I refilled Viper’s cup and then my own but Gallia placed her hand over hers.
‘I would know what troubles you, Surena.’
He looked at Viper who nodded at him.
‘We are walking into a trap, lord,’ he replied.
‘How can you be so certain?’
He swallowed a mouthful of wine. ‘The enemy made no attempt to prevent us crossing the bridge because they are inviting us into this valley. And tomorrow we advance on Susa, marching further south with two very wide rivers on either flank.’
‘Byrd and Malik have seen no enemy anywhere,’ I said.
Surena was unconvinced. ‘The forests that cover the slopes of these mountains can hide an army, lord. I did it in Gordyene.’
‘What you say is true, Surena, but we go to assault Susa. If Narses and Mithridates are in the city, and we are not certain that they are, then they will have to give battle. They have already lost Ctesiphon, if they also retreat from Susa they will appear weak and their allies may desert them. They need a victory as much as we do.’
‘I would still prefer to fight on ground of our own choosing, lord’ he replied.
‘Once,’ I said, ‘before we met, I fought Narses and Mithridates at a place called Surkh, on ground that had been selected by the enemy. And you know what happened?’
He smiled. ‘All those who have been tutored at Dura know what happened at Surkh, lord.’
‘Well, then, do not worry about the enemy. Let them worry about us. Man for man, even counting the Babylonians, we are far better than they are.’
‘And woman for woman, lord,’ added Viper.
‘Quite right,’ said Gallia.
Surena seemed at least reassured as I bid him goodnight and Gallia embraced Viper. As they rode back to their camp with a score of horse archers behind them Domitus sauntered up gripping his vine cane.
‘Been beating some poor sentry?’ I enquired.
‘Just doing my rounds,’ he replied, then pointed his cane at Surena’s party trotting towards the main entrance.
‘He has come a long way since you first brought him to Dura as a half-starved urchin.’
‘I never thought he would be made a king, though.’
Domitus shrugged. ‘Why not? You were.’
He scraped the sole of his sandal on the ground then looked up into the sky.
‘I saw a vulture today.’
‘Yes, they are quite common in these parts.’
He scraped the ground once more. ‘He just swooped down and landed a few feet from me, hopping behind me, staring at me with his big black eyes. When I stopped he stopped, and when I continued walking he followed.’
‘Perhaps he thought you were a piece of carrion,’ I joked.
‘It is an omen, Pacorus. A portent of great slaughter.’
Chapter 17
The Susa Valley is lush and green, especially following the heavy rainfall it receives during the first three months of the year. Despite the heat of its summers the land between the Karkheh and Dez rivers is permanently green, partly because of the rainfall but also due to the extensive irrigation systems that exist north and south of Susa. Orodes told me that the valley was the breadbasket of Susiana, producing an abundance of wheat, corn, barley, lentils, flax, pistachios, lemons and dates, in addition to supporting the great herds of cattle that grazed on its rich grasslands. Farms cover around three-quarters of the flatlands between the rivers and their produce not only fills the bellies of the populace of Susiana itself but is also exported to adjacent kingdoms.
The city of Susa itself lies around twelve miles south of the bridge that we had used to cross the Karkheh and a mile inland of the river. The villagers and farmers who inhabited the valley had no doubt sought sanctuary inside the city, along with their livestock, for we entered a land seemingly devoid of life as we struck camp the morning after crossing the river and headed south towards the kingdom’s capital.
We had travelled but two miles when Byrd and Malik came galloping up to where I was riding with Gallia at the head of the Amazons. As usual they had left before dawn to scout ahead with their men as the camp was coming to life. Now they returned three hours later, the camp having been disassembled, the stakes for the palisade loaded onto the mule train and the tents packed on the wagons.
‘Enemy is pouring out of Susa,’ said Byrd blandly.
‘How many?’ I asked.
Malik looked concerned. ‘Thousands, Pacorus, tens of thousands.’
‘They fill the land in front of the city,’ added Byrd.
I ordered an immediate halt and sent couriers to the other kings to alert them that the enemy had at last shown his face. A sense of relief swept through me as I realised that finally, the deciding battle with Narses and Mithridates was about to begin. As the army halted and I sent Vagises ahead with a thousand horse archers to act as a forward screen, Domitus and Kronos trotted over to where Gallia and I were talking with Byrd and Malik.
‘We will not be marching to Persepolis, then,’ remarked Domitus casually.
‘By the end of this day,’ I said, ‘the crows will be feasting on the carcasses of Narses and Mithridates.’
I slid off Remus and slapped Domitus hard on the arm. ‘After all these years of bloodshed and toil, after all the deaths and misery that those two bastards have caused, now we finally have them cornered. Men will talk of this day for a long time.’
‘Have you heard of the phrase, pride before a fall,’ Pacorus?’ asked Gallia as she dismounted from Epona.
I held her flawless face in my hands and kissed her on the lips. ‘Not pride, my sweet, belief that I have the best soldiers led by the best officers in the empire. Today we extend the limits of glory.’
‘We have to beat them first,’ said Domitus dryly. ‘So what is the battle plan, assuming you have one? And don’t say to beat the enemy.’
‘Not beat them, Domitus,’ I replied. ‘Today we annihilate them.’
In response to my alerting the other monarchs, Orodes sent a rider requesting my and Gallia’s presence at a council of war, which took place in his hastily re-erected tent in the middle of the valley. Thousands of Babylonian spearmen were sitting on the ground behind the tent, their shields and spears stacked as they rested. Soldiers of Babylon’s royal guard stood sentry outside the tent and others held our horses’ reins as we went inside to join the kings. Outside the temperature was bearable thanks to the breeze that was coming from the Zagros Mountains to the east, but the air inside the tent was still and stifling as we acknowledged those who were arranged on stools in a circle. Gallia embraced Viper and then took her seat beside her fellow Amazon as I sat down next to her and opposite my father.
‘The enemy appears at last,’ said Orodes in a serious voice, ‘and intends to engage us.’
He nodded towards me. ‘The reports we have received thus far indicate that soldiers are leaving Susa and massing in the area immediately north of the city.’
‘Do we know their numbers?’ asked Atrax.
Orodes looked at me.
‘At least as many as us, probably more. We will know more when we get nearer to them. I have sent horsemen south to ensure they don’t sneak up on us unannounced.’
‘We will advance to meet them,’ announced Orodes.
‘I would advise staying close to the Karkheh,’ I said, ‘to anchor our right flank against the river as the enemy also appears to be keeping close to the city and the river.’
The valley was at least ten miles wide at the point we currently occupied, and though it narrowed to around seven miles at Susa itself if we maintained a continuous front from river to river our forces would be spread too thinly.
‘If we do not extend our forces from the Karkheh to the Dez,’ said my father, ‘then we invite the enemy to outflank us on our left wing.’
‘We have enough horsemen to be able to react to threats, father,’ I replied. ‘Besides, the enemy won’t be thinking about their flank when we are grinding their centre into dust.’