The Legion

'Well?' Talmis raised his chin. 'What is your decision?'

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

It was late in that afternoon when Prince Talmis reined in at the head of the small column of riders, trotting down the bank of the Nile. Both he and his bodyguards had been disarmed and were escorted by Cato, Macro, Tribune Junius and a squadron of auxiliary cavalry. Talmis pointed across the river to a small island, two hundred paces across the river. Like most of the islands Cato had seen, it was low and fringed with reeds. However, at the upriver end there was a sizeable slab of rock upon which a shrine had been built, five columns by four. Clumps of date palms grew around the base of the rock and a small landing stage lay a short distance further along the island, beyond which there were only reeds. A skiff was moored to the landing stage, and a single figure could be seen at the entrance to the shrine, watching them.

'I have them under guard there, in the shrine,' said Talmis.

'Them?' Macro raised an eyebrow. 'How many men has Ajax left?'

'There is Ajax and one other, a man called Karim. The others I had put to death when the gladiator returned to my camp with his story of failure. I was saving him for later – that is, if I could not get a good price for him from your Emperor.'

'I'm glad I'm not your ally,' Macro commented.

'Ajax was not an ally. He offered to serve me. He was supposed to distract you and not give battle. But he wanted nothing more than to kill Romans, no matter what the cost to those he led.' Prince Talmis turned to look at Macro and Cato. 'I am impressed that a man can hate you two as much as Ajax does.'

Macro pursed his lips. 'It cuts both ways, Nubian. We have our own reasons for returning his feeling in kind.'

'Truly?' Talmis swatted an insect away from his cheek. He gestured to Macro to continue.

'That's enough,' Cato interrupted. 'It'll be dark soon. I want to deal with Ajax before the day is out.' He turned to the Prince. 'How many of your men are there on the island?'

'Six of my best men. I will send their captain to them to explain the situation and recall the guards. Then the gladiator and his friend are yours. And you will free me and my men.'

'Only when I have Ajax,' Cato said firmly. 'Have your men bring the boat over. I'll go across with your captain and some of my troops to take charge of the captives. Your men can return first, then you are free to go.'

'I see.' Talmis nodded and looked at him with a calculating expression. 'Legate, do you think your victory has ended my ambitions to seize the upper Nile?'

'No. But it will take time for you to mass another army. By then Rome will have sent more troops to the province and bolstered the defences of the towns and forts along the Nile. You will have even less chance of success than you did this time.' Cato looked at him steadily. 'I don't think Rome will have much to worry about from the Nubian quarter for a while. You're a spent force. Ajax, on the other hand, is not. That is the reason why I am prepared to trade your life for his.'

A frown flitted across the Prince's face. 'Really? I think you underestimate me, Roman. We shall see about that, perhaps sooner than you think.' Prince Talmis turned to the captain of his bodyguards and there was a quick exchange before the captain dismounted and climbed down the bank to the edge of the water. He raised a small horn to his lips and blew four times. Two figures scurried down from the shrine, boarded the skiff and set off across the current.

Cato gestured to the commander of the cavalry escort to join him and then spoke quietly to the decurion. 'I don't trust the Prince. I want your two best men to come with me. Once we reach the island and have the prisoners, I'll give the signal for you to release the Prince and his men.'

'Yes, sir. And what'll the signal be?'

Cato thought briefly. 'I'll raise my sword and wave it from side to side. You'll see that well enough from here.'

'Yes, sir.'

Cato glanced at the Prince and his men. 'If they make any attempt to escape before the signal is given, kill the men. Take the Prince alive, if you can.'

Macro moved closer to Cato and muttered, 'What's to stop us killing him anyway? Once we have Ajax?'

Cato shook his head. 'Talmis poses little danger to Rome. I think that this defeat will weaken him. He'll be busy keeping his followers in line as it is. If we kill him, we give the Nubians a grievance that will need to be avenged.'

Macro shrugged. 'If you say so. Frankly, one more dead Nubian suits me fine.'

Cato nodded to the decurion. 'You have your orders.'

The decurion turned in his saddle to call back down the line. 'Castor! Decius! Dismount and escort the legate!'

The two tough-looking men swung down from their saddles and handed the reins to their comrades before unhooking their shields and trotting forward to the two officers. Cato dismounted and gestured to them to follow him. 'You too, Macro. And you, Junius.'

He led the way down to join the Nubian captain as they waited for the skiff. The men in the small boat worked the oars hard as they fought the current. As they waited, Cato stepped aside from the others. 'Macro, over here.'

They moved out of earshot and Cato turned to his friend with a searching look. 'When we get hold of Ajax it is my intention to take him back to Rome alive. Do you understand?'

Macro was silent for a moment and his expression hardened as he replied through gritted teeth. 'After all that bastard's done? You haven't forgotten Crete, Cato. But then it wasn't you he held captive in that shitty cage. It was me, and Julia.'

'I know.'

'Bollocks. I say we kill him, dump his body in the Nile and be done with it.'

'Those were not our orders.'

'Orders?' Macro leaned closer, face to face with Cato. 'Fuck the orders… Fuck 'em. Fuck Sempronius, Narcissus, the Emperor. Fuck the lot of 'em. I don't care. Ajax owes me, and I want my revenge.' He paused and softened his tone as best he could. 'Cato, lad, I need revenge, and so do you, for Julia's sake.'

'I won't speak for her.'

Macro stabbed his finger at Cato's harness. 'She's going to be your wife. Do you think you can live with that precious conscience of yours, knowing what he did to her and yet letting him live an instant longer than necessary?'

'Ajax will die,' Cato replied firmly. 'He will be condemned by the Emperor and crucified. You know it.'

'Oh, he'll be condemned all right, but what if Claudius decides to send him to the arena? You know how good he is. If anyone can win over the mob, it'll be Ajax. Then what? Supposing Claudius spares him, as a sop to the mob? Even if he dies, he'll go out a hero. Either with a sword in his hand spitting defiance, or screaming his hatred of Rome from the cross. If he's crucified, he'll be a martyr, just like Spartacus before him.'

'Then we'll have to bridge that cross when, or if, we come to it.' Cato grasped his friend's arm. 'Macro. We have no choice. We have our orders and I will carry them out. And so will you. Give me your word on it, or I'll have no choice but to send you back to the camp.'

Macro's face flinched with the effort of containing the poisonous rage that Ajax had planted in his heart many months before. At length he sucked in a deep breath through his teeth. 'As you command… sir.'

'Thank you.' Cato bowed his head slightly in gratitude before he glanced towards the river. 'The boat's here. Let's go.'

They returned to the others as the skiff reached the shore. One of the men hopped over the side with a splash and guided the bows in. The captain climbed aboard and settled in the stern before the others took their places; Macro and Cato opposite the captain, then the two auxiliaries and Junius on the small triangular deck at the front. The Nubian pushed the boat off and the man at the oars turned the craft and started to propel it back across the glassy expanse of river towards the landing stage on the island. One of the legionaries leaned out to look down at the water and the boat rolled slightly to that side.