Casca 7: The Damned by Barry Sadler

Author:Barry Sadler [Sadler, Barry]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2014-03-11T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIX

Aetius had long been the man most familiar with Huns of any leader in Rome. More than once he had been sent to live with them as part of a hostage exchange. He had known Attila when they were both young men and taken some pleasure in always being able to get the better of him in every deal they had made, whether it was trading horses or gambling. He had always taken an air of superiority around him as he felt he represented the culture of Roman civilization.

Attila had to work hard to control his temper when Aetius used to needle him about taking up the marathon run for his tribe. He had even put him down in their wrestling matches using the tricks taught him by his Greek tutors. The only thing that Attila could do better was to ride and shoot at moving targets from horseback while at a full gallop. Aetius denigrated these accomplishments as being only natural for one who had the intelligence and smell of a horse.

Attila swore in his heart that one day he would make the smug superior Roman eat his words, showing him once and for all who was the better.

After Aetius had reached his maturity and gained rank in the legions, he had often gone to the Hun encampment to talk with old Kara-ton or Attila's uncle Ruga about hiring a few thousand of his warriors to fight for him as light cavalry and would always end up paying less than half of what it would have taken to get Vandals or Goths to fight for him. Even then he would pay in gold which was less than pure.

He knew the Hun better than anyone else did, and though he had been in and out of favor at the court several times and lost his office more than once, he was the one they always sent for when they needed the horsemen of the Huns to perform some chore that no one else would take.

He understood their way of thinking and knew that it was both their strength and their weakness. The Huns could be beaten, but it wouldn't be easy.

Aetius was pleased at how things had finally come his way. He was now the magister ultriusque militiae, the supreme commander of Roman forces since his predecessor, Felix, had been assassinated.

He was the real power in the West now, but still he had to deal with the Senate and the Emperor. Because of the distance they kept from the field, they were constantly able to interfere with his plans. It was a temptation to let Attila take all of Italy and liquidate the smug officials. Then he would drive the Huns back and make himself Emperor. But that, he sighed, didn't look to be very likely. He was a soldier and couldn't let his country be overrun and put to the sword.

And he had other things to do now. Attila was coming. They both knew that one day they would meet on the field of battle.

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