‘All done,’ came the reply. ‘I’ve got everything I needed.’ I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting. I only knew it was more than this. In the next few hours, we’d be making a frontal assault on this lot with a pitifully small and untrained force. And Rado was giving his preparations less time and apparent detail than I’d seen from actors testing the acoustics in a theatre they knew. I swung abruptly from worship of my military hero to the fringes of panic over the madness of what we were doing.
If Rado picked anything up from my tone, it didn’t show. ‘It’s done,’ he said. ‘We can go back and try for some sleep. I want everyone in his place an hour before the dawn.’
I scratched my head. What places was he talking about? He’d spent the remaining hours of light mumbling on and off in bad Greek over one of his pebble maps. Every so often, one of the half dozen young men listening had asked a question that bore no obvious relation to anything Rado was trying to say. Even with Antonia to interpret where his Greek failed him, the answers in turn bore no relation to the questions. And this had been before the pair of us had come out to see the topography for ourselves. Granted, those half dozen young men had gone off looking mightily pleased and had then visibly raised every spirit in the sections they were appointed to lead. Everyone had been cheered still more when Rado got us running about in groups while he shouted at us to move left and right. That was part of the reason for my depressive speech. Everyone was eager for the dawn. On the other hand, did anyone know better?
‘Is there any chance,’ I asked on our way back to the camp, ‘that you could get a couple of the bigger men to take Antonia back to where we camped last night?’
‘Not really,’ he said. ‘She’s the Emperor’s niece and everyone thinks she brings good luck.’ He sighed. ‘However, I have told Eboric to keep a close watch on her tomorrow morning. If things go wrong, he’ll get her to safety.’ He coughed, I think to cover a smile. ‘You do realise, though, that nothing will go wrong tomorrow?’
I tried for a smooth answer but gave up. Rado laughed softly. ‘You’ll be surprised,’ he said. ‘What I realise more and more is that everything in my life has been a preparation for this moment.’
Oh dear! It’s when someone comes out with this kind of lunatic remark that sensible men start looking round for an escape. But there could be no escape. I was the complete author of this madcap raid. All I’d needed to do was get the militias to guard the paths round the mountain. They could have fought defensive actions, on their own ground, against little bands not really inclined to push their luck so far from base. Instead, I’d called for another Marathon and was most likely to get another Thermopylae, though without actually buying time for a real defence. A further thought came into my head. Some of our horses were captured from the Persians. They could be expected to charge into battle. What about the others? What about mine?
I was halfway down a spiral of misery when I heard a clomping of feet on turf somewhere on my right. Rado was already off the path and picking up speed. I drew my sword and waited. The moon was presently behind a cloud. There was nothing I could see, though what I heard suggested no serious problem. It was a faint squeal, followed by a louder cry of fear and then a savage laugh from Rado and a mouthful of obscene abuse in Slavic.
‘Is that Theodore?’ I asked.
It was.
‘Don’t let big Rado kill me, Father,’ he cried in Greek, as he was tossed on to the path before me.
‘Don’t kill him unless you have to,’ I said. I thought quickly. ‘Take him back to the camp and wait for me there,’ I added. I turned my own horse off the path and cantered into the darkness. ‘Priscus!’ I cried softly. ‘Priscus! I know you’re out here. Why won’t you show yourself??’
I fell silent. I bit my lip. I waited. I thought of riding back to the path. Then I heard the gentle stamp of a hoof behind me on the right. ‘So eager for my company, dear boy!’ he called mockingly. ‘If only that had marked our friendship from the beginning, how much better things would now be for all of us.’ He laughed. ‘Still, it’s never too late to mend.’ He laughed louder. ‘Any chance of a drink? That boy of yours is a rotten thief.’
‘The order was for dimmed lamps only,’ I said. From the illumination showing through the walls of our tent, Antonia had inherited something from her father.
She ignored the rebuke. ‘Who’s that man with you?’ she asked in Latin, nodding towards the open flap of the tent.
‘That’s the demon I told you was living with us,’ Eboric said, crossing himself. He went placidly back to letting Antonia comb his hair.
Priscus stepped fully inside. ‘I am delighted, Madam, finally to have made your acquaintance,’ Priscus said in Latin. How bowed. ‘I am Priscus, former Commander of the East, among much else.’
Antonia raised her eyebrows. ‘I was under the impression you’d been dead for a year. Are you the swine who was spying on me in Alaric’s palace?’
‘It’s our palace,’ he replied with a smile — ‘our palace, please be aware.’ He sat on the ground and reached for a jug of the local red.
I scowled at the pathetic dribble he’d left for me. He laughed and finished that as well. ‘Am I right in my suspicion, dear boy,’ he asked, ‘that you are proposing to lead an army of shepherds and beekeepers into action against the main Persian army? If so, you’ve gone fucking mad.’ He smiled at Antonia. ‘The young lady will, of course, pardon my Syriac.’
‘Oh, don’t worry about that, My Lord,’ Eboric said helpfully. ‘Rado’s in charge of everything.’ Antonia nodded and pushed him down again, to continue with the bow she was tying in his hair.
Priscus grunted and put the jug down. He looked about for another. I hoped there was none. ‘Well,’ he finally said, ‘Alaric’s not as completely stupid as he often looks. If he’s let Rado take over, you’ve some chance of being alive and at liberty this time tomorrow.’ He reached into his sleeve and took out a lead pill box. ‘But where is the young hero?’
‘If you’re speaking of me, My Lord, I’m here.’ Rado stood in the doorway of the tent. ‘How long have you been following us?’
Priscus got up and bowed again. ‘Not long at all,’ he said. ‘When I discovered that Shahin’s reception party was somewhat larger than we’d expected, I had the same idea as Alaric to snuff out the top man. Sadly, I’ve had no more success.’
‘That’s all very well,’ I broke in. ‘The idea now is to scare them into a retreat. Rado will give you a listing of our forces. If you want to inspect them for yourself, we’ll get everyone out of his tent.’
Still on his feet, Priscus looked at Rado. ‘I don’t think we need to disturb men on the eve of battle,’ he said. He walked across the tent. ‘Let’s go for a walk. We can discuss everything in private.’
I made to get up. ‘I wasn’t speaking to you, my fine and pretty bean counter,’ he sneered. ‘You just wait in turn for your hair to be done. We’ll be back when we’re ready.’
I broke the long silence that resulted. ‘I didn’t realise Priscus bothered much with the household slaves,’ I said.
‘Rado was always his favourite,’ Eboric explained. ‘They used to spend hours together when you were working or having sex.’ He twisted round and smiled shyly at Antonia. ‘My Lady will forgive me?’ She patted him on the shoulder and took up a mirror to show him with his finished red bow. He spent an age admiring himself, while I tried not to fidget. But he did finally put the mirror down. He kissed Antonia’s hand. ‘Yes, they always got on ever so well,’ he took up again. ‘They’d sometimes talk all night about war and fighting. It was Priscus who gave him the idea of building his muscles up until you would think of letting him go into the army.’
I tried my best not to notice how Antonia shook with laughter.