Alaric Longward

Gaius Is Dead Alaric Longward

Rome's power is ever growing. The wolf's claws reach far beyond its shores, and its enemies are weak and scattered. Roman law rules over most of the Mediterranean. And still, there are places in the world, where trouble is brewing. Some of those places are older than Rome, and darker. In Lycian Limyra, Gaius, the young man Augustus adopted, his one hope for his own bloodline to rule on, the man who is supposed to carry on building the Rome Augustus has built with blood, luck, and determination, is resting. Gaius, fresh from his duties in the east, wounded in Armenia, is not coming home. He seems content on having a holiday, and perhaps a permanent one. Rumors reach Rome, and Augustus is getting anxious. At the same time, in Limyra, Romans are being murdered brutally, and some speak of a vengeful spirit, or spirits from its bloody past are taking revenge for Rome's many ambitions and crimes. The missing heads, and the ominous horn blowing after each kill means Gaius is not safe, and Rome's honor must be restored. Decimus, the medicus Segolia, and his band or praetorian speculatores must go and solve the crimes, and to bring Gaius home. Neither task seems overly hard. They have an alliance with Pericles, the first man of Limyra, and they think they know who the killer is. Second, Gaius has no soldiers, and he will go home, at sword's point, if it comes to that. And still, the murders are far more complicated than they anticipated, more mysterious, far more brutal, and everyone involved has an agenda they will pursue to the death, if must be. Will Decimus discover the secrets of the Furies, and will he and his band of hardened soldiers get out of Limyra, their duties finished?