“The Young Men?” Pisakar sounded doubtful. “The Eighth is a good match for the First…”
Lucius looked up from the map. “It’s our job to season them in all aspects of legionary duty, including kissing the ass of Imperators. Besides, I don’t want to take both of our best cohorts. I want to make sure you’re manned. While I’m thinking about it, I’m going to give you an order to grab a couple cohorts from I Adiutrix at Brigetio. Also, send to the II Italica at Lauriacum for two, and…” His finger settled on another dot. “Two from the IV Flavia Felix at Singidunum. And, take two from the XIV at Carnuntum. Don’t take everyone’s best, but don’t let them palm off their weakest men. I’m going to need to trust their abilities where I suspect we’re going.”
“I know the drill. They’re going to be underpowered either way. These new ‘Domini’ have been siphoning off the cream of the crop from the border legions for half a century now. Do you want me to notify Quietus that you’re leaving Vindobona?”
“Organize and train them as you see fit. You know I trust you to make those decisions.” Lucius scratched his jaw. “I’ll take care of Quietus. It’ll give me a good chance to try out the new horse they want to replace Cicero with.”
“He’s not going to be happy about you moving out of the neighborhood. The X Gemina is a fine legion with a storied history, but they’ve grown complacent with you stationed here.”
“It’ll give them a chance to get some exercise. Quietus is a good man. He’ll be able to organize this section of the border. The other legion commanders will listen to him.”
Pisakar nodded, rubbing a hand from front to back over the deep brown skin of his bald head. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll make preparations.”
“Actually, you haven’t filled the open position for my secretary, have you?”
“Not yet.”
“Detach Decanus Martininius from his current assignment and move him to my staff. Looks like he won’t quite escape quills and parchment yet.”
Pisakar raised an eyebrow but didn’t seek clarification. “Martininius?”
“The scout who was escorting me to the bridge.”
“Ah, I’ll see to it.” Pisakar was used to Lucius’s sometimes odd orders and rarely asked questions unless it mattered or he was curious. This seemed to qualify as neither.
“That’ll be all.” Lucius pored over the map in front of him and didn’t notice when Pisakar left to fulfill his orders.
Get Fall of the Centurio Immortalis Now!
LEAVE A REVIEW
Reviews are the lifeblood of every indie author. Even a simple star rating means the world to us. If you enjoyed this book, please leave an honest review at Goodreads, BookBub, or your preferred online book retailer.
Would you like to join other readers who enjoyed this book? Join my Facebook Reader Group!
Thank you!
C. Thomas Lafollette
GET A FREE COPY OF THE CENTURION IMMORTAL
Your Free Book Is Waiting
The Centurion Immortal returns to the land of his birth, but he never suspected he’d be drawn into a supernatural turf war.
A vacation in Belgium is the perfect way for an incognito immortal to get in touch with his roots. Former Roman Legionnaire and vampire slayer Luke Irontree is pulled into a supernatural feud when he’s offered a job he can’t refuse—rescue an innocent woman and child from his ancient enemies. When he goes undercover at an EDM festival, he has everything under control. But when his prey find out he’s more than a simple tourist, things take a turn for the deadly.
Suddenly up to his neck in vampires, Luke must play a lethal game of cat and mouse in which his survival is the prize. Can he escape the trap set for him while rescuing the people caught in the middle? Or will the blood of his immortal life trickle down a rusty grate in a basement in Liege?
Get a free copy of a Luke Irontree Prequel
The Centurion Immortal here:
TSIRANAPOGH
The tsiranapogh (tsih-Ran-nuh-Pahgk) is a musical instrument uniquely tied to the culture of Amernia and is featured throughout Rise of the Centurio Immortalis. It’s more commonly known by the slavic name “Duduk.”
The instrument has been around for at least one-thousand-years, though it’s suspected that it’s far older than that, harkening back to antiquity. For the purposes of this story, it existed two-thousand-years-ago.
Made from Apricot wood, tsiranapogh translates in Armenian as “apricot horn.” It’s a double-reeded wood instrument that produces a hauntingly beautiful tone and has become popular in many Hollywood soundtracks such as the film Gladiator.
I have prepared a short, curated playlist of tsiranapogh pieces on Spotify that feature two players. One will play the melody while the other plays accompanying drone tones. If you enjoy the playlist, I have a much longer one available in my Spotify profile for your listening pleasure.
