The Gladiator

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

'Bugger it!'

Macro thumped his fist down on the parapet, and winced as the pain shot up his arm. His javelin would surely have killed or crippled Ajax had it not been for that other man, damn him. With Ajax out of action, Macro had little doubt that the morale of the rebels would have been stricken, and even if a new leader emerged to save the revolt, the loss of Ajax would have won a few days'

reprieve for the defenders. He turned away from the retreating rebels and examined the scene around him. Bodies lay sprawled along the walkway and some of the parapet had been pulled away by the enemy as they came over. It had been a close thing. The men on watch had been one of the units raised from the city's population.

They were under the command of optios and centurions appointed from the ranks of the auxiliary cohort. Had it not been for them, the rank and file might have fled.

Macro pointed to the nearest centurion. 'Flaccus!'

'Sir?'

'Clear the walkway. Have our dead taken to the burial pit.'

'Yes, sir.' Flaccus paused. 'And the other bodies?'

Macro jerked his thumb over the wall. 'Might as well leave them in full sight of the rebels. Might help to put them off their stride.'

'Yes, sir.'

Leaving Flaccus and his men to carry out the work, Macro descended to the street and made his way along the inside of the wall to the next tower. It was fortunate that he had taken the decision for troops to be quartered near the wall as soon as the rebel army set up camp outside the city otherwise the surprise attack would have succeeded. Macro had chosen the men for Julia's escort earlier in the evening and ordered them to have their mounts ready to leave at the fourth hour of the night. He had just retired to an inn for an hour's rest when the alarm sounded. As it was, he had snatched up his armour and sword as he raced towards the gatehouse, and arrived just in time to steady the men attempting to fight their way up the stairs on to the wall. Even though the rebels had been lightly protected and outmatched by the defenders, their fierce determination had almost won the day. Macro had thrust his men back into the gatehouse, shouting encouragement as he forced his way through their ranks to lead from the front. By the time he had reached the wall, the rebels were in retreat. Only a few remained to defend the top of the ladder as their comrades descended, and they were quickly cut down. Then he had seen a handful of figures running from the wall and snatched a javelin from the nearest man before he called out the gladiator's name. There had to be a chance that Ajax would be there, leading the attack. In the thin red light cast by the faggots, Macro had recognised him at once when Ajax looked back.

It had been a good throw, he mused bitterly. A fine one, in fact. Ajax should be dead. For some reason the gods had spared him for now. But next time, gods or no gods, Macro resolved to kill the gladiator and put an end to his butchery. Muttering a quick prayer of apology to Jupiter and Fortuna for his brief impiety, he went to check on the other sections of the wall before he reported to Sempronius.

The senator was sitting in his office when Macro arrived. A single oil lamp provided the only illumination, barely enough to see the walls of the room by.

'Where have you been?' Sempronius asked coldly.' The attack ended over two hours ago. You should already be on the road with my daughter.'

'I'm sorry, sir. I had to make sure the other sectors of the wall were prepared to fight in case the rebels made another attack.'

'That's as maybe, but we have lost too much time. I still want you to take Julia out of Gortyna as soon as possible tonight.'

Macro felt a weary weight descend upon his shoulders. 'Sir, it will be light within a couple of hours. I don't think it's safe to try and get your daughter out of the city any longer. She might be safer if she stayed.'

'Really? From the first reports it seems that the enemy nearly took one of the gates at the first attempt.'

'We saw them off easily enough, sir.'

'Perhaps. But what if the next attack succeeds? Then we will be trapped up here on the acropolis. Thousands packed in together. We won't endure that for long before some one betrays us, or the people decide to turn the Romans over to Ajax. I will not subject my daughter to that. She must leave the city now, while there is still time.'

'Sir.' Macro spoke gently. 'I understand your concern for Julia, but I think it is already too late to try to get her away from Gortyna.'

'Why?'

'The rebels are determined to close the net around the city as soon as they can. Tonight's attack proved that. Even though they are camped out on the plain, there is a good chance they will have patrols out on all sides of the city before long.'

'All the more reason to get my daughter out of here now. Before these patrols of yours begin. Go now, while the route through the hills to the north is still open.'

Macro stared at the other man, exasperated. 'Sir, I tell you, this is not a wise course of action. Trust my judgement on this.'

'I'm sorry, Macro. I think you are wrong. I doubt that the slaves will be organised enough to already have patrols in the hill. Even if they did, there are so many routes through the hills that they could not cover more than a fraction of them. There is a risk, I'll not deny it. But in my judgement, the risk to Julia is far greater if she remains here. Besides, I cannot concentrate on defending Gortyna while my daughter's life is at stake. Please understand me.'

Macro shrugged. 'As you wish, then, Senator.'

'Good. I am grateful to you, Macro. More than you can know Now, my daughter is waiting for you with her escort. Get her out of the city and away to a safe distance before you return.'

'Yes, sir.' Macro rose wearily to his feet, saluted and turned to leave Sempronius's office. He made his way down to the stables beside the governor's palace. The ten men he had chosen stood up at his approach. Each man wore chainmail under his cloak, and carried a sword at his side. A few days' provisions and a water skin were slung from their shoulders. The horses were saddled, and held by two handlers, with spare mounts for Macro and Julia. She emerged from the shadows and looked questioningly at Macro.

'Your father hasn't changed his mind. Time to go,' he ordered. 'To the north gate. We'll lead the horses through the streets until we reach the wall. No sense in having one fall on any loose rubble.'

As the small column passed through the darkened streets of Gortyna, Julia asked softly, ' Do you think they will attack again tonight?'

'I doubt it. It's my bet that they took a chance that we would expect an attack at dawn, or on the morrow. They thought they'd catch us napping. To be fair, they almost did. But we gave them a hiding, miss. They lost a good number of men and will no doubt be licking their wounds. I doubt they'll be in a hurry to try anything whilst it's still dark. Not while they can't see the caltrops.' He smiled with satisfaction over his order to see that the iron spikes had been made and sown in time for the attack. 'As long as they direct their attacks towards specific points on the wall, we should be able to handle them. The problem will come when they realise we have toofew men to defend the who le perimeter. If they launch a general attack around the city, then they will take the wall.'

'And then?'

'If I see such an attack coming, I'll get the people up on to the acropolis and we'll hold out there as long as we can.'

Julia glanced up at the gloomy mass of the hill that dominated Gortyna.' How long can you hold the acropolis?'

'For several days. We'll be safe enough from rebel attacks up there.

The problem will be the water supply and sanitation. Once the water runs low there will be thirst, and then sickness, and then we'll have to surrender.' Macro forced himself to smile and lighten his tone. 'But that's not going to happen, miss. Cato will have arrived on the scene long before then.'

'Yes, I hope so.' She took his hand and gently squeezed it.' Look after my father for me.'

'Look after him?' Macro's eyebrows rose. The idea that Senator Sempronius needed any looking after was surprising. But he could sense her anxiety well enough and nodded. 'I'll keep an eye on him.'

They reached the northern gate, a small single-arched structure with a door that would only admit a small cart, or riders in single file.

Macro halted the escort and climbed up the stairs to the platform above the gate. The duty optio saluted as he saw his superior emerge from the staircase. He had been alerted earlier that a party would be leaving the gate during the night.

'All quiet?' asked Macro.

'Yes, sir. No sign of any movement.'

'Good.'

'Sounded like quite a fight over towards the east gate.'

'Nothing to worry about,' Macro said calmly. 'Just some half-arsed attempt to rush the wall. Soon sent ' em packing.'

The optio was relieved and Macro clapped him on the back. 'You just keep your attention on the ground in front of you and let the others do their jobs.'

'Yes, sir.'

Macro glanced over the parapet. Below the gatehouse a narrow track rose up towards the hills behind the city. The dark ground was dotted with occasional black shapes of trees and bushes, but all seemed still. He turned back to the optio.' Right then, I want you to remember that I'll be coming back this way. Hopefully while it's still dark. Make sure your sentries know. I don't fancy being skewered by some dozy sod taking me for a rebel.'

'No, sir. I'll see to it.'

'Do.' Macro nodded and returned down the stairs to Julia and the escort. He took the reins of his horse and cleared his throat to address the two men on the door.' Open it up.'

They drew back the locking bar and hauled on the brass ring, and with a light grating sound the door swung inwards. Macro led his horse through the arch into the night. Julia and the others followed him out of the city. As soon as the last of them had passed through, the soldiers shut the door and rammed the locking bar home. Macro looked back at the escorts and spoke the order. 'Mount.'

As the soldiers hauled themselves up into the saddles, Macro went to help Julia. He cupped his hands together. 'Step up on that, miss.'

Once she was in the saddle and had tucked the end of her long tunic beneath each leg, she took the reins.

'Had much riding experience?' asked Macro.

She nodded. 'I used to ride when I was younger. I'm sure it will all come back to me once we get going.'

Macro nodded and then turned to mount his own horse. When he was settled in the saddle, he took a firm grip of the reins and raised his arm to attract the attention of his men. 'Forward.'

The small column trotted off along the narrow road. A hundred paces from the gate, the route began to climb towards the hills and be came a well-worn track where countless mule trains had passed by before. When they reached the crest of the first hill, Macro turned in his saddle and looked back. The city was outlined by the ring of torches and braziers flickering along the wall. More torches and lamps twinkled amid the houses and ruins and up on the acropolis.

On either side of the city sprawled the camp fires of the rebel army, and as Macro cast his experienced eye over the size of the enemy camps and quickly estimated their strength, he wondered if Cato's relief column would be strong enough to fight its way through to Gortyna, let alone launch a campaign to crush the rebels. When the real contest came, it would pitch the training and equipment of Roman legionaries and auxiliaries against overwhelming numbers and fanatical desperation. Macro could not guess at the out come of such a conflict; it was quite unlike any other he had experienced.

They continued into the hills, and Macro's senses were finely strained as he kept glancing ahead and from side to side, all the time listening for any sound that might alert his suspicion. They had travelled perhaps five miles when he detected the first hint of dawn to the east; a faint luminosity in the night sky that outlined the mountains more clearly. The track had merged with a dried-out river bed. Steep rocky slopes rose on either side. Macro raised his hand. 'Halt.'

The others reined in as Macro turned his horse round and nodded to Julia. 'We've come a fair distance from the city. I doubt there will be any rebel patrols this far into the hills. There's nothing for them to scavenge up here. Good luck, miss.'

'Thank you, Macro,' she replied quietly and glanced towards the horizon. 'You should have turned back before now. It'll be light long before you return to Gortyna.'

'I'll be all right. It'll take them a while to get over the kicking we gave themearlier.'

'I hope so.'

There was a brief silence as they looked at each other, then Julia leaned across to kiss him on the cheek. 'Take care, Macro. Give my love to Cato when he reaches Gortyna.'

'I will.' Macro was still flushing from the embarrassment of being kissed in front of the escorts. 'He'll be glad that you're somewhere safe. As soon as it's all over, he'll come and find you.'

She nodded, and then Macro nudged his heels in and moved on towards the optio leading the escort. 'You clear about your orders?'

'Yes, sir.' The optio went on to intone his instructions. 'We make for Cnossos, and if the rebels come north we take a ship to Athens, where the senator's daughter is to be placed in the care of the governor.'

'Very good. Now you'd better get moving.'

They exchanged a salute, and Macro spurred his horse into a trot as he rode down the column. The optio gave the order to advance and Macro heard the horses' hooves clop forward again, but he did not look back. Julia was safe, and he was needed back in Gortyna. In truth he should have remained there, but the senator had insisted on his seeing his daughter on her way. Even though he resented the order, Macro realised that it would help put Sempronius at his ease, and the senator could ill afford any distractions now that Ajax and his rebel horde were camped before the walls of the province's capital.

He continued back down the river bed and up on to the track as it turned sharply round a large rock, passed through a small forest and began to descend. The air was cold and he breathed in the sharp scent of the pine trees as he calmly contemplated the danger he was riding back into. As soon as Ajax had got over the failure of his initial assault, he would be quick to realise that his best chance lay in stretching the defenders' resources. A co-ordinated series of attacks on the most damaged sections of the wall was bound to be rewarded, with a breakthrough somewhere. One breach was all that the rebels would need; then they would flood into the city and massacre anyone who failed to reach the acropolis in time.

Macro was so intent on his thoughts of the coming siege that he heard the enemy scouts before he saw them. There was a sudden shout and he reined in abruptly and stared about in a moment of panic. The path was traversing the side of a hill and the trees fell away sharply to his left. A short distance ahead, the track bent round and zigzagged down the hillside. Two hundred paces below, Macro saw a large party of horsemen, perhaps as many as fifty of them, riding along the track, dressed in dull brown and grey tunics and cloaks.

One of them had seen him and was pointing directly up as he called out to the others. They stopped and looked up, and located Macro's red cape in an instant. The leader shouted a command, and at once his men spurred into a gallop and raced up the track.

'Oh, shit,' Macro muttered. It was as he had feared, and for an instant a spark of anger flared in his breast.' Damn Sempronius…'

For an instant he thought of leading them away from Julia and her escort. But there was nowhere to go. The slope on either side was too steep to ride on. He could only continue forwards, or turn back in the direction he had just come from. It took only a brief moment's thought for Macro to realise there was only one course of action. He had to ride back and warn the others, who would then have to spur their horses on and try to outrun their pursuers. Pulling savagely on his reins, he wheeled his horse round, and dug his heels in and galloped back up the track. Behind him he could hear the pounding of hooves and the cries of his pursuers.

He leaned forward, whipping the loose ends of the reins round the horse's neck while he shouted harsh encouragement and gripped hard with his thighs. Reaching the top of the slope, he rounded the rock again, dropped into the river bed and galloped along, spraying pebbles and loose stones into the air. He could see the way ahead of him for another few hundred paces before the route curved round a slope, and there was no sign of the escorts. He estimated that he had less than a quarter of a mile's start on the men behind him, and as he approached the bend their cries and the pounding of hooves echoed off the rocky slopes on either side. As the horse scrabbled round the bend, he saw Julia and the others a short distance ahead. The rearmost auxiliary turned in the saddle and looked back. As soon as he saw Macro, he called out and the escorts halted. Julia had turned her horse and was surprised and anxious to see Macro hurtling towards them.

'Macro! What's the matter?'

'We've got company!' he shouted as he rode up, reining in harshly. 'We must go, now! Follow me!' He spurred his horse on again, riding at the head of the line, following the river bed as it began to twist and turn more frequently as it led up into the mountains. He kept glancing back to make sure that Julia was keeping up, and saw her leaning forward as she rode along with the rest of the men, her expression one of determined concentration.

The sound of hooves and the occasional shouts of the pursuers filled the still air. Above, the craggy skyline was illuminated by the first rays of the rising sun, but down in the river bed it was still gloomy and chilly.

As they turned yet another corner, the route split into two paths, both seeming to continue up in the direction of the ridge ahead.

Macro halted the column, desperately sizing up the choice. The path to the right was narrow and sloped gently. The other route was wider and the incline more pronounced. Macro hoped that it might reach the crest more quickly and raised his arm.

'That way!'

They charged into the left fork and urged the horses up the slope, the leading mounts spraying dust and pebbles into the faces of those behind. Macro stayed at the head of the column, keeping just in front of Julia. On either side the slopes be came steeper until they were in a ravine. Then, as they galloped round another bend, the path ended in a sheer cliff, forcing them to come to an abrupt stop. The snorting of the horses and the scraping of their hooves filled the air. Macro stared at the cliff, heart pounding.

'Fuck!' His spare hand balled into a fist and he struck his thigh.

'Fuck!'

'Macro.' Julia looked at him, afraid. 'What do we do?'

Macro turned round to face the escorts. 'Swords out! We're going to have to cut our way through!'

Some of the men briefly stared at him in surprise until the optio called out, ' You heard the prefect! Swords out! About face!'

Macro pointed to the nearest of the auxiliaries. 'Stay with the lady. If you see a chance to get her away during the fight, do it. Head for Cnossos.'

'Yes, sir.'

Macro edged his horse through to the front and raised his sword.

'Let's go!'

They spurred their mounts, thundering back down the ravine.

Ahead of them the sounds of the pursuers were clearly audible, harsh and distorted as they echoed off the rock face. The two sides were suddenly up oneach other as they met on a bend. Horse thudded into horse and the riders desperately held on before they hacked at their opponents. Macro and his men were equipped with the standard short swords, while the enemy carried a mixture of weapons: short swords as well as longer blades, the lethal crooked falcatas and some spears that were little use in the tight press of horseflesh and men in the confined space. The air was filled with the scrape of blades, wild snorts and whinnies, grunts as men struck blows, and cries of pain as they landed. The dust on the floor of the ravine swirled in clouds about the men locked in conflict.

Macro hacked a sword thrust to one side and opened up the face of the man as he withdrew his weapon for the next blow. From the corner of his eye he saw the first of the escort go down, run through with a battered-looking cavalry sword. The auxiliary doubled over, then rolled off to one side as his enemy yanked the blade free. A brief glance was all Macro could spare him as he turned to parry another blow and stab at the face of his next foe. The man threw himself back to avoid the thrust and tumbled off the back of his horse. Macro could see that the escort was hopelessly outnumbered and being steadily forced back. Another of his men was cut down with a savage blow to the head that shattered his skull in an explosion of blood and brains. A sudden surge of horses pressing forward into the melee found Macro squeezed back between his men so that he was close to Julia again.

She met his eyes with a questioning look. He pursed his lips and shook his head. There was no chance for them now. Macro turned his horse round. There was one last course of action to be contemplated. He needed a moment to prepare himself for the deed.

'Come with me.'

'Where?'

Macro did not answer. He nodded to the man he had assigned to protect her.' Get stuck in, lad. Make every blow count.'

Then he led the way back up the ravine at a gallop, until they came to the end. There he dismounted and offered Julia his hand.

When she was down beside him, she glanced round at the high rock surrounding them.

'There's no way out.' She looked up at him, lips trembling. 'Is there?'

'No, miss.' Macro looked at her sadly.

Julia glanced back towards the ravine, as the sounds of the fighting drew closer. 'What will they do if they capture me?'

Macro knew well enough. Almost certainly there would be no mercy, and plenty of suffering before they had finished with her. 'Best not to think about that.'

'What?' She stared at him and responded plaintively:'I don't want to die. I don't want to suffer.'

'I know.' Macro put his arm round her shoulder awkwardly.

'This way'

He led her to the cliff and they turned to face the ravine. With a last savage clatter of blades and a final cry of pain the noise of the fighting died away. Then there was the sound of horses coming their way. Julia pressed into Macro.

'I'm afraid. I don't want to die.'

'Of course not, miss,' Macro replied gently. 'It's only natural.'

'And you?'

Macro smiled. 'It's been a long time coming. I've grown used to the idea. I know one thing. They're not going to forget me in a hurry.'

The first of the enemy appeared, then another, and more of thememerged from the gloom. They came on at a steady walk, weapons held ready. Some bled from wounds and all of them stared at Macro and Julia fixedly. Macro stepped in front of Julia and raised his sword.

'Come on then, you bastards! See how a Roman dies!'

There was no response, just a deathly cold in their eyes as the horsemen clopped towards them. Julia took Macro's elbow and he felt her tremble as she spoke.

'Macro, don't let them take me. Please.'

He felt an icy sense of dread clench round his heart at her words.

There was no avoiding what he must do. Macro felt sick. He swallowed back the bile and turned towards her.

'I'm so sorry, miss.'

She glanced past him to the approaching men, then grasped his shoulders and stared into his eyes.' Do it quickly!'

Macro's features twisted into an expression of agonised helplessness, then he nodded and lowered the bloodied tip of his sword to rest against her stomach, just under her rib cage. Her body was warm to the touch even though she was shivering. She clenched her eyes shut and took a last gasping breath as one of the men shouted a warning and they rushed forward.

'The gods save you, Cato my love,' she whispered. 'Macro, I'm ready. Do it.'