was dead, only to have Navio place the doubt in her mind that he might be suffering on a cross like the near-dead wretch before her. That doubt had vanished. Spartacus had died on the field, as he would have wished. In the circumstances, it was the best she could have hoped for.
A glance up and down the road. Thank the gods, she thought. Not a soul in sight. Her eyes slid to Carbo. His face looked haunted. When she looked at his dagger meaningfully, though, he gave her a resolute nod. On impulse, Ariadne unstrapped Maron and carried him back to the cross. ‘Do you see this man Marcion?’ she whispered. ‘He fought with your father until the end. Now he is going to meet him again. Let’s ask Marcion to carry a message for us.’
Maron gurgled with happiness, unaware of the dreadful reality in front of him.
Tears welled in Ariadne’s eyes as she went up on tiptoe to reach Marcion’s ear. ‘When you reach Elysium, tell Spartacus that he died well. That his soldiers loved him. That we loved him also, his wife and his son. That Atheas, Carbo and Navio are alive and as faithful as ever. Tell him too that he will never be forgotten as long as men draw breath in this world. That Crassus will have a dreadful death, the worst of ends a man can have, and will be remembered more for his failures than for what he did at the Silarus.’
Marcion’s breathing settled. Ariadne wasn’t sure, but she thought that there was a faint nod. She waited, but he didn’t move again.
‘I think he’s gone.’ Carbo’s tone was wondering.
‘He was waiting for us,’ said Ariadne with utter conviction. ‘Once he’d heard my message, he let go.’ Thank you, Dionysus, for that gift. I am in your debt, Great Rider.
Carbo and Navio stared at one another, both taking comfort from the knowledge that Spartacus had died in combat. That he would soon receive word from Ariadne and Maron. That Crassus would not die as a contented old man.
It seemed justice of a kind.
‘I don’t want to see every crucifix,’ Ariadne announced. ‘We have discovered what we needed to, thank the gods.’
‘There’s no point in torturing ourselves further,’ added Carbo. ‘Or endangering you and Maron.’
‘Where shall we go?’ asked Navio.
‘They say that many hundreds of men are heading for the mountains above Thurii,’ answered Ariadne. They will honour me not just as a priestess, but as the mother of Spartacus’ son.
‘That sounds as good a place as any. It’s easy terrain to hide in if you don’t want to be found. Maybe Arnax will find us there too.’ Carbo glanced at Navio.
‘I can hardly let you go on your own. You haven’t got the first idea about how to turn men into soldiers!’ Navio indicated Maron. ‘He’ll need instruction from the best.’
Carbo was surprised to feel a smile tug its way on to his face. His grief for Spartacus was yet raw, but he still had many of the people who had become his family around him. It was a blessing that he could not ignore. ‘It will be good to have you with us.’
‘Life will be different,’ said Ariadne, kissing Maron, ‘but it will go on.’
