Virgin Slave

Rome 24th day of August, AD 410The sound was terror made real. It was heard through the ears, and felt through the bones. It was the sound that her ancestors had heard thousands of years before as they huddled in the dubious safety of a shallow cave with only the protection of the fire between them and the things that prowled in the dark. The things that growled.Julia stopped struggling against the rough hands that held her. The three of them, assailants and victim, turned as one, eyes squinting against the smoke that billowed from the burning shop. A pillar fell and smashed across the roadway, sparks showering. In the distance, from the direction of the Forum, screams could be heard. Here, now, after that low threatening rumble, there was only the sound of fire eating wood.Julia sagged in the grip of the two men. In her terror had she imagined it? But the men had heard it too. It had cut through her frantic cries, through their threats and curses and coarse laughter. In a world gone mad, when barbarians sacked the greatest city on earth and respectable tradesmen tried to rape the daughter of a senator, it was no stretch of credulity to believe a wolf was stalking the streets.Out of the corner of her eye she could see the crumpled body of the slave girl her mother had sent with her on this insane errand. The men had thrown her against the wall with brutal indifference as she clung to Julia's arm. She had not moved since. I do not even know her name...'Nothing there,'the taller of the men grunted. 'Imagination.''She heard it too, didn't you, rich bitch?' It was the one whose face she had clawed, futilely.'Yes. Yes--a wolf. It will be dangerous. You should run.' Even a wolf was better than these two. Fearful to run from the besieging Goths, fearful to fight, they had snatched at the chance to take what they had only been able to covet from afar. So often she, and ladies like her, had been carried past them in the street in litters, had browsed amongst the trinkets on their stalls and never noticed them. Now one of these pampered, elegant creatures had fallen into their hands. Amidst chaos they could take their pleasure and dull the terror of what was happening to their world.But this sheltered virgin had fought back, ripping at their hands and faces, kicking at their shins, biting where she could. And the other girl, the little slave, was likely dead, and no fun at all.The man with the bleeding tracks of four exquisitely manicured nails down his right cheek sneered back at her. 'Just some dog, chained behind the portico. No help for you there, sweetheart.' His fingers grasped the neck of her tunic and yanked downwards, his sweaty hand sliding over the bared flesh.'Hades.' The taller man's voice shook, even as the second, long growl froze his friend's hand on her breast.The smoke swirled and the animal padded out less than a dozen feet in front of them. It stopped, head lowered, watching them.The slanting green eyes set close over the long grey muzzle studied them with an aloof indifference that was more chilling than overt aggression. The curled lip revealed one long white fang. There was a low whistle and the animal walked off to the side and round the back of them. The men scrabbled to turn, dragging Julia, squinting into the drifting smoke as they tried to keep the animal in sight.'Gone.' The tall man wiped a hand over his damp brow. 'Let's get out of here before that fire gets worse, find somewhere more comfortable to enjoy ourselves.' His falsely confident voice trailed off as they faced the burning building again and the smoke billowed, parting in rags around another figure.A man. Tall, broad, bare-armed, golden. Light glinted off chain mail and helmet, wrist bands and belt buckle as he stood there watching them, as the wolf had done, with utter composure. There was no expression on the bearded face and there was no weapon in his hand, but a long sword hung frAllen, Louise is the author of 'Virgin Slave', published 2007 under ISBN 9780373294770 and ISBN 0373294778.