‘It makes a loud noise, I’ll grant you that,’ I sniffed. ‘But this is as far as it goes.’
‘Brave words for a whelp,’ he said. ‘If you prostrate yourself at my feet I will let you live, otherwise we will sweep you aside, just like we did Phraates and his rabble.’
‘Phraates is the rightful King of Kings,’ I reminded him. ‘And all those who take up arms against him are traitors and deserve a traitor’s death.’
His eyes flashed with rage. ‘You dare insult me, boy?’
I laughed at him. ‘I dare. I see that you are not going to surrender after all.’
An evil grin crept over his face. ‘Is she here?’
‘Who?’
‘Your wife, of course, the one who fights like a man? Or is she skulking back in Dura?’
Now it was my turn to be angry. ‘Where my wife is concerns you not, though she has killed better men than you.’
He pointed at me. ‘When your head adorns my city walls, I will make her one of my harem. Or perhaps I will give her to my men as a plaything tonight.
‘The time of Phraates is over. The Parthian Empire has a new leader now. The new age has dawned. I am but the vanguard of Narses, the rightful King of Kings.’
I laughed in his face. ‘He and you are traitors, and will live to regret your insurrection. We are done talking, Porus.’
‘So be it, boy. Tell your woman to be ready to warm my bed tonight.’
He then wheeled his horse away and galloped back to the safety of his army. I did the same, and just as I had taken my lance from Vagharsh the accursed trumpets and drums of the army of Porus echoed across the battlefield. And as the noise increased in volume his elephants, magnificent and terrifying, began to advance towards the locked shields of the legion.
It was the shortest battle that I ever fought in.
The drivers of the elephants kept their beasts under tight control until they were within three hundred paces of the frontline cohorts, and then Domitus sprang his trick. He had distributed the pigs among the centuries of the first line, immediately behind which stood braziers cooking tar. When the elephants approached each pig had its back covered in hot tar, and was then prodded with javelin tips towards the tusked behemoths. Terrified and enraged, the pigs ran towards the elephants squealing loudly as they did so. The elephants immediately stopped and roared with terror as the pigs approached them. Some reared up on their back legs and tipped the drivers and archers on their backs onto the ground, others swerved violently aside and crashed into the elephant next to them, while others turned around and charged headlong into the mass of swordsmen formed up behind. Within minutes those swordsmen were fleeing hither and thither for their lives as all semblance of order and discipline among their ranks evaporated. Then the legion’s trumpets blasted to signal the advance and ten cohorts marched forward. As they did so I turned in the saddle and shouted at my cataphracts.
‘Kill Porus!’
I screamed at Remus and he sprang forward. I held my kontus with both hands on my right side as the four horns of the saddle held me firmly in place, the lance tip aimed at Porus directly opposite. My cataphracts charged, forming into an arrowhead formation, and behind them Gallia’s Amazons followed, loosing volleys of arrows over our heads and into the enemy’s cavalry. Porus, seeing his elephants and then his foot routing, lost his nerve and decided to flee the battlefield. Around him his men, now being hit by arrow fire and seeing their lord turn tail, were in a state of indecision as we hit them. I plunged my lance into a rider attempting to turn his horse around and skewered him on my kontus. Leaving the shaft in his body, I drew my spatha and swung it at the head of a horseman attempting to spear me in turn. But his lance was on his right side and I was on his left, and my sword swing cut into his neck before he had chance to spear me. Then we were hacking at the backs of fleeing riders, chasing them south as they desperately tried to outrun us. Weighted down as our horses were by scale armour and carrying riders similarly protected, many of the enemy cavalry were able to outrun us, but then came Nergal leading two thousand horse archers who overtook my cataphracts and galloped on to hunt down the enemy.
‘Keep after them, don’t let them reform,’ I shouted to him as he passed me.
I halted as hundreds of horse archers streamed past. The other cataphracts also slowed and then halted — there was no use in wasting the stamina of our horses. Gallia’s Amazons, retaining perfect discipline, also halted and dressed their ranks. I rode over to her.
‘Everything is well?’
She unfastened her cheekguards and pushed the steel plates part. ‘All is well.’
The cataphracts formed two lines once more with the Amazons behind them. We rode south to where the legion was following in the wake of the rampaging elephants. Here the battle was also over, as the foot soldiers of Porus were following their mounted companions and fleeing as fast as possible. In front of the advancing cohorts the ground was littered with abandoned weapons, shields and standards. Dead elephants lay scattered among the detritus of battle, while others, horribly wounded, lay on their sides and groaned in agony. No part of Porus’ army made any attempt to rally and fight, and aside from killing a few unfortunates who were wounded and unable to flee, Domitus’ men had not washed their swords in the enemy’s blood.
I found him at the head of the centre cohort in the first line, giving orders to signal a halt to the advance. I dismounted and we clasped arms.
‘How did you know about the pigs?’ I asked, slapping him on the back.
He took off his helmet and took a swig from his water bottle, as legionaries were detached from the ranks to run to the river and fetch fresh water. ‘Old Roman trick that we picked up in the Punic Wars.’
‘Punic Wars?’
He spat on the ground and handed me his water bottle. ‘The last one was over seventy years ago when Rome finally subdued the Carthaginians, a people who lived in a place called Africa. Anyway, the Carthaginians had elephants but the Romans soon learned that they don’t like the squeals of pigs, panics them.’
‘So I saw.’
Around us my cataphracts dismounted and legionaries rested on their shields, joking and chatting with their comrades. Domitus looked round approvingly.
‘Just what my boys needed, an easy victory.’
‘All down to you, my friend,’ I said.
I walked with him back to camp with Gallia beside me. Her Amazons formed a rearguard as the legion formed into a long column and marched at a steady pace behind us. Her face and hair were covered in sweat and she looked deathly white, but I put it down to the stress of combat. When we reached camp Domitus ordered a roll call to determine his losses — they totalled five killed and sixty wounded. I had lost two cataphracts killed and three wounded, while Gallia’s Amazons had suffered no losses. Three hours later an exhausted Nergal rode into camp at the head of the lords and their men. He reported to me immediately in my command tent as the lords filed in behind him, all of them in good spirits.
‘We rode them down and killed them until we ran out of arrows.’
‘Then we used our swords until our blades were blunt,’ added one of the lords.
Nergal pointed to one. ‘Show him.’
The lord threw a bundle of cloth at my feet. ‘A gift to celebrate your victory, lord.’
I picked it up, unfolded it and saw the elephant banner of King Porus. There was a mighty cheer as I held it aloft for all to see. Beside me Gallia’s eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed to the floor. I fell to my knees and cradled her in my arms, desperately searching her body for any sign of a wound. I saw none.
‘Get a doctor!’ I screamed as I held her head to my chest. ‘Gallia, Gallia.’ I got no response and my heart started to beat wildly in my chest. I began to panic as I held my face next to hers, while around me men just stood open-mouthed. Where there had been joy and cheering there was now concern and silence. Moments later Alcaeus, the wiry, black-haired Greek who had been a doctor in the army of Spartacus, was at my side, examining Gallia.