Milo rode frantically through the burning streets of Pompeii, scarcely noticing the scattering crowds as he searched for Cassia. Hopefully she was out of the city by now. If she wasn't, the only place he could think to check was the ruined coliseum.
Milo's horse shied away and reared as he approached the coliseum, which was a battleground of fire and rock. It looked as though nothing could be alive there.
Then he heard her.
"Milo!" Cassia shrieked from across the coliseum grounds. She was shackled to a chariot. Corvus was bent over her.
"Corvus!" Milo howled.
Corvus turned and saw Milo. He smiled a wolflike smile and stroked Cassia's thigh. Then he turned and spurred his horses. The chariot shot off in the direction of the shipyard.
Milo dug his heels into his horse's side, much harder than a master horseman should. His horse whinnied and galloped after Corvus' chariot.
Fire was everywhere. It carpeted the ground in front of Milo. It consumed the buildings around him. It filled the air with scintillating heat. Cinders swirled around him and landed in his hair. He didn't notice. Cassia was in front of him.
They reached the edge of the city. The outlying hills were peaceful. They seemed unaware of the holocaust taking place at their feet.
Milo's eyes were locked on Cassia, still so far ahead of him. He didn't see the horse' mouth starting to foam. He didn't hear it start to pant.
Then it lurched forward and collapsed, spilling Milo onto the ground on the top of one of the hills. He tucked reflexively and rolled away, narrowly avoiding the crushing weight of the horse.
"Milo!" Cassia screamed again. She looked as terrified for him as she did for herself. And then she was gone, disappeared over the crest of another hill.
Milo sprang to his feet and prepared to sprint after her. But at that moment, a terrible, primeval groan issued from the mountain beyond Pompeii. Its top seemed to catch fire and spew forth a cloud of smoke that would have blocked the sun had it been daytime. An odor like scorched sulfur filled the air.
Milo stood stunned as the air itself seemed to tear across Pompeii, sending houses tumbling and stirring up the flames. It was like the hand of some god sweeping Pompeii off the earth.
The wave was almost dissipated when it reached him. It was still enough to toss him into the air and slam him to the ground ten feet back. He lay there unable to breath or move for a moment.
When he got up, he realized two things. First, that the city was utterly silent. The screams had been horrifying, but nothing could be worse than that silence.
Next, he realized that he would never be able to catch Corvus' chariot on foot. Cassia was gone, and he had no way to find her.
Then Milo realized one last thing. He didn't have a way to catch Cassia, but he did know where she might be going. Corvus was a Roman. He would take her back to his villa in Rome.
Milo didn't know how he was going to get to Rome. But he knew he was going to get there. And when he did, Corvus was going to find out what it was like to fight a gladiator.