Parthian Vengeance (12 page)

‘I want you to take care tomorrow, Surena. No recklessness on the battlefield, remember your training.’

He beamed at me. ‘Of course, lord.’

His strong frame filled his white shirt and his well-groomed shoulder-length black hair gave him the appearance of a noble Parthian officer, but his eyes flashed with mischief. Despite all the training and education there was still a part of him that was that wild boy of the marshes I had first met years ago.

‘I don’t want you getting yourself killed and wasting all that expensive education I have lavished on you.’

He nodded solemnly. ‘No, lord.’

We walked on in silence for a few moments, men rising to their feet as we passed them and bowing their heads, a few clasping Surena’s forearm. He was a popular figure in the army, not least for saving my life in battle. He had also married an Amazon, one of the few men who had. That earned him much respect, though I never did tell him how close he had come to being hanged on the orders of Gallia for his pursuit of Viper.

‘I was sorry about Godarz, lord, we all were. He was a good man.’

I nodded. ‘Yes, he was.’

He cast me a sideways glance. ‘The queen must miss him terribly.’

Gallia thought Surena cocky and arrogant, though grudgingly accepted that he was brave. Viper must have told him how much Godarz’s death had affected the queen.

‘She does, as do I.’

‘I know what it is like to lose parents. The passing of time heals the wounds but the scars remain.’

He was speaking with a maturity that I did not know he possessed. He was talking of his own parents who had been murdered by the soldiers of Chosroes when he was a boy.

His visage hardened and he grasped the hilt of his sword, a
spatha
like my own. ‘Mithridates deserves to die for what he has done.’

‘Just make sure you don’t die as well.’

As usual I slept for barely three hours that night and before the dawn announced the new day I was up and preparing for battle. I always slept with my dagger under my pillow. A most ridiculous habit considering I was in the middle of an armed camp and at Dura my bed was in a guarded palace surrounded by thick walls. It infuriated Gallia that our marriage bed had to accommodate a weapon, but as I reminded her she always secreted her own dagger under our bed. Like most of my military equipment, my dagger came from Italy and had once belonged to a Roman centurion I had killed on the night that Spartacus had rescued me. My scale armour hung on a frame at the foot of the bed. It was bulky and heavy but the metal scales and thick rawhide underneath became as light as a feather when the frenzy of combat gripped me. All Dura’s cataphracts wore full-face helmets that covered all of their heads and necks, but I always wore my Roman helmet on the battlefield. It sat on the stool beside the scale armour.

I rose and knelt by the side of the bed, closed my eyes and prayed to Shamash that He would give me the courage to fight well this day. I held the lock of Gallia’s hair in my hand. In that moment I felt a sense of supreme serenity. I opened my eyes and stood up. It was time to fight.

Though each cataphract had two squires to attend him I never bothered with servants, being content to enlist the assistance of anyone to hand. I had been raised a prince in the great palace at Hatra but during my time in Italy with Spartacus I had had no slaves or servants to attend to my every whim. I had become used to preparing my horse and equipment myself and the habit had stayed with me. First I put on my silk vest that felt cool next to my skin, then my leggings and boots. Finally I pulled on my long-sleeved white shirt and stepped out of the sleeping compartment and into the main section of the command tent. Domitus was already sitting at the table munching on some biscuits and salted meat. Did he ever sleep on campaign? The early morning was cool so his cloak was wrapped around him. Outside I could hear the blare of trumpets and officers hurling orders at their men.

Sentries brought us hot porridge from the field kitchens and after acknowledging each other we sat in silence as we devoured the thick, appetising stodge. There was nothing to say. Domitus was not one for idle chatter and on the morning of battle I always liked to mull over the coming clash in my mind.

Some ten minutes later Orodes, Byrd and Malik joined us. Byrd and Malik had already ridden out to reconnoitre the enemy’s positions. I indicated for them all to join us at the table as more hot food was brought from the kitchens. The oil lamps hanging from the tent poles still burned to illuminate the tent’s interior but outside the first rays of the sun were now lancing the eastern sky.

Domitus finished his food and pushed his metal plate aside. ‘Well, what is your plan for today?’

I smiled at him. ‘To beat the enemy, Domitus, as always!’

‘It’s too early to be a smart arse, just answer the question.’

I turned to Malik. ‘You see, lord prince, how my subordinates disrespect me.’

‘Alas, Pacorus,’ replied Malik, winking at Domitus and shoving porridge into his mouth with his fingers, ‘there is no respect left in the world, I fear.’

He and Domitus were good friends and would lay down their lives for each other, while Byrd had become like a brother to Malik. Indeed, all of us gathered at the table were brothers, having shared hardships and shed blood over the years.

‘Guard!’ I shouted.

One of the legionaries standing sentry outside the tent appeared and saluted.

‘Go and find Marcus Sutonius and Surena and bring them here.’

He saluted and left. I turned to Domitus.

‘The problem with you, Domitus, is that you have no sense of humour in the early morning.’

‘And the problem with you,’ he shot back, ‘is that you talk too much. You should be more like Byrd, who says very little but what he does say is worth listening to. Isn’t that right, Byrd?’

As ever Byrd cut a dishevelled figure in his scruffy robes, with long straggly hair and unshaven face. But his eyes were alert and his mind quick.

‘Plenty of time to finish breakfast and beat enemy,’ he sniffed. ‘They in no hurry to leave their camp.’

Malik finished licking his fingers. ‘It’s true, we rode right up to the perimeter of their camp and saw very little activity.’

‘Good,’ I said. ‘It appears that they anticipate an easy victory.’

‘And they will have one unless Pacorus shares his battle plan with us,’ said Domitus.

The tent flaps opened and Marcus and Surena entered. I invited them both to sit at the table as I rose and waited for them to be seated. The Roman Marcus Sutonius was the commander of my siege engines. He, the hundred men under him and their machines had been captured and enlisted into my service when a Roman army had invaded Dura. At first they served with reluctance but then enthusiastically when they discovered that life at Dura was pleasant enough and infinitely better than serving in the Roman army.

I ordered more food to be brought from the kitchens, which Surena and Marcus accepted greedily. Sitting side by side they presented very different appearances. Surena was tall and powerfully built with broad shoulders and muscular arms, while Marcus, nearly twice his age, was shorter and carried some fat mainly around the stomach on his wiry frame. His short hair was thinning on top.

‘Very well,’ I said, ‘this is the plan. I intend to finish Mithridates and his army once and for all. Therefore our tactics today will be hammer and anvil.’

Orodes raised an eyebrow but said nothing while Domitus was nodding his head in agreement. Marcus was confused, as he did not understand what it meant. Domitus enlightened him.

‘What the king means Marcus, is that my two legions will act as an anvil and the army’s horsemen will be the hammer. In between the two will be the enemy, battered into fragments by a series of hammer blows.’

I continued. ‘The foot will deploy behind a screen of horse archers who will advance and goad the enemy into launching an attack. Once they do the horse archers will fall back through the ranks of the legionaries.’

‘What about your cataphracts, lord?’ asked Surena.

‘Pacorus was coming to them,’ said Orodes.

‘They are the hammer,’ replied Domitus.

‘Hammer?’ Marcus was still confused.

‘The cataphracts will be divided into two bodies,’ I said, ‘one deployed on the right and the other on the left. Each body will be positioned directly behind the two legions, so that when the enemy horsemen chasing our horse archers run into the locked shields of the Durans and Exiles, the heavy horsemen will advance forward to envelop the flanks and rear of the enemy.’

Marcus nodded in admiration. ‘A most ambitious plan, sir. And the enemy will be willing participants in their own slaughter?’

‘He has a point,’ said Domitus.

‘All we have to do is draw them in,’ I replied, ‘and when I dangle the bait in front of their noses they will fall into our laps easy enough.’

Orodes frowned. ‘Bait?’

I smiled at him. ‘Me, of course.’

Orodes looked most alarmed. ‘You?’

‘Of course. Domitus is always saying that everyone in the empire knows me on my white horse with a white crest in my helmet. Well then, it will be easy enough to lure the army of Mithridates into our trap if his soldiers see me riding in front of them. I will command the horse archers.’

Domitus had drawn his dagger and began toying with it. ‘The plan has merits.’

‘Prince Orodes will command the heavy horsemen deployed on the right, together with his own bodyguard.’

Orodes nodded solemnly. He would have seven hundred and fifty men under his command on the right, which left five hundred cataphracts on the left wing. I pointed at Surena.

‘And you, Surena, will command the cavalry on the left wing.’

Surena stopped eating his porridge, wiped his mouth on his sleeve and beamed at me.

‘Yes, lord, it will be an honour.’

Orodes looked at Domitus in alarm while Byrd and Malik seemed disinterested. It was Domitus who put into words Orodes’ concern.

‘That is a big responsibility for a junior officer.’

Surena shot my general a disdainful glance. Domitus respected Surena for his bravery and loyalty but thought him headstrong and reckless, and far too young to lead half a dragon of cataphracts. But I saw great promise in Surena.

‘It is true that Surena is young for such responsibility, but his shoulders are broad and I believe that he will rise to the task.’

Surena stood up and bowed his head to me. ‘I will not let you down, majesty.’

‘Just make sure you don’t. Now go and prepare your men.’

He beamed at me once more, bowed his head and then turned smartly and tripped over a chair leg to sprawl onto the floor. Blushing, he quickly jumped to his feet and raced from the tent. Domitus raised his eyes to the heavens.

‘I hope you know what you are doing,’ he said to me.

‘Have faith, Domitus. You know he is a brave young man and a good officer.’

Domitus turned his dagger in his hand and examined the edges of the blade. ‘I don’t doubt that, but don’t blame me if he tries to win the battle by himself and charges straight at Mithridates, leading half your heavy horse to their destruction.’

‘What of me, sir?’ enquired Marcus.

I walked over and laid a hand on his shoulder. ‘You, my friend, will stay and protect the camp. I will place all the squires under your command, just in case some of the opposition attempts to storm the camp while we are occupied on the battlefield.’

It was doubtful that the enemy would detach a part of their army to attack the camp, though as it was led by Mithridates I would not put any underhand stratagem past him.

‘I would join you with the archers, Pacorus,’ said Malik.

‘I would be glad of your company, my friend,’ I replied.

Byrd was free to do as he wanted. He could not use a bow and carried no weapons aside from a long knife tucked into his belt. In all the years that I had known him I had never seen him fight, though I was mightily glad that he was part of this army for his abilities as a scout. Daylight was spreading across the desert as we made our way outside to take command of our men. The sky was blue and cloudless and the air windless, though still surprisingly cool.

I walked with Orodes to his tent where he would don his scale armour. Already columns of legionaries were marching out of the camp to head east to face the enemy, and around us squires were assisting their masters into their scale armour and encasing their horses in their armour protection. I would not be wearing my scale armour today, my Roman cuirass and helmet sufficing to lead the horse archers. We embraced each other and I left him to organise his men.

I strode to the stable area to collect Remus. When I arrived he appeared unconcerned by the frenetic level of activity surrounding him – he was always more calm living outdoors as opposed to being cooped up in the palace stables. He was now a veteran of many battles and campaigns and had seen it all before. He could still be feisty and stubborn but in battle he was brave and steady, a perfect Parthian mount despite his Roman heritage. He stood still as I threw the saddlecloth on his back and then strapped on his saddle and bridle. Around me some horses, sensing the nervousness of their riders, became skittish and had to be calmed, but Remus merely flicked his tail and waited for me to finish. I slid my bow into its hide case and fastened it to one of the rear horns of the saddle. I placed my helmet on my head, the large cheekguards protecting each side of my face. A farrier handed me my quiver whose strap I threw over my right shoulder so the arrows hung on my left side. Then I rode from the stables to where the senior officers of the horse archers were waiting on their horses.

‘Well, gentlemen, today we will be the bait that hopefully entices the enemy into our trap. Prince Orodes has explained what your mission is?’

They all nodded their heads.

‘Good, then may Shamash protect you all, and good luck.’

They bowed their heads and then wheeled their horses around to ride in a single file down the side of the camp’s central avenue, which was now filled with legionaries marching six abreast to their battle positions. Marcus stood watching them go.