The Art of War

Chapter 86

Rome, 21 December AD 69

Geminus

‘ Pantera! ’

Domitian shouted, but the spy was already moving, launching himself left, because she threw right-handed and he must have known how the knife would fly. He soared out in an arc from his horse, tucked his head in, pulled his arm in, ready to roll.

His horse was not trained for this. It shied and kicked him in the chest, a glancing blow, but it drove the wind from his lungs and he messed up the roll and landed awkwardly and we all heard something snap, high up, by his shoulder, while over his head Trabo was proving that it had been right to bring him along, that he could think and act properly even when his heart was so clearly broken.

There was a lick of winter sun across a blade and the slam-sigh of iron on bone. Somewhere, a man called out. It might have been Trabo, I don’t know, because Jocasta was not my problem, and never had been: Lucius was mine to deal with; my pleasure, my duty.

You see, Pantera might have been goading Jocasta, but his gaze had held mine when Lucius spoke: When one emperor dies, their oaths are given to the new one. It has always been so.

And about Pantera’s wrist, revealed beneath his sleeve as he had raised his hand to wipe imaginary sweat from his cheek, was a silver wristband with the sign of the house of Vespasian engraved on it.

His thumb had pointed back to his legions and my eye had followed the line. Every single horse I could see, every banner, had the livery of the oak branch in fruit and leaf. Some of those men were mine; I knew their cohort colours.

They had sworn to the new emperor; it’s what we do and the gesture said, as clearly as if Pantera had spoken, Vespasian is your emperor now. All other oaths are void.

They didn’t have to be. I could have carried on serving Lucius, but really, what sane man would want to serve him? In that one single, liberating moment, I was free and my soul sang.

So when the moment came and Jocasta made her move — really, it wasn’t a surprise to any of us — I unclipped the chain holding Domitian, left Jocasta to Trabo, and spinning my horse let my blade sing out and slice hard, fast, horizontal, across the place where Lucius’ neck had been.

And still was.

His throat came apart cleanly, in a wash of blood. He fell like a stone and I did not do him the honour of bending to hold his hand or to hear his last words. In the heart of my mind, I heard Juvens say, ‘Nicely done!’ I had already turned back, to signal to the cohorts behind not to move, that we had surrendered to Vespasian’s men. In truth, they were relieved, let no one tell you otherwise; they were outnumbered ten to one and they had heard of the slaughter in Rome. What point in fighting for a dead man? Vespasian was their emperor too now, one we could all respect.

And so I turned again, to see Jocasta not dead, but unconscious, lying flat, with a great gash on her forehead where Trabo’s sword hilt had taken her, and him on the ground, holding Pantera’s head, saying his name, hitting his face.

‘Pantera… Pantera. Don’t die on me now, you bastard. You’ve got too much explaining to do. Wake up, man! You are not going to fucking die now…’

I came to kneel behind him, to find out where the wound was, for I saw only a scratch across the back of his hand where he had thrown up his arm to protect his face. There was no other blood. Nor was his neck at a false angle, as it might have been if he had broken it.

I knelt and reached for her blade, which lay a short distance away.

‘Don’t!’ It was Domitian whose hand clamped on my arm. ‘Don’t touch it. The bitch has used poison. She killed Felix like this.’

I had hardly known Pantera, and yet his name had dominated my life since July. I felt his loss as keenly as I felt Juvens’. ‘Is he dead?’

‘Oh, no. Not yet. You heard her. She’s far cleverer than that. When she comes round, she’ll be ready to bargain with us; his life for hers.’

The new emperor’s son lifted his head. Already there was a gravitas to him, a dignity that only royalty can confer. ‘It would please me, and so my father, if you and Trabo together could take care of her interrogation. I wish this man to live. I owe him my life, many times over.’