30 Quintilis 64
Rome
"So these are the criminals."
The emperor was reported to be insane, but he didn't look a madman. He looked calm. Too calm.
"Yes, Emperor. They have confessed." The soldier had a head of golden curls and bowed reverently. "I was there for the questioning myself." There was a soft sob from behind him where the three arsonists were huddled together. He turned and pointed his sword at them, causing them to cry out. Their heads changing from their human form into ones that would be better placed on a doves. They trilled in fear.
Emperor Nero looked impressed. "And they're throughout the city? How did this happen?! Your kind were made for this!"
"We were made to fight and capture criminals," the Grimm said, in spite of himself. "No one had done anything wrong before this."
"So we sleep with vipers in out beds and hope they won't strike?" The emperor looked appalled. He gestured around him, where sooty citizens were huddled with their families, guarding what little they could save from the masses of burning buildings. "They struck! Look around you! See their venom poison the heart of Rome itself!"
The Grimm wasn't sure who the emperor was talking to, but he looked around just the same.
"We shall put an end to this," Nero sneered. "Round them up. Round up all of them. Women, children, every last drop of their sickness will be purged from Rome." His eyes began to burn brightly.
"Throw them to the dogs, crucify who you can, and burn the rest. Dip them in oil and light the city! We'll show them that the only thing that truly burns are enemies of the empire!"
The Grimm felt sick to his stomach, but his orders were clear.