Gafarn was surprised. ‘Why Assur?’
‘Because Aschek and Atrax will not wish to be far from their kingdoms with a horde of nomads threatening their borders and Orodes has also asked Surena to present himself.’
‘You think he will answer the summons?’ asked a dubious Gallia.
In truth I had no idea. ‘I hope so for the sake of the empire.’
‘He is not a Parthian,’ muttered Gafarn, ‘what is the empire to him?’
His dark mood had obviously not brightened since yesterday. After the meeting he and Diana hastened back to Hatra with their bodyguard but without Spartacus, who requested that he be allowed to stay at Dura until after the gathering at Assur. Gafarn, no doubt concerned that in addition to the Armenians in the north and the Romans in the west, he may have nomads raiding his eastern border, offered no protest. We said our farewells to our friends and then I made ready to ride to Assur. After they had left Domitus came to see me as I was inspecting Remus’ saddlery next to his stall.
‘This business in the east could not have come at a worse time.’
‘I know,’ I concurred, ‘Aschek will never commit his army in the west with the threat of a nomad invasion of his kingdom from the east.’
He kicked at some straw on the floor. ‘And Atrax?’
I placed the bridle back on its hook. ‘Aschek will want him to deploy his troops on his eastern border so they may readily reinforce his own army if necessary.’
He leaned against the wall. ‘Our forces diminish by the minute. We will need all the troops we can muster to meet the Romans and Armenians in the next few months. Losing Atrax’s army would be a grievous loss. And then there is the matter of Surena.’
‘Surena has become a law unto himself, though I am grateful that he is still waging war against the Armenians,’ I said.
‘Do you think he will show his face at Assur?’
I sat down on the bench opposite Remus’ stall. ‘I have no idea. But even he must realise that if we fall then Gordyene will be an island surrounded by a sea of enemies and will surely be overwhelmed itself.’
Domitus shrugged. ‘Perhaps that is what he wants: to die in a blaze of glory and join his wife and child in the afterlife.’
He slapped me on the shoulder. ‘Safe journey,’ and then sauntered away.
Remus poked his head over the half-door that gave access to his stall.
‘Another journey for you, old friend.’
I stood up and walked over to him to stroke his cheek.
‘I bet you did not think when I took you from the stables of that rich Roman in Nola all those years ago that you would spend your life traversing the Parthian Empire.’
He flicked his ears and pushed his muzzle into my chest.
‘Perhaps one day you will be able to retire and live out the rest of your days in peace.’
‘And that should be soon.’
The unkempt figure of Strabo shuffled into the stable and walked over to me. He stroked Remus’ neck.
‘You are riding to Assur, majesty.’
‘I’m glad palace gossip is as efficient as ever, Strabo.’
He ignored the sarcastic remark. ‘Another campaign beckons, then?’
‘Yes, I will be riding him into battle once more.’
He stopped stroking my horse and looked at me. ‘This should be his last campaign.’
‘His last campaign? Why? Is he ill?’
‘Not ill, majesty, no. But he is not getting any younger and his heart and legs are not as strong as they were.’ Strabo smiled at Remus. ‘You may think he is immortal and he certainly does, but the truth is that all the battles and campaigns he has taken part in have taken their toll. After the coming campaign you should ride Tegha.’
‘There is nothing wrong with Remus,’ I said angrily, ‘he looks the same as he did twenty years ago.’
Strabo sighed. ‘You are the king and can of course do as you wish. You may ride your horse until he collapses and dies under you if you so choose, but I know that you would not do such a thing for you are not such a king. I would be failing in my duty if I did not give you my opinion. I know you love this horse and do not wish to be parted from him, but not even kings can halt time and the toll it exacts upon all living things.’
From being angry I became alarmed. ‘Are you saying that another campaign may kill him?’
‘Another campaign may kill you first,’ he replied disrespectfully. ‘Wearing armour and charging around a battlefield places a great strain on a horse’s heart. The mounts of the horse archers do not have to carry such a burden, though they risk being cut and pierced by arrows. Then there is the stress of battle. It’s not only men who piss themselves with fear in combat.’
‘Most eloquently put, Strabo.’
He tickled Remus under the chin. ‘I know you will make the right decision.’ He nodded slightly then turned and ambled away.
I sat back down on the bench, placed my elbows on my legs and rested my chin in my hands. I had never given the health of Remus a second thought. He had always been a strong and sturdy horse who had ridden in many battles to emerge unscathed. When other horses had died due to heart failure at the dreadful Battle of Susa he had survived, obviously making me think that he could go on forever. But nothing lasts forever, it seems, as Dobbai’s death should have taught me. Tegha was a good horse and I resolved to ride him after the coming campaign, but retiring Remus would be akin to losing my right arm. But then he deserved to rest on his laurels in his autumn years. I wondered if I would be allowed the same privilege: would I even see my autumn years? No matter how many enemies I vanquished there always seemed to be an unending supply of new ones to fight.
The next day I left for Assur.
It took us five days to reach the city. At Dura patrols were increased along the borders in case Crassus decided to launch any surprise raids into the kingdom, though Byrd assured me that his network of spies and informants in Syria and Judea would give him prior warning of any such attack. The northeast of the empire may have been burning but that was nearly a thousand miles away and in the west of Parthia there existed a surreal peace. The roads were filled with traffic and farmers worked in their fields. West of Dura the road to Palmyra was never busier and the city was ringed not by Romans but by trade caravans, whose crews and guards flooded into the city each day to spend their money on food, hospitality and whores. I had to admit that it had been a masterstroke by Aaron to place a tax on the brothels whose dues went directly to the upkeep of the army. The city’s markets were blossoming and peace guaranteed that the farmers who worked on the lords’ estates prospered and paid their rents. And when the lords prospered so did the city treasury when they paid their annual tributes.
Aaron was always pestering me to raise taxes and the tribute but I resisted his pleas. The treasury was almost always full and so there was enough money to maintain the army and thus ensure a peaceful kingdom. And where there was peace there was trade and where there was trade there was a constant flow of money into the treasury.
Occasionally a slave trader would present himself at the palace and petition me to allow him to establish a slave market in the city, promising to share equally the profits with the crown if he was allowed to do so. I always refused. I could not besmirch the memory of Spartacus by permitting such a thing. There were no slaves in the palace and there would be no slave markets in the city, at least not while I was king. Aaron was most distraught when he heard that I had turned my back on a lucrative venture but I informed him that I was king and not a businessman, but that he was welcome to take up the matter of slave trading with the queen if he so wished. He bowed politely and I heard no more about it.
I took Spartacus, Scarab and a hundred horse archers with me to Assur, the city looking none the worse for the Armenian assault it had suffered recently. The gates had been repaired, the moat had been cleared of debris and bodies and Hatra’s banner of the white horse’s head flew from every gatehouse. A captain of the garrison and half a dozen of his white-uniformed riders met me a mile from the city and asked that I camp my horse archers on the Plain of Makhmur located opposite the city, on the eastern side of the Tigris. The return of Silaces’ horse archers and the rest of the garrison had resulted in there being no spare quarters for the escorts of the other kings who had arrived. I asked the officer who was present.