Enemy of Rome by Douglas Jackson

Author:Douglas Jackson [Jackson, Douglas]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
ISBN: 9781448127696
Publisher: Bantam Press
Published: 2014-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

XXVIII

‘Valerius!’

The urgent voice seemed to come from very far away, much too far away to bother answering. Better to stay drowned in this tranquil pool where the shadows of past failure caused you no pain. ‘Valerius, you must come.’ More insistent now, and accompanied by an uncomfortable feeling of responsibility that made the pool shimmer and the shadows withdraw. With the greatest reluctance, he swam upwards, towards the mirror surface, and opened his eyes.

‘How long have I been sleeping?’

‘Long enough,’ Serpentius snapped.

‘I told you …’

‘They’re burning Cremona.’

‘What?’ He rolled off the cot as the Spaniard reached for his sculpted breastplate. ‘No time for that.’ He picked up his sash of office. ‘Just help me with this and strap on my sword.’ He waited impatiently until Serpentius had carried out his instructions. ‘Is my horse ready?’

‘The groom is saddling it now. I—’

Valerius was already on the way out. ‘Bring my cloak and you can tell me on the way.’

He emerged from the tent to see black smoke hanging over the city like a funeral pall. Bright pricks of flame and bursts of sparks erupted from burning buildings inside the walls. They set off at a gallop and reined in outside the shattered south gate of the entrenchment to be met by a visibly shaken Claudius Ferox.

The young tribune pointed towards the scattered corpses of friend and foe lying in small huddles around the entrance. ‘After the Third took the gate we had the usual slaughter, but when the Vitellians started to throw down their swords our lads seemed happy enough to let them surrender.’

Valerius nodded. Serpentius had given him the details on the way. How the trouble started when a few men had retreated to the city and closed the gates and a few of the braver townsfolk thought they were safe to shout insults from the walls. They’d been cleared away by a flight of arrows before Primus took the surrender of the city and all the units in the Padus valley. ‘What I don’t understand is how in the name of the gods it could lead to this.’ He swept a hand towards the great tower of smoke hanging over Cremona.

‘It was the Thirteenth, sir,’ Ferox looked sheepish, ‘and I’m afraid a few of ours got involved too. They were searching the tents for any loot that was hidden inside, digging up below the hearths in case someone had used them to hide his gold. You remember the Thirteenth thought they’d been badly treated after the surrender at Bedriacum?’ Valerius grunted acknowledgement. During his trial for cowardice and treason, Aquila had tormented him with the stories of the indignities that his legion had suffered. ‘The worst of it was a centurion who roared and wept, snarling at the townsfolk about some women – the Thirteenth’s women – who’d been rounded up and locked in a barn then burned to death. Well, his tent-mates weren’t having that. They were hungry and they’d have their fill of what Cremona could offer, aye, and the rest.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.