‘Oh bugger,’ Vindex said, and pulled the wheel of Taranis he wore around his neck up to his lips to kiss it. The wind had shifted, and gusts were blowing the flames against the second granary. ‘Won’t be long now.’
‘Hurry!’ Ferox yelled at the men carrying sacks out of the building. One swayed as he watched, eyes gleaming in the red light, and then passed out, falling off the platform. The sack burst, grain spilling out. Ferox darted forward, starting to lift the man and then Vindex was with him and they dragged the soldier away. It was Vepoc. ‘Get some water!’ Ferox told another of the Britons.
‘Can I help?’ A man appeared, wearing an unbelted tunic which hung down past his knees. Ferox did not recognise him, but he spoke in Latin and had a beard and thick mop of hair so must be one of the veterans of I Minervia.
‘Take that axe.’ Ferox had spotted the tool lying a few yards away. ‘And go and help chopping down that granary!’ He pointed at the third one in the line, just visible. As he looked he saw a man prising a wooden shingle off the roof and throwing it down. If they were falling into the alley then they might burn there and spread the flames, so he turned to find someone to organise a party and make sure they were moved.
‘What?’ the man stared open mouthed.
‘That humping great building over there!’ Vindex shouted angrily, realising that the centurion was not listening. ‘The one we don’t want to burn down.’ He grabbed the axe and placed it in the man’s hand. ‘Well you take your chopper like a good little boy and chop the humping thing down!’
‘I am Aelius Hadrianus, legatus legionis.’
‘Oh shit.’
‘Quite.’ Hadrian was shouting over the roaring of the flames. ‘Is that Ferox?’
Ferox had heard. ‘My lord!’ He raised his arm in salute. ‘Now if you would be so good, please take charge of the men working to pull down the granary. It’s our best chance of stopping the fire spreading that way.’
Hadrian stared for a moment, then his beard split as he grinned. ‘Right.’ The grin widened. ‘And I’ll take my little chopper.’
‘Omnes ad stercus,’ Ferox whispered, knowing the sound would be lost with all the other noise.
‘Oh double shit!’ Vindex yelled as flames leapt up from the shingles on the roof of the second granary.
‘Get them out!’ Ferox screamed as he ran towards the loading platform of the building. Brigantes came tumbling out of the open double doors, some with sacks and some with barrels. Three men passed him, then two more. ‘Quickly!’ The heat was appalling, stinging his eyes so sharply that he struggled to keep them open. Another man appeared, panting hard and dropping an amphora to shatter on the planks. ‘You the last?’
The man shook his head, then shrugged. Ferox helped him out. ‘Take him!’ he ordered Vindex. ‘Forget it!’ he called past the scout to a handful of men, including a recovered Vepoc, who were coming to save more of the stores. ‘Help with pulling the buildings down!’
Ferox went to the doorway and looked in, crouching and trying to shield his eyes from the savage heat. He started to shout, but could only cough until he managed to spit. ‘Anyone left?’
There were dozens of amphorae of olive oil stacked at the far end of the building. Some had been brought out, and another dropped so that it shattered and the thick liquid spread. As the roof caught fire, sparks and bits of burning wood dropped down, setting off the oil. Inside the amphorae the oil began to bubble as it heated up.
Ferox saw the silhouette of a man against the sudden flame and then the blaze exploded and a wave of air flung him back out to fall flat on the platform. Someone lifted him, and he recognised Dionysius.
‘You all right, sir?’
Ferox gasped for breath and nodded as he was helped away. Sabinus was there, and more men milling around. ‘Get them to work,’ he just managed to say. ‘Sabinus, take a dozen more men and all the equipment you have and tear down that barrack block. Julius, you help the legatus with the granary.’ He stood up, pulling free and waving them away. ‘I’m fine. Now go!’
He doubled up, panting for breath, and heard the roaring as the second granary was devoured and some of the roof collapsed in a great flurry of sparks. Looking past it, he could see a wide stretch of bare rafters where the men were yanking off as many of the shingles as they could. That reminded him and he headed off to make sure that they were not simply building a bridge for the flames. He was relieved when he reached the alleyway to see that men were already clearing it of the tiles and other debris pushed out as men hammered and hacked at the side wall. There were great gaps in this already, and another team was fastening hooks around one of the timber uprights, while a dozen others waited at the ropes to pull it down.
‘All clear,’ a deep voice shouted from inside.
‘All clear,’ a man answered.
‘Then one, two, three, pull!’
Ferox joined the men on the ropes as they hauled. The rope took the strain, and men grunted as they used all their strength without shifting the timber again.
‘Again! One, two, three!’ Two more men added their weight and at last there was the slightest of movements.
‘Nearly there, boys.’ Hadrian joined them, and Ferox realised that he had been the one giving the orders. ‘One more time. One, two, three, heave!’ The timber cracked and with a jerk they almost fell as the top half pulled away from the rest.
‘Come on, we’re winning.’ They dragged again and pulled the timber free. ‘Get the axes.’ The legatus of I Minervia seemed to be enjoying himself, and Ferox noticed for the first time that he was wearing delicate sandals, suitable for dining, but not for demolition. ‘We’ll be fine,’ Hadrian told the centurion. ‘You check on the others.’
‘Sir.’ The alley was fiercely hot as the fire spread throughout the second granary and he wondered whether the firebreak would work. The third building was one of the ones packed with artillery, which meant plenty of wood, ropes and grease to burn if the fire got a hold. He was pleased to see that they had already started to pull down the end of the barrack block opposite the second granary, while the one opposite the first was now a ruin. Barracks always tended to be less sturdily built than the towering granaries, whose raised floors only seemed to fuel the fires once they started.
Something fell onto the top of his head. He stared up at the clouds and another drop of rainwater splashed onto his chin. More came, pattering all around him.
‘We’re winning,’ he said as the downpour grew heavier.
Some sense, some glimpse of movement from the corner of his eye warned him, and he threw himself down as something small whizzed through the air and banged into the wall behind him. He struggled to get up, exhaustion swamping him, so he pushed on his hands to force himself and just caught a glimpse of a figure running far down one of the alleys.
‘Centurion?’ It was Dionysius’ voice. ‘Can you get me more men?’
The rain was still driving down and if it kept on they should be safe as long as they could all keep working. ‘I’ll do my best,’ he said and lurched into a run to find them. Turning a corner, Ferox tripped and fell headlong, landing with a grunt as the air was knocked from him. He pushed himself up and saw that he had tripped over a body.