That's very helpful!" said Petronius in a hollow voice. Beside me, Albia shook with a brief burst of wicked laughter.
So what nationality is this man?" Helena asked, ignoring them.
Roman," said Rhodope. People were silent. We were all having problems finding air. After a while Petronius told me, I know what that pit must be. It's the ordeal trench for initiates, she was in a Mithraeum." I thought about that. My brain had slowed down, starved of air.
It makes sense, Falco. Rhodope, listen. There is a religious cult that many soldiers join, and I believe it is common among pirates. Their god is called Mithras. This cult is secretive, but the initiates have to rise through seven ranks. One of their tests is to lie alone in a covered trench all night. I think that was where you were to have been put."
I don't know."
Did they take you to a sanctuary indoors somewhere, maybe in a private house? You would have gone through a changing room, where the men put on various coloured robes. The shrine would be downstairs, perhaps with a statue of a god riding on a bull. Try to remember. Was there a room underground where they held daily services, and this pit underneath the nave?"
I don't think it was like that." Drowsy with grief and lack of air, Rhodope had lost interest and become unhelpful. It's no good going on at me, I don't know!" Helena shushed her. I said to Petro, It's not Mithras. I searched for temples all over town. I know every damned place of worship in the whole of Ostia I never found one Mithraeum."
Mithras is a secret religion. They don't have temples. Did you know what to look for?"
I know as much as you!" I felt bound to ask him, Are you in the cult?"
No." Petronius was also wondering. Are you?"
No." We were both glad to have cleared that up. I was fairly sure that before he died, my brother Festus had tried the whole Mithraic ritual of lying in a trench in the dark and having the blood of a sacrificed bull rain down on him. I doubt if he ever progressed beyond the first level; after initial curiosity, having to be serious about the cult would have put him off. The bull's blood would be enough to deter me.
Of course, jibed Helena, as it's a secret male cult, if either of you were in it, neither would own up." Neither of us answered her.
Petronius is right," I said at last. If this pit is in a Mithraeum, it will be hidden away at the back of a private house or place of work, and we will never find it." Wickedly, I added, Unless, Petro, you have a file at the vigiles station house, with a list of them?"
We have the file," he answered, a little reluctantly. It's the empty one." The young flautist started coughing. He sounded asthmatic. That could be a contradiction, but the breath control when he was playing the flute helped him. That was what he told Helena, as she took up the new task of calming him.
This is a wonderful young man, Rhodope. It was quite superb how he rescued you. He is brave, athletic, polite, sensible, and he has a steady job. When you recover from your grief you should think about settling down with somebody like this." I expected an outcry from the girl, but she was always up for new adventures. Are you married, Chaeron?" Helena asked.
No!" answered Chaeron, eagerly. Who knows where the matchmaking might have led. But Helena fell silent apprehensively, as our hot, cramped tomb suddenly echoed to a hearty knocking sound.
