‘I hope your majesties are well,’ I said sarcastically.
Spandarat winked at Gallia and stood up. ‘Sit yourself down, princess.’
Gallia took her seat and Eszter climbed onto her knee while Isabella stood next to her.
‘To my knowledge Lord Spandarat did not request your presence here, son of Hatra,’ said Dobbai irreverently.
I did not rise to her bait. ‘With an Egyptian army approaching my place is defending my kingdom.’
She looked amused. ‘Defending your kingdom from what? A bunch of ill-armed scrapings from the Nile who could be blown away by a desert wind?’
‘I’m glad you think so little of our adversaries,’ I retorted, ‘but then it is not you who will have to face them in battle.’
Servants brought large cups filled with cool fruit juice for us to drink.
‘And neither do you,’ she snapped back. ‘Haytham is quite capable of dealing with the Egyptians. You should have remained at Hatra.’
‘It is true, majesty,’ agreed Spandarat, ‘me and the other lords could have reinforced Haytham if he found himself in difficulties.’
‘Nothing is happening at Hatra,’ I said, getting rather annoyed at having to explain myself, ‘whereas a great army is heading for Dura.’
‘Great army,’ said Dobbai incredulously, ‘your wits are becoming addled. The gods have sent omens indicating that danger lies to the north not in the west. Tell him, Claudia.’
‘It is true, father, for I have seen them with my own eyes — a dog urinating against a wall and then lying down and wagging its tail.’
‘An omen of impending disaster,’ said Dobbai.
Claudia continued. ‘And afterwards I saw a man leading a bull by its nose ring in a northerly direction, and a rat snake was following them.’
‘As clear as the scar on your face,’ commented Dobbai.
‘Thank you children, you may return to your rooms,’ I said.
Claudia was going to protest. ‘Now!’ I shouted, causing Eszter and Isabella to jump. Gallia nodded at them and they scuttled away. Vagharsh walked past me in the opposite direction.
‘A dog taking a piss. Imagine that,’ he remarked.
‘Be gone,’ Dobbai snapped at him, ‘what are you but a dog carrying a pole that follows his master around?’
Vagharsh curled his lip at her and then slapped me on the arm as he took his leave.
‘You will ride to fight by the side of Haytham?’ Dobbai asked.
‘I will,’ I said defiantly, pointing at Spandarat. ‘And you and your lords will be coming with me.’
Spandarat slapped his hands together. ‘Lovely!’
Dobbai rose unsteadily from my throne, Gallia jumping up and taking her arm. The old woman smiled at her, tenderly cupped her cheek with her hand and then they both walked towards the door that led to the private wing of the palace.
‘You may go and slaughter the Egyptians, son of Hatra, but the real danger lies to the north,’ she called to me. ‘Heed my words.’
But I ignored her ramblings and, three days after arriving back at Dura, the lords and their men having assembled in the legionary camp, I rode at the head of twenty-eight thousand horse archers to Palmyra. I had asked both Byrd and Malik to try to persuade Haytham not to offer battle to the Egyptians until I arrived. He had many warriors but few archers and I feared, just as before, that bowmen and slingers would slaughter them when they attempted to get close to the enemy. Gallia stayed behind with the Amazons to guard Dura.
We arrived at Palmyra five days later to find a great assembly of Agraci warriors filling the ground around the green oasis — thousands of black-clad horsemen equipped with spears and round shields, curved swords in black scabbards at their hips and daggers tucked into their belts. All Haytham’s lords were present, including Yasser, the man who ruled southern Arabia in his name. It was he who had greeted us with a hundred of his men half a mile east of Palmyra.
He extended a hand to me. ‘Good to see you again, King of Dura.’ He raised a hand to Spandarat. ‘Come to watch how the Agraci slay their foes, old man?’
Spandarat spat on the ground and laughed. ‘Come to save your arse, more like.’
Yasser greeted Vagises warmly and was introduced to Peroz before falling in beside me to continue our journey.
‘The king wants blood,’ said Yasser, ‘he is like an angry snake, ready to strike. It took all of Malik’s persuasion to convince him to wait until you got here. He’s talking about burning Emesa to the ground.’
‘Has the enemy left the city?’ I asked.
‘Yesterday. We have scouts outside the city and along the road here who use smoke signals to keep us abreast of developments.’
My horse archers camped immediately east of Palmyra as there was no room in the settlement itself. I noted that the traffic on the road had all but disappeared and in Palmyra itself there were few caravans. The traders who plied the Silk Road had a sixth sense when it came to impending war and made plans accordingly. Most either delayed their journey or took an alternative route. When I rode into Dura I noticed that the caravan park to the immediate north of the city was unusually full. The merchants were waiting for the slaughter to end before continuing their journeys.
I rode with Yasser to the great tent of Haytham in the centre of Palmyra where he and his lords were waiting. It was a great honour to be allowed to sit on the king’s council as he made plans for war but I was proud to be his friend and fight by his side. What did Dobbai know of pride and loyalty?
Haytham embraced me warmly and then asked me to join him and Malik as they sat with their lords on the carpets and cushions in his tent. I recognised them all and they made room for me as they sat cross-legged in a circle while servants brought refreshments. Byrd, sitting on Haytham’s left, nodded as I took my place next to Yasser. In addition to him there were another eleven lords, all of them menacing, cruel warriors who had achieved their high positions with their swords.
‘Now my brother Pacorus has arrived with his warriors,’ started Haytham, ‘we can ride west and kill the invading army. We will leave in the morning. How many riders have you brought with you, Pacorus?’
‘Twenty-eight thousand, lord,’ I answered.
Yasser slapped me on the shoulder and the others nodded approvingly.
Haytham smiled evilly. ‘When you all see the enemy remember Lord Vehrka and avenge him, and remember that nothing is forgotten or forgiven.’
After the meeting Rasha was waiting for me outside her father’s tent, accompanied by a dozen guards.
‘Are you under arrest?’ I teased her.
She rolled her eyes. ‘My father thinks that my virtue needs guarding at all times.’
‘He is worried about you,’ I assured her.
She spoke softly so her guardians would not hear. ‘Is Spartacus with you?’
‘He is, but he has a battle to prepare for and is confined to camp.’
She pressed a letter into my hand. ‘Would you give him this?’
I should have refused and given it back to her but she looked at me with such imploring brown eyes that my heart melted. So much for being the chief warlord of Parthia!
‘Of course,’ I replied.
She threw her arms round me, kissed me on the cheek, ordered me to keep safe and then hurried away with a spring in her step. What it is to be young and in love.
The Agraci did not fight as my army fights. Like my own nobles each of Haytham’s lords brought his own followers and they fought and died for him, fighting alongside him in battle and sharing in his victories and defeats. Agraci tactics, such as they were, consisted of getting to grips with the enemy as quickly as possible and slaughtering them in a close-quarter mêlée. Against well-disciplined, trained and equipped soldiers it was a recipe for disaster. Courage and bloodlust alone were not enough to overcome a professional army, that is why I wanted to be here, not for glory or a chance to kill Egyptians, though I was not averse to sending any race to the afterlife if they made an enemy of me, but to save Haytham. I would never have told him that, of course, but with my horse archers he and his men stood a better chance of defeating the enemy.