The guard slid down the wall, then onto his knees. Cassius picked up the lantern. Simo came forward and they watched as the guard’s entire body began to shake. He looked to be no more than twenty, a slender man with delicate features and a mop of hair. His eyes were still half open as his head twitched and his fingers tapped against the floor. White froth dripped from his mouth and ran down his chin.
Cassius looked at his head — there wasn’t even any blood. ‘What in …’
The guard pitched forward. Simo caught him and lowered him onto his side. The paroxysms grew stronger, his feet kicking up the straw.
‘I didn’t hit him that hard,’ breathed Cassius. ‘What’s wrong with him?’
‘I–I don’t know.’ Simo was trying to hold the man still. ‘Some sort of fit.’
Cassius looked around the divide towards the street. There were no lights close by.
‘Do something, Simo.’
‘I don’t know what I can do.’
Simo held the man by his arms but the shaking continued. He lifted his head onto his lap.
‘Simo, do something, please.’
‘Dear Lord help me,’ said the attendant. ‘Help this man.’
Cassius heard voices outside again. His hands were trembling so badly it took him three attempts to sheathe the dagger. Still holding the lantern, he limped to the back of the stall.
He took off his pack, sat down and put his hands on the wall. Forcing himself to ignore what was going on just feet away, he located the largest gap and began levering out one of the adjacent stones. Once it was out, several above fell to the floor.
Cassius stuck his head through the hole. Beyond was a small, dark room with a single window. He reached for the lantern and pushed it through ahead of him. Apart from a pile of animal hides and some cobweb-covered amphoras, the room was empty.
He slid backwards and continued removing stones. Before long he had cleared quite a space but he knew the wall might easily collapse. He slid his pack under it as a support, leaving just enough of a gap to squeeze through.
He hobbled back to the divide and checked outside. He could no longer hear the voices but the lights were close. Only then did he look down at Simo and the guard. The man’s eyes were closed and he was no longer shaking. His head was still in the Gaul’s lap.
‘Simo.’
He was whispering prayers.
‘We have to go. The shaking’s stopped. He’ll be all right.’
Simo seemed not to have heard him.
‘He’ll be all right. Come now. I am your master and I order it.’
Simo ceased his prayers and gently lowered the guard’s head to the floor. He stood up.
‘You go through first.’
Simo took a last look at the guard.
Cassius coaxed him towards the rear of the stall. ‘He’ll be all right. We have to go. He’ll be all right.’
Having donned his armour and grabbed a few other essentials, Gutha swapped the tribesman’s horse for his own and rode swiftly to the outer gate. Waiting there were Reyazz and several dozen men.
‘Gutha.’ Oblachus appeared from somewhere, waving his stick. ‘Do they have the stone?’
‘Quiet.’
‘It’s true, then,’ replied the older man softly. ‘Two of the thieving bastards are still here. I have men searching for them now. They killed Theomestor too — those Syrian mercenaries who were with Uruwat’s lot.’
Gutha leaned down towards him. ‘Uruwat, Enzarri and Mushannaf are dead. They tried to assassinate Ilaha.’
Oblachus cursed and wiped sweat from his hairless head.
‘Now listen to me,’ added Gutha. ‘You must gather all our men and work with Kalderon. Once the warriors from their tribes hear their ethnarchs are dead, we may have a problem. And the last thing we need is for them to find out the stone has gone. Keep it quiet. You may search for the traitors but do nothing to spark an incident. We must maintain calm.’
‘Understood.’ Oblachus limped away.
Reyazz hurried over, towing his mount.
‘You saw them up close,’ said Gutha. ‘How many?’
‘They had around thirty but most of them were killed at the inner gate and here. No more than ten left.’
‘Who do you think they are? These so-called mercenaries?’
‘I don’t know, sir. I think I heard some Latin but it may have been Greek.’
Gutha waved the young engineer closer. ‘All your work with the rock, moving it to the platform. You must have known of Ilaha’s deception.’
Guilt flashed across Reyazz’s face. ‘Commander, I–I just wanted to serve him and Mighty Elagabal as best I could.’
‘Is that right?’
Reyazz looked away, then pointed at the men gathered behind him. ‘We have forty warriors, sir. I can get more but-’
‘There’s no time; and I don’t want some great mob. Food and water?’
‘Yes, sir — enough for several days if we need it.’
‘We won’t.’
Cassius sat back against the rock wall. Despite the cold of the night, his tunic was sodden with sweat. Simo took a flask of water from his pack and handed it to him. Cassius drank too quickly and had to stifle a cough. Only when the discomfort had passed could he finish drinking. He loosened his belt and leaned sideways against his pack.
Once into the storeroom they had entered a kitchen. They had unbolted the door then crept out into the side street. By using the darkness and timing their movements, they had evaded the guards and made their way up to the canyon wall.
‘How is your ankle, sir?’
It was the first thing Simo had said since the outhouse.
‘I had to do something.’
The Gaul didn’t reply.
‘He would have raised the alarm. It was him or us.’
Simo remained silent.
‘Speak, damn you.’
When no reply came, Cassius turned and slapped Simo across the face. He had never hit him before.
‘Speak. I command it.’
‘What would like me to say, sir?’ Even then, he somehow managed not to sound insolent.
‘I had to do it. I had to do it or we’d both be dead.’
‘I am ready for death, sir. I am ready for the Kingdom.’
Cassius almost laughed. ‘You are a fool, Simo. And a coward. And you are no use to me here.’
‘Because I will not help you kill?’ Simo took no care with his tone this time.
‘Address me correctly, damn you, or I’ll keep striking you until you do.’
‘Sorry. Sir.’
Cassius took a while to reply. ‘Your faith has blinded you, Simo. Tell me — where is the sense in valuing the lives of others if you do not value your own?’
Simo was praying again.
‘Ah, waste your breath if you must. It saves me having to talk to you.’
Cassius looked down at the town. The lights told the story. Lanterns, lamps and torches were clustered together and moving slowly. Order had been restored. Though bitter smoke still drifted across Galanaq, all the fires were out. As for the encampment, he could see many lights there too and a lot of movement.
Now information was everything; and he needed to know more. If the assassination attempt had succeeded, he could make contact with Uruwat, Enzarri or Mushannaf. If it had failed, he might be turned over to Ilaha. He could not risk entering the camp yet.
Cassius used the wall to get to his feet, shrugging off Simo’s helping hand. ‘We shall shelter in that tomb we used yesterday. If they haven’t found us by daylight, at least we’ll be able to see what’s going on.’
He pulled on his pack and managed two steps before stumbling. Simo grabbed his belt and kept him on his feet.
‘Please allow me to help you, sir. Just let me put my pack on.’
Cassius said nothing, but he waited and put his hand over Simo’s shoulder once more. As they struggled on along the canyon wall, he continued to look down at the camp, but they were too far away to tell who were guards and who were tribesmen, let alone to which clan they might belong.
At last they reached the tomb. The interior was darker than the sky, darker even than the rock face itself. Cassius knew Simo had his fire-striker and candles with him but they couldn’t risk it outside.