Goddess
Chapter 9

As we return to the House of Vestals in the backof Cassius’s rented cart, I twist under the blanket to face the other girls.

“We need to tell the Vestalis Maxima,” I say.

“No,” Marta says immediately. “It needs to comeas a complete shock to her if the flamens and pontiffs knock down her door anddemand an explanation. We have to make it clear that she’s not responsible orsupportive of our illegal behavior.”

“I agree,” whispers Lucia. “If everything goeswell, we’ll tell her afterward, maybe.”

It feels all wrong to me to keep such importantinformation from Lavinia. I know how betrayed and hurt she’ll feel when shelearns about our deception, and the thought makes me miserable. I’d rather sheheard it from us than from an enraged Pontifex Maximus.

Gaius is waiting for us when we return, havingengaged some faster form of transportation than a rented cart and a tired olddonkey. He takes us aside into a rarely used storeroom and begins giving usinstructions for this evening. Where areyour zingers when I need them, Marta? I think. Now we’re whispering in dark closets like it’s the latest insecret-conversation technology.

“You’ll meet us at the academy training center.Come as normal girls again,” he says above Lucia’s groans and wails of protest.“I don’t care how long it takes you to do your hair back. If the pontiffs andflamens don’t know who you are, it gives us an extra layer of protection. I’mgoing to introduce you as girls from the countryside, and I’ll call you bydifferent names.”

“What’s my new name?” I ask, oddly excited toknow what he has called me. He hands me a slip of paper. “Memorize thesedetails,” he says. “Not that any of this will necessarily come up. But it’sgood to have a backstory. I want to try to keep you anonymous as long as wecan. Your transportation to the academy grounds has been arranged as well;you’ll arrive first. See you at seven,” he says crisply. Then he leaves us toour own devices. He is crazy and paranoid, but I am loving it anyway.

My new name is Octavia. Marta’s is Marcella. AndLucia’s is…awful.

Marta snorts. “Oh my gods, this is fantastic.”

“What? What?”says Lucia, snatching the paper away. She looks at it and positively shudders.“He has lost his mind,” she says in disgust.

***

We arrive at the academy training center andwait in the late afternoon sun for Gaius, Cassius, and the Flamen Martialis.About a half hour outside of the city, these grounds are normally off limits toanyone but students. They have a long, grassy plain, followed by a rocky beachand a small bay, all remote and shielded by cliffs from any wanderers or pryingeyes. I’ve heard this is where they perform military training exercises. It’san ideal place for experimenting.

“There they are.” Marta nudges me. Across thedistance I can see our boys followed by a large group of priests, both flamensand pontiffs. “Gods, are they all coming at once?” I panic. I was hoping for afew minutes to gather my thoughts and take comfort in the presence of ourfriends.

I revive a little when Cassius gets close enoughto smile at us, reassuring me with his eyes. Potential imminent death isapparently the farthest thing from his mind. The boy is downright unflappable.

“Gentlemen,” says the Flamen Martialis when theyare all assembled, “thank you for your presence. As I have already made clear,the weapon we are about to demonstrate could give us a huge military advantageover the Selanthi. I anticipate that each and every one of you will replace thismethod…unorthodox. You all know we have been reduced to desperate measures. Ibeg your indulgence and your patience as we struggle to cope with theseextremely challenging times.”

“You all know Gaius Valerius,” he continues, “orhave heard of his bravery at the Circus Maximus bombing. He showedextraordinary intuition and, incidentally, saved all of our lives. I know youwill all remember his merit when he presents you with this new and startlingdiscovery.”

At this point, the pontiffs and flamens arehanging on every word. They turn to Gaius expectantly. Even I am nervous, and Idon’t have to say anything.

“Honored guests…,” begins Gaius, glancing at theFlamen Martialis. Good one. I would have no idea how to address this crowd.

“…accompanying us today are three young womenwho are currently our only chance for victory. As you know, the academy hassucceeded in replicating the explosive powder that the Selanthi are soeffectively using against us. This,” he says, holding up one of our bombs, “isan iron sphere filled with their explosive material. When it detonates, metalshrapnel will cause extensive devastation to whatever happens to be nearby. Thehull of a ship, for instance.

“Our challenge,” Gaius continues, “is that wedon’t have the ability to launch these with enough range or accuracy to reallyincapacitate the enemy. Or we didn’t. Have the ability, I mean. But these youngwomen do. Um…perhaps now is a good time for a demonstration,” he says, lookingat the Flamen Martialis, who nods.

“Lucretia, would you please step forward?” Gaiussays.

Lucia shoots him a look of deep loathing, andthe Flamen Martialis rolls his eyes. Everybody knows Lucia. She isunmistakable. I realize Gaius’s precautions were destined for failure, and Ifight the desire to laugh out loud. I assume what I hope is a reasonableapproximation of seriousness, accomplished only by biting down on my lips. Hard.

“Hello, everyone,” says Lucia, annoyed. “Wouldyou please step a few yards back, just for your safety.”

Everyone does.

Lucia straightens up, breathes deeply, puts herarm out, and pulls back an imaginary string. Then she lets it go. The bombflies out over the bay, gaining incredible speed, and explodes violently justbefore hitting the water. If it wasn’t so scary, it would almost be beautifulin the fading light.

Marta, Cassius, and I are now used to theseimpressive displays, and we are at leisure to enjoy the various reactions ofour audience. Most of the pontiffs look both aghast and overjoyed, as ifthey’ve been given a lovely surprise. Some laugh and clap their hands; otherscongratulate themselves and their colleagues. A few of the flamens, however,wear a darker aspect. Suddenly the Flamen Dialis, the high priest of Jupiter,steps forward.

“I would never have believed, Aulus, that youcould watch this and think about military advantage,” he says coldly to theFlamen Martialis. “This defies a basic, fundamental law of our religion. It’sblasphemy, and it can’t be viewed in any other light. Our society wouldcompletely dissolve if we were to sanction this kind of behavior in any way.”

Marta and I both stiffen in fear. As the state’shigh priest of Jupiter, king of the gods, the Flamen Dialis’s opinion hasserious weight. Some of the other flamens are clucking angrily and nodding inagreement.

“With the highest respect, Gneus, you can stuffit,” says the Pontifex Maximus. “Quiet, everyone,” he says, “and let’s getsomething very important out of the way. I think we can all agree that if welisten to the kind of religious drivel just spouted here by our esteemedcolleague, our society will be too busy getting destroyed by the Selanthi tohave time to fall apart under the influence of a small group of corrupted,criminal women.”

Most of the pontiffs applaud this, and I canbarely restrain myself from doing the same. This is huge. Flamens, althoughvery much respected, are little more than religious figureheads when comparedwith pontiffs, who interpret and administer divine law. The Pontifex Maximus isthe head of the College of Pontiffs, and his opinion is the very last word innational theological matters. Even though I’m pretty sure he just called me acriminal, it seems as if we’ve all been granted immunity.

“So exactly what kind of invocation is thisyoung woman making?” asks one of the flamen. “Why can’t our soldiers simply betaught to do the same thing?”

“Ah,” says Gaius, “yes, there’s a very good reasonwhy only the girls can do this. Through testing, we’ve discovered thatlaunching and aiming the bomb requires an invocation of Diana.”

This draws mingled sighs and nods ofunderstanding from our audience. “A shame indeed,” says the Pontifex Maximus.“But does Diana also explode the black powder?”

“No,” interjects the Flamen Martialis excitedly,clearly thinking this good news will smooth over any remaining hostility. “Itonly requires the invocation of Vulcan. It may allow us to detonate theSelanthi devices before they can reach our lines. That skill can be taught toany of our troops; we ran a test with academy students earlier today.”

“I’m sorry, but again I must object,” says theFlamen Dialis. “Are you seriously considering inducting the entire army intoVulcan priesthood? Giving ordinary men the power to invoke the gods?”

“Seriously?” asks the Flamen Martialis. “Yes Iam. This has the power to neutralize a deadly weapon that is causing our armyto sustain huge losses. As the Pontifex Maximus said, it’s time to makepragmatic decisions, not adhere to religious doctrine.”

“If you’re concerned about the consequences ofteaching the troops, Flamen Dialis,” Gaius says respectfully, “we could alwaysmix things up. Introduce all sorts of extra steps, special rituals, and so on.They don’t need to know how they’re invoking Vulcan. We could bury that phrasein a longer prayer if need be.” The Flamen Dialis is quiet, absorbing thatpossibility. Eventually, he nods his assent.

I hear Cassius make an impatient noise behindme. This is exactly the kind of thing he hates, purposely hiding information tomanipulate people. I remember the day in the clearing when he refused to lie tous about Vesta.

“So what exactly is your plan, Aulus?” says thePontifex Maximus, bringing me back to the present. “You must have something inmind. How are we going to proceed?”

“Are we all in agreement that the training ofyoung women will go forward? That these girls won’t face any legal consequencefor invoking a god or goddess in the service of the Parcaean army?” asks theFlamen Martialis. “I would like a unanimous vote before proceeding.”

All thirteen pontiffs and fifteen flamens raisetheir hands in approval. I look closely at their expressions. Some lookpositive, but most are unreadable.

“Thank you, gentlemen,” says the FlamenMartialis. “There is no longer any point in concealing that these girlsstanding before you are, in fact, Vestal Virgins, and this angle will work toour advantage. I intend to enlist the aid of the Vestalis Maxima in creating arespectable front for our recruiting efforts.” This gains some approving nodsfrom the pontiffs.

“Before I reveal any further details, I muststress that our plan to train women must be kept in complete secrecy, for thesafety of the girls themselves and also to maintain our element of surprise, asthe city is surely harboring some Selanthi agents,” the flamen continues.

“Senators Accius and Spurius must be informed,”the Flamen Cerealis immediately responds. Other flamens break in with similardeclarations. It’s not hard to see why they’re insisting. Flamens are paidwell, but that doesn’t explain the fabulous wealth that most of them display inthe city. Unlike the pontiffs, they are in charge of organizing religiousevents all year long, not only in Polonia but in other major locations. Thismeans they have many favors to give, in the form of large government contractsto various festival vendors. Senators and flamens maintain a symbioticrelationship: a flamen grants favors to the senator’s political allies, and thesenator ensures that the flamen receives generous kickbacks. They also passvarious state secrets back and forth.

The flamens have reputations to protect. Theydon’t trust each other to keep this secret, so why should they look cluelesswhen their colleagues are passing this valuable information on to their own friends?

Gaius is agitated, and looks as though he’sgoing to object, when the Flamen Martialis holds up a hand for silence. “Ipropose a compromise. I will personally address the senate,” he says. “Theentire senate, not just those with political connections. I will wait two days,so anyone who wishes to have a private conversationbefore that time can do so. However, we must do our utmost to prevent thesenators from sharing any information publicly. The military importance of thisproject is such that, if it were to be compromised, the country would onceagain be in danger of imminent defeat. I know you all understand me,” he says,looking at each face in turn. Finally, he nods. “Thank you for joining metoday, gentlemen. I think that’s all we have to discuss.”

As our audience filters away, the FlamenMartialis turns toward us. “Good job today, girls,” he says kindly, which isgenerous since Marta and I didn’t even do anything. “I hope you weren’t in toomuch distress. Everything worked out well. Now, if you would please join me inmy cart back to the House of Vestals, I have an appointment with the VestalisMaxima. She will be expecting me.”