There was no reaction.

He shook her by the shoulder. 'It's me, Romulus. Your brother.'

At last Fabiola's eyes opened, revealing a void of terror. Then her pupils widened, and she gasped. 'Romulus?'

Chapter XXIV: Discord

Crying tears that he'd never shed in all the years of their separation, Romulus could only nod. 'It's you. 'You're alive.' Incredulous, Fabiola reached up to stroke his cheek with a shaking hand. 'Thank all the gods.' A sob of relief shook her. They gazed at one another, scarcely able to believe their eyes. After the years of heartbreak and separation, the gods had finally allowed them to meet. It seemed that the impossible had come true. After a moment, Romulus grinned. Eventually Fabiola did too. They clutched each other's hands, scared to let go.

'Are you alone?' she asked.

'Yes.'

Fabiola's face crumpled. 'All my men are dead. Now the bastards are raping the prostitutes.'

'I know,' Romulus replied heavily. 'What can just two of us do, though? We should try and get away. Now.'

Guilt twisted her pretty features. 'I can't just leave the women. They're my responsibility. Help me to sit up.'

Romulus pulled her upright.

Fabiola saw the semi-conscious bleeding figure in the corner. There was a sharp intake of breath. 'The whoreson is still alive!'

'Not for long.' Romulus indicated the enormous pool of blood around him, and the bleeding hole in the side of his trunk.

She smiled. 'Sextus has been avenged then.'

Romulus looked back at the motionless shape. 'Who is he?'

'Scaevola,' she spat. 'He's a fugitivarius. Works for Antonius.'

'The Master of the Horse ordered this?' cried Romulus. 'Why?'

Fabiola had no time to explain. Noise from the corridor stopped their conversation in its tracks. Strangely, it was coming from both ends. Escape was now out of the question. Gripping the axe, Romulus got to his feet.

'Who are you?' a rough voice demanded from near the courtyard. 'Antonius' men? Come to check we've done the job properly?'

'No,' came the calm reply. 'Raise shields!'

Following the order, Romulus heard the familiar clink of scuta off each other.

'Quick! Back outside!' shouted the thug to his companions.

Hope flared in Romulus' heart as the tread of caligae clashed off the mosaic floor. When a middle-aged veteran in a battered bronze helmet popped his head round the door, Romulus could have cried with relief.

'Secundus!' Fabiola cried delightedly. 'You came!'

'Of course we did,' he answered. 'Couldn't get here quick enough when Tarquinius told us what was happening.'

She beamed, and he smiled benevolently.

'You all right in here?'

'Fine,' Romulus replied. 'Thank you.'

With a pleasant nod, Secundus withdrew. From the noise, Romulus judged he had at least twenty companions. Plenty to deal with the situation. As the danger subsided, the pounding in his head became resurgent. Wincing, he sat down on the edge of the bed.

Fabiola noticed the blood in his hair at once. 'What happened?'

'Gemellus hit me,' he muttered, lifting a hand to the wound. 'Not hard enough, though, thank Mithras.'

'You met Gemellus?' she gasped.

'I saw the whoreson coming out of a temple and followed him to the hovel he called home.'

'Called,' said Fabiola slowly. 'Did you kill him?'

'No,' replied Romulus. 'I was going to, had sworn it so many times over the years. But I couldn't. He was utterly pathetic. It would have made me as bad as him.'

'So you walked away?' Fabiola's voice was incredulous.

Romulus nodded, seeing the fury in his twin's eyes. Clearly she would not have acted with the same restraint. This realisation was shocking, but he forced himself to continue. 'Then the coward attacked me from behind. Fortunately Tarquinius was at hand. But for his knife throw, I'd be lying in an alleyway with my skull caved in.'

'Tarquinius?'

'A friend. You'll meet him later.'

'So Gemellus is dead?' Fabiola smiled. 'Can't say I'll miss the piece of shit. It would have been good to tell him I own his latifundium near Pompeii, though.'

Romulus was shocked. She also ran the Lupanar. 'How much does a property like that cost?' he asked.

Fabiola's face clouded. 'A lover bought it for me. Decimus Brutus.'

'Where is he?'

'We argued,' she revealed. 'He left.'

Noise wafted in from the courtyard: the clash of swords off each other, shouted orders from Secundus and the thugs' wails of terror as they realised that there would be no escape.

Romulus was trying to piece things together. 'What has Antonius to do with it then?'

She flushed. 'Stupidly, I had an affair with him. Brutus found out.'

Romulus indicated Scaevola's blood-sodden corpse. 'Yet he worked for Antonius?'

Fabiola ignored the question. 'It's so good to see you!'

Romulus smiled, acutely aware that she had just changed the subject. Why? Stop it, he thought. Your wildest dream has just come true. 'It's amazing,' he agreed. 'We were children the last time we saw each other. Now look at us: all grown up. Mother would be so proud.'

Fabiola's expression grew sad. 'Did Gemellus tell you what happened to her?'

'Yes. I lost it when he did,' Romulus answered. 'Sliced his cheek right open. It felt good for a moment, but it didn't bring her back.'

'Never mind. She's in Elysium now,' Fabiola declared robustly. 'I'm sure of it.'

They sat in silence for a moment, honouring Velvinna's memory. The noise of combat from outside was dying down, to be replaced by the prostitutes' screams of distress. Fabiola could take it no longer. 'I've got to help.' Getting up, she selected a dress from the selection hanging on the wall. With her modesty restored, she turned to Romulus. 'Come on. I'll take you to another room where you can rest, away from him. Bastard.' She spat on Scaevola's body.

Struck by her steely will, Romulus followed Fabiola into the corridor. She must have suffered terribly here, he thought. Sold into a brothel at thirteen, and forced to sleep with men for money. It's not much different to rape. For his part, he was glad that his path had been to fight and kill men. Yet his sister had survived, and grown into a smart, confident woman. Romulus was already proud of her. 'You'd make a good legionary,' he said.

'Secundus says I fight well,' she revealed proudly. 'Soldiering is best left to men, though. After all, it's just about brute strength and ignorance, isn't it?'

Romulus laughed at her dig. 'There's far more to it than that,' he protested. 'Look at someone like Caesar. He's the most incredible general.' His face lit up. 'The man can read a fight like no one else. Turn the tide of combat with a single order. Win against all the odds.' He grinned at Fabiola. 'I've even met him.'

'So have I,' she spat back.

Romulus recoiled at her fury. 'What did I say?'

'Nothing,' Fabiola muttered. She had been burning to tell her brother about Caesar since the moment she'd clapped eyes on him, but had held back. The moment had to be right. Now Romulus' obvious admiration for the dictator filled her with anger and confusion.

'Don't you like him?' asked Romulus. 'He's meant to be charming towards women.'

Fabiola's rage could no longer be contained. 'Don't you see? He tried to rape me,' she screamed.

Romulus' eyes bulged with shock. 'He did what?'

'Fortunately Brutus came back, so the whoreson couldn't carry through with it,' she continued. 'But he did enough for me to know.'

'Know what?'

'Who he was.'

He gave her a confused look.

Fabiola took both of his hands in hers. 'Caesar was the one who attacked Mother.'

Romulus didn't really take in the words. 'Eh?'

She repeated herself. Then, to make it crystal clear, 'He raped her.'