Fronto ground his teeth. The knowledge that he was a matter of moments away from Ambiorix set his pulse pounding with possibilities, but with Cativolcus in charge here, there was nothing he could do until the king had made his move.
‘What happens now, then?’
Ullio leaned against the door frame casually. ‘Once the sun is suitably high and Ambiorix has been forced to wait for a while, he will be invited into the town with only a small guard, to visit the king.’
‘Why wait?’
‘Ambiorix is not a patient man, and is given to imprudent and precipitous action if he is pushed. The longer we make him wait, the more likely he is to make a mistake, and the king wants him angry and off-balance enough to take the tainted drink without having one of his men taste it first.’
‘He may not be stupid enough to do so anyway.’
Again, Ullio shrugged, arms folded. ‘You do not know Ambiorix. He is a man given to displays of his own power. He would not accept a drink proffered by the king, but if the king has an expensive wine open on his table and a cup of it in front of him, Ambiorix will not be able to resist taking the drink. He will want to make it clear that whatever Cativolcus owns, he can take. The poisoned wine will be present, but not offered.’
‘You’ve thought all this through very carefully,’ Fronto noted with satisfaction. ‘What happens if you’ve misjudged Ambiorix and he doesn’t take the wine?’
The native hunter straightened in the doorway again. ‘Then things will have to be done my way, rather than the king’s.’ He made a gesture across his throat with a turned thumb.
‘Not acceptable,’ Fronto said firmly. ‘I need him to answer a few questions.’
‘I can disable and cripple him without inhibiting his tongue. Ambiorix likely thinks he can remove Cativolcus with the assassins he brings, but the king has plenty of men like me who can protect him and remove the enemy. We are prepared. Ambiorix has seen his last sunrise, but he will sing songs of betrayal to you before his darkness descends.’
‘Good,’ Fronto nodded. ‘I’d remind you that a lot rides on this. If I can question Ambiorix and then take his head to my general, Caesar can be made to see the Eburones as allies. The whole future of your tribe could hang on this morning’s events. Remember that, while you play your part. What do we do while this is all going on?’
‘Stay in the house. If there is any hint of you or your men abroad in Espaduno, Ambiorix will panic and everything will fall apart. Stay out of sight and I will fetch you when Ambiorix is busy shaking and babbling.’
Masgava stepped out into the light from the doorway to the rear room where he and his four men slept. ‘It ends today, then?’
Fronto nodded. ‘It ends today.’
* * * * *
Ambiorix toyed with the fine captured Roman helmet on his knee and huffed in irritation.
‘These delays are irksome, Garo.’
‘Cativolcus is a wily one, my lord. He will be surrounding himself with warriors before he deigns to see you. He will not make himself a target willingly.’
‘It matters not how many men he surrounds himself with while you are by my side, Garo.’
The second man in the room smiled a chilling smile. A Sicambri by birth, Garo had discovered a love of pain and an affinity with death early in his life. By the time he came of age, he had killed more than a dozen of his fellow tribesmen, women and children. His methods had become increasingly inventive, until one day he had been discovered in the process of dissecting a young girl to see what parts still pulsed after death. Before the wrath of the elders could be brought down on him, he had fled, crossing the Rhenus into Belgae lands and then Gaul, where he had sold his services as a killer to an endless array of nobles and warriors, honing his craft as he went. Finally, two years ago, he had found himself in the service of the Eburone king, back on the doorstep of his own tribe, and Ambiorix was gifted with a wide variety of enemies for Garo to deal with and plenty of coin to pay for it.
Ambiorix was right, of course. Cativolcus could surround himself with warriors, walls, shields and ditches, but it would avail him little. Garo could kill from the doorway, barely moving a muscle. One of the two poison-tipped darts of a Greek design stitched into his cloak clasp would do the trick. Or the small, light axe hanging behind his shoulder and beneath his cloak, which was perfectly weighted for throwing. There were a number of possibilities without even reaching him. If he happened to get close to Cativolcus, the options were endless.
Whatever happened this morning, Garo was certain the day would end with Ambiorix the sole king of the Eburones, and his former brother king greeting the afterlife.
Ambiorix smiled.
‘Are the men armed and prepared?’
‘And have been for an hour. As soon as the king sends for us we will be ready to move.’
‘No delays, Garo. As soon as we’re in his presence, do your job. They will almost certainly make us remove our weapons before we enter. There will follow a brief negotiation during which we will argue and I will be allowed to take my weapon for my own protection. I assume you will have weapons they will not notice?’
‘Plenty.’
‘Good. Then, as soon as…’
He stopped at a shout from the garden outside.
‘What was that?’
Garo stepped across and swung open the door of the small house where they had spent the night, to see two of the Segni warriors that accompanied them racing across the small lawn.
‘Romans!’
Ambiorix, his face creased into a disbelieving frown, leapt to the door. ‘What?’
‘Romans, lord king.’
‘Here? That’s ridiculous!’
But his eyes were already rising past the Segni warrior to the hillside beyond, where hundreds of crimson and glinting steel cavalry were emerging from the treeline and racing towards the valley floor. His eyes wide, Ambiorix turned to take in the whole scene. A few dozen of the riders had broken cover ahead and raced for the settlement’s gate, where even now they were forcing back the Eburone guards to secure it. The rest were coming in two huge groups, one for the town and one spreading out and riding into the fields.
‘How did they know we were here?’ wailed Bolgios, the new king of the Segni, as he ran for the hut’s door.
Ambiorix shook his head. ‘They didn’t. This is simply bad luck. They’re attacking Espaduno, not coming for the house. Caesar has turned his fires upon the Eburones.’
He smiled coldly. ‘The general has done me a favour, the idiot.’
‘What?’
‘They will kill Cativolcus for me. Oh we’ll lose Espaduno and its people, but it’s a small price to pay when you think that the Romans are about to make me undisputed king of the Eburones entirely by mistake!’
He laughed as he slapped Garo on the shoulder. ‘Saddle the horses. We must leave this place immediately.’
* * * * *
Basilus raced for the gate. His men were already in the fields, hacking down the Eburones as they attempted to flee, and a quick glance off to his left afforded him a view of a dozen warriors on horseback racing for the woods, surprised somewhere in the valley. It was a shame to let warriors escape, but the grand prize was the town. He would ravage, loot and burn the place to spread fear among the Eburones.
Tribesmen tried desperately to shut the gate in the face of the attacking Romans, but Catilo’s alae were there, keeping the entrance clear. With a whoop of victory, Basilus raced into the town, his sword coming down in a wide arc and taking the head of a local who was attempting to flee the scene.
‘Second ala to the left and Fifth to the right. Secure the walls and the gates. The rest of you take the town. Kill everyone.’
The roar of a victorious army surged across Espaduno as Basilus’ men raced through the streets, hewing tribesmen wherever they found them, chopping down the old and the young, men, women and children alike, without prejudice. This was to be an object lesson in fear for the last tribe on Caesar’s list.