Trials of Apollo 5

might be, the imperial bodyguards were fiercely loyal. But why a Gaul?
Luguselwa must have been valuable to Nero for reasons beyond her sword
skills. I didn’t trust that such a warrior would turn on her master after two
millennia.
My suspicions must have radiated from me like heat from an oven. Lu
glanced back and noted my frown. “Apollo, if I wanted you dead, you would
already be dead.”
True, I thought, but Lu could have added, If I wanted to trick you into
following me so I could deliver you alive to Nero, this is exactly what I’d be
doing.
Lu quickened her pace. Meg scowled at me like, Be nice to my Gaul, then
she hurried to catch up.
I lost track of time. The adrenaline spike from the train fight faded,
leaving me weary and sore. Sure, I was still running for my life, but I’d spent
most of the last six months running for my life. I couldn’t maintain a
productive state of panic indefinitely. Tunnel goo soaked into my socks. My
shoes felt like squishy clay pots.
For a while, I was impressed by how well Lu knew the tunnels. She
forged ahead, taking us down one turn after another. Then, when she
hesitated at a junction a bit too long, I realized the truth.
“You don’t know where we’re going,” I said.
She scowled. “I told you. Away from the—”
“Search grid. Cameras. Yes. But where are we going?”
“Somewhere. Anywhere safe.”
I laughed. I surprised myself by actually feeling relieved. If Lu was this
clueless about our destination, then I felt safer trusting her. She had no grand
plan. We were lost. What a relief!
Lu did not seem to appreciate my sense of humor.
“Excuse me if I had to improvise,” she grumbled. “You’re fortunate I
found you on that train rather than one of the emperor’s other search parties.
Otherwise you’d be in Nero’s holding cell right now.”
Meg gave me another scowl. “Yeah, Lester. Besides, it’s fine.”
She pointed to an old section of Greek-key-design tile along the left-hand
corridor, perhaps left over from an abandoned subway line. “I recognize that.
There should be an exit up ahead.”
I wanted to ask how she could possibly know this. Then I remembered
Meg had spent a great deal of her childhood roaming dark alleys, derelict