The Eagle In the Sand

'What is it?' Bannus snapped, then a sixth sense made him spin round and he saw Macro launch himself forward. At once Bannus leaped up and sprinted round the fire, snatching out his curved dagger as he went. Cato and Symeon ran in towards the fire. Before any of them could stop him, Bannus had hauled the boy from the ground and now had his forearm locked across Yusef 's throat, pinning him to his chest. The other hand was extended, fist clenching a dagger whose blade gleamed in the firelight.

'Stand back!' Bannus screamed. 'Stand back! One step closer and I swear I'll gut the boy!'

Macro stood only a spear's length away, crouching low, sword point raised. The others were slightly further off, and spread out, so that Bannus had to keep twisting his neck to keep them all in sight.

'Don't move!'

Yusef raised his bound hands and started to claw at the hairy forearm across his throat.

'He can't breathe,' Cato said calmly. 'Bannus, you're killing him.'

Bannus stared back suspiciously for an instant, and then relented, loosening his grip just enough to let Yusef gasp some air into his lungs.

'That's better,' said Cato. 'Now, we have to talk… again.'

'We said all we had to say last time.'

'There's no escape now, Bannus.You must surrender. But you can do one good thing before it's over. Spare the boy and return him to Miriam.'

'No!'

'What choice have you got?' Cato pleaded. 'We cannot let you escape again. Let him go.'

'No. Symeon! Saddle my horse. You, Roman – the short one. Your mounts have to be nearby. Bring them here!'

'Fetch them yourself, fuckwit,' Macro growled.

Bannus raised his blade to Yusef 's face and, with a deft flick, nicked his cheek.The boy yelped with pain as a thin trickle of blood coursed down his cheek and across Bannus' forearm.

'Next time, I'll take one of his eyes out. Now get the horses, Roman.'

Symeon looked on in horror before he turned to Macro. 'For pity's sake do as he says.'

'I am not going to let him escape,' Macro said firmly. 'Whatever he threatens to do to the boy. It ends here.'

'Macro, I beg you.' Symeon's voice was broken with anxiety. 'Not the boy. He's all that Miriam has.'

Macro did not reply, and did not take his eyes off Bannus as he stood poised to strike. So it was Cato who first noticed the figures emerging from the darkness of the desert. A dozen camel riders in dark robes, quickly fanning out so that the five figures by the fire were surrounded.

'Macro,' Cato said softly. 'Sheathe your sword, slowly.'

Symeon and Cato did the same and turned towards the new arrivals. There was a moment of stillness in which Cato felt himself and his companions scrutinised by the silent riders. Bannus lowered his knife, but kept his arm firmly round Yusef.

Cato whispered, 'Symeon, who are they?'

'Bedu.' Symeon raised a hand in greeting and spoke to the newcomers. A voice replied in kind and one of the riders edged his camel closer. At a series of tongue clicks and taps from his crop the camel's front legs folded, then the back legs, and the rider eased himself from the saddle. He lowered his veil and stared at them all with dark eyes before he started speaking to Symeon again. Then he turned and snapped out some orders to his men and they also began to dismount. One of the men who had been in the shadows held the reins of the three horses that had been left in the desert.

'What do they want?' Cato asked.

'Water. There's a spring in that fissure. He says it belongs to his tribe and that we are trespassing.'

Macro edged closer to the others. 'Fine, so what does he intend to do about it?'

The Bedu leader ordered some of his men to collect waterskins and they disappeared into the fissure. Then he turned back to Symeon and spoke again.

'He wants to know what we are doing here.'

Cato glanced at Macro. 'We've nothing to hide. Tell him the truth.'

There was another exchange before Symeon relayed the details. 'I told him Bannus is our enemy. I asked him if he would let us take Bannus and the boy and leave. He said no.'

'No?' Cato felt a chill in the back of his neck. 'Why not? What does he want from us?'

'He demands that we pay a price for trespassing on their land.'

'What price? We have nothing of value.'

Symeon smiled faintly. 'Except our lives.'

'They mean to kill us?'

Macro's hand tightened on his sword handle. 'Let them bloody try.'

'Not quite,' Symeon replied. 'He said that since we were enemies, we should finish our fight here, in the light of this fire. One of us will fight Bannus. If our man wins we can leave with the boy. If Bannus wins, he leaves with the boy and you two will be killed.'

'I don't understand.' Macro frowned, then he glanced at Symeon. 'You're going to fight him?'

'Yes.'

'No. Let me. I'm trained for this. I'll have a better chance.'

'Prefect, I know how to fight, and this has been a long time coming. Besides, I told the Bedu leader that I would fight.'

Bannus had overheard all this, and smiled.'Nothing I'd like better.'

'Release the boy,' Cato said.

'Why not?' Bannus brought out his knife again and cut Yusef's bonds.As the ties fell away Yusef hobbled a few steps away from Bannus and collapsed on the sand. Symeon rushed over to him and held the boy's shoulders.

'Yusef, are you all right?'

The boy nodded.

'I'll have you back with your people in a few days, I swear it.'

Bannus laughed. 'Only if you kill me first, old friend.'

Symeon looked up at him. 'I will kill you Bannus. It's the only way to cure your sickness.'

'Sickness?'

'What else can it be when a man is so determined to continue a pointless fight that he no longer cares how many die as a result?'

'I do it for my people!' Bannus protested. 'You abandoned them long ago. What would you understand of our struggle?'

'That it's doomed.You cannot fight Rome and win.'

'I can and I will,' Bannus said with deliberation. 'It's just a question of time.'

Symeon shook his head sadly and held Yusef closer. The leader of the Bedu approached them and spoke to Bannus, pointing to a clear space of ground beside the fire.The Bedu had tethered their camels for the night and now sat in a loose circle about the makeshift arena.

'It's time,' Symeon said.

The Bedu leader pushed them gently towards the clearing, guiding Macro, Cato and Yusef to one side. Then he calmly pressed the two Romans down on to their knees and barked an order to his men. Four came over to stand behind them, and they felt hands on their shoulders and then the cold steel of daggers at their throats. The Bedu shouted to Symeon and the latter nodded, drawing his curved sword.A short distance from him Bannus sheathed his dagger and pulled out his own blade, dropping into a crouch as he eyed Symeon warily.

For a moment the two men stood staring at each other, blades held out, ready to strike or parry. Then Bannus took a few steps to the side, edging round so that the fire was behind him, throwing him into silhouette. At once Symeon circled to cancel the advantage. As he took his last step, Bannus leaped forward, slashing down with his fine curved blade. Symeon expertly parried the blow and swept his sword round to the side, where it rang sharply off the hilt that Bannus had snatched across to block the cut. It had been the work of an instant, the sound of the last clash biting through the air even before the first clatter had faded. Both men drew back and stood, carefully balanced, weighing each other up.

Symeon stepped forward and feinted, and feinted again, but Bannus' blade did not move.

'You're going to have to try harder than that…'

'You talk too much,' Symeon replied quietly, then thrust at his opponent's head, flicking his wrist at the last moment so the blade cut over Bannus' blocking move and sliced towards his temple. Bannus had no choice but to duck and stagger back to avoid the blow and Symeon launched a series of attacks, which Bannus just managed to ward off in a rapid chorus of ringing blades. At the last moment, as Bannus was pressed towards the Bedu at the edge of the clearing, he powered forward, inside the arc of Symeon's blade, and crashed into his chest, sending Symeon spinning backwards. As they broke contact, Bannus sliced his blade past the other man's side and its finely sharpened edge cut through the folds of Symeon's tunic and laid open a long cut on his chest.