The Emperor Series: Books 1-5
Conn Iggulden
Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk
Emperor: The Gates of Rome first published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2003
Emperor: The Death of Kings first published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2004
Emperor: The Field of Swords first published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2005
Emperor: The Gods of War first published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2006
Emperor: Blood of Gods first published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2013
Copyright © Conn Iggulden 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2013
Conn Iggulden asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of these works
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
These novels are entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in them, while at times based on historical figures, are the work of the author’s imagination.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Ebook Edition © December 2013 ISBN: 9780007552405
Version: 2018-08-08
EMPEROR THE GATES OF ROME
Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk
First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2003
Copyright © Conn Iggulden 2003
Conn Iggulden asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Source ISBN: 9780007437122
Ebook Edition © December 2013 ISBN: 9780007321759
Version: 2018-08-08
To my son Cameron and to my brother Hal,the other member of the Black Cat Club
The track in the woods was a wide causeway to the two boys strolling down it. Both were so dirty with thick, black mud as to be almost unrecognisable as human. The taller of the two had blue eyes that seemed unnaturally bright against the cracking, itching mud that plastered him.
‘We’re going to be killed for this, Marcus,’ he said, grinning. In his hand, a sling spun lazily, held taut with the weight of a smooth river pebble.
‘Your fault, Gaius, for pushing me in. I told you the river bed wasn’t dry all the way.’
As he spoke, the shorter boy laughed and shoved his friend into the bushes that lined the path. He whooped and ran as Gaius scrambled out and set off in pursuit, sling whirring in a disc.
‘Battle!’ he shouted in his high, unbroken voice.
The beating they would get at home for ruining their tunics was far away and both boys knew every trick to get out of trouble – all that mattered was charging through the woodland paths at high speed, scaring birds. Both boys were barefoot, already with calluses developing, despite not having seen more than eight summers.
‘This time, I’ll catch him,’ Gaius panted to himself as he ran. It was a mystery to him how Marcus, who had the same number of legs and arms, could yet somehow make them move faster than he could. In fact, as he was shorter, his stride should have been a little less, surely?