POMPEII: The Devil’s Playground

A Novel

WELCOME TO POMPEII’S HOUSE OF PLEASURE!

78 AD

Blood dripped from the sharp long blade, as Velina’s fingers unclenched and the dagger clattered to the floor below. The slowly increasing crimson liquid pooled over the grimy concrete.

She stood frozen in place, her eyes wide and staring in horror. For a few moments no one moved. Then, chaos broke loose as the screaming began. Customers, most of them semi-naked, one wearing nothing, ripped aside the curtains to the cells and ran straight through the Lupanar’s front door into the laneway.

Young women, many through no fault of their own, were sold into slavery or became slaves through desperation in the purpose built, most popular brothel in the city of Pompeii. They lived lives filled with emotional and physical cruelty. They had no freedom and they had no future.

Their lives intertwined with those who sought their services. As Vesuvius spewed forth its terror, fate determined their destiny.

These are their stories.