“You do not need to make apologies, Gaius. I understand the life of a soldier better than you might give me credit. Your presence this afternoon is a wonderful surprise. That is all.”
“I thought I should come and say goodbye before we march from the city this evening. I wanted to see you.”
Julia took his arm and wrapped it around her own, glancing up at him with a warm smile, which Gaius hadn’t realized how much he missed, until now.
“Then, it brightens my day that you made the time to see me.”
Gaius did not reply nor was she expecting him to. They both enjoyed these quiet times together without the need to fill the empty silence with unneeded conversation.
“Is it true what they are saying?” Julia broke the silence after a momentary pause. “Is the army truly as large as they say, and as powerful?”
“It is perhaps a bit embellished. However, it is the largest force Rome has ever fielded, and more are still expected to join us,” Gaius answered.
“Will it be so easy to defeat Hannibal, do you think?”
“No, I doubt it will be,” he answered honestly, a rare sentiment that he wouldn’t share with anyone else.
Julia directed her attention high into the sky, watching as a group of birds flew over the city.
As Gaius looked at her, it seemed her mind was lost in another time as an odd smile, one that reminded him of the girl she used to be, crossed her face.
“Do you remember when we were children, and we used to play in my father’s field? You were the brave hero — never a villain, and you were on a quest to find and save the princess from one of your stories. Even then you gave your all, not at any time straying from your quest, regardless of the danger.”
“I do remember,” he answered with a smile. His mind at no time left those days far behind. Some days, when the world was hard and brutal, he would escape to those fantasies — reliving his youth with Antony and Julia, wishing those times would never leave.
“It was only games, played by young children who thought nothing of the world or their place in it. I know that now. However,” she looked up at him, clutching him tighter in her grip. “I knew when I was with you, I was safe. Not just from practical dangers, but from anything. I knew you would never surrender under any circumstances, and that gave me hope.”
Julia’s eyes filled suddenly with sadness as she reached up and touched the side of his face, staring for a long while into his deep brown eyes.
“You promise me, Gaius, the day you left home that you would grow up strong, so you could protect me from the monsters of the world. I fear, no matter what my father or Paullus says, the coming days will be dark. Terrible things are going to happen, and I’m frightened, Gaius. I’m fearful what may happen to you. Just promise, even if it is a lie that you will come back for me.”
Julia drove her head into his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist, waiting for his answer as she demanded once more, “Promise me!”
Gaius was silent as he held her, afraid to speak. However, like he did when he was a boy, he swallowed his fears and said what needed to be said.
“I swear it, my love. I swear I will always be here for you.”
PART THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Late July
Gaius’ attention was focused as he came within a hundred paces of his target, a pair of men on horseback racing away from him as quickly as their animal could run, impaired by its heavy load. One of them frequently glanced back, yelling at the other to push the horse faster, which was impossible.
Both were Carthaginian, or more so, dark-skinned Numidians that served Hannibal on his crusade, and these men were raiders, which were part of a party that had attacked the outstretched Roman supply lines for going on a month now, since the legions left Rome.
The vulnerability to the consuls Paullus and Varro’ vast army was apparent. There simply were not enough men to protect every stretch along the road as the caravans that traveled across it, tasked with feeding the legions, were under constant attack.
Hannibal had tried his usual tactics, which had worked for him against the previous legions sent against him. He kept his troops on the move, using the natural topography of the land to his advantage, and with fewer numbers, around forty thousand, he had been able to stay ahead of the legions that pursued him relentlessly.
Gaius and some of his Wolves had been recently charged with protecting the lines. It was not his preferred duties, but after the cavalry, prefect had been injured during a previous encounter, he had been ordered to take the man’s place until a suitable replacement could be found. And while Gaius preferred marching with the legions, he had always had a knack for horsemanship, which made him a quantified choice.
Gaius closed the gap between him, and his target that he could see the terrified expression on the rear rider’s face as he glanced back once again.
They had belonged to a group of a dozen other riders, but when Gaius’ men broke them, they scattered. He’d given the order for pursuit, and to cut them down. At the moment, however, he feared that he was alone in the chase as he dared not to lose momentum by glancing behind him to see if he was followed by his men.
Reaching back and grabbing one of the three short spears in a satchel behind him, Gaius quickly brought the weapon to bear, holding it high as he aimed, and waiting for his target to come within range. And when he narrowed the gap between him and the two Numidians to less than twenty-five paces, he let loose his spear.
The man in the rear looked back just in time to see Gaius throw his spear. He could do nothing to prevent the point from tearing threw his back, which was unprotected, save for a loose tunic.
Blood shot out his mouth from the force of the spear impacting through him, pushed him forward, which unbalanced the driver who lost control over the horse, which veered violently, throwing both men to the ground, hard.
Gaius’ own momentum carried him past the two riders before he could rear his animal back around.
As he circled, he saw that both were down as the enemy horse quickly trotted away. The man he attacked lay still, his arms and legs bent and twisted, broken from the fall. It would have been painful if he wasn’t already dead.
The second man lied a few feet from the dead man, face down in the tall grass, also not moving.
Gaius slowed his horse before hopping off. He wanted to check and make sure the Numidians were dead, even though neither man was moving.
Gaius removed his sword from its scabbard and slowly began to move towards the man he knew he hadn’t killed. He couldn’t help but notice the sudden quiet. He was in the middle of nowhere, in a large field with knee-high grass as far as he could see. He only heard the sounds of distant birds, and the gentle summer wind blowing through the field. Any other day, he would have taken the time to enjoy such calm and peacefulness.
Gaius inched his way closer to the rider. Suddenly, before he could check to see if the man was dead, the rider leapt to his feet and swung his sword in a violent arch that nearly took Gaius’ head from his shoulders.
Gaius backpedaled quickly, keeping his own sword up in a defensive position as the man, nearly as black as the night sky, grinned at him with bloodied teeth, saying something to him in his native language, but it was only the word, Roman he understood.
The Numidian was at least twice Gaius’ age and the numerous crisscrossing scars that stood pronounced against his dark features, showed that he was a veteran of many battles, most of which he probably won.
Gaius regained his composure, realizing that he must have looked like a frightened child, and fell back into a fighting stance, as he was trained.