could visit his parents, but he had discounted the idea as foolish. He’d made a fool of himself twice over with the Thracian, and he wasn’t about to do it again.
‘We are lucky yet to be alive, and that won’t change in the months to come,’ said Navio darkly. ‘Just because we defeated the consuls at Picenum doesn’t mean that another army won’t come looking for us. It will be a lot bigger than the ones we’ve seen so far too. As my father used to say, make the most of every day that dawns…’
‘For it might be your last,’ finished Arnax in a solemn tone.
Navio laughed. ‘You’ve been listening to me carefully, eh?’
Even in the dim light, it was possible to see Arnax blush.
Navio reached over and ruffled his hair. ‘You’re making a good fist of Carbo’s gladius. Take a look at mine when you’re finished, will you?’
‘Of course.’ Delighted, the boy glanced at Publipor. ‘Shall I clean yours as well?’
‘When it needs doing, I’ll do it myself,’ the Apulian snapped. ‘Understand?’
‘Sorry.’ Arnax dropped his eyes.
‘I’m tired,’ Publipor growled. ‘I think I’ll turn in. Good night.’
Carbo and Navio muttered their replies. Arnax watched him go in silence.
‘Don’t worry about it, lad. He wasn’t having a go at you. He’s troubled about his family,’ said Carbo.
‘It takes at least a year before the pain eases in any way,’ pronounced Navio with a sigh.
‘What pain would that be?’
They turned in surprise. ‘Spartacus!’ said Carbo with a grin.
Navio also smiled. ‘Welcome.’
The Thracian inclined his head in greeting and then threw a hard look at Arnax, who looked as if he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him.
Spartacus sat down by the fire. ‘What pain were you talking about, Navio?’
‘The pain of losing those that one loves.’
‘I see.’ The Rider watch over you, Father. Maron, my brother. Getas and Seuthes, my comrades. ‘We must all have lost people. It’s one of life’s trials. A man must deal with it as best he can.’
‘Wise words,’ said Navio.
They sat in silence for a short time, Carbo and Navio wondering what had brought their leader unannounced to their fire.
‘We’ll reach Thurii in the next month,’ announced Spartacus. ‘It will be good to stop marching, eh?’
They murmured in agreement.
Spartacus chuckled. ‘You want to know why I’m here, eh?’
‘You haven’t just come for an idle chat,’ said Carbo in a dry tone.
Spartacus regarded him steadily. ‘No.’
Publipor emerged from his tent, a twig protruding from his lips. He had begun brushing his teeth when he became aware of their visitor. He spat quickly. ‘Spartacus! It’s an honour to see you.’
‘Publipor. You’re keeping well?’
‘Yes, sir. Thank you sir.’ Publipor raised his twig by way of apology. ‘I was about to turn in. I’ll come back out, though.’
‘No need to do that on my account. Get some rest. It will be another long day tomorrow.’ Spartacus’ tone was friendly but commanding.
Publipor looked relieved. ‘All right then. Good night, sir.’
‘Sleep well.’ Spartacus turned back to Carbo and Navio. ‘A good man,’ he said quietly.
‘He is,’ agreed Carbo. ‘He’s a great tracker. Thanks to him, we bring back a deer or a boar most times we go out.’
‘It’s natural that he’s good with a bow. How’s his sword craft coming along?’
‘Quite well,’ replied Navio. ‘Give it a couple more months and he’ll be up to scratch with the rest of the men.’
‘Good. We should have the time at Thurii to train unhindered. It’s unlikely that the Romans will attack us in the winter. But they’ll be on the move.’ Spartacus’ face darkened. ‘You know that, don’t you? There is no way under the sun that we will be left alone.’
‘Yes,’ they both answered. Arnax’s eyes grew wide.
‘At the moment, we have no idea what the dogs are planning. They, on the other hand, get word of our passage from every citizen farmer whose land we pass through.’
‘Not much we can do about that,’ said Navio. ‘And good intelligence on what the Romans are up to is hard to come by. The deserters who’ve joined us can’t risk going back to their units. They’d be crucified.’
‘I know. I have heard one interesting thing, however. Yesterday, one of the patrols stopped a trader who’d come from Rome. He had some news.’
They leaned forward, agog with interest.
‘Crassus has been given charge of the campaign against us.’
Carbo felt the blood drain from his face. ‘The same man who-’
‘Yes. The same prick who ruined your family. The one whom I fought in front of at Capua. Strange how the strands of fate twist, eh?’
‘Yes,’ whispered Carbo, clenching his fists.
‘Apparently, Crassus is to speak to the Senate soon. I was thinking that it would be good to hear what he has to say. Maybe even slip a blade between his ribs if the opportunity arose. That would knock the bastards back on their arses for a while.’ The idea had seemed daring — even rash — from the outset, but now that he’d spoken it out loud, Spartacus revelled in the thrill of it. He was going to go, and no one would stop him.
Navio’s eyebrows rose. ‘Would you trust me and Carbo again?’
‘Not you and Carbo, no.’
Carbo sat forward with a start. ‘What, you mean-?’
‘You and me, yes. We’ll go to Rome. Straight to the viper’s nest! See what we can find out.’
‘Are you serious?’ An image of his parents flashed unbidden into Carbo’s mind. Guiltily, he shoved it away.
‘Never more so.’ He could still hear Ariadne’s voice warning him not to go; see the disbelief on Pulcher’s and Egbeo’s faces. ‘I’m the leader of this army. I decide what happens.’
Carbo nodded. ‘Just you and me?’
‘Yes. You can play the big farmer’s son. I’ll be your slave.’
‘That could work,’ muttered Carbo, bemused.
‘What about the army?’ hissed Navio. ‘You can’t leave Castus and Gannicus unchecked. Those pieces of shit will ruin everything!’
‘No, they won’t. They want to find a good overwintering spot as much as I do. Once they’ve got to Thurii, all they will want to do is to drink wine and fornicate.’ Spartacus knew this for a lie. The Gauls would redouble their efforts to recruit men to their cause in his absence. His mind was made up, however. He would reassert his leadership when he returned. ‘I’ve spoken to Pulcher and Egbeo about what to do should any Roman forces appear. They can intervene if the Gauls decide to do something crazy.’
Navio looked dubious, but he didn’t argue.
‘What about Ariadne? Isn’t she due any day now?’ Like every other soldier, Carbo held Spartacus’ wife in high esteem. Despite her advanced pregnancy, she still walked like everyone else. ‘It’s good for the baby,’ she said daily with a bright smile. Yet Carbo had seen the strain on her face that very afternoon. Spartacus had to be aware of that. ‘Don’t you want to be here for the birth of your son?’
Spartacus gave him a hard look. ‘Ariadne informs me that she won’t go into labour for another three weeks. I believe her. Women know about these things.’
‘I understand,’ muttered Carbo.
‘We’ll leave tomorrow, and reach Rome in little over a week and a half. If we can buy horses, it will be even quicker. Two or three days there should be sufficient. The horses will make the return journey faster too.’ He glanced at Navio. ‘You will have had just enough time at Thurii to erect a hut for Ariadne before we arrive.’
‘It’ll be the first thing we do.’
