Romulus glanced over. In the shadows behind the child-woman lurked an old man in a grubby robe. Seeing Romulus stare, he whispered in her ear. She slipped down the top of her robe and lasciviously caressed her tiny breasts. Romulus felt sick. At least the women he'd had in the previous few days had been willing. 'I want the Lupanar,' he said, striding off.

Promising every kind of pleasure, the dark-haired boy kept pace with Romulus, doing his best while his master watched.

As soon as the old man was out of sight, Romulus produced a sestertius. 'Well?' he asked.

The other's thin face lit up. The silver coin was far more than the paltry amount he'd get for guiding customers towards the nearby doorway. 'It's up that lane,' he offered eagerly. 'Take the second right and then the first left.'

Romulus flipped him the sestertius and walked off, ignoring the urchin's promises of more information. Shrugging, the boy pocketed his reward and returned to his post. His directions were accurate, though, and it didn't take Romulus long to reach a narrow street dominated by an arched doorway with a painted, erect penis on either side. Outside stood a number of doormen, their swords and clubs in plain view. The sight stopped Romulus in his tracks. Old memories surged back. His flight from the inn with Brennus. The Gaul offering to pay for a prostitute for him. Their collision at the brothel's entrance with a drunk, red-haired noble whose arrogant attitude had sparked the fight. Deciding to make a run for it. Hearing the shouts of 'Murder' behind them as they ran. Gods, thought Romulus, how my life has changed since that night. For the better. A feeling of calm acceptance, which he'd never allowed to emerge before, settled over him. He was back in Rome, a free man. His anger at Tarquinius faded away; his old guilt about Brennus suddenly felt weaker too. The Gaul had walked the path of his destiny willingly, and it was not for Romulus to stand in the way of that.

Romulus took a step towards the Lupanar. Fabiola probably wasn't working there any longer, but someone would know where she'd gone. He'd soon track her down. How might his sister have changed? Romulus wondered excitedly. What would be her reaction to him? Deep in thought and with his reactions slowed by ten days of drinking, he didn't really take in the large party of unshaven heavies strolling along just in front of him.

The doormen in front of the Lupanar did, however. 'Look lively, boys,' shouted one, an enormous shaven-headed man with gold bands around his wrists. 'Trouble!'

Romulus heard the familiar sound of gladii leaving their scabbards. Startled, he looked up. Armed with axes and clubs as well as swords, the thugs were charging headlong at the brothel's entrance. Rather than stand back or retreat, the guards drew their own weapons and spread out in a defensive arc around the doorway. His heart pounding, Romulus turned and fled back down the alleyway. Who knew what was going on, but this was not his quarrel. Besides, he had only a pugio to defend himself. When he judged it safe, he stopped and looked back. Thanks to the permanent semi-darkness which existed in all narrow streets, he could see only a roiling mass of figures moving backward and forwards. From the blood-curdling yells and screams, men were being seriously injured or killed.

'Should have fucked my sister,' said a piping voice behind him. 'You'd be finished by now, and looking for your friends.'

Romulus turned to find the skinny urchin who'd given him directions nonchalantly eating an apple. His smug expression spoke volumes. 'Did you know there was trouble here?' Romulus demanded, taking a step forward. 'Why didn't you tell me? Hades below, I could have been killed.'

'I did try,' answered the boy, looking scared. 'You weren't interested.'

Romulus remembered the offers of more information and relaxed. He wasn't going to pick a fight with a scrawny child who owed him nothing. 'True enough,' he said gruffly, eyeing the brawl again. 'So what's going on there?' Silence. Looking down, Romulus saw an outstretched hand.

'Nothing free in this city, sir,' said the urchin with a cheeky grin.

Romulus tossed him another sestertius.

The response was instant. 'It's some kind of feud between the Lupanar and another brothel. Quite a few men have been killed. Although it's been going on for months, things have been quiet recently. Until today, that is.'

'What's it about?'

The boy shrugged. 'Not sure. Want to try my sister now?'

'No,' Romulus snapped, frustrated that his search had ended before it had even begun. Where else could he go? Nothing came to mind, and he decided to rejoin Sabinus and the others. He could always return to the Lupanar in the morning. 'I need a drink,' he muttered.

'The best inn in Rome is very close,' volunteered the urchin. 'Want me to take you there?'

Romulus smiled. He liked the boy's spirit. Clad in rags, and no doubt half-starved, he was still obviously resourceful. 'No. But I'd say you can take me a shorter way to the Forum Boarium than retracing my steps, eh?'

'Of course! Two sestertii.'

Romulus chuckled. 'Quite the businessman, aren't you? Don't push your luck, though. I've already paid you five times more than I needed to.'

This produced a serious nod. 'One sestertius it is,' said the urchin, proffering a grubby paw.

'When we get there,' Romulus warned.

Laughing, they shook hands. At once the boy darted off, leading Romulus through a confusion of alleys which joined the Capitoline Hill to the Palatine. During the recent celebrations, Romulus had had no time to explore the city, and of course the triumphs had taken place on the largest thoroughfares. It made his journey now all the more poignant. These were the type of streets on which he'd grown up. No more than ten paces wide, their unpaved surfaces covered in rubbish and waste, and with three-and four-storey buildings on both sides blocking out all light apart from a narrow band of sky high above. Open-fronted shops sold everything from bread to vegetables to wine, their goods sprawling out on to the street. There were potters, smiths, carpenters, barbers and every other profession under the sun. Inns, brothels and money-changers' premises were situated side by side, each one with its attendant begging leper or limbless cripple. Rows of shuttered windows overhead belonged to the cramped insulae, or flats, in which most citizens lived.

While he wasn't familiar with their exact location, Romulus could remember running errands for Gemellus through similar quarters. The memory of his former owner brought a stab of anger. Where could he be? Romulus scowled. Was there any point going to the house where he'd grown up? Probably not, but at least it would be a place to start. Right now, though, the thought of meeting Sabinus and his comrades was far more appealing.

It was then that Romulus walked past a nondescript opening between two cenaculae, or apartment blocks. Something made him go back to take a second look. About fifty paces in, and surrounded by derelict houses, was a temple he'd never seen before.

Sensing his customer stop, the urchin came scurrying back, his bare feet silent on the dirt. 'Nearly there, mister.' He tugged at Romulus' arm. 'It's not that way.'

'Which deity is that dedicated to?'

The boy shivered. 'Orcus.'

The god of the underworld. Romulus smiled thinly. Where better to make an offering that might help him find Gemellus? It had to be worth a quick visit. He was half a dozen strides into the alleyway before his guide could react.

'Sir! What about the inn?'

'I won't be long,' Romulus replied over his shoulder. 'Wait outside for me.'

Grim-faced, the urchin obeyed. While the stained stone altar in front of the shrine might terrify him, he wasn't going to miss out on the promised sestertius.