The Survivor (Eve Duncan #30)

“But evidently she changed her mind?”

“Maya admitted she was having serious problems when she called me last night.” She met Eve’s eyes. “And I believe she could be ruthless if she thinks it’s necessary to protect Palandan Island and the people she cares about. She never tried to hide that from me. But isn’t that true of most of us? I know she does have a sense of honor and fairness.” She smiled crookedly. “And I think she’s about to offer me something she knows I’ll want rather than relying on my gratitude. If she does, I’m not certain I could turn her down. It would be—”

“Stop right there,” Eve said. “I don’t like where this is going. Your Maya may be a little too clever.”

“Okay.” Riley finished her wine. “I’ll drop it. The last thing I want to do is upset you.” She set her glass on the coffee table. “After all, this is my problem. Why don’t you tell me more about your Michael? He sounds like an incredible boy.”

Eve sighed. “There’s no way I can jump to Michael now. I’ve got to know the rest. I’ve already got a hint of what lure Maya is using. It’s the only one that would prove irresistible to you.”

“Of course you would guess. You know me too well.” She tilted her head. “And it might be just a little intriguing to you, too.”

“A little,” Eve said reluctantly. “Though I’m not thinking kindly of Maya Fallon for realizing what bait would attract you.”

“Why? There’s no way she wouldn’t know. Running Palandan is her whole life.”

“So she dangled Silvana Marcella,” Eve said flatly. “And all those tantalizing tales of ancient glory and mysteries to solve. You might have had a chance if you hadn’t only recently discovered your Helen. Now it’s too tempting.”

“Not entirely.” Riley got to her feet and walked to the porch railing and looked out at the darkness of the lake. “I’m not a child chasing the past. I have a debt to pay, and that’s important. I’m an archaeologist and, as a professional, it’s my job to get answers wherever I find them.”

“And it helps that you have a curiosity and thirst for knowledge that’s fairly incredible,” Eve said with a smile.

Riley chuckled. “That, too.”

“Then tell me about Silvana Marcella.”

Riley leaned back on the railing. “I’m getting there. But I want you to understand that I expect nothing from you.”

“You’ve made that clear. Talk to me.” She was frowning. “The name sounds Italian. Is it?”

She nodded. “Though it’s not her real name. She chose it for herself when she left Rome and came to Palandan. Her handler called her Flavia Lucia while she was in the arena. I don’t know what name she was born with.”

“Handler?”

“The professional gladiator troop manager who bought her in the slave market and sent her to his training school to learn her trade.”

“What?” Eve sat up straighter. “Gladiator? Now, that’s interesting. I knew there were women gladiators, but I’ve never had contact with them yet during my professional career. I did most of my forensic sculpting of that era working at the museums of Herculaneum. I found it more challenging near the volcano eruption than dealing with the remains of gladiators who were trying to chop each other to pieces.” Her eyes were suddenly gleaming. “But I admit I’ve always been curious about the role of women as gladiators.”

“I was, too. At the time, I did some in-depth computer research, and Maya knew quite a bit. Though most of the legends and stories were passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth, there were ancient tablets found in the caves in the foothills of the mountains adjoining the island.” She added, “But I believe I became more interested in the Silvana who came to the island than the gladiator in the arenas.”

“Well, start at the beginning and let me catch up,” Eve said as she leaned back. “You said she was bought in the market by this gladiator manager. Why? Male gladiators must have been stronger and more popular than the women.”

“Most women. But Antonio Gaius, her handler, took a chance on Silvana. He was ambitious and he was looking for something different to attract the crowds. The Roman soldiers who brought her to market told him how fiercely she’d fought before they’d brought her down. She was only fourteen when she was captured with an Amazon troop of nomads from what’s now known as Kazakhstan near the Black Sea. It was well known that her tribe rode and fought just like the men and were particularly skilled in caring for the herds of horses they stole during their raids. She was also an expert archer and had killed enough soldiers that the soldiers thought they’d be able to sell her for a higher price to the arenas than to the whorehouses. Antonio had her schooled for the arenas until she was ready. Then he sent her out with another of his students and told them to succeed or be slaughtered. Silvana wasn’t about to let herself be slaughtered. But she didn’t speak the language and she didn’t know she wasn’t supposed to kill the more experienced woman they sent into the arena with her. Silvana disposed of her opponent within the hour after she walked into the arena. But Antonio wasn’t pleased; he beat her for destroying one of his valuable assets. He preferred that his gladiators only fight to a draw if possible. That way he could keep all his property intact for future battles. Still, the audience had found Silvana so exciting that he began to present her as a novelty. She never lost a battle. The crowd loved her. Slowly she began to learn how to survive. She never killed again unless ordered. She was given prizes for every battle and Antonio allowed her to keep a portion of it. He was enjoying her success and made her his mistress so that he could show her off. He’d also occasionally give her to one of the important men of Rome after a match as a special treat. They found it arousing to have such a powerful woman helpless and forced to do anything they wished. She submitted to everything, but always kept the gold coins and trinkets they gave her. She begged Antonio to let her buy her freedom with them, but he refused. He preferred the arrangement as it was. He’d become enormously wealthy since he’d bought Silvana, and he realized she’d been a huge part of his success. So she watched and waited and continued to fight… and win. She became fairly rich and famous herself in the next few years, but he still wouldn’t release her.” She paused. “Then she realized she was ready. She’d prepared everything. They were at Antonio’s estate in the country, bribes had been set in place, she’d found the property she wanted to purchase far, far from Rome, where she’d be safe.”

“Ah, the plot thickens,” Eve murmured. “I can see it coming. Who can blame her? She’d done everything she could to escape him. She’d been raped, and forced to kill, and made a slave.”

Riley nodded. “Suddenly one bright, sunny day she freed all the slaves on the estate and gave them money to lose themselves in the countryside. A short time later Antonio was found in the gladiator arena he’d built for private entertainment at the estate. He was wearing gladiator armor and his throat had been cut by a sword lying on the sand beside him. Silvana had disappeared from both the estate and Rome itself. It was probably quite the scandal, and though Antonio wasn’t very popular, the Roman authorities still set out to try to find Silvana to set an example. But she was smart, careful, and an expert horsewoman—not to mention she had a decent head start. No matter how long they tried, they couldn’t find a trace of her.”

“And that’s the end of the beginning?” Eve asked. “She evidently went through hell. She went directly to Palandan Island?”

Riley nodded. “According to the legend, she showed up at the island dressed in trousers and a red cloak, riding a magnificent white stallion, with two wagons containing five coffers of treasure and four guardsmen in attendance. It was probably the treasure she’d stolen from Antonio. She also had a herd of fine horses driven by several shepherds. By the next week she had vanished into the forests on the island and her guardsmen had disappeared. After that she was seen only with the local natives who lived on the island. They were in awe of her. They weren’t accustomed to seeing a woman more skilled than any man with horses and weapons.”

“It must have pleased you to learn that,” Eve murmured.

“It did. She must have been much, much better to have them admit it. It was a man’s world when she arrived on Palandan Island. Yet she made it her own within the next few years. That’s why I kept searching for more stories about her. Maya was curious, too. She was able to tell me what she’d been able to search out over the years she’d been on the island.”

“And?”

“I became more interested in the Silvana who came to the island than what she’d been when she’d fought in Rome. Though she had to battle just as fiercely to keep what was hers.”