The Arab waved his hand in acknowledgement and turned back to keep watch on the track. Ajax made his way over to the men waiting with the horses. There was a muted exchange before the gladiator turned away and returned the way he had come. As he departed, the two rebels approached the horses. The first man took the reins and patted the horse's flank soothingly while his companion went round to the other side, drew his sword and cut the animal's throat. It jerked back with a high-pitched whinny that was cut short by a strangled gurgle as the blood coursed from the wound and splattered the dust and gravel between its hoofs. It stood still for an instant and then its legs trembled and gave way and the animal collapsed. The pair moved on to the next horse, which stamped its hoofs but could not move far thanks to the length of rope hobbling it. The smell of blood and the terrified whinny of the first horse made the others afraid and skittish, and the rebels' bloody task proceeded with difficulty.
'Why do that?' Hamedes asked.
'It's obvious. Ajax has no need of the horses any more. He doesn't want them to fall back into Roman hands. Hello? Where's he got to?'
Ajax had disappeared round a huge boulder dividing the main course of the small valley and the spur. They waited a moment but there was no further sign of him. The tribune drummed his fingers on the rock in front of him and then turned to Hamedes.
'Wait here. I'm going forward for a closer look. We have to know where he's gone.'
Hamedes nodded.
'Make sure you stay out of sight,' Junius continued softly, though there was an anxious edge to his voice. 'Give me until the sun reaches the top of those rocks, then if I haven't returned, get back to the column and report to the legate. Understood?'
'Yes, sir.'
Junius edged forward, creeping through the jumbled rock on hands and knees, until he was lost from sight. Hamedes stared after him for a while, but saw no more sign of the tribune. Below, the two men killed the last of the horses and then retreated back to the shade, leaving the bodies amid dark stains and pools of blood where the flies and other small insects soon found them and began to feed. Hamedes glanced once more in the direction that Junius had taken and then cautiously made his way further down the slope towards the men.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
'Are you quite certain?' the legate asked Hamedes directly.
'Yes, sir.' The priest nodded. 'I saw them enter the tomb. Ajax and some of his men.'
'What about you?' Aurelius turned towards Tribune Junius. 'Can you confirm this?'
Junius shook his head. 'I went in a different direction, sir. Beyond the place where the priest says he saw this tomb. I went to the end of the track that led off from the main valley. I must have missed it,' he confessed with a hint of shame in his voice. 'Just as well that the priest picked up on it, sir, or we'd never have located them.'
'All the same, good work. Both of you!' The legate smiled at Hamedes. 'I shall see that you are rewarded when the campaign is over.'
Hamedes shook his head and responded with quiet intensity, 'Revenge is its own reward, sir.'
Cato intervened. 'Can you describe the location of this tomb?'
'Of course, sir.' Hamedes squatted down beside the track where a small mound of gritty sand had collected in a hollow. Smoothing it out, he drew a basic map of the terrain with his finger as he explained. 'Here is the final bend in the track. Beyond that is the valley. There are many tombs dotted about the cliffs, but I saw no one enter or leave any of them. Just here are several large boulders. The track mentioned by the tribune branches off from the main valley and climbs up into the cliffs. About a quarter of a mile along it there is a steep path leading up to the base of the cliff. There is an opening cut into the rock there and steps leading down to a tomb entrance. It is easily missed, sir. I am not surprised the tribune passed by it without seeing anything. It was only because I saw Ajax and two of his men emerge from the steps that I discovered its location.'
'And you are certain you can find it again?' asked Cato.
'Yes, sir.'
'How many of his men did you see?'
Hamedes thought for a moment. 'Six Arabs, all told, and four big men, like Ajax, gladiators probably. There may have been more that I missed.'
The legate snorted with derision. 'Ten men, or thereabouts. It seems I have brought a mallet to crack a walnut. Very well, now that we know where they are we can move up and take them.' He glanced up at the sky. The valley was already in shadow. 'We have an hour or so before nightfall. I'll lead the attack. We'll take torches into the tomb and hunt them down. Two cavalry squadrons should suffice, and a half century of archers to pick off their lookouts. Tribune Junius will lead the rest of the men back to camp.'
Junius bowed his head. 'Yes, sir.'
Aurelius clapped his hands together. 'Let's be about our business then, gentlemen!'
It was dark by the time the contingent reached the entrance to the tomb that Hamedes had identified. The Arabs had only briefly delayed their entrance into the valley, hitting two of the auxiliary archers before they were pinned down by a steady rain of arrows while a second party of archers worked up to higher ground from where the Arabs could be easily targeted and swiftly disposed of. Aurelius led the column past the empty tombs in the main part of the valley where the horses were left in the charge of one of the cavalry squadrons. Then the priest guided them along the winding track, past a handful of other openings and then up the short climb to the steps cut down into the rock. As they approached, the Romans saw a figure just inside the entrance to the tomb. He shouted a warning to his comrades before scurrying down the tunnel that led deep beneath the cliff. The leading section of auxiliaries made a rush down the steps before Macro bellowed at them to come back.
'What the hell do you think you're doing? It's pitch black down there. You go flying into the tunnel and the first man that falls will break his bloody neck, and the rest of you will trip over him and go the same way. Get a fire going and make up some torches.' He turned to Cato with a disgusted look. 'Idiots.'
'Quite right.' The legate nodded as he peered into the dark tunnel. 'We'll need illumination. Plenty of it.'
The last of the daylight faded in the heavens as the soldiers gathered some dry branches of vegetation that clung to cracks in the rock. One of the archers produced a tinderbox and struck his flints until he managed to coax a tiny flame on to the thin slivers of charred linen in the box. The fire quickly took once the flame was presented to the kindling and soon the cliff above the entrance was aglow with the light from the flames that crackled up from the fire burning a short distance from the mouth of the tomb.
'Twenty men should suffice,' Aurelius decided. 'And I'll take a section of archers. If the tunnels are straight, they should be able to get a few shots off if they get the chance. Make sure we have plenty of torches, Macro.'
'Yes, sir.' He gestured to the tightly bound bundles of dry twigs and brush piled to one side. 'I've already seen to that.'
'Good man.' Aurelius nodded approvingly, his gaze fixed on the entrance to the tomb. Macro realised that the legate was rapidly losing his enthusiasm to lead the party now that he found himself staring into the dark hole, wherein lurked a small group of desperate and deadly fugitives.
'I'll lead the men, if you like, sir,' Macro suggested quietly. 'No need for you to come.'
The legate tore his gaze away from the tomb and frowned at Macro. 'Certainly not. A legate should share the same dangers as his men. Otherwise he is not fit to command them.'
'Yes, sir. Shall we begin then?'
'Yes… Yes, of course.' Aurelius strode across to the bundle of torches and picked one up. He lowered it into the fire and let it catch light, then stood by the steps leading down to the tomb entrance. Macro lit another torch and detailed two of the archers to go first, one with an arrow notched, the other holding a torch. Macro was about to follow them when Cato paced over to pick up a torch.