she was a small slave girl,” Orlando explained.
I felt my eyes prickle with tears. I couldn’t imagine how that unloved child had survived such a harsh life.
“What about the other sister? The temple girl?” asked Reuben.
Orlando smiled, “Lucilla is something else. Her foster parents never told her of the circumstances of her birth, yet she always sensed that she had an unusual destiny. From the age of three or four, she’d plead with her parents to take her to the Temple of Vesta. If they refused, Lucilla ran off there by herself, taking offerings of flowers and cakes. She told her parents she felt peaceful there. No-one was surprised when the temple authorities sought her out to train her as a Vestal virgin.”
“So now all three sisters are back in Rome,” Reuben said. “Star returned from Carthage or wherever. Aurelia just got back from Britain, and Lucilla’s been here all along.”
“Lucilla will be so amazed when she finds out she’s got two long lost sisters,” I said excitedly.
Reuben frowned. “Won’t it be dangerous to bring them together?”
“Because of the curse!” I gasped. “I totally forgot about that.”
Orlando shook his head. “The three sisters are supposed to be reunited. That’s been our objective all along.”
“Orlando, that is SO cool!” I was practically hugging myself.
He had that weary look he gets when I’ve totally missed the point. “This isn’t some family reunion, Mel,” he said in his most patient voice. “It’s an event of major cosmic significance, or the Agency would never have backed our mission.”
“No, I do see that,” I said hastily.
“Individually, all the girls have wonderful qualities, yet until now they’ve been incomplete. But once they’re reunited, their inner light will become so powerful, that it will shine down the centuries.” Orlando fixed me with his most intense expression. “These girls will transform history, Mel.”
Reuben looked nervous. “Do the PODS know about this?”
Orlando gave us a strange little smile. “Why do you think they’ve fought so hard to keep them apart?”
I felt a sudden pang of worry. “We should go to the temple,” I said urgently. “We should go and find Lucilla now!”
It turned out that the Powers of Darkness had other ideas.
On the way to the Temple of Vesta, we ran into every Roman obstacle imaginable; builders’ wagons blocking the street, floods from burst water pipes. We even got stopped by two night watchmen with leather buckets, wanting to know if anyone had reported a fire. But finally we were racing up the long flight of temple steps, taking them two and three at a time.
When we reached the top, a shiver went through me as if someone was walking on my grave. The door stood wide open. We rushed inside, but Lucilla and the other Vestals were nowhere to be seen. The shrine to the goddess was in darkness, its sacred flame totally snuffed out.
Chapter Ten
V esta’s lamp lay smashed into pieces at the far end of the temple so you knew it had been hurled there by a supernatural force.
Reuben silently collected up the glimmering gold fragments and returned them to the altar. It was a typically sweet Reuben-type gesture, as if he was apologising personally to the goddess.
Without her sacred flame burning on the altar, Vesta’s temple felt like a lifeless shell.
Orlando gazed around with a despairing expression. “It’s over,” he said in a dull voice.
“It isn’t over,” Reuben comforted him. “It’s just a - a bit of a setback.”
“It’s a disaster,” said Orlando. “The Dark forces got Lucilla and it’s all my fault.”
“We’ll find her,” I said, with more confidence than I felt. “Come on, let’s go.”
Reuben shook his head. “We can’t leave the temple like this. Every evil entity in Ancient Rome will think they’ve got squatter’s rights.”
But Orlando was already on his way out of the door. “Sorry, you’ll have to manage without
I felt my eyes prickle with tears. I couldn’t imagine how that unloved child had survived such a harsh life.
“What about the other sister? The temple girl?” asked Reuben.
Orlando smiled, “Lucilla is something else. Her foster parents never told her of the circumstances of her birth, yet she always sensed that she had an unusual destiny. From the age of three or four, she’d plead with her parents to take her to the Temple of Vesta. If they refused, Lucilla ran off there by herself, taking offerings of flowers and cakes. She told her parents she felt peaceful there. No-one was surprised when the temple authorities sought her out to train her as a Vestal virgin.”
“So now all three sisters are back in Rome,” Reuben said. “Star returned from Carthage or wherever. Aurelia just got back from Britain, and Lucilla’s been here all along.”
“Lucilla will be so amazed when she finds out she’s got two long lost sisters,” I said excitedly.
Reuben frowned. “Won’t it be dangerous to bring them together?”
“Because of the curse!” I gasped. “I totally forgot about that.”
Orlando shook his head. “The three sisters are supposed to be reunited. That’s been our objective all along.”
“Orlando, that is SO cool!” I was practically hugging myself.
He had that weary look he gets when I’ve totally missed the point. “This isn’t some family reunion, Mel,” he said in his most patient voice. “It’s an event of major cosmic significance, or the Agency would never have backed our mission.”
“No, I do see that,” I said hastily.
“Individually, all the girls have wonderful qualities, yet until now they’ve been incomplete. But once they’re reunited, their inner light will become so powerful, that it will shine down the centuries.” Orlando fixed me with his most intense expression. “These girls will transform history, Mel.”
Reuben looked nervous. “Do the PODS know about this?”
Orlando gave us a strange little smile. “Why do you think they’ve fought so hard to keep them apart?”
I felt a sudden pang of worry. “We should go to the temple,” I said urgently. “We should go and find Lucilla now!”
It turned out that the Powers of Darkness had other ideas.
On the way to the Temple of Vesta, we ran into every Roman obstacle imaginable; builders’ wagons blocking the street, floods from burst water pipes. We even got stopped by two night watchmen with leather buckets, wanting to know if anyone had reported a fire. But finally we were racing up the long flight of temple steps, taking them two and three at a time.
When we reached the top, a shiver went through me as if someone was walking on my grave. The door stood wide open. We rushed inside, but Lucilla and the other Vestals were nowhere to be seen. The shrine to the goddess was in darkness, its sacred flame totally snuffed out.
Chapter Ten
V esta’s lamp lay smashed into pieces at the far end of the temple so you knew it had been hurled there by a supernatural force.
Reuben silently collected up the glimmering gold fragments and returned them to the altar. It was a typically sweet Reuben-type gesture, as if he was apologising personally to the goddess.
Without her sacred flame burning on the altar, Vesta’s temple felt like a lifeless shell.
Orlando gazed around with a despairing expression. “It’s over,” he said in a dull voice.
“It isn’t over,” Reuben comforted him. “It’s just a - a bit of a setback.”
“It’s a disaster,” said Orlando. “The Dark forces got Lucilla and it’s all my fault.”
“We’ll find her,” I said, with more confidence than I felt. “Come on, let’s go.”
Reuben shook his head. “We can’t leave the temple like this. Every evil entity in Ancient Rome will think they’ve got squatter’s rights.”
But Orlando was already on his way out of the door. “Sorry, you’ll have to manage without
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