Four Horses For Tishtry Read online

  “You aren’t eating properly,” Himic chided her the morning the new chariot arrived. “I’ve been watching you, and you have not finished one meal since the contract for these Games was signed.”

  “With a lighter chariot, I should be lighter as well,” she said shortly.

  “Nonsense. You need all the strength you can get to be able to hold that thing without tipping it over.” Himic stuck his thumbs through his belt. “You better tell me what it is, or you’ll be in pieces long before you enter the arena for the contest.”

  Calpurnius had not told Tishtry to keep silent, but she was reluctant to tell Himic, for fear that gossip would make the contest even more hazardous than it already was. She hesitated, trying to think of a way to account for her nerves that would not entail discussing their owner. “I have never been challenged this way before, and I’m troubled by it.”

  “You weren’t earlier,” Himic said, doubt in his expression and his voice.

  “The contract had not been signed,” she said.

  “You’ve never turned edgy with previous contracts,” he said, more skeptically than before.

  “They weren’t on such a scale as this one,” she said, getting up from her place on the tack room bench. “This is a very major contest, not simply a demonstration of what I can do with my team and the gear my sister made for me.” As she said that, she missed Macon so fiercely that she thought she might cry.

  “Sorry, girl, but it’s not good enough. Something has spooked you and you’re acting as if the fate of the Empire is at stake in your contest.” He must have seen some change in her, for he took her by the shoulder. “What is it? What has happened to you? Were you threatened?”

  “Not ... that way,” she said slowly. “Not the way you mean.”

  “I don’t mean any way,” Himic insisted. “I don’t care who threatened you, or what the threat was, you tell our master about it, and he’ll be sure that something is done—” He stopped. “Oh. Calpurnius threatened, did he?”

  “I didn’t say that!” Tishtry protested, trying to get away from the old charioteer.

  “You didn’t have to,” Himic said reasonably, shoving her back down onto the bench. “What’s he done, gone and bet his last denarius on the contest?” He nodded when Tishtry said nothing. “He never learns. It was gambling that got him sent here, and he’s still at it.” He sat on the bench beside her. “What does he expect you to do?”

  “To win,” Tishtry said miserably.

  “Well, that’s understandable. I expect it of you, as well.” He put his arm around her shoulder. “What are the stakes?”

  “He says everything—his fortune, the fortune of his House—and it must be a clear victory. Then he will give me money and sell me well and he will be out of danger.” She hung her head. “He said that I could free his family as well as my own.”

  Himic shook his head sadly. “You must do the best you can. You always do that. But for the rest, no matter what you do, I think that Calpurnius intends to sell you after the Games. He will make as much money as he can, and that is where he stands to gain the most, not through betting. For one thing, he doesn’t have that much money anymore. Oh, he has this villa and his slaves and a few other things, but he is not as rich as he pretends to be, and his greatest asset is the four arena slaves he owns.”

  “What will happen, then? Will he give me money for winning so I can buy my family’s freedom, or was that ...” She could not bring herself to accuse her master of lying, though it was precisely what she thought.

  “If you win, he will undoubtedly give you something, but don’t expect it to be much.” He paused, considering what more he ought to say. “You’ve got to understand that Calpurnius has a reputation for finding very promising youngsters.”

  “Like me?” she asked with a bitterness that was more surprising to her than to Himic.

  “Yes. You’re one of the best, because you came here with more experience than most bestiarii your age have, and you are able to do things the others cannot, and will probably never be able to do.” He paused, so that she would have a chance to ask him questions if that was what she wanted to do, but she remained silent. “There is another side to this that you haven’t considered yet, girl.”

  “What’s that?” she muttered.

  “Calpurnius does have a reputation, as I have told you. Which means that there are many who respect his judgment and who will come to see what new treasure he has found. It means that you could be sold to your advantage as much as to Calpurnius’. You have said you want to perform in Roma—little though you may believe it now, you may get that chance through this contest coming up. And do not permit Calpurnius to burden you as he has. I will speak to him myself, but if he tries to bludgeon you again with so much responsibility, then you must tell him that you do not perform well when you are greatly worried. That will make him stop at once.”

  In spite of her mood, Tishtry let a watery chuckle escape her. “He wouldn’t like that, would he?”

  “Not at all.” He got to his feet. “Another thing: if he tries to find reasons to punish you, or threatens you with retribution for losing, remind him that the magistrates would levy a fine on him for abuse of a willing slave. That will also make him stop and think.”

  Tishtry looked up at him. “Would the magistrates truly do that?”

  “Yes. Calpurnius has done it before, and there are those who would testify that you are honorable in competition. Don’t forget, girl, that the Romans had a slave rebellion not so long ago, and they do not want another one. They know that slaves who do not have to suffer abuse are not as likely to rebel, and that slaves with recourse to law will not resort to violence.” He held out his hand to Tishtry. “Come on, girl. We’d better go have a look at your horses’ hooves.”

  Tishtry accepted his hand, her mind less troubled now. “All right. And I want to get some more of that paste with wool fat and ground seaweed. We had best take extra care of the team just now; if we’re going to win, they must stay in perfect shape.”

  TWO DAYS before the race, Himic found an unfamiliar slave attempting to get into the stables where Calpurnius’ slaves kept their teams. He claimed that he had been sent to deliver new traces, but Tishtry said she had not ordered and did not want new traces. The slave was sent away with a warning, but Himic would not let the matter rest.

  “There is a great deal of money being bet, and you are the one who should be most careful.” He gave Tishtry a long, hard look. “We’re going to need guards. We should have had them before now, but Calpurnius has not wanted to spend the money for them. Once I tell him about this incident, however—”

  “What incident?” Tishtry asked. “The man was probably nothing more than a spy for Valericus.”

  “And if he were, what then?” Himic inquired. “Suppose he had carried a little knife, the kind that you might use to trim a hoof. It can also cut a tendon or lame a foot.” He looked at the other grooms gathered at the entrance to the stable. “From now on, you must all be very careful, or it may go badly for all of us. It need not be anything so obvious as poison. A horse might be given extra salt, and then provided water. You know how badly a horse would run who had three extra pails of water inside him weighing him down. Just one horse in a team with such a problem would mean that all would run badly. Keep watch on the feed for the horses. In fact, Tishtry, you had better be the one to feed them. She is the only one to be allowed to feed her horses,” Himic said to the grooms. “No one else. That includes any of you, and me, and our master, for that matter.”

  Tishtry listened, her mind on the coming contest. She felt that Himic was too cautious, but she also knew that it was better to be too cautious now than to regret a lack of caution later. She looked over the other grooms. “I think,” she said when there was a break in Himic’s instructions, “it would be best if I take care of cleaning t
he stalls and putting down the bedding straw, as well. The horses will like it and nothing will get into their stalls that should not.”

  “If you want to muck out your team’s stalls, who are we to object?” one old groom called out, and the others laughed.

  Himic quieted them with a gesture of his raised hands. “Tomorrow an old friend of mine is coming, and I will ask him if he has any suggestions. He has much experience of the Games, and he might know some things we should watch for.” He waited a moment, then added, “There should be a guard on her chariot and tack every hour of the day and night.”

  “Isn’t that a bit extreme?” Tishtry asked.

  “No,” Himic replied, and two of the grooms nodded in agreement. “In Roma, when a contest of this importance is approaching, they use officers of the Watch to guard the animals and the contestants, so that there can be no accusations later of sabotage.”

  Tishtry’s smile showed her disbelief. “That’s ridiculous,” she told Himic, and looked to the grooms to agree with her.

  “It’s not,” Himic said very seriously. “With as much money as this contest has involved with it, there are many who will do their best to influence the outcome one way or another.” He looked at the grooms now. “We must be very careful, all of us. And if anyone of you is found being lax, or taking bribes, Calpurnius will give you to the Emperor and you will spend your life sweating in the sandstone quarries in Egypt, or at the oar of a trireme. Betrayal of a master is a serious offense.” Now he folded his arms, his attitude more severe than ever. “This is more serious than you know. When so much money is at risk, slaves must guard themselves.”

  One of the grooms looked up at the ceiling. “Slaves might also add to their riches.”

  “If you believe that, you will bring your own ruin, and the ruin of all of us. If you doubt that, speak to Caldos, the blind beggar by the Temple of Mars. Ask him how he came to be there.” Himic turned to Tishtry. “Tishtry, it is not right that you should not be protected as you ought to be, but since our master will do nothing, it is up to the rest of us to guard you.”

  “Guard me?” Tishtry laughed nervously, feeling genuinely frightened for the first time since Himic had started talking. “I don’t think it’s necessary to go so far. I’m careful and you’re sensible.”

  “It may be that you won’t need a guard, but if it is, we must be prepared.” Plainly there was no changing his mind.

  Another of the grooms stepped forward. “A man came to me yesterday, and said that he wanted to look at Tishtry’s team. He said he wanted to see her horses up close before making his bets. He offered me money to see them.”

  Himic stiffened, and Tishtry could feel her features become fixed. It was Himic who spoke first. “What did you do?”

  Tishtry held her breath, then made herself speak. “Yes. What did you do?”

  “I said that he would have to talk to you, Himic. I said that I was not allowed into the stables where the racing horses are kept. But Himic, it was so much money.” He paused again, then went on, still speaking with formality because of the seriousness of their discussion. “I might have done it, if he had offered me less, but that much money, just to look at horses, hardly seemed reasonable. I did not want to take so much.”

  The youngest groom laughed harshly. “Take the money. What is it to us if they want to gamble it away?”

  Himic rounded on the young groom. “And what if the man had given her horses poison, or hurt them? What if he had dropped a deadly serpent in the stalls, or put scorpions in their bedding? Do not think that is unlikely, for I have seen that and much worse done in the years when I still rode in the arena. Do not forget what these rivalries mean to the crowd, and to the men who own arena slaves.” He looked at the men and then gave his attention to Tishtry once more. “I must tell Calpurnius about this. But you will not have to keep watch over your team unaided. I have a friend coming to observe the contest, and he will help you.”

  “Another former charioteer?” Tishtry asked suspiciously.

  “Yes. His name is Lykos and he is eager to see you perform.” That was all Himic was willing to say in front of the other grooms. He took Tishtry by the elbow and pulled her aside. “I must speak to these men in private, so that they will not be embarrassed to speak their minds. They are jealous of you, many of them, and what greed will not prompt them to do, spite could. I will have to determine that for myself, and I cannot do that while you are here.”

  “Why would they be spiteful?” Tishtry asked, amazed at the suggestion.

  “You have accomplished more than they have, more than most of them ever could. You may well live to be free and to buy the freedom of your family, and some of those men envy you your opportunities. Some do not approve of what you do because among their peoples, women do not excel at the Games. Some dislike Armenians. There are many factors in jealousy, girl.”

  “And you?” Tishtry asked. “Are you jealous?”

  “No, not very much. I have been in the arena, and I have heard the crowd roar my name. Unlike you, I have no family, and it has been easier to remain a slave than to buy the uncertainties of freedom. The law requires that our master care for me and provide a reasonable life, and a place to live when I am too old and too lame to work anymore. I haven’t your courage, and there are times I wish I did.” He smiled sadly. “Go on. I have to tend to my duties here and you need to have time to think.”

  “Yes,” she said quietly, and wandered off toward the grape arbor while Himic went back to speak to the grooms.

  * * *

  Lykos was tall and thin; his dalmatica was made of embroidered linen and his caligulae were of red leather and laced halfway up his legs. His hair had receded, leaving him with a curly white fringe around the shine of his pate. “It is good to meet you, girl,” he said when Himic brought him across the practice arena to her side. “You handle your team like a veteran.”

  Tishtry bristled. “l am a veteran. I have been riding for more than ten years.”

  “And you are about fifteen,” Lykos stated, not needing her to confirm this. “A very long time. But I have seen men twice your age who have been in the arena for twenty years who still cannot use their teams as well as you use yours.” He had a way of smiling with his eyes that Tishtry liked. “So these are your horses. Why do you keep that lame sorrel in the ring with the others?”

  “I have had Dozei from the first. The team is used to him.” She pointed out the others. “Neronis and Tehouti are new. The others I chose when my first master sent me to my first performances.”

  “Very good.” He glanced at Himic. “You have not exaggerated, my old friend. What this girl can do is remarkable.”

  Over the years, Tishtry had come to hate being talked about as if she were not present. “I thank you,” she snapped.

  “No, no, girl,” Lykos said at once. “Do not be offended. I had a discussion with Himic earlier today, and I had told him I reserved judgment until I saw for myself.”

  “Well, you haven’t seen for yourself, not yet,” Tishtry countered, not the least mollified. “You have only seen my team on the lunge, and you have no idea what I can do with them.”

  “On the contrary,” Lykos said politely. “I do not have to see you do your stunts to know that you will do them well. That is obvious from the way you handle your team. Surely you are able to determine if a man is good on a horse simply by the way he walks up to one.”

  “Yes,” she admitted grudgingly.

  “Then assume I can tell you know your craft by the way you work your horses on the lunge.” He stepped back. “Tomorrow is the demonstration race. I am very much looking forward to it.”

  “So am I,” Tishtry said, feeling her excitement mounting as she spoke the words. Only the uncertainty of her future kept her from grinning with anticipation. “That Greek will have to have his team in better order
than it has ever been if he intends to best me.”

  “Don’t boast that way, girl; you tempt the gods,” Himic warned her.

  “The gods will do as they wish. I am more concerned about the things that men will be tempted to do.” She put her hands on her hips. “Tonight, I will want another man to keep guard with me. I must sleep, and even if I sleep in the stables, there must be another to guard my horses.”

  Himic sighed. “I will be there for half the night.” He turned to Lykos. “It is as you suspected—there are those who are trying to improve their odds.”

  “At Ancona we can order soldiers, of course, but here, Calpurnius would have to ask the garrison to loan you a few soldiers. There should be a better way. I have brought three men with me. They are trustworthy and they will not be bribed or battled.” He looked at Tishtry. “Will you accept the loan of my men? They are used to guarding teams for the arena, and they will be as careful with your horses as they are with the best in the world.”

  For the first time, Tishtry wondered who this richly dressed slave was. “What men do you bring with you?”

  “They work for me, and they do this duty regularly in our own arena.” He gestured to Himic. “You have not told her?”

  Himic shrugged. “Lykos is the Master of the Bestiarii at the Ancona amphitheater.”

  Tishtry stared. “The Master of the Bestiarii?” Lykos was a very powerful man, and his amphitheater was one of the most important in the Empire outside of Roma itself. “And you came here to see this contest?”