The air was so thick with the smells of sweat and unwashed bodies and rotting garbage littering the streets that her breath came in shallow gasps. Rose petals fluttered in the sunshine. A few of them landed in her hair. There were so many that the warhorses trampled them into the ground.

They were cheering for Lentulus now. "Ave! Ave imperator!"

Someone screamed out the vampire's name. His strong voice carried above the rest, and without hesitation, thousands took him up on that cry.

Hail! Hail Gaius Flavius Varro Magnus! Hail!