There was still an hour or so before first light when the small party of men flitted across the gap between the temple and the curtain wall. On the far side of the temple they could hear the uproar as Hepithus led a strong force of the defenders in an attack on the Romans guarding the breach and the bolt throwers and their crews beyond. The Nubian had volunteered to remain behind and cover his leader’s escape and Ajax silently pledged to honour his companion’s memory with the lives of ten Romans as swiftly as possible.
The ropes that Canthus had used to scale the wall were still in place and one by one the handful of gladiators and the best of the Arab warriors that Ajax had chosen to come with them climbed carefully up the mud-brick wall, keeping flat as they heaved themselves over the top of the wall and then quietly descended to the ground outside. As the last man dropped into the shadows, Ajax tugged the sleeve of Canthus’s Roman tunic.
‘What now?’
‘There’s a dry irrigation ditch in that field.’ Canthus pointed to a vaguely delineated area of wheat a short distance from the wall. ‘You follow me and stay as low as you can. There are two Roman outposts about a hundred paces either side of the ditch. Once we get past them then the ditch joins a wider irrigation channel. There’s water in it, so we’ll have to go slowly. A quarter of a mile further on there’s a cavalry picquet. They were bedded down for the night when I passed them on the way into the temple. The horse line is a short distance from the channel and there are three sentries. If we are challenged, I’ll answer. I have the password for tonight. We’ll be on them before they realise what’s up. Then you take the horses and go, sir.’
‘You’re not coming?’
Canthus shook his head. ‘Provided I get back to the right side of the temple before I’m missed, I should be all right. My cover story’s worked well enough up to now. No reason to suppose they’ll discover who I really am. I may be of more service to you and our allies for a while yet.’ There was a dull gleam as the man grinned. ‘Best performance of my life, this. If only the other actors in Rome could see me now and give me due recognition.’
‘Recognition? Be glad they aren’t here.’ Ajax smiled back, then punched the spy’s shoulder lightly. ‘Let’s go.’
Canthus led the way as the string of dark figures crouched low to the ground and crept towards the edge of the field. Behind them the sounds of fighting from the far side of the temple began to die away as Hepithus recalled his men and retreated inside the temple. Entering the field, Ajax moved as stealthily as possible to avoid rustling through the stalks of wheat. They moved forward with painful slowness and all the time Ajax feared that dawn would be upon them before they were safely away from the enemy lines. At last Canthus edged down into the empty ditch and they began to make better progress. The sound of voices caused Ajax to stop, but then someone laughed and the conversation dropped into a low unconcerned tone and Ajax moved on. The ditch gradually deepened and then sloped down into a channel of water that stretched away before them. Canthus went first, easing himself into the water and then wading forward, taking care not to splash. The others followed his lead, staying close to the reeds that grew along the edge of the channel.
Abruptly, Canthus held up his hand to signal the others to stop. The faint rush of ripples washing into the reeds faded away and then all was quiet, except the faint scrape of a horse’s hoof and a brief whinny. Ajax turned and beckoned to Karim and the two of them edged up alongside Canthus.
‘This is it,’ said the spy.
‘All right then.’ Ajax drew his sword. ‘We’ll deal with the sentries. Once they’re down, the men can take care of the rest while they sleep. Clear?’
The others nodded and drew their weapons and then Ajax led the way out of the water, up through the screen of reeds. He stopped to look over the ground. The horse line was away to the right, the animals tethered to a rope tied between two palms. Two of the sentries were talking together beside the mounts while the dark shapes of their comrades were scattered a short distance away. Some of the men were snoring. Beyond them a solitary figure strolled slowly up and down. Ajax indicated him.
‘That one’s yours, Karim. Work your way round there and silence him. I’ll count to a hundred before we move on the other two.’
Karim nodded, and then went down into a crouch and moved slowly past the sleeping Romans as he crept into the shadows of a handful of date palms and disappeared from view. Ajax counted off at a measured pace and then nudged Canthus. ‘Come on.’
They eased themselves up and out of the reeds, emerging on to a rough track that ran alongside the channel. Ajax rose to his full height and started to make his way towards the sentries by the horse line. They were still talking and did not detect the new arrivals until almost the last moment. Then the first of them spun round and lowered his spear at the two figures emerging from the darkness.
‘Halt! Who goes there?’
‘Friends!’ Canthus called back.
‘Then give me the password!’
‘Up the blues,’ Canthus called back and strode on, hand clenched round his sword handle.
‘Pass, friend!’ the Roman responded.
Ajax kept up with Canthus as the two of them continued along the track. They were close now and while the cut of Canthus’s tunic was unmistakably military, Ajax did not look like a Roman soldier. The two continued to stride forward. At the last moment one of the sentries craned his neck and squinted into the shadows. ‘Who are you?’
Ajax did not break his stride as he approached the Roman. At the last moment he sprang forward, lunging with his sword. The point plunged into the sentry’s torso and the man folded up with a groan. His companion was stunned into stillness for an instant, then as he began to lower his spear, Canthus parried it aside and thrust his sword into the man’s throat. He collapsed to his knees and bled out quickly before toppling aside. Ajax hurriedly finished his man off and turned towards the last sentry. He had heard something and stood on the other side of the small encampment, spear grasped in both hands. Before he could call out, a shadow sprang up from the ground behind him and there was a brief grunt as Karim brought him down. Ajax stared, poised to dash across to Karim’s aid, but then the Parthian rose and lifted his sword.
‘All done.’ Canthus breathed deeply with relief. He turned back towards the channel and let out a low whistle. At once a score of shadows emerged from the reeds and padded towards them. When they had gathered round Ajax, he gestured towards the shapes of the men sleeping but on the ground a sufficient distance from the date palms to avoid any scorpions or snakes dropping on them during the night. ‘Kill them, and kill them quietly,’ Ajax ordered. ‘Go.’
His men crept amongst the sleeping Romans, kneeling down to smother their mouths with one hand while using the other to cut their throats. Here and there a victim struggled briefly and one managed to let out a gurgling cry before being swiftly silenced. When the last of the Romans was dealt with, Ajax led his men to the horse line. The saddles were arranged neatly to one side and took little time to fit on to the horses. A short time after the killing had begun, Ajax and his men were mounted and only Canthus remained on foot.
‘You’re certain that you wish to remain behind?’ asked Ajax.
‘Yes, General.’
‘If they discover that you’re a spy, and they are bound to sooner or later, then you can expect no mercy.’
‘I shall be careful. Besides, I am enjoying the deception. I have never played a role like this before.’ Canthus’s smile faded and he nodded towards the east where the first glimmer of the coming day was rising into the haze above the Nile. ‘You’d better go.’ He reached up and clasped Ajax’s hand. ‘May Fortuna ride with you, my General.’
Ajax nodded his gratitude, then released the man’s hand, took up his reins and set his mount towards the hills to the west, intending to ride out into the wilderness, away from the Roman forces surrounding the temple. After that they would head up the Nile and find somewhere to cross the river and rejoin Prince Talmis and his army.
He had done as the Prince wished. The column had distracted the enemy’s attention and inflicted heavy casualties. With luck the Romans would be anxious about a threat from either bank and divide their already weak forces. Even so, the column had been lost and Ajax was anticipating a frosty reception from his ally.
Nudging his heels in he urged his horse into a trot as they left the spy behind them, surrounded by the bodies of the Roman cavalry squadron. Canthus watched them briefly, then turned and hurried back towards the temple, to rejoin the Roman force before he was missed.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-EIGHT
T
he small column of horsemen had only travelled half a mile or so across cultivated fields before they abruptly gave out on to a sandy wasteland where the peasants’ irrigation system stopped. There was no cover here and Ajax reined in as he examined the open ground stretching out before him. To his right the sandstone cliffs and mountains rose up into a barrier that stretched out into the desert in one direction and bordered a stretch of the Nile in the other. The highest rocks were already aglow as they caught the first rays of the rising sun and a thin light spread across the landscape still embraced by the shadows of the failing night.
Ajax clicked his tongue and beckoned his men to follow him as his horse walked out into the desert. At once he felt exposed. There was no place to hide out here and it was vital that they made best use of what little darkness was left. He increased the horse’s pace into a gentle canter and his men followed suit, kicking up a small cloud of dust as they headed out across the sand.
‘I don’t like this, General,’ said Karim as he glanced towards the mass of the temple rising up above the grey smears of fields and the spectral forms of clumps of palm trees. ‘They must surely see us at any moment.’
‘And if they do, they’ll assume that we are one of their cavalry patrols.’
‘What if they don’t?’
Ajax shrugged. ‘Then we’ll see just how good these horses are.’
The light strengthened and spread its warm loom across the arid wilderness. To their left a Roman trumpet sounded and there was a brief delay before a distant series of cracks announced the opening of the second assault on the temple. Ajax felt a heavy sense of guilt that he had left Hepithus and the rest of his men behind to defend the temple, even though their sacrifice would buy him time to continue the struggle against Rome. With luck, they would sell their lives dearly. He would avenge them in time.
Karim pulled in his reins and pointed ahead. A quarter of a mile away, three mounted men appeared from behind a low dune, heading straight for Ajax and his column. ‘What do we do?’
‘Nothing,’ Ajax replied calmly. ‘There’s every chance they will take us for their own.’
Karim glanced at the black robes of the eight Arabs who were riding with them. ‘Only at a distance.’
Ajax gently steered his horse to one side so that they would not pass close by, but soon saw that the enemy horsemen were making directly for them. ‘Shit.’
‘We have to do something,’ Karim urged. ‘We have to stop them raising the alarm.’
Ajax thought quickly and turned to issue his orders. ‘Have the Arabs make their bows ready. If we get the chance we’ll take them down before they can react.’
Karim nodded and reined his horse in, falling back alongside the Arabs to convey the command to their officer.
As the two parties closed on each other, Ajax tried to calculate their chances of escaping. There was still at least a mile to go before the cliffs opened out on to the desert. If the Romans reacted swiftly enough they could cut him off from the upper Nile. The three horsemen approached without any sign of wariness. Their leader raised his hand in greeting when he was no more than fifty paces away in the half light, and then harshly reined his horse in and called out.
‘Who are you?’
‘Auxiliary horse!’ Ajax called back, nudging his mount to continue advancing. He could sense the Roman’s hesitation and the hurried exchange with the other two men. Any moment they would guess the truth.
‘Karim!’ Ajax shouted. ‘Now!’
A word of command was barked and a faint hiss cut through the air as the arrows shot towards the three Romans in a shallow arc. The leader was struck in the chest, and his horse took an arrow in the neck, causing it to rear up and throw its rider. Another arrow struck one of the riders in the thigh and the other shafts went wide. The third Roman turned and instantly kicked his heels in, galloping towards the temple a few hundred paces away. His surviving comrade struggled to pull out the arrow, giving the archers time to string a second volley. This time he was struck in the chest and face and toppled from his saddle into the sand, sending up a small cloud of dust.
‘Get that one!’ Karim bellowed, pointing to the man leaning low over the neck of his mount as it galloped to safety. More arrows flew after him but the target was moving swiftly and the range lengthening. Karim drew his sword and spurred his horse forward to give chase.
‘Leave him!’ Ajax ordered. ‘It’s too late for that. We must ride!’
Reluctantly sheathing his sword, Karim ordered the archers to cease shooting and then the column broke into a gallop, making for the gap between the mountains and the farmland. As they rode, Ajax cast frequent glances towards the temple and saw that the enemy horseman had reached an outpost. He gesticulated anxiously as he made his report. The shrill note of a horn carried on the cool morning air, and then another. There was still a quarter of a mile to go before the desert opened out when Karim called to him and pointed towards the Nile. Two squadrons of enemy cavalry were racing out from the Roman lines, one heading towards Ajax and his men while the other angled out across the strip of desert, aiming to cut them off.
It took Ajax only an instant to see that they would not reach the gap in time and he raised his arm to halt his men. They stopped their beasts in a swirl of dust. Ajax glanced round. There was only one direction left to them now: north.