I knew he would launch another general attack that would achieve little apart from reaping another harvest of Agraci dead, but it was not my place to tell him what to do in his own kingdom. Nevertheless, I felt honour bound to point out that it would be rash to launch a frontal assault and was just about to say so when Malik spoke.
‘Their horsemen are advancing.’
We all looked to where he was pointing at the enemy’s right wing, from where a group of horsemen were advancing against Dura’s horse archers.
‘Roman horsemen,’ he sneered, ‘the same ones who inflicted many losses on us earlier.’
‘Vagises will deal with them,’ I assured him.
‘What about those?’ I heard Haytham say.
I turned in the saddle to stare at the enemy’s other wing, which consisted of a great mass of spearmen wearing white tops and silver helmets.
‘The horsemen of King Sampsiceramus,’ spat Malik.
There appeared to be around a thousand Roman horsemen but many times that number of Emesian riders who were now advancing with spears levelled towards the thousand Durans facing them. I turned to Spandarat.
‘You and the lords must assist our horse archers on the right, Spandarat, otherwise they will be forced back’ I looked sheepishly at Haytham. ‘With your permission, lord king.’
He smiled savagely. ‘You have done more in twenty minutes than I did in a whole morning, Pacorus, so please carry on.’
‘Go, Spandarat,’ I ordered.
He whooped with delight, dug his knees into his rough old mare and galloped away to his fellow nobles.
‘I will assist Spandarat,’ announced Gallia, who turned and raised her bow. ‘Amazons!’
Her warriors raised their bows in acknowledgment and moments later were riding behind their queen as she accompanied Spandarat towards the seething mass of enemy horsemen. It was the first time Haytham had seen Gallia on the battlefield. Formerly she had always been charm and beauty in his presence, not the fearless killer he now saw.
‘You do not fear for her safety, Pacorus?’
‘Shamash will protect her,’ I replied, hoping that my god would wrap her in a cloak of invulnerability.
I turned and signalled to the commander of the six companies of Duran horse archers who were grouped immediately behind me.
‘We go to aid Lord Vagises, follow me with your men.’
He saluted and rode back to his companies as Malik’s bodyguard — a hundred black-clad warriors — closed around him.
‘I am coming with you, Pacorus.’
I smiled at him. ‘It would be an honour, my friend.’
‘Are we going or not?’ grumbled Vagharsh as his horse scraped impatiently at the earth.
‘I would ask you to be patient a little longer, lord king,’ I said to Haytham, ‘and the day will be yours.’
He raised his hand as I bellowed at Remus to move. He reared up on his hind legs and bolted forward as I headed for the left flank, followed by Vagharsh, Malik, a hundred Agraci warriors and six hundred horse archers. In front of us Vagises had withdrawn in the face of the Roman onslaught, enticing their horsemen forward in expectation of an easy victory against the lightly armed horse archers they faced. The Romans, maintaining a tight, disciplined formation, were charging now, their large, tan-coloured shields tight to their left sides and their spears levelled. I pulled my bow from its case and then extracted an arrow from my quiver as we rode across the front of the densely packed ranks of Haytham’s warriors towards the Romans. The Agraci cheered us as we passed, though they were probably acclaiming their prince who was accompanying us rather than me or my men.
I nocked the arrow in the bowstring and leaned forward in the saddle as Remus thundered across the ground made bone-dry by a merciless sun. The Romans were cheering now as they chased Vagises’ apparently fleeing horsemen. Signallers in the horse archers accompanying me blew their horns to indicate the charge as we broke into a fast gallop.
We were closing on the left rear of the Roman formation as I released my first arrow and reached into my quiver to nock another. Behind me six companies of horse archers deployed into line as their members released arrow after arrow at the Romans, tearing gaps in their ranks as the missiles struck animals and riders, the bronze arrowheads piercing flesh and smashing bones. Above me the air was thick with shafts as six hundred men loosed around three and half thousand arrows a minute at the enemy.
The Romans in the rear ranks, thinned by my archers, halted and desperately tried to reform to meet the new threat. But stationary targets meant my men could now aim more accurately as the companies slowed their pace and then wheeled right so they could ride parallel to the Roman line, raking them with arrows as they did so. And then Vagises’ men began their own shooting, at first releasing their bowstrings over the hindquarters of their horses and then halting to about-face to shoot volley after volley so the front ranks of the Romans literally rode into a wall of arrows. This first halted them and then forced them back as saddles were emptied and horses were struck multiple times by missiles.
We kept our distance from the Roman horsemen as they were armed with spears and shields and to fight them at close quarters would be to invite our destruction. Our advantage lay in archery from a safe distance, using the power and range of our bows to shoot them to pieces. The Roman commander also realised this for I heard trumpet blasts and then saw the horsemen change direction.
Their discipline was magnificent as they about-faced as on the parade ground and withdrew to the safety of their own lines. I saw a figure on a brown horse, a man sitting tall in the saddle, his stature increased by a great red crest in his helmet. He remained at the rear of his horsemen so all could see that he did not fear us. He was undoubtedly their commander.
I dug my knees into Remus’ sides and he shot forward to pursue the fleeing Romans, Vagharsh, Malik and his warriors immediately behind me. The Roman with the great crest saw us and about-faced to meet us, a sword in his hand and a shield held close to his body. The rearmost company of his men — a hundred riders — likewise turned and closed up on their leader. I slipped my bow back in its case and drew my sword as the two groups of riders collided. Like their Roman opponents Malik’s men were equipped with spears and shields in addition to their swords and there was a rapid succession of dull thuds as spearmen tried to drive their points into an opponent’s torso, only to see their lances either miss their target or glance off a shield.
I swung my sword at the Roman commander’s head but he saw my weapon and met the blade with his own, then used his own sword to chop at my head and strike at my body, blows that I parried with difficulty. Whoever he was this Roman knew how to use a sword. I tried to thrust my spatha at his mail-covered chest but he brought his shield in front of him to block the strike, before trying to lop off my head with a great scything attack with his own blade. I instinctively leaned back in the saddle and his blade missed my flesh by a hair’s breadth. As our horses did their own intricate dances around each other we continued to hack and thrust with our swords, but he countered every strike I made, seemingly without effort, while I had difficulty in fending off his expert sword strokes. Perhaps it would be better to kill him with an arrow!
I pulled Remus back a few feet and then Malik was at my side, pointing his bloodied sword at my opponent.
‘Time to die, Roman. You are alone and surrounded.’
I looked around and saw that he was indeed the only Roman in the immediate vicinity. Behind him, on each side and to his front was a host of Agraci warriors in their saddles with their spears pointed at him. And beside Malik was Vagises, whose horsemen must have either killed or chased away the remaining Romans. As more and more Agraci and Parthian riders gathered round the Roman rested his sword on his right shoulder, his shield still tucked tight to his left side, seemingly unconcerned that he was surrounded by many enemy soldiers intent on killing him.