Read Rule of God (Book Three of the Dominium Dei Trilogy) for Free Online Page B

everyone, including your father Vespasian, has known, the moon and sun are in dangerous positions relative to Saturn and Mars. This has been fixed forever and cannot be changed.”
    “Even by Caesar of Rome, the Lord and God of the universe?” Domitian demanded.
    “Yes, Your Excellency.”
    “Tell me, then, you who claims to know the future,” Domitian said. “To what end do you think you should come yourself?”
    Ascletario calmly replied, “I shall in a short time be torn to pieces by dogs.”
    Domitian laughed. “No, Ascletario, you won’t be torn to pieces by dogs, because I will prevent that. But you will die today.” He nodded, and his Praetorian took position on either side of the astrologer. “Kill him, and then burn his corpse.”
    •    •    •
    Athanasius listened intently to everything Cerberus told him about the Dei, its origins with Vespasian, Dovilin and Mucianus, and its changing nature under Domitian. All of which made him consider the scions of Dovilin and Mucianus.
    “Dovilin’s son, Vibius, is dead,” Athanasius told him, waiting for a reaction from Cerberus but seeing none. “So I don’t know where Dovilin goes from here.”
    “I do,” said Cerberus, and removed a letter from beneath one of the blankets upon which he lay and handed it to him. He almost knocked his small oil lamp over in the process, which seemed to be an accident waiting to happen.
    The letter was an elaborate invitation, the kind Athanasius used to receive back in Rome, hand-delivered by messengers in crisp white tunics and metal-studded belts.
You are invited to the Harvest Banquet at the Dovilin Vineyards on August 18 to celebrate the Harvest of wines and the work of the Lord’s Vineyard. You will not want to miss it.
Of the hundreds of Christian leaders the Lord’s Vineyard has discovered in its first 30 years, only a few are receiving this invitation. The most successful, experienced and highly placed believers in trade, military and government are invited to attend the tenth annual Harvest Banquet.
This invitation-only event is one of the most significant of its kind. Your life will change forever. So please mark your calendar and clear your itinerary for August 18.
The Dovilin Family Vineyard is one of the most beautiful locales in all of Asia. Outstanding musicians will lift your spirits to the stars. You will experience unforgettable fellowship in safe, secure surroundings with committed Christians.
You will meet God as never before.
    The invitation listed what it called famous Christians who had attended previous Harvests, but Athanasius didn’t recognize any names and was unimpressed. Where was the name of strapping Narcissus on the list? Indeed, elitist nonsense of this sort was rare even in Rome.
    “Domitian’s rule is more a meritocracy than the Church’s,” he told Cerberus, handing the invitation back.
    But Cerberus refused it. “You’ll need it to get into the banquet.”
    “I can’t go back there. She can’t go back there. We’re going to Rome, where the Dei will least expect us, and where Domitian is.”
    “But you don’t know who the Dei is today,” Cerberus said. “Dovilin is the only one of the three still around, but he now takes orders from Vespasian’s son Domitian, and Domitian may still be taking orders from Mucianus’s son or successor the way he did when he was nominal Caesar in Rome thirty years ago. You must find out what has happened to the third line in the Dei trinity. That is key, Athanasius.”
    Cerberus pressed his arm for emphasis.
    “If you find the successor to Mucianus in the Dei or his heir, Athanasius, you will find the man who truly rules the Dei today—or will tomorrow. The true Chiron. The linchpin of the Dei. If he is removed, the Dei falls apart. If he is not removed, you can remove Domitian but the Dei will continue, perhaps stronger than ever.”
    “And you really think I might find him at this Harvest party Dovilin is throwing?”
    “I