Read Chronicles of Logos Quest For the Kingdom Parts IV, V, VI, and VII Revised With Index (Quest For the Kingdom Set) for Free Online

him
deeply.
    When they were
out of earshot, Marcus turned to his friend.
    “What is going
on with the men? Why did they stop talking so abruptly when I arrived? And how
did Iacomus so quickly endear himself to them?”
    Justus
puckered his lips and furrowed his brow as if searching for words. He looked
slowly around him as though to assure himself that no one could hear them. Only
then did he answer Marcus.
    “I do not like
this stranger, Marcus. Have you seen how quickly he has risen in favor with
these men? It usually takes some time for a stranger to be adopted, yet here he
is in our midst only six weeks and he is hailed as a leader among them. And
your own wife has told Silvia that there is some mystery about him even in
Lycenium. I do not like it: I do not like it at all!”
    And Justus
shook his head from side to side in a gesture so violent that it surprised
Marcus. Known for his cool head and calm demeanor, his sudden intensity
revealed the depths of his agitation.
    “You feel that
way also, my old friend? For the more time I spend with Iacomus the more
uncomfortable I feel, and wonder what he is doing in Valerium. He says he has
business here, yet he does not divulge exactly what the nature of that business
is. And he is increasingly taking a lead in our meetings, and some who are
gullible are beginning to say that he is a godsend from Dominio Himself. He
does nothing wrong, yet he doesn’t feel right !”
    Now it was
Marcus who shook his head in perplexity.
    “Nothing wrong
you say?” Justus queried. “Yet it has been my experience for those who rise
quickly in the estimation of others to fall just as quickly, and they usually
take others with them in their downfall. Trust me, Marcus: no good will come of
this stranger’s appearing in our midst.”
    And a chill
clutched at the heart of Marcus as he glanced apprehensively back at the
square, and the men who still clustered around Iacomus.
     
    It was during
the royal banquet that the suspicions that flooded the mind of Marcus were
confirmed. It had been many years since he had first seen the interior of the
Palace, but the alternating tiles of rose-red marble and black granite streaked
with rose that so reminded him of a chessboard still had the power to unnerve
him, making him feel a pawn at the mercy of the good will of the monarch.
Although the atmosphere was far warmer than when Empress Aurora ruled here, the
overall effect was still intimidating.
    Empress Renata
had seated her guests in the customary style of Valerium, with four to six
people reclining on cushions around low tables, rather than the long table that
accommodated many people that was prevalent in Gaudereaux that Marcus
remembered from his travels there. Due to the informality of this arrangement,
the talk became confidential in many groups, and none more so than that in
which Marcus found himself a part. He and Tullia were seated with Justus and Silvia,
and joined by their good friends Vibianus and Livia Pomponius.
    Marcus and
Vibianus had grown up together, and Marcus considered no one as wise in the
ways of the world as Vibianus. His wife Livia was a part of every committee of
ladies of prominence to be found in Potentus, and was said to have heard all of
the latest gossip even before it had left the lips of the one divulging it to
others. Marcus decided that if anyone knew what was going on with the men of
Potentus, it would be these two.
    Not wishing to
be obvious he gave a sidelong glance at Tullia. She nodded ever so subtly, then
casually introduced the topic of conversation that Marcus wanted her to steer
it to.
    “Look how many
are with us tonight! Why, I would venture that anyone of any importance has
been invited by the Emperor. I see that General Celsus is here, and the Flavius
family with their daughter Verena; now there is a young lady I should
like to get acquainted with our Lucius! What a match that would be! When he
returns from Lycenium I shall see to arranging a