Coventina by Jamie Antonia Symonanis

By whom? For a what reason?”
    “Quintus, in this day and age, very low forms of human life, perhaps the lowest criminals of all, kidnap or trick women into sexual slavery. It is believed that Coventina and Anna were abducted in Rome by this type of criminal.”
    Quintus fell back against the wall they were standing by. “Inquilina, I.”
    “There is a ray of hope Quintus. We know where her family lives. Layla and I will visit them tomorrow morning to gather as much information that we can to help us find her. The other ray of hope you have is Layla and myself, for we are not your average human beings.”
    “May I accompany you in the morning, to meet with her family?”
    What do you think? Denise asked.
    He is crushed; I sense it, so of course, Layla said.
    “Of course,” Denise said.
    “Well, we can’t very well stay out here all night can we?” Layla said.
    “No, that is why I have already taken the liberty to rent us rooms at the Hilton just across the river,” Denise said. “Before we head over there I have something for all of you.” She handed each of the six legionnaires an envelope full of one hundred dollar bills. The envelope she handed Lucilla was larger and held much more cash. “When we get to Italy, you are going to need a ride, so make arrangements for one large enough for yourself and the others. If our vehicle were large enough it would not be necessary. In addition, Layla and I are going to be very busy.”
    “Thank you Denise,” Layla smiled.
    “Well, I hope it is as easy to hail a taxi here as it is in Chicago,” Denise said.
    They headed down the hill where they only had to wait a few minutes before a taxi stopped to pick them up. Lucilla accompanied the legionnaires, Layla and Denise following in the Mustang.
    “So, what sort of sleeping arrangement do we have tonight?” Layla asked.
    “A family room for the legionnaires, a single room for us, and a single room for Lucilla and Marcus.”
    “Really? You are sure she will approve?”
    “She already has,” Denise smiled.
    “What is this that Inquilina gave to each of us?” Venutius asked.
    “It is the current form of currency that you will use to buy things, as you did with coins,” Lucilla said. She noticed the driver glancing at her in the rear view mirror and wondered if he spoke Latin.
    “Will we be able to tour the city tomorrow?” Petilius asked.
    “That is my plan, to return to the site of the original fortress built by Roman legions so long ago,” she said, putting her finger over her mouth and moved her head from side to side signaling for them to not speak about who they actually were.”
    “I anxiously await a new day then,” Petilius smiled.
    The taxi pulled up in front of the hotel with the Mustang behind them. Layla waited in the car until Denise found out about parking. The others followed her inside.
    The hotel was a magnificent modern space inside a building whose exterior had a medieval flair. Lucilla accompanied Quintus and the others to their room and helped them settle in before heading to her room with Marcus.
    “Well honey, this is going to be one hell of a strange trip,” Layla said, walking back to the hotel after parking the Mustang.
    “Yeah. I don’t know where to begin,” Denise said.
    “Tomorrow may change all of that.”
    “We shall see.”
     
     
     
15
    Heworth
     
    Denise gazed out the hotel restaurant window at Cliffords Tower, the remnants of a fortress complex from the Middle Ages that had been repeatedly sacked by invaders and sighed before speaking. “I often imagine where humanity would be as a species had it chosen a different path eons ago?”
    “A path other than?” Layla asked before taking another sip of her coffee.
    “Greed. I think greed has been the cause of most of humanity’s crimes and atrocities over the ages. Oh sure, humans have found other reasons to hate and kill each other, but greed I believe is the root cause of most of it. Imagine how different things