‘Lord king,’ I shouted to Haytham.
Haytham turned his horse to face me. ‘What?’
‘We can get Rasha back without the spilling of any more Agraci blood.’
‘Did you bring your sorceress, Pacorus, so she could weave a spell to return my daughter to me?’
‘No, lord,’ I answered, ‘but will you give me a chance to prove my words.’
He looked at me with his cold black eyes. I knew that he desired more blood but I also knew that if he launched an attack his daughter, if she still lived, would have her throat slit before his warriors even got close to the enemy. All eyes were on Haytham as thirty thousand Agraci warriors and over twenty-three thousand Duran horse archers steeled themselves for another fight.
‘You have one hour,’ he snapped, pointing at Mark Antony. ‘If you fail he dies and I attack.’
I thanked Haytham and then sent an emissary to the enemy requesting a parley, stating that we had captured their Roman commander and wished to trade him for a young woman that had fallen into their hands, further insisting that she was not to be harmed or violated in any way. I prayed that her captives had not already raped her, if she still lived. While we waited for a reply I suggested to Haytham that we should extend our line greatly to impress the enemy with our numbers. He and his lords thought this a waste of time but he indulged me, and so the horizon was slowly filled with Agraci and Durans as we waited for an answer.
It came only minutes before the hour was up and was good news. The enemy agreed to a parley but insisted that it take place an hour after dawn the next morning. The people of Emesa worshipped the sun god El Gabal and thus thought any important negotiations should take place when their deity was looking favourably upon them. I too believed this, but knew that only Shamash was the god of the sun. Haytham looked sullen and his lords were most unhappy that they had been denied the opportunity to again dip their swords in the enemy’s blood, but I was delighted that Rasha was alive and that we stood a good chance of getting her back. Haytham wanted our prisoner to be staked out on the ground for the night but I requested that he be released to me.
‘Why are you so interested in this man?’ he asked as his warriors were stood down and cooking fires began to cover the plain.
‘I wish to know more about Roman plans, lord.’
He laughed. ‘They plan to conquer the whole world, Pacorus. You above all should know that.’
Gallia wanted nothing to do with the Roman and declared that she would be spending the night in the company of the Amazons. As we had no entrenching tools with us we could not dig a ditch and erect a palisade to surround our tents I ordered Vagises to mount patrols far and wide throughout the night. I did not trust the Romans not to launch a night assault to free their commander. The Agraci pitched their tents over many square miles, though Haytham also sent out patrols to ensure his sleep was not disturbed. As for the enemy, Vagises reported back to my command tent just before midnight that they were inside their Roman camp and showed no signs of leaving it.
‘Your men did well today,’ I said as he settled himself into a chair at the opposite end of the table to where Mark Antony was sitting.
‘Thank you, Pacorus. Nergal trained us well.’
I poured wine into a cup and gave it to him as he watched the Roman with suspicion.
I took the jug and refilled Mark Antony’s cup. He nodded and held the cup up to me.
‘To noble adversaries.’
I drank some wine in acknowledgement of his toast and sat at the table. Vagises rose, held his cup up to me and drained it before slamming it down on the table.
‘By your leave, Pacorus, I have patrols to organise.’ His eyes never left Mark Antony. ‘To make sure the Romans do no not slit our throats while we sleep.’
He curled his lip at Mark Antony and left us.
‘Your commander does not like me,’ observed Antony.
‘Do not take it personally, he has a low opinion of all Romans.’
Antony leaned forward. ‘Tell me, was he a slave, for I have heard that you only enlist slaves in your army? Men say that is the reason it fights so fiercely.’
I nodded at the closed tent flaps. ‘That man, Vagises, is a Parthian who was taken captive with me in Cappadocia before we were transported to Italy as spoils of war. He has little reason to regard Rome or the Romans with affection.’
He leaned back in his chair. ‘And you?’
‘I do not hate my enemies, because to do so would cloud my judgement at a time when clarity of thought is essential.’
He nodded approvingly. ‘A most philosophical answer.’
I poured him some more wine. ‘Now it is your turn to answer some questions. Where is the other legion that your proconsul commands in Syria, for I know that only one was present today? You and your allies underestimated the fighting abilities of the Agraci, I think.’
He laughed mockingly. ‘The Agraci have no fighting abilities. We were more than capable of dealing with them before…’
I smiled. ‘Before I arrived, you mean. You honour me, commander.’
He stiffened. ‘My title is Praefectus Alae.’
‘It is a great pity that so many of your fine horsemen now lie dead on the desert floor. That is the price invaders pay for their aggression.’
‘That is the price Rome pays for civilising the world,’ he tried to correct me.
How many times had I heard that argument before? ‘Roman civilisation is built on the corpses of vanquished peoples.’
‘Only the strong deserve to live,’ he said casually.
‘And the weak deserve only slavery or death, I suppose?’
‘The gods have charged Rome with civilising the world. If our mission was not a divine one, how else can you explain Rome’s victories over the other tribes of Italy hundreds of years ago, her conquest of Carthage, Greece, Pontus, Armenia and Syria?’
I sipped my wine. ‘And now Rome seeks to add Parthia to that list.’
He was momentarily nonplussed. ‘I am a soldier, sir. I obey orders.’
I laughed. ‘And a member of one of Rome’s most prominent families, I’ll hazard.’
He blushed. ‘I have been fortunate to have been born into a noble family, I admit, though everything I have achieved has been by my own hand.’
‘You are to be congratulated. I hope being exchanged for a young girl does not harm your reputation.’
‘There will be other battles to fight,’ he replied flatly.
‘I am curious about one thing,’ I continued. ‘Why did you not wait until Crassus had arrived in Syria before commencing hostilities again the Agraci and Parthia?’
‘You are very well informed,’ he said.
‘When you rule a frontier kingdom it is wise to know what is happening in adjacent lands. So, why not wait for Crassus?’
‘As I said, I am a soldier and take orders,’ he replied evasively.
‘Have it your own way. I am sure all will be revealed when he arrives. If I was a gambling man I would wager that your commander, Proconsul Aulus Gabinius, desired to make his name great before Crassus arrived in Syria.’
He placed his cup on the table. ‘King Pacorus, as you have saved my life it is only proper that I return the courtesy. If you would be prepared to submit to Roman rule then I can use whatever influence I enjoy to have you exonerated from your crimes.’
‘My crimes?’
‘We know that you have been supplying the rebels in Judea with weapons. That in itself is enough to earn you a death sentence. Would it not be better for you and your kingdom to live in peace under the protection of Rome?’
I tilted my cup at him. ‘Under the heel of Rome would be a more accurate description, I think. I must decline your kind offer.’
His mouth creased in disapproval. ‘When Crassus arrives he will sweep aside all opposition. We know that Parthia is weak through years of civil strife and is in no position to repel a Roman army. To oppose us is to invite death and destruction. I am merely suggesting that a logical course of action would be to accept the inevitable and act accordingly.’