The Gladiator

Aulus’s smile faded. “None, but—”

“Then let me be the judge.” He pointed to the three best men. “I’ll take them if you offer a decent price. Otherwise be on your way.”

“Seven hundred denarii each,” the trader said without a blink.

Caros laughed. “You are a swindler, Aulus. These slaves aren’t worth two hundred. You’ll have to do better.”

“Five hundred, then.”

“Two-fifty.”

“Four-fifty.”

“Two-sixty,” he said, enjoying the barter and the slave trader’s increasing dismay.

Aulus glanced at his wares, obviously weighing his costs. “Four hundred.”

Caros walked away. Several wagons ahead, he saw Gaius inspecting a pair of giraffes.

“Wait!” Aulus sounded pained. “You didn’t let me finish.”

With a glance over his shoulder, Caros raised a brow and waited for the price.

“Three-fifty.”

He sensed the other man’s defeat. “Two-seventy.”

“Three hundred,” Aulus said in disgust. “My final offer.”

“Done.” Caros returned to the beaten man and opened the pouch he held. Coins clinked into the trader’s outstretched palm as he counted out the correct sum.

While they waited for the new slaves to be released from the cage and led around to the barracks at the back of the house, Aulus counted the coins for a second time. Satisfied, he dumped them into his own drawstring pouch as they started back to the house’s side door.

“That’s only three men, Bone Grinder. You said you need four. If you won’t purchase the men or children I have on offer, would you consider a wench?”

“We have enough women to meet our needs.”

“I have one you could train for the ring,” the trader persisted. “The mob loves a woman who can draw blood. They’ll froth at the mouth when they learn she’s a Christian as well as a maiden. I can see it now—”

“How do you know she’s pure?” Caros interrupted, impatient. “Have you touched her?”

“Her uncle made the claim, and she’s remained unsullied while in my possession.”

“Her uncle?” A frown pinched Caros’s brows. “Her own kin sold her?”

The slave trader shrugged. “It happens often.”

“Were they starving?”

“Far from it. On a better day, I imagine the old man is quite rich.”

“How can you believe a swine who would sell his own family?” Caros asked, the question tinged with disgust.

“He swore it by the gods.”

“And why should I believe you?”

Aulus laughed. “Do you think I would lie to you when you could crush me like an acorn? Besides, why would I allow anyone to touch her and ruin a chance for greater profits?”

“Because you’re a swindler.”

Aulus didn’t deny the charge. A grin spread across his lips. He stopped beside an open wagon where three piteous women sat chained to the sideboards. He lifted his torch, pointing to a fourth female stretched out on the floor.

Caros’s gaze flicked over the sleeping girl. Purple bruises marred her small face. Long dark hair fanned out around her head, shining in the torchlight. “You intend to pawn this child off as a woman I can train for the ring?”

“I assure you she’s no child.”

“Why was she beaten? I’ve no need for a troublesome wench.”

“My scout said she disagreed with her uncle’s plans to sell her and the fellow disciplined her for it.”

“When?”

“Earlier this morning.”

“She hasn’t woken?”

“Once, not long after midday.” Aulus waved a fly from the tip of his nose. “She’ll come to, but there’s a nasty bump on the back of her head.”

Intent on the girl, Caros’s heart beat with an unfamiliar pang of compassion. Having been the recipient of the emotion so little himself, he’d almost forgotten it existed.

“I planned to sell her to a brothel, but since she’s a Christian, I’m weighing my options.” A wicked gleam sparked in the trader’s eyes. “I was told the authorities will pay…three thousand denarii for such criminals.”

His eyes narrowed on the slave trader. The claim wasn’t true. The authorities might send her to the arena if she didn’t deny her illegal sect, but they wouldn’t pay for the privilege. He knew what the other man was up to. Aulus thought he had designs on the girl’s virtue and would pay any price to have her. “I’ll give you fifteen hundred for her.”

Aulus laughed. “Oh, no, you won’t cheat me this time. I’ll take three thousand, nothing less.”

“I cheat you? It will cost me a fortune to fatten up those wretches you sold me. Fifteen hundred is an expected price for any female slave.”

“Ha! This isn’t just any female. Virtue is rare these days. Three thousand, nothing less.”

“Seventeen hundred.”

“Three thousand is my final offer, Bone Grinder. Take it or leave it, it matters not to me. I’ll have my profit from you or the authorities. Either way, she’ll end up in the ring.”

The girl moaned, drawing a concerned glance from Caros. A voice in his head warned him not to let her go. “You know the authorities will pay you nothing.”

“Perhaps.” A triumphant smile tugged at the trader’s lips as though he sensed Caros weakening. “If they won’t, a brothel will. There are few uses for a woman, but something tells me I’m bound to make a profit off this one.”