Once more we hurled ourselves against the enemy, only this time they did not break. Narses had noticed us and was desperately trying to deploy his cataphracts to face us. We were upon his men before they could charge us, but they merely threw down their lances, armed themselves with their close-quarter weapons and met us head-on. And so began a grim battle of attrition, sword clashing against sword and mace against mace. I was suddenly beside a great brute whose face was contorted in hate, and who brought his sword down in an attempt to split my helmet. I parried the blow with my sword and then swung the spatha in a scything movement towards his head. I got lucky — the point sliced his neck. He screamed, clutched at the wound and then fell from his saddle. I suddenly felt an intense pain in my right cheek, as if a red-hot iron had been placed on my flesh. I turned and saw a horseman on my right side who had just hit me with his mace, the blow striking my helmet’s right cheekguard. He drew his weapon back to deliver another blow but at that moment Orodes severed his hand with his sword. The man squealed like a stuck pig and rode away. I nodded my thanks.
‘Are you hurt, Pacorus?’ he shouted.
My face burned with pain. ‘No,’ I lied, ‘I’m fine.’
Around us hundreds of men were fighting for their lives. I saw Narses on his black steed perhaps only fifty paces from me, and beside him the serpent-like Mithridates. I clenched my hand tightly around my sword’s handle.
‘Orodes, with me,’ I shouted, and then urged Remus forward.
A group of my Duran cataphracts closed around me as I charged forward once more. I felt nothing but intense loathing for the two rebel leaders as I closed the gap between us, screaming Narses’ name as I did so.
Whatever Narses was he did not want for courage. He directed his horse straight towards me and attempted to lop off my head with a deft swing of his sword. I ducked the blow and tried to strike him with a backswing, but he was too quick for me and blocked the strike with his blade. He wheeled his horse around as my cataphracts fought his, and then came at me again with a series of attacks directed at my head and neck, for those were the only places where his sword could cut flesh. I was tiring now and found it difficult to defend his powerful strikes, but salvation came from an unlikely source. I had caught sight of Mithridates, wild-eyed and clearly terrified, before I got to grips with Narses, but now I saw him again, this time turning tail and running away. His flight spread panic among the other kings of Narses’ entourage and soon they were doing likewise, taking their bodyguards with them. Narses also saw this undignified retreat. He moved his horse away from Remus and pointed his sword at me.
‘Our business is not finished, boy.’ Then he wheeled his mount away and galloped after his fleeing allies.
The fight now went out of the enemy. Those who could made good their escape, others threw down their weapons and pleaded for mercy. A blast of horns to my left signalled the arrival of Nergal and his men. I ordered him to take them and pursue Narses and his entourage, though I doubted that they would succeed judging by the sweat-lathered state of their horses and riders slumped in their saddles. I gave the orders for the cataphracts to reform into line as ahead I spotted the locked shields of the legion coming into view. They were marching at a steady pace, trampling the dead and dying among the enemy. There was no resistance now as the enemy foot, what was left of them, had seen their lords desert them and had either ran for their lives or else dropped to their knees in front of the legionaries and begged for mercy. They were shown none. Those who surrendered and threw down their weapons were killed as soon as the first legionaries reached them. Then I saw Domitus and felt a surge of joy. He was standing next to one of leading centuries, pointing with his gladius for the men to maintain their order. An enemy soldier, a spearman, seeing Domitus cast aside his weapon and fell to his knees, his hands clasped in front of him like a man in prayer, imploring Domitus to save his life. The latter stepped forward and plunged his blade into the man’s chest, then walked on. Such is war.
Then I saw the ranks of the Babylonian foot come into view, ragged compared to the legion. But at least they still existed. The side of my face still burned and I could feel blood trickling down my neck. I sheathed my sword and removed my helmet. The cheekguard that had been hit by the mace was dented and its hinge smashed. Around me were men sitting on their horses in a state of exhaustion, the scales on their armour battered and missing, their mounts similarly spent. Orodes appeared at my side and surveyed the view ahead. Dead men and slain horses lay scattered all around. Behind us was a similar trail of carnage where we had cut through the enemy’s flank, the earth strewn with slain horse archers. The currency of war is blood and this day the army of Narses had paid a high price.
‘You have won a great victory, Pacorus.’
‘We have won a great victory, my friend.’
I told him to muster the cataphracts and then I rode over to where Domitus lined up with his men. They had halted now, the legionaries leaning on their grounded shields, grinning to each other — glad to be alive. They cheered as I approached and I raised my hand in recognition of their applause. I halted Remus in front of Domitus and he raised his arm stiffly in a salute. Always the Roman.
He now had his beloved cane in his hand, pointing it at me. ‘Nasty wound. You should get it seen to. You broke them, then?’
There was not a scratch on him as far as I could see. ‘Yes, we broke them. We hit them hard in their rear ranks and after that they never recovered. How many did you lose.’
He smiled. ‘Hardly any as far as I can tell. Once we got tight and cosy with them they couldn’t do much apart from be our pincushions. Easy, really.’
‘Train hard, fight easy,’ I said. ‘Narses escaped.’
He spat on the ground. ‘That is shame. You will have to fight him again, though I reckon there’s not much of his army left.’
A rider thundered up and saluted. He wore the colours of Phraates.
‘Hail, highness. King Phraates requests your presence in the company of the other kings.’
I raised my hand in acknowledgement and gladly took the water flask that Domitus offered.
Domitus saw legionaries drinking from their flasks. ‘Don’t gulp it down! Take sips. You don’t know when you will be having your next drink. Save some.’
I put my helmet back on. ‘I must pay my respects to the king. Get the wounded seen to and collect anything of use and put it in the carts. And collect our dead. We shall commit them to the fires tonight.’
Orodes and Gotarzes joined me as we walked our horses across the battlefield.
‘Where is Enius?’ I asked.
‘Dead,’ said Gotarzes, ‘spear straight through his eye.’
‘He was a good man,’ added Orodes.
‘He certainly was. How many more did we lose?’ I asked.
Gotarzes shrugged. ‘Forty or fifty.’
As far as I could tell Phraates had not moved from the spot he occupied at the start of the battle, and I noticed that Chosroes had now joined him. No doubt he had taken no part in the fighting either, and I assumed that neither had his men. I suddenly grew fearful for the safety of my father, as the army of Chosroes had been deployed on my father’s right flank. My fears disappeared when I saw him, white cloak billowing behind him as he too rode up to pay homage to Phraates. I saw no marks on him as he caught up with me a couple of hundred paces from the high king. He rode up beside me and saw my blood-smeared face.