They watched anxiously as the wagons pulled up at the spot where the two dead bodies lay, and it came as no surprise to Talbrik that the man who jumped down from the first wagon was none other than Publius Maximus.

'Is the girl your slave?' Publius Maximus asked. Talbrik shook his head.

'She is not.'

'Is she your companion?'

Jacleen had hung in the background, her head held low, her hair obscuring most of her face.

'She is not.'

'May I ask what she is doing with you?'

'She was going to show me the way to Pekeesh from here.'

'Was?'

'I do not know what will happen now that we have run into you again.'

'Lienne tells me that you saved her from the two men on the trail back there. If that is true, I owe you my thanks.'

'What is Lienne to you?'

'I was looking after her. She ran away, to follow you. I feel responsible for her.'

'Why did she run away from you?'

'I said, to follow you.'

'It is more likely that she ran away to be with Avelline. They were very close.'

'The girl who was killed?'

'Executed. By your friend, Marcellus.'

'I doubt that very much.'

'Why?'

'Marcellus is in Pekeesh.'

Talbrik rounded on the big man furiously.

'Give me credit for not being a complete idiot!' he snarled. 'You know as well as I do that it is possible for a man to hire another to do his work for him.'

'And you believe that Marcellus ordered the execution of your - companion?'

'I do.'

'Why should you think that?'

'Because he has been made aware that I am after him. It is his idea of trying to warn me off.'

Publius Maximus nodded sagely.

'That makes eminent sense to me.'

'You believe it also, that he ordered the execution of Avelline?'

'I did not say that.'

'But it is possible, is it not?'

'It is possible.'

'And yet, knowing as you do that I am sworn to kill your friend, you allow me to travel in your wagon. I find that hard to understand.'

'We both need to find Marcellus. I because he is needed here to assist in the coming conflict which Vitellius would inflict upon this region of Heraklion. You because you have a score to settle with him. Your quarrel is not with me, Talbrik. We might as well journey together. It is safer that way.'

'What you say makes perfect sense, and yet I do not trust you.'

'When we find Marcellus, our paths may deviate. Until then, let us enjoy each other's company as best we may.'

'I do not find your company particularly agreeable.'

'Then ride with the women.'

'Why do you bring a wagon-load of women on a journey such as this?' Talbrik demanded.

'There are many reasons for travelling through strange and foreign lands. One of the most universal and therefore acceptable, is as a trader. I am a trader in slave girls. It is as simple as that.'

'I thought you were well-known and respected in Pekeesh.'

'I am. But we are not headed for Pekeesh.'

Talbrik nodded slowly, understanding at last.

'The woman, Jacleen,' Publius Maximus said. 'She is neither your woman nor your slave.'

'I have said all of this already.'

'She then means nothing to you?'

'Nothing at all.'

'I will buy her from you.'

'What?'

'I will buy her from you. Name your price.'

'She is not mine to sell.'

'You took her from Gurtz. She technically belongs to you.'

'I do not want her.'

'Then sell her to me.'

'What need do I have of money?'

'You may need coinage when we reach a village, or a city, particularly in Ancyros. It is true that whilst we are in Pekeesh, you will not be troubled, and will have no need of money, for you will have nothing to trade that the bronzeskins might wish to buy. But consider carefully. In Ancyros the situation is totally different.'

Talbrik shrugged his shoulders.

'I do not want her. She is not mine to sell. Take her if you want her.'

'I could not consider her to be mine if I did not pay you something for her. I will give you a silver coin.'

'A silver coin!'

'Very well, a gold coin.'

'Gold!'

'Two gold coins. That is my final offer.'

'Take her. She is yours. I give her to you willingly, even though she is not mine to give.'

Publius Maximus reached into his purse and took out two gold coins and handed them to Talbrik, who took them reluctantly, stuffing them into his own purse, which he had originally taken from the man he had killed in the tavern.

'She is pleasing to you, then?'

'I find her very attractive, yes. There are few blonde girls on Heraklion.'

'You do not simply wish to add her to your slaves, then?'

'For the time being she will stay where she is. If I want her, I will call for her.'

'I do not know how well she behaves as a slave. I found her talkative, and argumentative.'

'She has spent quite a time with Gurtz, I would suspect.'

'That I would not know.'

'It is quite possible that she will not respond to my commands.'

'That is now your problem.'

'I do not see it as a problem,' Publius Maximus said.

'You will simply discipline her, no doubt?'

'You have a problem with that?'

'It is none of my business.'

'I detect a distaste on your part for the disciplining of slaves.'

'It is none of my business.'

'You have never disciplined a slave, perhaps?'

Talbrik shook his head.

'Perhaps you do not think men should keep women as slaves?' Publius Maximus continued.

'I have no opinion on the matter.'

'I do not understand you, assassin. I have never met a man like you. I have never met anyone who does not hold an opinion on the matter of slavery.'

'Perhaps my profession does not allow me to become in involved in such a trivial matter. After all, if I want a woman, I will get one. I do not need to purchase the use of a slave.'

Publius Maximus raised his eyebrows quizzically.

'Amazing!' he breathed, and shook his head. Talbrik sat stony-faced, saying nothing.

'You know, I was brought up with the concept of female slavery,' Publius Maximus said, grinning. 'I cannot conceive of any other way to treat girls.'

'Your philosophy appertaining to females is really of no interest to me, General Maximus,' Talbrik said. Publius Maximus continued to grin. He found Talbrik's company exceptionally stimulating. Here was a man, ostensibly a hired killer, who appeared to have an unhealthy and unrealistic respect for women.

'When we camp,' the General said, 'I will show you my girls, put them through their paces.'

'It is of no interest to me.'

'I find that impossible to believe.'

'Suit yourself.'

Publius Maximus shook his head, and roared with laughter. They had been travelling for three hours now, and the sun was rising rapidly, changing the colour of the sky from deep blue to bright. Ahead of them the trail stretched out endlessly, clearly defined, and the landscape was broken only by the occasional butte, and groups of trees and shrubs. At last Publius Maximus saw a suitable place to camp and gave the reins a tug to slow down the deichen, who had been trotting along at a fair speed. They pulled up near the river which ran alongside the trail, and the general's companions emerged from the second wagon. Behind the second wagon were the girls he was taking as cover, seven girls, now joined by Jacleen. Lienne had been allowed to travel in the second wagon along with Hannei and Mirella. Also in the second wagon were Arslan and Melisende, his sister, who had joined up with the General at the border as a precaution against ambush by Gurtz and his band. In the event no attack had taken place, and they had passed through the mountains with no incident until they had run into the bodies in the trail left by Talbrik.

'We will camp here for a while to rest the deichen,' the General called, and directed the girls who had been running along behind the wagon to set up a fire and begin cooking some food.

Talbrik sought Lienne and reassured her that all was still well.

'What have you been talking about with the General?' she asked him. 'We heard him laugh.'

'Slaves,' he said, simply. Lienne nodded.

'I thought as much. Your slave has not made many friends, I can tell you. I have been observing her from the rear of the wagon. She had no difficulty keeping up, but she is very attractive. They do not care much for her. Given the chance they might disfigure her, I think.'

'It does not concern me. She is not my slave, nor ever was.'

'I thought.....'

'I told you, but you chose not to believe me.'

'You have sold her to Publius Maximus.'

'I did not want money for her, but he insisted. The money may be of some use to us when we reach Ancyros.'

Lienne nodded thoughtfully.

'She is very beautiful. See how she holds her head. And her hair - it is magnificent!'

'I see nothing special about her, Lienne.'

'I cannot believe that any man would fail to find her attractive, Talbrik!'

'Lienne, I already told you, no woman can replace Avelline.'

She lowered her eyes, chastened, and he saw the colour creeping into her cheeks.

'I am truly sorry.....'

'It does not matter.'

'I am sorry. I just assumed.....'

'Lienne!' Publius Maximus called. 'Come and assist with the fire!'

She turned and ran to where the others were collecting wood and building the fire. Talbrik noticed that Jacleen was still tied to the rear wagon by a long piece of chain fastened around her ankle. He strolled over to her, aware that by doing so he would add further to the speculation that he was in fact interested in her.

'I have sold you to General Publius Maximus,' he told her.

'I thought you would.'

'He intends to make full use of you as a slave. He apparently finds you extraordinarily attractive.'

'I was not aware of that.'

'I have it on good authority. He has promised to put you all through your paces especially for me, so that I may see how slavery becomes women.'

Jacleen gazed at him, her emotions hidden from him.

'I look forward to seeing your performance,' he finished, and started to walk away.

'I thought you were not interested.'

'I am not, particularly. It will be something of an education for me.'

'I look forward to assisting in your education, Talbrik.'

'I think it will be more of an education for you to see how I do not react to your performance, Jacleen,' he said, half turning.

'Do you think you are immune to the charms and wiles of a woman?' she asked.

'If I need to be.'

'We will see.'

'Do not flatter yourself that you are of any interest to me, or ever could be, either as a slave or as  just a woman.'

'Just a woman?' she said, sensing that he had made a slip of the tongue in putting the woman after the slave.

He scowled at her, then walked away, passing Publius Maximus.

'Why is she the only one not working?' he asked, casually.

'I am saving her.'

'For yourself?'

'Possibly. But first, she will perform before us all.'

'You are wasting your time, General. My business is with Marcellus of Barbessel. Nothing else matters to an assassin.'

'We shall see.'

'Now where have I heard that before?' Talbrik mused, and wandered off. With the sun high above them, they at last settled down to their mid-morning meal. Fish had been caught in the river by Arslan and  Publius Maximus, who had also caught a brace of ulver as they charged headlong across the plain in full view of them, bringing each down with a single arrow shot within barely half a second of each other. Talbrik noticed that all of the girls Maximus had brought with him were allowed to sit in a semi-circle around the main group, which comprised Maximus, Talbrik, Arslan and Melisende, whom he supposed must be a free woman, and Lienne, with the exception of Jacleen. They were all allowed to eat morsels of meat and fruit as they were passed around, and eventually everyone was satisfied. Talbrik noticed that Arslan took food to one of the girls sitting behind him, and words passed between them. It also did not go unnoticed that the sister, Melisende, was apparently not entirely happy that her brother had a slave girl to see to. Abruptly Publius Maximus took a plate of food and went to the rear of the second wagon, to where Jacleen waited patiently. Talbrik would have been interested to know what was said between them, but could not hear from where he sat, and decided that it would have been too obvious if he had simply got up and followed the general.

Publius Maximus towered over the blonde-haired girl and held out the plate, from which she took some pieces of meat and ate them cautiously, never taking her eyes of the general and the formidable armoury of weapons he carried.

'I was told there was a banu with you,' he said quietly. 'Where would he be now?'

'He was suffering in the enormous heat of this latitude, general Maximus,' the girl replied. 'He returned to Eskishehir.'

'Will his life be in danger there?'

'I would not have thought so.'

'I did not expect to meet up with you here, in Pekeesh.'

'It was not my expectation that I would run into anybody who knew of me,' she replied.

'You are a beautiful woman. You are lucky the fool Talbrik did not want you. What story did he give you?'

'That he is an assassin hired to kill Marcellus of Barbessel.'

Publius Maximus nodded his head thoughtfully.

'That is the story he gave me. Yet anyone can see is no more an assassin than I am or you are.'

'You do not believe his story?'

'He is not an assassin - what name do you go by?'

'Jacleen.'

'That is not an unattractive name.'

'Thank you.'

'You realise I have purchased you from him?'

'I guessed as much when I was attached to your chain.'

'There is nothing else for it.'

'I am aware of the difficulties under which you operate.'

'There will be opportunities for you, further down the track, so to speak.'

'You fear the assassin, perhaps?'

'It is essential that the assassin does not know who you are.'

'Arslan and his sister, and the slave girl Yolande, they know who I am.'

'I am aware of that. I will take care of them. Just make sure you do not let anything slip. It is essential that no-one except you and I know who you are. The others have not seen you?'

'I deliberately obscured my face from them when I was brought to your wagon.'

'It as well that you have such beautifully long hair.' He reached out impulsively to touch her hair, but withdrew his hand abruptly. She smiled at him.

'That will convince no-one that I am your slave,' she said. 'You will have to make free with me, do whatever you do with your slaves, do that to me, and maybe we can carry it off.'

'Tell me how you come to be here, in Pekeesh.'

'I was not always in Pekeesh. For a time I was with Gurtz.'

'I am aware of that.'

'Also, I do not know how you came to recognise me. I am fairly certain we have never met.'

'You have been described to me over and over. I could not fail to recognise you. You are lucky it was still fairly dark when we came upon you. Did Talbrik really kill those two men?'

She nodded.

'He is extremely protective of the young girl. Also, he suffers greatly from the loss of his woman, Avelline, I think her name was.'

'I met her. The girl elected to stay in Horta with me while Avelline chose to go with the assassin. I offered them both asylum.'

Jacleen smiled.

'Perhaps she knew what to expect if she had stayed with you, General.'

'Perhaps.'

'And the young girl apparently ran away to find them, after you left Horta.'

He nodded.

'She was missing their company. They have been through much together in a short time. I do not doubt that he grieves at the loss of his woman. She was a fine looking girl, as I recall, though not so beautiful as you.'

'You are too kind, but I would suggest that after this conversation you keep all such compliments to yourself. It would not do for them to see you praising me too much. You need to give them the impression that I am an abject slave.'

'I am aware of that. We need to make sure that your erstwhile companions do not get to see your face. When you perform, you must perform with a veil.'

'Perform?'

'I am arranging for you to dance before us all tonight, beneath the stars. Tomorrow we will reach Warikeewa camp, and one of our little problems will be resolved. Until then I cannot risk having you identified, either to them, Arslan and Melisende, or to Talbrik. He is unpredictable. He may not be an assassin, but he certainly shows all the characteristics of  a psychopath.'

Jacleen laughed.

'He seems harmless enough to me. He offered me no harm.' But she recalled, without saying anything, how he had hit her.

'He has killed many times.'

'Even so.'

'Indiscriminately.'

'You have evidence of this?'

Publius Maximus nodded.

'There are reports of three men killed in Hethoum, before he crossed into Barbessel. There were several men in Swarbard's group. There were the members of a cult in southern Barbessel, and now these two, back on the trail, where I found you.'

'Marcellus has killed many hundreds, General.'

'I know. But he killed in the cause of.....'

'Mainly of staying alive, I should have thought.'

Publius Maximus scowled.

'You do not know him as well as I do.'

'On the contrary,' Jacleen said, colouring.

'I am aware that you and he.....'

'I have been faithful, General. No other man has.....'

He raised his hand.

'Enough. You need not justify your actions to me. I am aware of what he put you through, and how you suffered.'

'It needs to be said. I would not want anyone to think that just because I was in Gurtz's company for a short while that I.....'

'I said enough!' he snapped. 'That is your business. You should speak of it to only one man, and I am not that man.'

She lowered her head, instantly, assuming the posture of a slave, which she had once been, and was now again.

'I am sorry, master,' she muttered.

'I do not mean to treat you badly,' he told her. 'For security reasons it is necessary that you speak to me with due deference. Maybe once we have parted company with the assassin.....'

'I understand.'

'I am sure that if Marcellus were here he would be doing exactly as I am.'

She smiled.

'I am sure that would be the case.'

'If he gave you your freedom, I apologise unreservedly.'

'We did not part on particularly good terms.'

'I recall the matter thoroughly.'

'When we parted company, I would still have been, in his eyes, a slave. I understand that he took a preference for the slave Yolande over me.'

'May I enquire as to why you are pursuing him now?'

Again her colour heightened and she lowered her eyes.

'I cannot answer that, General.'

His eyes narrowed.

'You are not on some mission to sabotage whatever he is doing? I would not want to think that of you.'

She shook her head vehemently.

'That is not my reason for following him!'

'I hoped it would not be.'

'I dare not say it out loud, General.'

'I am his closest ally.'

'I do not doubt it.'

'I would have some sort of reason from you.'

'I need to convince him that he was always wrong about me.'

'Always?'

'From a certain point in our dealings.'

'I understand. I do not believe he needs now to be convinced.'

'Even so.'

'You would have him say it to your face.'

'Yes.'

'I understand. He was wrongly informed about you.'

'I would set the matter straight.'

'It is my understanding that it has already been set straight.'

'But not to my satisfaction.'

'Again, I understand your reasoning.'

'It is a matter of some importance to me that I find him.'

'It is a matter of some importance to us both.'

'And Talbrik? I know nothing of him other than what he has told me. If he is indeed intending to assassinate Marcellus, why are you letting him accompany us?'

'He will not be with us for much longer. Tomorrow we reach Warikeewa camp.'

'There is apparently someone there I have also been following.'

It was Publius Maximus' turn to lower his head.

'What is it?' she asked quietly. Behind him, some paces away, she could see  Talbrik was watching them intently.

'Slap my face,' she whispered urgently. Publius Maximus hit her hard across the mouth and she fell to the floor, whimpering.

'I am sorry for that,' he said, and started to walk away.

'I am sorry, master,' she called after him.

He made his way back to where Talbrik and the others were striking camp. It was early afternoon, and the sun was disappearing behind clouds, dark, thunderous ones that threatened heavy rain. Publius Maximus climbed into the seat of the lead wagon and took up the reins, urging the others to find their places  in the appropriate wagons. Talbrik took it upon himself to fasten the girls to the chain behind Jacleen, then leaped into the seat beside Publius Maximus.

'We are in for a storm,' the General said matter-of-factly.

'Would it not be better to camp until the storm is passed?'

'Where we are going, there are caves. The girls will get very wet. They will soon dry out. I have instructed the girl, Jacleen, to prepare herself to perform for us all when we reach the caves.'

'Perform?'

'Dance.'

'Ah.'

'Of course, if you want her, she is yours. Just take her.'

'I thought we had exchanged her for money.'

'If you want her, take her. Do not even ask. She is a slave. She has always been a slave, from what I can gather.'

There were drops of rain falling, and the sky was becoming blacker by the minute.

'I do not want her.'

'Are you still troubled by your relationship with Avelline?'

'No.' But Publius Maximus sensed that this was not the whole truth.

'It does not hurt to take another woman. What is done, is done. Nothing you do now can have any effect on Avelline.'

'Why are you so desperate for me to have the girl?' Talbrik demanded.

'Desperate? I do not know what you mean. I meant only for you to consider her, or any of the girls, for that matter, to be available for your use should you wish it. With the exception, of course, of the girl Melisende, who is Arslan's sister, and a free woman.'

'And the slave girl Yolande?'

'Nothing to do with me. Yours if you want her.'

'Anyone else I should steer clear of?'

'Mirella, and Hannei.'

'Yours?'

Publius Maximus nodded.

'Mine.'