Muses of Terra (Codex Antonius Book 2) by Rob Steiner

“At least you pretended you knew all along. One of the first rules of leadership: Always act like you know what’s going on. Especially when you don’t.”
    Kaeso proceeded to explain another point of leadership, but his voice faded from Cordus’s attention.
    Marcus Antonius Primus stood behind Kaeso, his muscled arms folded. He stared at Cordus with preternatural blue eyes and wore a sideways grin. He had dark, curly hair and a well-trimmed beard. He wore the ancient Roman armor and scarlet cloak of a military commander. A gladius hung in a sheath from his left hip. His armor was dented and stained from multiple battles. Legends and Cordus’s Muse memories told him Marcus Antonius loved to wade into the thick of battle. But after the Muses infected him in Egypt, they had kept him back.
    Only an alien virus could keep Marcus from doing what he loved.
    “You listening, kid?”
    Cordus swung his eyes back to Kaeso. “Leadership is hard, I get it,” Cordus said, using all his will to ignore the apparition of Marcus Antonius. “I still would rather have known before you announced it to the crew.”
    Kaeso stared at Cordus, then slowly looked over his shoulder to where Marcus Antonius stood with folded arms. Cordus’s heart raced, and he thought Kaeso saw Marcus, but Kaeso turned back to Cordus with suspicious eyes.
    He doesn’t see. Gods, I am going mad.
    Marcus Antonius barked a laugh that echoed in the hold. Kaeso didn’t even flinch at the sound.
    “Like I said,” Kaeso continued, “I wanted to test your reaction to a real situation with real consequences. Not some drill, but one where your world just changed and you had only moments to adapt.”
    Oh, Kaeso, if you knew how my world was changing right now…
    “And you get to pilot the ship,” Kaeso said with a slight grin. “Hope that doesn’t add more pressure.”
    Sweat beaded in the center of Cordus’s back. “I’ve done it dozens of times. But Lucia will kick me out of her couch when she sees me—”
    “I told Lucia before she left. She knows you’ll be Trierarch for the entire mission, not just the trip there.”
    Cordus shook his head. “So you’ve planned this for over a month? What did Ocella say?”
    Kaeso winced. “I…didn’t tell her. Deep down she knows you need to do this. I’ll deal with the consequences.”
    “Well this should be a fun reunion.”
    “Mmm. We leave in thirty minutes. Make sure everyone does their job, Trierarch.”
    “Yes, Centuriae,” Cordus said. His voice sounded stiff, and he hoped Kaeso assumed it was the stress of his new responsibilities.  
    What else should he think? That I see my ancient ancestor’s ghost?
    Cordus’s gaze swept the hold. “I want to make sure everything’s locked down here first.”
    Kaeso nodded. “You’ll do fine, kid.”
    Cordus gave Kaeso a reassuring smile, and then he started inspecting the cargo fastenings as Kaeso left the hold.
    When the hatch closed, Cordus whirled around to Marcus Antonius. The ancient Roman unfolded his arms and walked straight toward Cordus. Cordus took an involuntary step back, but then stopped.  
    He’s not real. He can’t hurt me. Stop running, coward!
    “We’re very real, young Antonius,” Marcus said, standing a single pace from Cordus. “Want to touch us?”
    Cordus just watched Marcus, his breath quickening and the sweat dripping down his back. “Are you…from the Muses?”
    Marcus laughed. “Obviously. What, did you think we were Marcus Antonius Primus come back to life? That man died long ago, and he was quite a bit more trouble than we bargained for. Did you know we had to infect him twice before we could control him? The first time, his body rejected us because he refused to listen when we told him to stop drinking wine. Clouds our senses, as you know. Our flamens injected him again, and after some adaptations on our part, we finally infected him. We’ve had no trouble infecting anyone since.” Marcus eyed Cordus with a wry