True Freedom Read online

  TRUE FREEDOM

  Copyright 2019 by Carol Ashby

  All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means―electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other―except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  Publisher’s Note: This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. All characters are fictional, and any similarity to people living or dead is purely coincidental.

  Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

  Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

  Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.

  Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

  Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

  Cover and interior design by Roseanna White Designs

  Cover images from Shutterstock.com

  ISBN: 978-1-946139-10-8 (paperback)

  978-1-946139-11-5 (ebook)

  978-1-946139-17-7 (hardcover)

  Cerrillo Press

  Edgewood, NM

  Scriptures

  Dedication

  A Note from the Author

  Characters

  Cities and Towns

  Chapter 1: Ready to Help

  Chapter 2: A Bad Idea

  Chapter 3: Invisible Man

  Chapter 4: No Better Alternative

  Chapter 5: True Friends

  Chapter 6: Too Much to Ask

  Chapter 7: Time to Warn Her

  Chapter 8: Serving Too Well

  Chapter 9: The Next Step

  Chapter 10: An Honest Man

  Chapter 11: Nothing to Worry About

  Chapter 12: Something Special

  Chapter 13: Trapped

  Chapter 14: A Place to Hide

  Chapter 15: Help from a Sister

  Chapter 16: But Why?

  Chapter 17: Not What They Expected

  Chapter 18: The Ransom

  Chapter 19: Still Her Protector

  Chapter 20: Not According to Plan

  Chapter 21: Hand-Off to Gaius

  Chapter 22: Almost to Safety

  Chapter 23: Safe at Last

  Chapter 24: Calantha, not Mistress

  Chapter 25: The Stupidest Thing

  Chapter 26: The Dark Side of Rome

  Chapter 27: The Reason Why

  Chapter 28: God of Leander, Please!

  Chapter 29: Mistress, Not Calantha

  Chapter 30: Officer of the Law

  Chapter 31: Worth Thanking

  Chapter 32: Ready to Bring Her Home

  Chapter 33: Life Was Good

  Chapter 34: Saved from a Living Hell

  Chapter 35: Forgiving the Enemy

  Chapter 36: Next Step in the Hunt

  Chapter 37: Razor’s Edge

  Chapter 38: More Than They Told Him

  Chapter 39: Grief and Hope

  Chapter 40: Making the First Connection

  Chapter 41: The Same but Different

  Chapter 42: Expanding the Hunt

  Chapter 43: Alphabets and Attractions

  Chapter 44: A Man of Proven Worth

  Chapter 45: The First Questions

  Chapter 46: Not an Emotion

  Chapter 47: Never Time to Despair

  Chapter 48: A Faithful Friend

  Chapter 49: The Unexpected Scribe

  Chapter 50: Rough Waters

  Chapter 51: One of God’s Own

  Chapter 52: What to Believe?

  Chapter 53: Only a Sister

  Chapter 54: Hunters or Hunted?

  Chapter 55: Too Hard to Bear

  Chapter 56: Finally on Track

  Chapter 57: Almost in Sight

  Chapter 58: The Limping Man

  Chapter 59: Escaping the Watchers

  Chapter 60: Last Night of Freedom.

  Chapter 61: Nothing of His Own

  Chapter 62: End of the Hunt

  Chapter 63: No More Time

  Chapter 64: Worthy of Trust

  Chapter 65: Dead and Alive

  Chapter 66: A Whole New Day

  Sneak peek at Honor Bound

  Chapter 1: Goodbyes

  Historical Note

  Discussion Guide

  Glossary

  Scripture References

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  The Light in the Empire Series

  I’d Love to Hear from You!

  Scriptures

  For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)

  Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. John 15:13 (NKJV)

  And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 (NKJV)

  Dedication

  To my children, Paul and Lydia,

  for their love, support, and encouragement.

  To Andrew, gifted wordsmith and true brother in Christ,

  who helped so much as I was writing every novel

  from The Legacy to Honor Bound.

  And especially to my husband, Jim,

  who embodies the best of every hero in these stories.

  And most of all, to Jesus.

  Soli Deo gloria.

  A Note from the Author

  Freedom―something we long for, something we cherish when we have it.

  But there are times when life closes in upon us, forcing us into circumstances we don’t want now and futures we dread. It can seem impossible for all things to work together for good when life goes totally wrong.

  I’ve known loss, but I’ve never lost everything. I’ve had to do what I didn’t want, but I always knew it was only for a season. I know God loves me beyond measure and wants only what’s best for me, but how many times have I questioned the events in my life because they weren’t what I wanted? It can be hard to remember in the moment of trial that all things work together for good for those who love God.

  Sometimes I act as if I know better than God what is best for me, but I only see in part, not the whole. If I stay open to what God is trying to show me, I can learn the truth, and it is truth that sets me free.

  Each time I come through the storm and look back, I can see His loving hand. And each time I do, it’s easier to remember while the lightning is still striking all around me that the rainbow will appear after the thunderstorm. When I stop trying to control everything, I’m free to relax and enjoy the ride.

  In True Freedom, Dacius’s life in a loving Christian family is ended by the Roman army that kills his parents and makes him a slave. He loses everything except his faith in God and his salvation through Jesus
. But even though he’s treated as an animal, he knows he’s still a man. He chooses to do what pleases God as much as he can as a slave. And when he risks everything to obey Jesus’s command to love, all things work together for good.

  True Freedom is a story of faith when the future seems hopeless, love to the point of sacrifice, and the power of faith and love to bring true freedom to all involved

  I hope you enjoy the story of Dacius and Julia and how his faithfulness ultimately frees them both. May we always remember that our own faithfulness in the times of trial can open the way to a better future than we ever thought possible.

  Characters

  Julius Secundus family and slaves

  Tiberius (52): ex-consul of Rome, now proconsul (governor) of the province of Sicily

  Tiberius (32): Tiberius’s oldest son, married and living at one of the estates outside Rome

  Manius (25): Tiberius’s second son serving as tribune in a legion stationed in Britannia

  Antonia Alba (25): stepsister of Julia, wife of Titus Flavius Sabinus, mother of Flavia and Sabina

  Aulus (18): Tiberius’s third son

  Julia Secunda/Calantha (16): youngest child of Tiberius

  Trebonia Procula (deceased): Julia’s stepmother, Antonia’s mother, Tiberius’s second wife

  Dacius/Leander (23): Enslaved in Dacia at 11, Christian, litter slave for Julia

  Gallio (mid-40s): steward of the Julius Secundus family

  Primus: litter slave who hates Dacius and blames him for the kidnapping

  Taurus: bodyguard and Julia’s litter escort

  Glyptus: cook and friend of Dacius

  Verres and Capellus: litter slaves who join Primus in lies about Dacius

  Claudius Drusus family

  Lucius Fidelis (36): father of Marcus Drusus

  Lucius (20): oldest son, a tribune near Rome but about to transfer to Judaea

  Marcus (18): Aulus’s best friend

  Flavius Sabinus family:

  Quintus Flavius Sabinus: ruthless Roman power broker; political enemy of Tiberius Secundus

  Octavius Flavius Sabinus (19): Quintus’s son

  Titus Flavius Sabinus (31): nephew of Quintus Sabinus, husband of Antonia Alba

  Flavia (6) and Sabina (3): children of Antonia and Titus, Julia’s nieces

  Titus Flavius Titianus (21): nephew of Quintus Flavius Sabinus, tribune in XI Urban Cohort

  At the Ludus Bruti:

  Marcus Antonius Brutus (32): wealthy equestrian owner of gladiator school, Ludus Bruti.

  Africanus: Brutus’s favorite gladiator as bodyguard, sparring partner, and good friend

  Rufus: another of Brutus’s favorites as bodyguard

  Lanista Felix: head trainer over the Ludus Bruti

  Fortis: gladiator used as a trainer of young men by Brutus

  Kidnappers:

  Gaius Faltonius Callidus (43): ex-legionary turned kidnapper

  Gnaeus Aelius Bassus: childhood friend of Callidus (thin kidnapper)

  Sempronius Rutilus family and Christian friends:

  Gaius Sempronius Rutilus (50): Christian farmer who shelters Julia and Dacius outside Rome

  Marcella (50): Gaius’s wife

  Publius Aelius Mestrius and wife Lucillia (40): taberna owners, members of Gaius’s house church

  Quintus Sertorius Festus and wife Petronia (23): poor farmers, members of the house church

  Sextus Valerius Genialis (45): Gaius’s best friend; widower, member of the house church.

  Servilia (45): Christian shopkeeper who hides Julia and Dacius from kidnappers

  Other Important Charaters:

  Claudius Ursus: Very wealthy son of an imperial freedman of Emperor Claudius

  Metilia Neposa (16): Julia’s best friend; grieving the death of her brother/Julia’s betrothed.

  Cities and Towns

  Stadia: Roman units for distances: 1 mile = 8.7 stadia; 1 km = 5.4 stadia

  Mille passus (pl. milia passuum) Roman mile = 0.92 English miles = 1.48 km

  Alba Longa: town south of Rome in Alban Hills

  Ardea (1): town on coast south of Rome

  Castrum Novum (2): near present-day Giulianova

  Carnuntum (3): legion headquarters on Danube east of present-day Vienna

  Cosa (4): ruins in southwestern Tuscany

  Cyrene (5): city in Africa, near present-day Shahhat, Libya

  Dacia (A): Roman province, present-day Romania

  Dyrrachium (6): port city on Adriatic Sea, present-day Durrës, Albania

  Fidenae: town north east of Rome

  Lacus Albanus: present-day Lake Albano in the Alban Hills of Lazio

  Liternum (7): town on coast north of Neapolis (present day Naples)

  Luna (8): coastal town in northern Italy, present-day Luni

  Mare Nostrum (B): “our sea”, the Mediterranean

  Neapolis: present-day Naples

  Ostia (9): older port town on Tiber River serving Rome

  Pisae (10): present-day Pisa

  Ponninia Superior (C): Roman province, present-day Austria

  Portus (9): newer port town on Tiber River serving Rome

  Puteoli (11): major port on west side of Italy

  Roma (12): present-day Rome

  Sarmizegetusa (13): capital city of Dacia

  Tibur: town east of Rome, present-day Tivoli

  Trebula Mutuesca (14): town northeast of Rome

  Tusculum: city south of Rome in Alban Hills

  Chapter 1: Ready to Help

  Rome, AD 118

  The Secundus villa, Day 1

  The woman’s scream ripped into Dacius. He dropped his shovel of manure and sprinted into the stable yard.

  Flames danced in a pile of straw three feet from the grindstone. The fire was small, but it transformed the skittery young stallion the master’s son had just bought into a thousand pounds of lunging, rearing, kicking terror. The horse had ripped its lead rope from the stable boy’s hand and run for the open gate in the eight-foot masonry wall―just as the young mistress returned on her litter.

  She blocked its escape, and the stallion was determined to get out, even if it had to go through the litter where Mistress Julia sat screaming. Its flailing hooves knocked the right rear bearer to the ground.

  With no one holding the pole, the litter tipped, and the still-screaming mistress tumbled out, not five feet from the horse’s hooves.

  Dacius stripped off his tunic as he ran toward them. The stallion reared, and as its full weight came down on the bearer’s head, it crushed the man’s skull.

  The mistress tried to stand, but she tripped on her long tunic and fell even closer to the terrified animal.

  Her shrieks fueled the stallion’s panic, and it started to rear once more. Dacius leaped, caught the lead at the halter, and pulled its head down and sideways, away from her.

  As the hooves came back to earth, he flipped his tunic across the horse’s face and pulled it snug. The stallion froze, trembling, when the fire disappeared from view.

  He led the horse into its stall and stood with it, stroking its neck. “Calm, boy. Steady, boy.”

  The fear drained from the trembling stallion as Dacius’s voice and hand caressed him. After the horse calmed, Dacius released his tunic and lifted it from the stallion’s eyes.

  “Good boy.” Two soft slaps to the horse’s shoulder, and he left the stall.

  The litter escort, a tall, muscular German, was carrying the limp form of Mistress Julia into the house. Dacius’s brow furrowed. He would have sworn he’d pulled the horse away before he struck her.

  A boy of about eleven stood with his back pressed against the wall, his eyes flicking toward the overseer like he was hoping not to be noticed.

  Dacius slipped along the wall to stand beside him. “Is the mistress hurt?”

  The boy shook his head. “No. She fainted. She can’t stand blood.”

  �
�Well, I don’t really like it myself.” Dacius tousled the boy’s hair and smiled at his worried face.

  The boy tipped his head to look up at Dacius. “You ran up to that horse. Why weren’t you afraid?”

  Dacius shrugged. “He was only panicked by the fire. I knew he’d calm down as soon as he couldn’t see it anymore.”

  The boy’s eyes shifted from Dacius to the overseer, and Dacius’s followed. The overseer strode over to the slave who’d been sharpening the hoes and swung the bronze knob on the handle of his three-cord whip into the side of his head, knocking him to the ground.

  “Stupid son of a donkey! Didn’t you see the sparks going into the straw? Move the grindstone over there.” He pointed to the wall farthest from the straw and hay.

  The slave stood, rubbing the side of his head. He bowed. “Yes, overseer.”

  Dacius stared at the whip as the overseer hung it back on his belt. The bronze was polished, the leather supple, as if frequently oiled. The overseer was proud of that whip, and that could only mean one thing.

  He liked to use it.

  The overseer nudged the trampled bearer with his foot to make sure he was dead. “Move this litter out of the gate.” He turned to one of the other bearers. “You. Get this body out of here.”

  The man bowed. “Yes, overseer.”

  The overseer swung and pointed at Dacius. “You. Clean up that blood so the mistress won’t see it again.”

  Dacius dipped his head. “Yes, overseer.”

  He drew a bucket of water from the cistern and poured it on the blood that had pooled on the paving stone where the man’s head had been. The red diluted and faded in the expanding circle of water, but some had soaked into the stone.

  He’d seen war, and he knew too much about cleaning up blood. It would take soap and hot water and scrubbing to remove most of it. And even then, a faint shadow would remain. The water had washed away enough that the mistress shouldn’t notice it, but he would always know a man had died there.

  Dacius sucked a breath between his teeth and shook his head as he released it. In Roman eyes, not a man. A slave had died there, his body now gone, tossed aside like a piece of broken furniture and just as easy to replace.