with books which looked as if they'd never been touched. In a niche on the third wall, however, stood the lion-headed statue of Chronos wrapped in his snake. The shelves on this wall were stuffed with astrological titles that one could tell, from their worn wrappers, had been well thumbed.
There was the light tap of sandals on marble. Basilicus cleared his throat deferentially. Moving as smoothly as a river, a woman entered, jeweled hair piled high, pride riding on the angle of her chin. It was Lollia Paulina, the ex-empress who'd congratulated Agrippina on choosing me by my stars.
She arched an eyebrow in inquiry. "You have something for me?"
I handed her the scrolls.
She unrolled them impatiently. Her gasp of pleasure was almost sexual. "Her horoscope! Are certain your copy is completely accurate?"
"Yes domina. It's a tracing."
"Good. What about the diary itself?"
"Every word is there and in its right place. I transcribed it from my own shorthand."
Lollia Paulina examined the horoscope. Again that passionate intake of breath. Her upper lip rose to unveil the pearls which capped two of her smaller front teeth. "So that's her birth time! Well done, Epaphroditus."
My thoughts flew. Lollia's appearance on the scene meant that my introduction to her had been the starting point of the plot to steal Agrippina's star diary. Barely an afternoon had elapsed between Agrippina's assurance that I was the soul of discretion and Basilicus's appearance. For some incomprehensible reason Agrippina wanted her rival to have a list of her unlucky days.
Now that Lollia had that list she didn't need me, I realized that. In fact my continued existence was an inconvenience. If I was going to be of further use to Agrippina I had to survive. When the time for explanations came, I was sure she would understand that.
"Thank you domina,” I said when Basilicus handed me a heavy bag of coins, “although I'm sure that I can do even better. Balbillus, the emperor's astrologer, has an office in the palace. I happen to know that he's not as careful about keeping his documents secure as he should be."
Lollia examined me thoughtfully. It looked as if she was changing her mind about something.
Three days
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