Blind Ambition Read online

  Copyright Page

  BLIND AMBITION

  Copyright 2017 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.

  Some Scripture quotations 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.

  Some Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission. www.Lockman.org.

  Cover and interior design by Roseanna White Designs

  Cover images from Shutterstock.com

  ISBN: 978-1-946139-02-3 (paperback)

  978-1-946139-03-0 (ebook)

  Cerrillo Press

  Edgewood, NM

  Copyright Page

  Promises

  Dedication

  Note from the Author

  Characters

  Cities and Towns

  Chapter 1: A Different Choice

  Chapter 2: Truly in Control

  Chapter 3: The Ambush

  Chapter 4: His Life or Hers?

  Chapter 5: The Rescue

  Chapter 6: The Broken Roman

  Chapter 7: Waiting

  Chapter 8: The Roman Mask

  Chapter 9: The Physician

  Chapter 10: Help from the Enemy

  Chapter 11: Safest Place in the Empire

  Chapter 12: A Wise Woman

  Chapter 13: A Real Family

  Chapter 14: Hope in the Darkness

  Chapter 15: The Good Samaritans

  Chapter 16: Gaius’s Way

  Chapter 17: The Night Caller

  Chapter 18: A Fair Price

  Chapter 19: A New Perspective

  Chapter 20: The Light Returns

  Chapter 21: Watching

  Chapter 22: First Meeting

  Chapter 23: Never More at Home

  Chapter 24: Not Just His Physician

  Chapter 25: Which Enemy to Love

  Chapter 26: Joining the Circle

  Chapter 27: A Good Brother

  Chapter 28: Justice

  Chapter 29: The Teacher

  Chapter 30: Stallions

  Chapter 31: The Whole Story

  Chapter 32: Lessons

  Chapter 33: Mutual Understanding

  Chapter 34: A Different Kind of Danger

  Chapter 35: Competition

  Chapter 36: Something in Common

  Chapter 37: Keeping a Promise

  Chapter 38: Revelation

  Chapter 39: The Way We Were

  Chapter 40: Almost

  Chapter 41: Duty and Desire

  Chapter 42: The Roman Returns

  Chapter 43: Love Triangle

  Chapter 44: No Longer Home

  Chapter 45: Searching

  Chapter 46: The Logical Choice

  Chapter 47: Proof

  Chapter 48: Choosing the Way

  Chapter 49: Crossing the Line

  Chapter 50: A Father’s Choice

  Chapter 51: The Bride Price

  Coming in 2018

  Sneak Peek of Faithful

  Your Chance to Provide Feedback!

  Historical Note

  Discussion Guide

  Glossary

  Scripture References

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  The Light in the Empire Series

  Promises

  Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,

  and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

  And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

  Whoever finds his life will lose it,

  and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

  Matthew 10:37-39 (ESV)

  And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters

  or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake,

  will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.

  Matthew 19:29 (ESV)

  Dedication

  To my children, Paul and Lydia,

  for their love, support, and encouragement,

  and especially to my husband, Jim,

  who makes life better in every way.

  And most of all, to Jesus.

  Soli Deo gloria

  Note from the Author

  Love your enemy. A hard command. Without God’s help, an impossible one.

  But that’s exactly what Valeria does in Blind Ambition. She lives in a Roman province where the governor had decreed that any Christian who wouldn’t deny Jesus and make an offering to Caesar would be killed. Rome had declared her the enemy, and it was the duty of any military man to enforce that decree. But when she finds a Roman officer dying by the side of the road, she does everything she can to save his life, even though that might cost her own. That selfless love turns the tribune’s world upside down as he’s forced to rethink everything he ever believed.

  I’ve never really had an enemy, at least not a mortal one. The worst opposition I’ve ever known was from acquaintances who certainly didn’t wish me well, but they didn’t wish me dead. But many of my sisters and brothers in Christ do live in a hostile world where the possibility of death for their faith is real. Their world is too much like the Roman Empire, where staying true to your faith might get you killed. And yet they remain faithful and even live out that love for their enemies that Jesus commanded. I think especially of the believers in the Middle East who are risking their lives to help anyone in need, enemy or not. I stand in awe and wonder if I would have the courage to be as faithful to our Lord’s command.

  But even in my “safe” part of the world, I have opportunities to show God’s love to people who don’t know him and don’t even want to know him. The way I respond to slights, insults, mockery, and sabotage speaks much louder than anything I might say. Do I respond as Jesus said I should? Do I do good to those who hate me? Do I bless those who curse me? Do I pray for those who abuse or persecute me? Do I forgive when I’ve been hurt, even when the person who hurt me has no regrets? I want to, and with the Spirit’s help, I can.

  And who knows? Maybe my responding in love when most would get angry and strike back will crack a shell hardened against God, and the Holy Spirit will take that small crack and shatter the shell that keeps someone from seeing how much God loves them.

  Blind Ambition is a story about the power of human love to open a man’s eyes to whether his life’s goal has true value and to open his heart to respond to God’s redeeming love.

  I hope you enjoy this story of God’s reward for loving obedience as much as I’ve enjoyed living in Decimus’s and Valeria’s world as I’ve written it. May God give us all the wisdom to look at the dreams we’ve been chasing through His eyes and the desire to share His love with everyone, even our enemies.

  Characters

  Cornelius Lentulus family

  Tiberius: (47) governor of Germania Superior, Decimus’s father

  Decimus: (25) Tiberius’s only surviving son; senatorial tribune of XXII Primigenia Legi
on

  Graecus: chief steward of Tiberius in Rome

  Valeria and Licinius Crassus family

  Valeria: (19) German, saved and trained as physician by Gaius, devout Christian

  Galen: (13) Gaius Licinius Crassus, Valeria’s adoptive brother

  Rhoda: (9) Galen’s sister and Valeria’s adoptive sister

  Gaius: (deceased) Galen’s and Rhoda’s father. Fled persecution in Rome, became physician

  Priscilla: (deceased) Galen’s and Rhoda’s mother

  Baldric’s family

  Baldric: (46) chieftain of Vangiones tribe, friend and protector of Valeria and her family

  Adolf: (20) third son of Baldric

  Otto: (13) fourth son of Baldric

  Claudius Drusus family

  Publius: (49) Tiberius’s best friend in Rome; Decimus’s mentor and friend

  Lucius: (33) Publius’s oldest surviving son

  Titus: (24) Publius’s youngest son and Decimus’s best friend

  Malleolus: steward of the Claudius Drusus family

  Other important characters

  Flavius Sabinus: powerful Senator and friend of the Emperor; political power broker

  Cities and Towns

  Argentorate: headquarters for VIII Augusta Legion; located on Rhine; present-day Strasbourg

  Augusta Raurica: town on the route from Mogontiacum to Rome; 20 km east of present-day Basel

  Aventicum: large town on the route from Mogontiacum to Rome: present-day Avenches

  Borbetomagus: garrison town on the Rhine between Mogontiacum and Argentorate; present-day Worms

  Mogontiacum: capital of Roman province of Germania Superior, headquarters of XXII Primigenia Legion; located on the Rhine; present-day Mainz

  Octodurus: full name Civitas Vallensium Octodurus, provincial capital of Alpes Poeninae; present-day Martigny

  Excerpt of map by User:Andrein, with the assistance of EraNavigator - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26047281

  Chapter 1: A Different Choice

  Roman province of Germania Superior, Spring of AD 114

  The black stallion danced as Decimus guided him through the gray stone arches of the fortress gate. The big horse tossed his head and shook his mane before stretching his nose out to pull on the reins. Decimus leaned forward to pat his neck.

  “Patience, Astro. You’ll get your gallop after we get out of town.”

  Tribune Decimus Cornelius Lentulus was leading his troop of six to Argentorate from Mogontiacum, the provincial capital of Germania Superior...again. He’d already traveled the road along the Rhenus six times that year.

  The mere thought of another three and a half days riding that same road through the river valley pulled an eye roll and a sigh from him. But as his fidgeting black neared the fork where the road through the western hill country split off from the heavily traveled river road, the corner of his mouth twitched up.

  He twisted to face the two young officers riding behind him. “Change of plan. I’m tired of the river road. We’ll take the alternate route through the hills. The distance is almost the same.”

  As top staff officer of the XXII Primigenia Legion, Decimus often received special assignments that took him between the fortress headquarters of the two legions stationed in that province. This time the provincial governor himself had ordered the surprise inspection of the VIII Augusta, the second legion under the governor’s command. No one expected them at the Augusta’s fortress in Argentorate, so it wouldn’t matter if the trip took a few hours longer than normal. Time to satisfy his curiosity about part of the province he’d never seen before.

  Decimus’s glance fell on the box of his scrolls and codices strapped on the packhorse. He always traveled with something to read, so no one suspected what he carried this time. Its secret compartment concealed the confidential documents and gold he was to deliver to the legate commanding the Augusta.

  He allowed only his eyes to reveal his satisfaction that Tiberius Cornelius Lentulus, the provincial governor who was also his father, had called it a stroke of genius when he proposed the concealed transport. No thief would find a box of literature interesting, and they would certainly not expect it to hold secrets or treasure.

  He turned Astro down the road to the hill country. There was very little traffic, so he nudged his horse into the gallop the spirited animal had been so eager for. A good gallop down a new road―there was no better way to start a four-day ride.

  Two days later

  “Death stalks you today. Twice he will miss. The third time…” The Suebian seller of furs shrugged as his mouth turned down. “I saw the flight of crows this morning. In their cries, Nerthus told me the woman who scoffs at her power would be sorry.”

  Valeria shook her head. “Not so, Brukhard. Nerthus has no power over me. God is my protector. If you knew Him as I do, you wouldn’t be afraid of a few crows.”

  Her warm gray eyes held his gaze, and his frown relaxed into a half-smile.

  The full smile that drew in response brightened her voice. “Whenever you want to know more about Him, I’ll be very glad to tell you. Perhaps you’d like to follow Him, too.”

  The Suebian shook his head. “Do you take me for a fool? I trade throughout the province. I see what goes on. Your god doesn’t protect his followers from the wrath of the Eagles. Governor Lentulus hunts them in Mogontiacum and Argentorate. He gives one chance to deny your Jesus and sacrifice to Caesar. Some of the fools refuse. If they’re lucky, he just cuts off their heads. If he’s staging games, they’re his favorite food for his wolves.”

  He patted an ample stomach. “You’re a skinny little thing that wouldn’t satisfy a wolf cub, but I’d be a rich meal for a pack. I have no desire to risk that.”

  He turned away, and she led her small bay mare into the village green. After hobbling Placida where she could graze, Valeria returned to her cart.

  Today she had something special to sell. Yesterday she’d picked the first ripe strawberries. She lifted the basket to her nose and inhaled. The luscious scent drew a smile. The first fruit of the season always brought a good price, and she needed money for new boots for her brother. Galen’s thirteen-year-old feet grew longer every week.

  She pulled her vegetable basket from the cart, balanced it on her shoulder, and carried it to her usual place among the roadside vendors. Nine-year-old Rhoda skipped along beside her with the berry basket, her dark-brown braids swinging in time with her steps. Valeria spread out her striped blanket, knelt, and arranged the vegetables in a pretty display while Rhoda placed the berries at the front to tempt hungry shoppers.

  The old woman who always sold baskets next to her leaned over and touched Valeria’s hand. “Have you heard what happened? It’s so horrible.”

  Valeria took her elderly friend’s hand in her own. The basket weaver’s worried eyes calmed at her touch. “I haven’t heard any news since last market day. What happened?”

  “The silver merchant was robbed two days ago on the southern road. They killed him and his whole party. I hope it’s not the raiders again.” The basket weaver pressed an age-spotted hand against her wrinkled cheek. “You drive that road all the time. I worry about you.”

  Rhoda inhaled sharply and turned wide eyes on Valeria. “The raiders?”

  Valeria stood and wrapped her arm around Rhoda. Her long hair, a light chestnut more gold than brown, brushed Rhoda’s cheek as she planted a kiss on her forehead. It had been three years, but any mention of the raiders who’d killed Rhoda’s parents still filled her little sister’s eyes with dread. Valeria had been only sixteen then, but with God’s help she’d managed to keep the farm going while raising the family alone. Still, it was hard sometimes.

  “I doubt it. It’s too long since they attacked our village. It’s probably only some men whose greed has made them murderers, not the raiders at all. Besides, we have nothing worth stealing. Go play with Bertha, and don�
��t worry about it.”

  Valeria’s relaxed eyes and calm smile reassured her adopted sister, and Rhoda skipped off in search of her friend.

  Chapter 2: Truly in Control

  As Astro trotted under the canopy of branches spanning the road, Decimus congratulated himself on his choice of the alternate route. Patchworks of pines and leafy trees, wildflower meadows, undulating hills―the scenery of the first day and a half had been much prettier than the river valley. He expected the remaining two days to be equally enjoyable.

  It was time for lunch as the troop approached a village. He was more than ready to dismount and stretch his legs after the long morning ride. Lunch at an inn in a market town would provide a good break for the horses and a chance to relax with his men.

  As he rode by the small group of vendors clustered beside the road, he glanced down and saw the basket on the faded red-striped blanket. Ripe strawberries? This early in the season? The thought made his mouth water. There were plenty to share with his men if he bought the whole basket. Sometimes the food at a village inn was barely worth eating. If those berries were as ripe as they looked, their sweetness would ensure he enjoyed at least part of his meal.

  He reined in his stallion, and the Roman troop halted in front of the woman selling the berries.

  “Fabius, bring me some of those.” He pointed at the basket.

  Fabius swung his right leg over his horse’s neck and slid to the ground. Without looking at the woman, he scooped up a handful and carried them to Decimus.

  Decimus popped some into his mouth. As his teeth broke their skin, a burst of sweet juice squirted across his tongue. A broad smile accompanied his nod.

  He took a denarius from the small bag hanging from his belt and tossed it to Fabius. “Buy them all.”

  Valeria’s lips tightened when the young officer took so many berries without a word. Roman troops had a reputation for taking whatever they wanted without paying. Those berries needed to pay for part of Galen’s boots. When the officer in charge tossed him a silver coin, her lips relaxed into a smile.