The Legion - Scarrow Simon. Страница 32

'Dead.' Cato pointed towards the pen, a short distance down the street. 'Ajax had them all killed.'

'Why? Why the hell would he do that?'

'Maybe they refused to help him. Or maybe he just wanted to keep on destabilising the province. I don't know the reason.' Cato picked up a pebble and rolled it between his fingers for a moment before flinging it away into the darkness. 'Anyway, they're dead. All of them. And that's why we've got to track that bastard down and kill him.'

'There you go. That's the spirit. Put this day behind you, and concentrate on what you must do on the morrow.'

Cato nodded. Macro rose stiffly to his feet. 'I need to speak to Rufus and the optios about the watch-keeping schedule. You get some rest, sir.'

'I'll try.'

Macro slapped his cheek as a high-pitched whine sounded close to his ear. 'If you can manage it with all these little bastards then you're a better man than me.'

He stooped to pick up his helmet and turned to make his way over to the other centurion, sitting propped up against a mud wall. Cato stared fondly at his friend for a moment, then got up and entered the nearest building. He searched around in the rooms that had suffered least from the fire damage and found a bedroll tucked in a corner. He took it outside, where the stench of burning was less overpowering, unrolled it and lay down on his side, trying to ignore the insects that filled the night. For a while he thought of Ajax, and the moment when his death seemed unavoidable. Then the dreadful exhaustion of the day's march through the mangroves and swamps carried him off into a deep sleep.

Cato woke shortly before dawn, immediately feeling guilty that he had slept while Macro had tended to the watch-keeping. The months aboard the ships had left him in poor condition for a difficult march and his legs ached abominably. Cato rose to his feet with a groan and stretched his back, feeling the joints crack.

'Shit,' he muttered, then rubbed his eyes and looked about. Some of the men had already stirred and a handful were busy constructing litters for the wounded out of wood salvaged from the ruins. The air was delightfully cool and a thin mist lay across the low-lying land around the village. The sight of the mist immediately made Cato uneasy. Here was yet more cover for Ajax, and the men under his own command would not be safe until the morning heat drove the mist away. Cato made his way across to the wounded and stood over Centurion Rufus. He nodded at his bandaged leg.

'How does it feel?'

'It hurts. Not enough to prevent me joining the main column.'

'I want you to take charge of the wounded,' Cato said firmly. 'I need a good man to ensure their safety.'

A brief look of disappointment crossed Rufus's face before he nodded. 'As you wish, sir.'

'You can rejoin us once the wounded are seen to safety.' Cato looked round. 'Where's Macro?'

'He went forward to the picket line a bit earlier, sir.'

Cato nodded and then turned to stride up the street to the far end of the village. As he passed the animal pen he saw that it had burned to the ground during the night and a large tangled pile of charred remains stood within the damaged wall. The air around was still warm and filled with the stench of burned flesh. Cato quickened his pace and strode out of the village. A short distance along the path he saw the first two men keeping watch. At the sound of his footsteps one of them turned to challenge him.

'Who goes there?'

'Prefect Cato. Where's Centurion Macro?'

'Walking the line, sir. He went to the right, should be back any moment.'

'Any sign of the enemy on your watch?'

'No, sir. Nothing. Been as quiet as the grave.'

Cato stared into the mist shrouding the palms that grew alongside the path a short distance off. The long curved fronds of the trees made them look like stooped giants reaching out with their arms. His ears presently heard the sound of boots swishing through the grass beside the path and Macro strode out of the gloom.

'Morning, sir. Rested?'

'Yes, thank you. Anything to report?'

Macro shook his head. 'Nothing. Not a peep out of the renegades. Either they're inhumanly quiet, or they decided to put some distance between us before stopping for the night. I left the optios with orders to rouse the men at first light. Not long now.'

'Very good.'

'Oh, the only other thing is, Hamedes has taken a jar filled with ashes down to the dyke. Seems he had to place the ashes in an irrigation ditch, so they could eventually join the Nile. He said he had your permission.'

'That's right, as long as he doesn't go too far, with Ajax's men about.'

'He said he'd be careful, sir.'

'It's his funeral,' Cato replied and then shook his head. 'Not quite what I meant to say.'

Macro laughed briefly before he responded. 'You don't need to worry about him. He was game for a fight yesterday morning and he kept up with us across that swamp. Pretty good going for a priest. Not like those idle tossers back in Rome, or on the army staffs. He's all right, is Hamedes. I'll make a soldier of him yet.'

'I'm not quite sure that's what he has in mind.'

'You're wrong, sir. After what Ajax did at his temple that lad isn't going to rest easy until he's had his revenge.'

'Revenge?' Cato sighed. 'Seems to be the only thing that motivates us all. Hamedes, Ajax, you and me.'

Macro's eyes narrowed. 'If you're thinking that somehow we're all the same when it comes down to it, then you're wrong. Dead wrong. We executed Ajax's father because he was a bloody pirate. Ajax was condemned to slavery for the same reason. I'm telling you, that bastard deserves everything that's coming to him. The only question is which of us gets the chance to kill him. You, me, or even Hamedes.'

There was a cough and they both turned to see the priest standing a short distance away watching them. Cato was not sure how much Hamedes had heard and cleared his throat awkwardly.

'You've completed your rites, then?'

'Yes, I did what I could under the circumstances. I pray that the gods permit them entry to the afterlife.'

'Hmmm, yes, well, I'm sure you've done your best for them.' Cato looked up and saw that there was a faint loom of pearly grey in the mist. 'It'll be light soon. We'd best get the men ready to march.'

The column continued along the path in the pallid dawn. Cato and Macro went ahead with two sections of legionaries and Hamedes. They stayed close to the head of the main column in case the full force was needed in a hurry. Centurion Rufus followed up with the wounded, and an escort of marines.

A light breeze had picked up and rustled the leaves of the palms growing in clumps along the path. The mangrove soon gave way to swathes of reeds on either side but there was no sign that Ajax and his men had left the path and Cato led his men on, alert for any hint of trouble. As dawn came and the sun rose into the hazy sky, the mist began to lift and an hour or so later the reeds gave way to cleared areas where fields of wheat were fed with water from irrigation ditches. In the distance they caught the gleam of a broad expanse of water.

'That's one of the Nile tributaries,' Hamedes explained. 'We should find a settlement on the bank soon enough.'

'Like that, over there?' Macro pointed and Hamedes and Cato looked ahead to where smoke smudged into the sky. Macro frowned. 'That's not cooking smoke. That's a fire.'

Cato felt his heart sink at the thought of another village laid waste by Ajax and his men. 'Come on, let's pick up the pace,' he ordered, and the advance party lengthened their stride as the path changed direction through the tall grass and date palms and headed straight for the cloud of smoke. As they passed by more fields they could see the roofs of houses ahead, and hear the crackle of flame and then screams and shouts and Cato felt his guts tighten with bitter hatred for the gladiator. The path had broadened into a cart track and they approached the entrance to the village, another huddle of mud-brick buildings, some with additional walls to pen their donkeys, goats, cattle and chickens. A handful of people in the narrow street winding into the village turned at the sound of heavy boots and ran into their houses as soon as they caught sight of the Romans.