“That was… work?” I asked.

Gaius grinned. “Of course! Taking from the rich and giving to the poor.” He tossed the pouch of gold up into the air. “A true hero’s task!”

Not far away, I saw Scipio grumbled under his breath. What did he think of Gaius’ “heroics”, I wondered. Probably nothing good, judging from his sullen look.

“That was all we could find… my whole inheritance. Happy?”

“Aye, it’ll be paying for our drinks now! Cheers!” The fat soldier fist bumped Gaius.

I stared at the gold. Gaius had made the sack look light, but he was a strong man. Most of the praetorians were. There was no mistaking those lean, bulging muscles. My comrades all had a build like a main battle tank. The thing must’ve weighed at least fifty pounds, and if the glint inside was any indication it was all solid gold.

Now, I was no economist, nor a wine expert, but I was quite sure drinks didn’t cost that much. “Drinks… that… expensive?”

Gauis snorted. “Oh, heavens no! We’re not keeping all of this. It was… seven and a half…”

“Eight.” The fat soldier correct.

“Yes, eight. Eight shares to the big guy.” He rummaged through the sack. “Half for the informant. One for everyone else’ hush money.” He drew out a few nuggets. “And lastly, half for us.” Gaius found a few coins, and began tossing them out, three at a time. I managed to catch mine perfectly, with the pause button’s help.

He whistled. “Nice reflexes!”

“Thanks.” I peered into my palm. The coins were gold, solid gold, each shining like a little star. On the market, they probably could’ve went for a few thousand dollars each. I was no expert on them, as I said, but god damn did it look like a lot of money. More than I’d ever held, in fact. It was strange, looking at it. Was this all… mine?

“Where?” I tried.

“Pardon?” That was Gaius.

“Where he…” I pointed at Scipio. “Get all… this.” I gestured at the gold.

The fat man interurpted. “Dear ol’ gramps of his is a senator. This is one of his main villas. Course they’d have a big haul stored here. Their money… and maybe a few others also. Old man Scipio’s a known lender.”

Did I just rob a bank?

The thought hit me suddenly, ridiculously. “Will there be… problems?” I tried. I typed something into chat again. “Authorities?”

The uproarious laughter caught me off guard. “Friend.” Gaius said, wiping his eyes. “Any idea who you’re looking at?”

I blinked. “You?”

“Yes, me.” He said impatiently. “Now who am I?”

“Guard?”

“No no, not just a guard, you stultus. We are praetorians, brother! We…” He took a breath for dramatic emphasis. “We are the authorities!”

I blinked. I wasn’t sure what American national police got up to, but kidnapping the children of senators and robbing them blind wasn’t exactly at the top of the list. Ok, maybe they were a little corrupt, or a bit ineffective at times. But this? What the hell was this?

“Don’t you be scared.” The fat man placed a meaty hand on my shoulder. “Long as the big guy gets his cut, we’d have no trouble.”

“People… okay… with this?”

More laughter. The fat soldier clapped me on the back. Hard. I stumbled, and almost fell. “That’s what the hush money is for! We don’t fork out an entire share for nothing!” Grabbing a coin, he tossed it at Scipio’s feet. “See that, son? Happy with it?”

Scipio looked quite unhappy, and seemed about to say it. But he stopped himself.

“I won’t be needing to visit again, will I?” In an instant, the fat soldier became menacing. I saw Scipio gulp.

“No… no.” He said.

The fat soldier was all smiles again. “Good. Now…” He tossed another coin at the kid. “I must be deaf. I didn’t hear my thanks.”

Scipio looked ready to scream. “You-”

The fat soldier’s eyes flashed again. “What was that?”

“You… are too generous.” Scipio forced the words out through gritted teeth.

Stolen novel; please report.

The fat soldier harrumphed, and took a coin back. “Indeed I am.” He swapped it out for a silver one in his pocket, and nailed Scipio over the head with it. The poor kid stumbled back, clutching his forehead.

“Ow!” I saw the glint of blood.

“Mind your manners, kiddo.”

I winced. Robbery was robbery, but this? “Hey.” I found myself saying. “This…” I started typing again. “Unnecessary.”

Was it possible for a stare to tell a story? As the fat soldier turned his stare towards me, I found myself cowering. Cold sweat beaded at the back of my neck, and I felt my legs begin to shake. The lions were one thing, but this…

The soldier’s stare was a simple one, devoid of elegance, refinement, subtlety. It was a cold, dispassionate, violent gaze, born from what must have been decades on the battlefield. I can’t say how I got the feeling, even now. But I got it.

This was a man who would kill without a second thought.

“I mean… drinks!” I corrected myself hurriedly. “Unnecessary waste. Time. Could be drinking.”

The stare turned into a grin. “Haha! Yes! Drinks, course! With me, boys!”

I looked at the kid. He was staring at the floor, hands grasping after something that wasn’t there. Like…

Something flashed back all too suddenly. I was a few steps too far down the hall, and Derrick was grabbing my shoulder.

Well? Yknow the drill, fork it over.

Something churned in my stomach.

I heard my comrades laugh.

I should do something.

But what, exactly? I…

“Aye!” The fat soldier hollered, breaking me out of my thoughts. “You coming?”

My gaze lingered on Scipio for some time, listless, broken. And then I wrenched my gaze away.

“Coming.”

I tried to not let my slump show.

***

I sat gloomily in the tavern as my comrades ate and feasted, my hands never touching my drink. My eyes wandered, attention drifted. My body was here, but my mind wasn’t. Scipio’s slumped body still lingered in my head.

Was this how I was going to live, from now on? My hands drifted to the gold in my pocket. It felt dirty, somehow, touching it. As if it was a load of dung rather than the most money I’d made in my life.

Raucous laughter echoed around me. I saw Gaius smile at one of the serving girls. I saw the fat soldier wolfing down a pie. I saw soldiers sharing meals, drinks, stories… and I saw I wasn’t part of it.

And I was unsure if I would ever be. Or wanted to be.

I leaned back in my chair, hugging my arms to my chest. I know, I’m someone who hated boredom. The dry suburbs, the manicured lawns, the empty parks. But now… I missed it. It was peaceful, at the very least. Not… this.

I heard the clack of an armored body sliding into a chair besides me. “Well? All good, brother?” It was Gaius’ voice.

“I…” I stared around gloomily. “I miss home.”

Gaius nodded with some understanding. “All roads lead to Rome, but hearts… ah… don’t we all love home?” He looked at me with some interest. “Tell me about it. What’s it like, your home?”

It was a struggle, speaking with only one or two words at a time, but I tried. I painted him a picture, if sloppily, of my boring suburb. Just another house among many, in a neat little row of lawns. I told him about my parents, the slave-drivers they were, the expectations, the agony. I told him more than I should’ve, probably. But he listened. And once I started I couldn’t stop.

“So you really are from Olympus.” Gaius said, his voice tinged with wonder. “Sounds like a paradise.”

“Well… it’s…” My protest died in my throat. “Yes.”

The memories came flooding back, all of a sudden. I felt a lump in my throat form as it did. Mom with her shining eyes and mischievous smile, being dragged to the Christmas tree. Dad and his rambly speeches, his half baked advice. The nervous, all too stiff hugs, and that kiss on my forehead he fervently denied.

It was… heaven.

A single tear slid down my cheek.

“Is it true? Is there no war? No famine?”

“No.”

“No beggars?”

“No.”

“No slaves?”

My eyes opened. “No.” Something came alive within me again, like a blazing fire. “I…” My voice trembled as I spoke. Light returned to my eyes. “I think I want to make Rome like that.”

“Well? Do it then!” An excited voice came besides me. Another soldier.

It was then that I realized I had company. Lots of company. Half the tavern seemed to be crowded all around one spot. And somehow I’d missed them.

Gaius’ eyes were shining. “Take courage, brother. The gods themselves support you.”

Gods?

I heard a soldier jostle at another. “See? Told you so. No mortal can defeat a whole pack of lions with his bare hands. He is Heracles come again!”

“Wait-” I protested.

Another spoke up. “And you think you’re so smart? I was there myself! Saw him with my own two eyes! He fell out of the sky like a gift from the heavens!”

“My parents aren’t gods!”

“Demigods.” The correction quickly came.

“They’re… normal!” I tried.

Gaius raised an eyebrow. “Normal? They are immune to diseases, yes?”

“Well…”

“Particularly the pox?”

“Yes.”

A series of oohs and aahs came from the crowd.

“They are over fifty years old, and still healthy?”

“Well… mostly.” I admitted.

Gasps and glances were tossed about the crowd.

“You said your father rides a metal beast that gallops thrice the speed of the swiftest horse?”

Well, that was one way to describe a car. “Yes, but-”

“And your mother employs sorcery to make herself appear decades younger?”

“Tries to-” I struggled to find the right words. How to tell them her makeup didn’t look good without insulting my mom?

“And she wears robes of imperial purple?”

My mouth went dry. “Those are from the discount piles at Walmart!” I protested. Or tried to, at any rate. There was no translating that.

I heard a few whispers go around. The phrase “marketplace of the demigods” came up more than once.

I groaned.

“And… you said that they, being rich and possessing such immense power, share a bed and love each other?”

I blinked. “Yes? Of course!”

“They do not scheme for eachother’s downfall? Seek to steal eachother’s wealth? Detest eachother?”

“No!” I gasped, horrified.

“You mean to say…” His voice slowed, as if to ensure no misunderstandings occurred. “That they are happily married?”

“Yes?”

This gasp was the loudest of them all. I heard a cry in the back of the tavern. “Inconceivable!”

“So they are demigods!”

I hung my head wordlessly.

God help me.

And he did. But it was there I learned that I ought to be careful what I wished for.

A servant scurried into the bar, panting breathlessly. “Sirs!” He called. “Commotion at the forum. The plebians, they are revolting!”

The fat soldier scoffed. “Why the rush? Those lowlifes have revolted us for their entire existence.”

“No, no. I mean to say, sir, that they are… revolting!”

He received a flat stare.

“They… they… they’re rioting!”

The fat soldier’s eyes widened. “Why did you not inform me sooner? Brothers! Arms!” He found his sword.

The tavern came alive with commotion. Patrons fleeing, soldiers scrambling, and drunk, half blind men stumbling to grab their weapons.

I saw Gaius approach me, a grim expression on his face. He handed me a scabbard. “Yours.”

As I grabbed it, I felt my hands begin to shake. Pulling at one end, I saw my reflection in the length of a wicked sword.

“I…” I stared at it, stupefied. “I can’t. I don’t use… sword.”

“We’ll find you your weapon of choice later, brother.” He assured me. “A weapon fit for a demigod. But for now… this must suffice.”

He ran to join the others.

My eyes never left the blade. I’d never learned to fight before! And now…

Oh no.