Ferox was glad that he was not on the first few trips. Arviragus led, standing tall at the front of the wooden ferry, with Crispinus looking tiny by his side. The next boats took an equal number of Batavians and Brigantes. The prince had given orders that Ferox and his men were each to go separately, and flat-nosed Brigantus decided that he would wait for the final crossing, so kept Ferox with him.
‘I shall cross with you as well,’ Claudia Enica declared.
‘As you wish, lady.’ The bodyguard did not sound happy.
In the event Longinus accompanied them, and that was all, for they had the lady’s two horses and a skittish pack pony that did not want to go up the ramp onto the ferry. Longinus tried and failed to calm the animal, and then Enica came to it, whispering soothingly, smoothing its ears.
‘She’s special, that one,’ the veteran said softly to Ferox as they leaned on the rail above the rowers. The two Brigantes were on the far side of the ferry, the animals in between.
‘Did you swim it last time, when you came with Agricola?’ Ferox asked, not wanting to discuss the lady.
‘Yes. And the first time with Paulinus as well. We were Batavians, so had to show off.’
‘Was it a hard fight?’
Longinus unbuckled his helmet and took it off, hanging it on the corner post of the ferry. He rubbed his grey hair. ‘Hard? Not really in the end. They were waiting on the beach over there.’ He pointed and then waved his hand along the shore. ‘Up to the headland there, you see it? They were silent at first, and that’s uncanny among the tribes. Then we got closer and saw them. Old men with robes to their feet and hair and beards almost as long. Women in black waving torches, and some naked as a babe, but writhing in a wild dance. There were warriors too, behind the rest, although only a few thousand. They had lines of our lads shackled. Men they’d taken in fights, some of them years ago. The old sweat riding his horse in the surf next to me saw an old mate of his they’d lost three years before. Once we were close enough to see them then the chanting picked up, and druids ran forward to curse and scream their magic.
‘One went along the lines of prisoners. He was all in red, the only one like it on that whole beach. Even his face was painted red and his hair dyed that colour. A couple of others pushed a prisoner to his knees, then the red boy put his hand on the poor devil’s head. After that the women took over. Sometimes they cut the throat. Sometimes they ran at him and drove a big spear right through and then watched him writhe. They even castrated a few of them. Then all of a sudden, silence again until red boy whines this song in Latin if you please, and the words didn’t seem to go together, but it was full of magic and hate.
‘The army stopped. Men at the oars just stopped. Never seen anything like it before or since. We were lagging behind by this stage. I mean the cavalry. Look at it. It’s a hell of a way to swim a horse and the tide was getting stronger. Seemed to be holding us back, and even the old sweat said it was magic and red boy was pushing us away.
‘You’ve read Caesar, haven’t you. First time he came, his lads balked when they saw the Britons waiting on the beach for them. Then the aquilifer of Legio X jumps over the side and shames the rest into following.’ Longinus had been holding fast onto the rail, lost in his memories. He let go and gave a grim laugh. ‘Caesar doesn’t give the fellow a name. Always wondered about that. Makes me think he was one of those soldiers who was very useful in a fight and a humping nuisance the rest of the time. Or maybe he was just some peasant whose name no one back in Italy would know or care about.’ He sighed. ‘Like those poor sods on the beach. As our whole army hesitated, the shouting burst out again, and one by one they killed the rest of the prisoners. We watched.
‘It wasn’t a standard-bearer or a centurion or anyone else who should have given a lead. One eager tribune was trying to urge them on, but even he faltered. Words wouldn’t make them go on. And it wasn’t vengeance either, not then. My horse seemed faster than the rest. She was a good one, could keep running all day. Swam quickly too and soon I was ahead of the rest of the turma and alongside one of the barges full of legionaries. I could see their faces. They were pale, teeth clenched. As the last prisoner died it went quiet again and red boy strode towards the surf. Two of the women came with him, both naked and pretty enough if you don’t mind crazy. Red boy raised his arms and opened his mouth to curse us again, and it was as if even the waves were deathly quiet.
‘Then someone on the barge farted.’
Ferox laughed. ‘What?’
‘I’m telling the truth. It was like thunder and went on and on. This lad broke wind. You know what army bread is like, especially on campaign. Red boy stopped. Maybe he heard it too or maybe it was greater magic than his. ‘Longinus, you mongrel,’ someone said. Men groaned, and then they laughed. It broke the spell. I don’t know why or how, but it did. ‘Now they know we’re coming!’ someone said, and they laughed again. There was noise again, our noise – the clank of armour, the little jokes and curses the lads make when they’re nervous. I didn’t hear any order, but the rowers started to pull again on that barge, and when they saw it go so did the others. Then the whole army was moving and I felt the current pulling me and the horse into the shore. Red boy turned and ran. The rest didn’t and started shrieking again, but even they did not sound so convinced. I reckon they really believed their magic would stop us, turn us into smoke or something. When it didn’t they couldn’t quite believe as hard and as we splashed ashore they just stood there yelling. That was when the rage for vengeance really started. Only time I saw anything like it was weeks later when we smashed Boudicca. The lads just wanted to kill. At least Boudicca’s warriors fought back hard. These lads, and those mad lasses too, they just died. We hardly lost anyone in the fight – that day or in the nine days we were on Mona. Warriors would ambush us, then seem to give up and let themselves be slaughtered.’
‘Longinus?’
‘I reckoned it was as good a name as any when I needed a new one. That lad’s bowels did the empire a service, but you won’t find it in Paulinus’ report or any history. You won’t find red boy either. He ran fast and we didn’t catch him, that day or afterwards. Some of the lads were saying he was a Roman who’d joined them. I guess because he spoke Latin. Still, you know that there are more rumours in a camp than flies buzzing around the horse lines.’
They were almost at the far shore. Ferox realised that Claudia Enica had gone to reassure one of her greys so must have heard most of the story. She noticed his gaze and winked.
‘Ever thought you would come back here, Longinus?’ she asked.
‘No, lady, but life’s like that. You rarely get what you expect.’
The ferry ground onto the shingle of the beach. The boat did not come quite so far in, and one of its occupants splashed through the water to reach the shore. He was to guide them to a campsite further along the coast, and the boat would pull up on the beach near there.
Some of the Batavians helped shove the ferry off. Ferox watched it go. The mainland was clear, little plumes of smoke from farmsteads and a bigger cloud where Segontium lay out of sight. Over all stood the mountains, the sides dark with shadow, the edge of a different world.’
‘Yes, I know.’ Vindex had appeared beside him. ‘Back when we were in the tower I didn’t feel so cut off.’
‘Come on, centurion. We have work to do.’ Crispinus was eager as he sat on his horse next to Arviragus. ‘May as well take a look around while the rest make camp.’
Mona was bigger even than Ferox had expected and they did not stray far that first day. They came across the patches of scorched ground the centurion had spoken of very soon. There was a lot of woodland, every few miles a hut or two. The inhabitants were small as a rule, the men with beards, which was a rare thing among the tribes. Their dialect was odd, so that the Brigantes understood very little of what they said and even Ferox struggled.