‘This was your idea!’ shouted Indavara, his voice drowned out by pounding hooves as the first of the horses clattered on to the bridge.
Cassius gave him one of the lengths of rope. ‘Now!’
The two horses were already agitated and when Cassius whipped the line across the nearest one’s rump, it charged away. Indavara struck the second horse. Both animals were brought up short by the rope but Cassius and Indavara lashed them again and their flailing hooves dug into the ground.
Cassius turned. The rope was taut but the post wasn’t moving. The first of the legionaries were almost halfway across; close enough for him to see their frowning faces.
‘Come on!’ Cassius yelled. Indavara still had the javelin. He sliced the blade across the backside of one horse, then the other. Maddened by pain, the struggling animals strained against the rope, kicking earth back at their tormentors.
Cassius watched the post wobble, then come flying away from the bridge. As soon as the timber hit the ground, the sheer power of the enraged horses hauled it up the slope. Cassius and Indavara threw themselves towards the wall as the animals sped away, dragging the post along the ground behind them.
Seeing this bizarre sight, the leading legionaries raised their hands and came to a halt. About two-thirds of the force were on the bridge.
Cassius and Indavara looked down at the supports. The other five posts were still intact.
Then some of the men started shouting.
Two planks of wood came free, rolled down the slope and disappeared into the fissure.
Carnifex and a few of the others had pulled up to one side of the road.
‘Get off!’ he bellowed. ‘Get off there!’
A large block of red stone fell from the northern end of the bridge. It careened down the slope and struck one of the second rank of supports, knocking it away. The entire structure began to shake.
‘It’s going,’ said Indavara.
The yelling legionaries were bunched together. Panic-stricken, they turned their horses in different directions and rode into each other. Three riders somehow got free of the crush and drove their mounts back to the southern side.
Just as they reached safety, more of the stones fell. Then came a series of loud, splintering cracks and the entire wooden structure collapsed. Timbers tumbled down the slope in a cloud of dust. Ropes scythed through the air.
The northern side of the bridge gave way first. The great arch seemed to collapse yard by yard, block by block.
Men and horses loosed high-pitched screams, and suddenly everything was falling.
Cassius saw one rider slip from his saddle, clutch at thin air, then fall beside his horse, spinning over and over before striking the side of the gorge. He bounced off it like a straw doll and fell straight into the fissure.
His horse struck the ground yards away, the impact splitting its belly. Innards fountained into the air and thick gouts of scarlet blood splattered across the pale earth. The sundered body fell into the darkness.
The cries and booming impacts of falling blocks and timbers faded almost as quickly as they had begun. The fissure seemed to greedily suck men, horses, stone and wood into it and in moments only a single horse and a single man remained. The horse was close to the top of the southern side, where the slope was less steep. Far below, the legionary hung to the sheer side of the gorge, just yards from the chasm.
Terrified by the noise, some of the remaining horses had become unbiddable, and several of Carnifex’s men had been thrown. Only he and a few others had kept control of their mounts.
‘Pull it clear!’ he ordered, pointing at the horse.
Two men ran towards the edge of the gorge but they were too late.
The horse lost its grip and slithered down, carving lines in the sand with its hooves. Its head struck the edge of the fissure with a sickening thud, then it too was gone.
‘Help me!’ pleaded the legionary. ‘Centurion!’
The soldier’s mail shirt and most of his tunic had somehow been torn from his body. Scrabbling with his hands, he tried to dig his feet into the earth but one boot slipped, then the other. ‘Centurion!’
With that final, echoing cry, he disappeared into the black maw.
Aside from a few intact blocks of stone on either side, the bridge seemed to have disappeared. Strewn across the northern slope were timber and rope; pieces of saddle and armour; swords, shields and spears. The silence didn’t last long. Four of the black kites soared along the gorge, straight through where the bridge had been. Their crowing sounded like mockery.
Cassius and Indavara were sitting side by side, their hands planted on the sand.
‘By the great gods,’ whispered Cassius. ‘What have I done?’
‘Given us a chance,’ replied Indavara. He got to his feet and pulled Cassius up beside him.
The other legionaries still on their horses continued to gaze at the fissure in stunned disbelief. Carnifex dismounted and walked to the edge. He took off his helmet and stared across at Cassius and Indavara. He brought up a hand and drew a single finger sideways across his throat.
XXXII
They let the horses go and continued north on foot, not straying too far from the Via Roma. The first shelter they came to was an isolated shack about a mile and a half from the gorge. Most of the building was taken up by a mound of grey flints laced with cobwebs.
Once the seven of them had filed inside, Cassius glanced around the group: Eborius, Noster, Lentellus and the other legionary, plus Indavara and Annia. Not one of them looked anything less than exhausted.
‘Where are the rest of your men?’ he asked Eborius, who was scraping dirt off his scabbard.
‘The Roman townspeople decided to leave, so I gave them a dozen of my legionaries as an escort. Hopefully the Maseene have been too occupied here to worry about them.’
‘I meant from the battle.’
Eborius paused, then looked at the three soldiers. ‘Did anyone else get away?’
Lentellus and the other man shook their heads. Noster seemed unwilling or unable to meet the centurion’s gaze.
‘Still sure we made the right decision?’ Eborius asked him.
The veteran didn’t reply. Eborius leaned against the door and looked out towards the road.
‘What now?’ asked Cassius.
‘Assuming your captain friend hasn’t left — make for the ship. Unless you have any better suggestions.’
‘Might we be there by nightfall?’
‘Perhaps. Depends how many Maseene are between us and the harbour.’
‘And how quickly Carnifex gets round to the west bridge,’ said Lentellus.
‘He’s down to twelve men now,’ said Indavara. ‘Fifteen at most.’
‘But he knows where we’re going,’ countered Lentellus.
‘We must rely on stealth,’ said Cassius.
‘Agreed,’ said Eborius. ‘Let Carnifex mix it with the Maseene again if he wants.’
‘What happened back there anyway?’ asked Cassius.
‘I thought the Maseene would fold but more of them came up from the plain. I lost most of my men. Carnifex too. Our lines collapsed. They had us pinned back against the mansion wall but then a dozen of the First Century turned up on horseback and cut a hole through them. Only the gods know how we got out.’ Eborius turned from the doorway. ‘And you? The girl followed me, correct?’
‘Yes,’ replied Cassius. ‘Carnifex grabbed her and turned the tables on us. Met up with some of his men and took us to the mansion.’
Eborius cast a cold glare at Annia, who was sitting on the floor.
‘Centurion,’ said Cassius. ‘My profound thanks.’
‘You said it yourself: somebody had to stop him sooner or later.’
Eborius addressed the group. ‘There’s a well on the way. We’ll refill our canteens there, then it’s across the old Tadius property and into the town. Noster, you bring up the rear.’