There was a moment in the night when Theo awoke and felt he was quite alone in this strange land. This huge sleeping room with the large opening to the outside had given him pause at first, but he understood, it allowed the air to flow around them. Long curtained partitions provided some privacy, but they billowed in the night air and the movement distracted him.

Daniel was close by, alone on his sleeping pallet, alone for the first time in a great while. The boy had said it was necessary and that sleeping together was no longer an option, in this house or any other. Theo understood even though the boy didn't explain his words. Daniel was afraid of being sexual with him because it would be unseemly for Luciano to discover them.

Theo might have said they were in love and lovers did things sexual, but he didn't. No, let Daniel change his life and become one of them, a Christian, a member of Luciano's family. The boy needed that stability, but Theo harbored no such feelings, he had the medallion.

His hand slid up to grasp the cool metal around his neck. Sometimes it felt cool, other times hot, signals he had yet to decipher. But it often felt alive and Theo knew that soon he would have to test those powers and fathom their depth.

Theo rolled out of bed and walked out onto the veranda. The moon was up so it wasn't that late. He could look down on part of the city from here, and it seemed alive. People were out on their roof tops, he could see the flicker of distant lanterns. Luciano said that when it became unbearably hot that people ate their meals on the roof, staying up quite late and sleeping away the heat of the day.

But the moon attracted his attention, it was almost full. The Ilex trees in the garden cast their shadows and moved in the breeze as if they were alive. Theo wanted to seek out a quiet forest grove to experiment with the medallion, but he knew nothing about the forests in the hills surrounding the city.

He heard a sound on the veranda and turned to look, it was only old Cassius. The man didn't see him and Theo didn't want to give him a scare. He grasped the medallion and faded from sight. Cassius walked the perimeter of the veranda as if he were on guard, old habits died hard Theo knew.

He slid back inside to his sleeping pallet and lay down once again. He had to sleep because tomorrow he would have to face Gaius and would need all his wits about him. Theo closed his eyes and was carried away as if in a trance.

The vision showed a gathering, men in white robes stood in a circle, surrounded by tall wooden posts set in the ground. The sound of their chanting reached his ears as he stood at the edge of the forest. His perspective changed as he slowly walked forward and watched the circle part to admit him.

One of the men stood forth, his face hidden beneath the hood of his robe. Theo watched as the man reached out and grasped his arms.

"My brother, welcome home," The shrouded figure said.

Theo clasped his arms and nodded. "I am with you in mind and body."

The men in the circle continued to chant, the words ancient and unknown to Theo, but the language seemed familiar in the dark recesses of his mind. The prayers of the Druids filled his body with warmth and Theo looked up into the eyes that peered out at him from under the hood. They were Amir's eyes, the pale blue unmistakable. Theo gasped and sat up in his bed.

Amir? Why had he dreamed about Amir? The boy was not a Druid, he probably had never heard of Druids or Britannia for that matter. The waterfall of words still echoed in his mind and he began to understand them. They spoke about refuge, strength, understanding, knowledge, and all that was right about love. The love of the gods, he imagined, or was it love for Amir?

The divine being in those Druid thoughts was not the Christian God, but the gods of earth and sky, of tree and bone, the rulers of all in nature. The maleness of the Christian God was a fiction of earth bound men who had no clue what the face of God looked like. But the Druids did, they knew God in all its forms, and some of them were feminine.

The Goddess ruled nature, her bounty and blessings were given offerings. But they prayed to God the divine without thought to his or her many forms. For was not the manifestation of God seen in the seasons, the changes that ruled their lives? They prayed for crops, for rain, for game, but they offered sacrifice to appease the gods that controlled it all.

Theo knew this much, as did all people from Britannia. Now he wondered what the people of Italia believed, was their Christian God all powerful and if so, how did they appease him? Gaius would be the source of this knowledge and tomorrow he would learn what he could.

The sun was up when Theo awoke to the sound of laughter, someone was tickling Daniel. He rose from the pallet and parted the curtains, the sight beyond made him smile. The dog, if one could call something that huge a dog, was licking Daniel's toes. The hound stood with paws braced on the bed and its short boney tail wagging for all it was worth.

Poor Cassius was holding on to the leather strap around the dog's neck, as if a man so frail could restrain such a beast. But the dog was having fun as was Daniel so Cassius had a smile on his face.

"Come, Dido…come away," Cassius commanded. The dog ignored him completely.

Daniel's laughter was only encouraging the animal so the boy rolled out of bed and onto the floor. Theo felt a hand on his shoulder and looked to find Luciano and Antonia enjoying the scene. Daniel scrambled to his feet and the dog sat back on its haunches and stared at him.

"Dido loves children," Antonia said.

"The boy seems to love him as well," Luciano chuckled.

Daniel had his arms around the dog's neck and the animal's tail was thumping on the marble floor. "What a great beast…what kind of dog is this, I have never seen one so large," Daniel asked.

"Dido is a Molossus, the breed is known for its size and he guards our home," Luciano said, and then he laughed. "And he keeps Cassius well exercised. It's no use, my old friend. Our Dido will have his way with the boy and won't eat him." The mastiff was a breed Theo had seen before, but not this large. A guard dog, yes, the animal would do well in that role. Dido seemed to be past his adoration of Daniel and looked about the room until his eyes fell upon Theo. The animal got up and walked across the room, looking up at Theo and then lowering itself to the floor as if in supplication.

The others stared at the animal and Theo felt a blush, he had no idea why the dog had acted this way.

"Amazing," Luciano said. "Dido has only the greatest respect for you, Theo. I may command him into that position but you said nothing, he naturally feels the need to obey you."

Theo leaned down and stroked the dog's head, only then did Dido begin to thump his tail on the floor.

"Well, Cassius, maybe our young man here can get the respect from this animal that eludes you," Luciano said. "Why don't you return him to the garden?"

"Yes, master," Cassius replied. He once again grasped the leather leash and tugged in vain.

"Dido…go with him," Theo said.

The dog raised his large body and allowed Cassius to lead him away, and again Theo felt the eyes of the others upon him.

"Animals seem to listen to him," Daniel said, and then he laughed. "Unless it's an ass."

Theo grinned. "You have me there. Dido has a brain, that ass did not have a lick of sense in his mind."

Breakfast consisted of fruit, lightly grilled little fish and bread, all eaten before the heat of the morning became oppressive. Antonia had her servants lay out a number of tunics for the boys to try on and chose the ones that fit. Luciano had eschewed the uniform of a sailor in favor of the toga, a much cooler garment. Theo looked at it and nodded, Gaius had worn one yesterday.

"Wearing the toga is the right of every citizen, man and woman alike," Luciano said. "Boys your age usually wear tunics unless there is a formal occasion, but I'm not sure what to do in your case. Gaius will have an opinion I'm sure.

"You will see togas of many kinds, most of them white, some of them with gold or silver edging. But pay attention, boys. The man who wears a toga with a purple sash is of the Senate and must be respected. Maybe one day you will see the First Citizen himself, if he ever comes home from the East."

"If the Emperor rules Roma, what does the Pope do?" Daniel asked.

"A good question, one we have been working on for hundreds of years. The Empire has been around longer than our Christian faith and the Pope is therefore fairly new to politics in Roma. When he wishes to influence the course of our politics, the Senate resists. The balance is delicate at the moment, faith and politics do not mix well in the minds of many citizens."

Theo went up the street towards Gaius' house with these thoughts in his head. If Christianity was new to the hearts and minds of Roma, what had been here before? Gaius would tell him, and with a political background Theo was sure it would be exact information.

There had been a time when an encounter with someone like Gaius would have been of some great concern, but not now. Theo had felt the man's deference in the pool the other day, in any sexual encounter Gaius would allow him to lead. Should the man give him what he sought then there would be reward, even Dido understood that.

Before he left the house Theo found a place to hide the medallion, he did not feel safe carrying it into Gaius' home. Now it resided under a loose stone on the veranda, safe behind the flowering bush outside his bedroom.

Gaius' house was easy to discover, there were two soldiers standing guard out front. A high stone wall ran along the street and these two soldiers guarded what seemed to be the only gate to the interior. Theo walked up and stood back several paces, staring at the might of the Empire.

Well, once mighty. The soldiers seemed a bit old for the uniforms they wore, but then their duty didn't seem too difficult, maybe it was more of an honor. One of the soldiers eyed Theo suspiciously and the other smiled.

"Move along, boy," The first one said.

"I am here to see Gaius, he is to be my teacher," Theo said.

"What's your name, lad," The second soldier asked.

"Theo…I don't have a last name."

"Any why is that lad?"

"I'm an orphan. I just came here from Britannia."

"Oh? I was in Britannia back in '09," The first soldier said. "Beautiful land, hard people."

"Yes, that's the place," Theo said.

"Welcome to Roma," Number two said. "I'm called Darius and this old man is Felix."

"Who you calling old? I'm no older than you are."

"Well I don't need to have my wife help me strap on my breastplate like you do," Darius said.

"My old wound won't allow me to reach the straps, but I'm not helpless. As for…" Felix began but the gate opened behind them.

"What's all this jabbering I hear," Gaius said. "Theo, you've arrived."

"Yes sir, I was just admiring the fine quality of your honor guard," Theo said.

Darius and Felix noticeably straightened up, once again the proud sentries. Darius gave the boy a wink as they saluted Gaius in unison.

"Come in, boy…these two will only put nonsense in your head if you listen to them." Gaius guided Theo through the gate and it closed behind them.

Luciano's home was nice, but this estate was large and opulent by comparison. There were several of those dark skinned men working in the garden and that brought Amir to mind.

"You have a grand home," Theo said. "Like a castle it must take many servants to maintain."

"These are slaves from the south of Egypt, captured in the last war. I don't have to pay them like servants, just give them food, clothing and a roof over their heads," Gaius said.

"Our King had slaves, they were chained up most of the time," Theo said.

"These men have been civilized here, they won't run away. Sometimes slavery is preferable to the lives they led in their homeland."

"Is Amir a slave?" Theo asked.

"No, he's a freeman, just one of the poor classes. Come…let us go sit in the solarium."

The back of the house was like a forest of huge plants and flowers. Theo was amazed when he discovered that there seemed to be a stream running through the garden. Several pools held colored fish, and he was startled by the squawk of a large bird sitting on a perch. They took cushioned seats under the shade of the trees and a servant brought forth cool juice for them to drink.

"This is cold…is that snow in this drink?" Theo asked.

"Ice, a rare commodity in this city, but I have a small underground cellar that keeps it for several weeks," Gaius said. "It's often the small things in life that bring the greatest pleasure."

"And what gives you pleasure," Theo asked.

Gaius smiled. "I'm sure you have some idea that I am attracted to young men such as yourself, but you're the first to enter my home."

"And why is that? You don't follow your desires?" Theo asked.

"I do, just never here. There are many eyes in the city, too many. In my position I cannot indulge freely in the things I adore. But there are ways, secret places, people I know…and now you."

"I'm not sure what you like, sir…"

"I would like you to call me Gaius. The 'sir' makes me feel apart from you. As for what I like…it could only be the pleasure of your company. The Christian ways do not tolerate my needs which are better suited to our old gods in the Greek way."

"You had many gods before the Christian god came here?" Theo asked.

"We had dozens just like the Greeks, such a civilized people. Roma served these ancient gods for a very long time, even after the Empire served our First Citizen up as a divine person. But in my mind that foolishness was our downfall, man as god, it left us open to this Christian sect.

"I would have accepted this Christ as a god, but the concept of one God serves no purpose except to make the Pope all powerful. We have sold Roma and the Senate is a bunch of old fools."

Gaius paused. "You see I am passionate, please forgive me. My words, if repeated, would bring us both an untimely death."

Theo nodded. "I understand, you have said nothing." Then he smiled. "But I would like to learn of the old, and the new ways from you. I have my reasons, and I hope in time we will come to understand one another."

Gaius smiled. "You are so mysterious, it intrigues me. My eyes behold a handsome, and yes, desirable young man, my thoughts must weigh the truth of your desires. I judge you have lived for twelve maybe thirteen summers…am I right?"

"Yes, I will see my fourteenth winter before the solstice ends."

"Ahh, and so the solstice is an important moment in your life, has it always been so?" Gaius asked.

Theo frowned since he didn't know what he should say to this man. "My forbearers did not seek the Christian way…they were people of the land. Being forced to surrender our lives if we did not convert…"

"They were Druids," Gaius said.

"Yes, how did you know?"

Gaius sighed. "I suppose you need to know, but I must give you a little history lesson first. In the beginning, the Empire spread itself across the known world. Britannia was just a small piece of the puzzle, but there were resources there. Iron and tin were mined, all to feed the war machine of the Empire.

"Five hundred years ago there were several legions stationed in Britannia, and as with all occupied lands the soldiers bred with the native population. The last remnants of the Roman occupation vanished from Britannia nearly two hundred years ago, the ebb and flow of the Empire was dictated by our rulers and still is.

"What is not known is that one last incursion of Roman troops occurred forty years ago…and I was a part of it."

"You have been to Britannia?"

"Yes, I was given the rank of tribune from the hand of the Emperor, commanded three cohorts, about fifteen hundred men, and sailed for Britannia. We were seeking descendants of Roman soldiers, specifically those from the Twentieth Valeria Legion. It was a difficult task as the legion had disbanded almost two hundred and fifty years before. But we were there for one good reason, the sacred standard of the Twentieth had vanished and we were sent to find it."

Theo sat in silence, only half understanding Gaius' monologue. "This standard, what did it look like?"

"Cast of gold usually, an eagle atop the standard surrounded with a wreath, sometimes additional symbols, a bull's head, lightening bolts, legion numerals…the legions all tried to make theirs unique."

"And it was lost, you were sent to find it?"

"I did find it, but I didn't bring it back to Roma," Gaius said.

Theo nodded, and then smiled. "Didn't…or wouldn't?"

"Do you know me so well? How could you…yes, I wouldn't," Gaius said.

"This must be the best part of your story," Theo said.

"The standard belonged to the Emperor, they all do. But the individual standards are dedicated to the gods, our ancient gods, and I knew it was to be brought back and destroyed because of the Christian God. I couldn't do it…that would be against everything I stood for…that Roma stood for."

Theo stared at Gaius and their eyes locked. "You gave it to the Druids didn't you?" Theo asked.

"Yes."

Servants brought more refreshment and yet they did not speak for a long time. Theo knew he would have to trust Gaius and the easiest way to begin that trust lay in what they would discuss in private.

"Can we speak privately?" Theo asked.

Gaius said nothing, he rose from his seat and gestured. Theo followed the man down through the garden to a pool of clear cool water. The decoration here was different, beautiful columns, delicate statuary.

"I rarely swim in daylight, my skin has seen too many years under the sun and it slowly turns to leather. But I always enjoy a swim at the end of day, in darkness with the aid of lanterns. Perhaps you might join me some evening."

"I would enjoy that," Theo said.

"A man alone has little privacy with servants and staff around," Gaius said. "Even slaves can be bribed to speak of what they hear. But the pool house has solid walls and only one entrance they know about. Come…let me show you how to enter secretly."

There was a small metal door hidden behind the fountain inside the pool house and it was secured with a padlock.

"If I know you are going to visit I will unlock the door," Gaius said. "Outside in the lane you will see two olive trees beside one another and in the bushes you'll find this door. I am a suspicious man by nature, especially in these times, so you see I have a means to escape if the rabble comes to my gates."

Gaius' hand slid down Theo's back and grasped his ass. "You are so young and strong, I would possess the vitality that lies in your loins. But perhaps that is not meant to be and our lives will travel another path."

Theo smiled and Gaius pulled him into an embrace for a few moments and then held him back at arm's length.

"I believe your affections shall go to one more deserving, one of your own choosing, Theo. In my heart I wish that we remain friends and companions. We have much to learn together."

Theo leaned up and kissed Gaius' cheek….and they heard voices just before the gardeners passed by the entrance. Theo escorted Gaius out of the pool house and they walked back up towards the house.

Gaius laughed. "You have brought the heat out in me with that kiss and I sweat. Come, let's go to the baths and wash away the anxiety of that close encounter. Besides, I think Amir will be there."

"I would be his friend if he would accept me," Theo said as they made their way to the gate.

Gaius nodded. "You should be friends, you share much in common." Then he chuckled, "He is more deserving of your affections, and perhaps you may share other desires as well."

Theo shook his head. "I would not unless he agrees. I will ask, he will tell me."

Gaius raised his eyebrows. "He speaks to you? I should have known, you have charmed him as well. Just be careful, for as one from a high born family you too will be watched by those secret eyes. I often think the Pope has his spies everywhere, they would like nothing better than to catch you."

"Why do they care?" Theo asked.

"Pope Boniface is an old man whose only objective seems to be the spread of Christianity. He is not the real problem, just the face of it. He surrounds himself with bishops and advisors who seek to aggrandize themselves through the use of this religion. They are bad men, Theo."

Gaius looked around as they trod the street towards the baths. His caution was evident and Theo understood that mere words could be the downfall of such a great man.

"They seek sinners to bolster their egos. But to my mind there are no greater sinners than those in that Papal Palace, my brother included. If they could make a public spectacle of you they will, and the punishment will be harsh. No, they must not be given the chance to harm you, I will…"

"No, dear Gaius…you could do nothing that would not unmask your own desires. I have means…ways to stay safe, you must trust me," Theo said. He placed a hand on Gaius' arm. "I cannot tell you that which I do not know myself, I am still learning. But I'm not as I appear to be, in time I will tell you more."

Gaius nodded. "To my eyes you are more amazing each day, stay close and come to me if anyone in Roma should seek to harm you. My powers extend to more than two old soldiers standing before my gate, and in that I wish I could tell you more."

Theo grinned. "See, we both have secrets to share…in time."

"Thirteen years have taught you much, so wise for one so young," Gaius said. "So here is the bath, let's stop our sincere conversation and turn to things not even a spy would find interesting."

"Yes…and where did you find Darius and Felix?" Theo asked.

"They owe me their lives, and that's how it all started…" Gaius began as they stepped into the disrobing room. Theo smiled as Amir approached.


On to Chapter Five

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