Page 64 of Enslaved
A tiny black lamb came gamboling up to Diana. Its baby horns had been gilded and it wore a garland of flowers about its neck. “Oh, the dear little thing,” she said, reaching out her hands to cradle the adorable baby.
Before she knew what he was about, Petrius ripped open its belly with his knife and filled her hands with the lamb’s entrails while they still pulsed with life.
Diana felt herself going down in a faint, and suddenly she knew that Petrius was about to ravish her.
Chapter 19
Diana did not dare to faint. She hung on to consciousness like a drowning woman would cling to straw. She threw the lamb’s bloody entrails into his face, but rather than repel him, blood excited Petrius. He was on top of her in a flash, ripping the silk tunic from her body.
In the end it was the leather pants that saved her. In his struggles to tear them from her, she got her booted foot between his legs and kicked him sharply. Petrius went down, much as the bull had done when stunned by the hammer. The only difference was that Petrius howled in agony.
Diana was up and running immediately. She did not hesitate for one second, not even to look over her shoulder. She was almost crippled by a stitch in her side, and her lungs felt as if they were on fire by the time she reached the guardhouse. The blood of the lamb had been absorbed by her scarlet mantle and so the legionaries at the gate saw only that she was in a great hurry to leave.
Diana was in the saddle before Tor could help her mount.
“Is aught amiss, lady?” he asked in a worried voice.
“Just get me home,” she said.
He saw that she was unwilling or unable to speak further and assumed that the general had ordered her back to the villa.
When she arrived, Diana went directly to the bath suite to bathe. Kell, seeing her agitation, sent Sylla in to her. The slave found Diana vomiting down the latrine. Diana battled and put on a cream-colored robe made of fine wool, then she climbed the staircase and went directly to her own chamber. She put the heavy wooden bar across the door to assure her privacy and began to pace about in distress.
Diana frantically pushed away all thoughts of what had happened in the temple. It was so disgustingly abhorrent, she couldn’t even bear to think of it. But the more she tried to make her mind go blank, the faster her thoughts crowded in on her. Finally, she sat down and relived every horrifying moment.
She would never forget the metallic smell of blood mingled with incense. The worst moment for her was not when Petrius tried to rape her, but when he slashed the innocent little lamb and inextricably involved her in the sick sacrifice. Her eyes flooded with tears and she began to cry softly.
Diana had no idea how long she cried, but when she looked from her window, darkness had fallen. She washed her face and felt better for having shed the cleansing tears. But underneath, a sadness had pervaded her consciousness that she could not dispel.
It was quite late when Marcus arrived home. He had been at the hospital all afternoon trying to cope with the inordinate number of wounded legionaries Paullinus had brought back to Aquae Sulis to recuperate. He knew that less than half of them would survive. At the end of the day his garments were soiled with blood and other foul matter, so he bathed at the fort before he went home.
Marcus thanked the gods that Diana awaited him. She could dispel the darklings more effectively than any wine or opiate he’d ever tried. He knew she was more than a lovely female body where he could lose himself. He savored her intelligence and her humor and something else, more difficult to define. She had a sweetness and innocence that was untainted and that made him feel as protective as he was possessive; possibly more protective.
When Diana was not in the atrium to greet him, he was disappointed. He told himself the hour was advanced. He hoped she had waited to dine with him, but he would understand if she had already eaten. Marcus did not go through to the bath as was his custom, but went straight to the triclinium. Only Kell was there to greet him. After a moment’s disappointment, his heart lifted. Diana was awaiting him upstairs. “Kell, have my dinner brought to my sleeping chamber.”
Marcus took the stairs three at a time. When he opened his door and found the chamber empty, his heart sank. Where in Hades was she? There were no slaves about; the hallways were deserted. Marcus strode along to the apricot chamber where Diana used to sleep. The door was closed. When he tried to open it, he found it barred.
“Diana, I’m home,” he called. He could not conceal the irritation he felt at having her door barred against him. When he received no answer, his irritation turned to anger. “Diana!” he said sharply.
“Go away,” she said quietly.
Go away? Am I hearing her correctly?
“Open this door!” he commanded. His anger was turning to fury.This is what I get for indulging her!When Marcus heard no movement inside the room, he realized incredibly that she was not going to open, as he’d commanded. In a blazing rage he set his shoulder to the door and crashed against it until the heavy bar on the inside splintered and fell away. The door swung open and Marcus stepped into the room, his black eyes blazing.
When he saw how quiet and pale she was, he knew there was something wrong. His heart constricted with fear as he rushed to her side and went down on one knee. “Are you ill?” His voice was ragged with emotion.
“I … I was sick, but I’m better now.”
For one split second his heart soared, thinking she was breeding, but then logic told him it was too soon. He reached out tenderly to take her hand.
Diana flinched from him. “Don’t touch me.”
“Don’t touch you?”He repeated her words in a tone so quietly ominous, it warned her that she was on very dangerous ground. Diana ignored the warning.
“There are too many differences between us,” she cried. “I hate Rome: I abhor everything it stands for! I detest Romans!”
“What maggot is eating your brain? Rome is the center of the world. It stands for excellence in government, learning, culture, and philosophy. And as for Romans, we are not like the ordinary masses, we are patricians! We are the most educated, civilized, courageous, and honorable men who have ever lived.”
