swords, hoping that it was one of the group.
When Atheas emerged, they both smiled with relief. Their expressions changed the instant they saw the man limping behind the Scythian. Covered in spatters of blood, without a helmet but still carrying his sword, it was Navio.
Carbo’s heart leaped with joy. He darted to his friend’s side. ‘The gods be thanked. You made it!’
Navio rubbed at the dark rings beneath his eyes. ‘I don’t know how. I tried hard enough to die.’
‘I found him… by the river,’ said Atheas. ‘Just lying… looking at nothing.’ Muttering an excuse, he set about starting a fire.
‘We saw you. Well, saw your position. You held the left flank for an age,’ said Carbo.
‘The men did well,’ admitted Navio. ‘It was the damn artillery that did for us. That, and the fact that the cavalry couldn’t cross the ditches. They were too deep, too wide. Crassus was damn clever to think of that. He must have heard about Sulla doing it at Orchomenus fourteen years ago.’ He let out a hacking cough. ‘What happened to you?’
In a low voice, Carbo explained. When it came to the final moments before he’d fled, his voice cracked. ‘He said that he was proud to fight beside a Roman. I’m sure he meant you too.’
A spark lit in Navio’s dead eyes. ‘Well, I was proud to serve a slave.’
‘And I.’
They were quiet for a moment. Their leader’s face filled their minds.
‘I didn’t run,’ blurted Carbo. He was intensely grateful for Navio’s accepting nod. ‘He asked me to go, to see that Ariadne and the baby were safe.’
‘Ariadne’s here?’ cried Navio.
‘I am. And Maron. I’ve just put him down for a sleep.’ She ducked out of the shelter and approached them, smiling faintly. ‘I am glad that you survived, Navio.’
He gave her a respectful half-bow. ‘Jupiter be praised that you and the baby are unharmed. Atheas first, and then Carbo… I had not thought to hear even more good news. Since waking after the battle, I’ve wondered why the gods let me live. Now I know.’
‘Tell us your story,’ urged Carbo.
Navio studied each of their faces, and then looked away. ‘We had held our ground for some time, which was no mean feat considering how many troops Crassus threw at us and the fact that the cavalry couldn’t help. Things got worse when the enemy artillery’s volleys suddenly got heavier. Maybe it was as the left flank was giving way, I don’t know. One thing was certain, though: the bastards didn’t mind hitting their own men. The barrage went on and on. My troops withstood it for a time, but they finally cracked. I couldn’t hold them.’
‘In a situation like that, no one can,’ said Carbo.
‘That doesn’t make it any easier,’ said Navio with a heavy sigh. ‘I managed to rally together about thirty soldiers, and we kept fighting. It didn’t take long for most of us to be cut down.’ His eyes went dark. ‘I was left with a man either side of me. I felt like Horatius on the bridge, except there was no river to jump into. A rock must have hit me soon after that, and knocked me unconscious. When I woke up, I found that my helmet was split in two. There was a body half across me. It was dark. The battle was over. I could hear men screaming, begging to die. Checking that there were no Romans about, I managed to get up. I began searching for anyone who might have been trapped like me. All I found were those heading for Hades. I helped more than a few of them on their way. I wandered like that for a long time, hoping that I’d be discovered and killed. There was no point in living after what my soldiers had done. After we’d lost.’ His eyes flickered to them. ‘I feel differently now. But at the time-’
‘I can imagine what you must have been going through,’ said Ariadne with feeling. If it weren’t for Maron…
‘So can I,’ said Carbo. ‘What happened next?’
‘The most crazy thing. I–I found Spartacus’ helmet. It had to be his. No one else in the whole damn army had a Phrygian one like it.’
Beside Carbo, Ariadne went very still. ‘Did you find his body?’ he whispered.
‘No. I searched and searched, but it was as black as the underworld. There wasn’t even a moon. The bodies were heaped everywhere, so many of them. They all looked the same. I kept going until it began to grow light…’ Navio’s words ground to a halt.
‘What you did was above the call of duty, for which I thank you,’ said Ariadne gently. She glanced at Carbo. ‘Could he be alive?’
His doubts renewed, Carbo thought hard. ‘I doubt it. He wanted to go down fighting. Without a helmet, the Romans wouldn’t have known who he was. They would have just killed him like any other of our soldiers.’
‘But you can’t be sure. You didn’t see him fall.’
Carbo felt even worse. ‘No.’
Navio also looked stricken. ‘I would have continued my search, but there were groups of legionaries spreading out through the area. They were killing anyone still left alive. I had to crawl on my belly for an age to make sure that they hadn’t seen me.’
Guilt redoubled in Carbo, clawing at his mind and heart. He couldn’t be alive. Could he? ‘We could go down and try to find him.’
Great Dionysus, please, thought Ariadne. My pain is bad enough. I don’t need this uncertainty. She knew how awful the scene would be by now. The stench of rotting flesh, appreciable long before the battlefield itself. Bodies bloating, discolouring in the warm sun. Maggots crawling in wounds, mouths, open bellies. Peasants scouring the site for valuables. Carrion birds hanging overheard in clouds, and gorging on the expanse of flesh below. At night, wolves and even bears might lurk at the fringes, keen not to miss out on the unparalleled feast. Revulsion filled her. If he was dead, Spartacus’ body would be prey as much as anyone else’s. If he was injured and unable to move, however ‘It’s far too dangerous,’ said Navio. ‘Crassus has left most of his army in place. From what I could see, they’re patrolling the whole area.’
Ariadne closed her eyes. Was it worth risking Maron’s safety by returning to the battlefield? What real chance was there that Spartacus had survived?
Navio’s next words struck like a lightning bolt. ‘They’ve taken about six thousand prisoners.’
‘That many?’ cried Carbo, staring at Navio in horror.
‘Apparently so. I heard some patrolling legionaries talking when I was hiding among the bodies. On Crassus’ orders, they are to be marched to Capua and crucified on the Via Appia, all the way to Rome.’
In that instant, every terrible detail of Ariadne’s dream came back to her. It was true. Dionysus must have sent it. Thank the god she had never mentioned it to a soul.
That there would be crucifixions was unsurprising — it was a common enough fate for slaves who had committed a serious crime — but the sheer number was almost beyond belief. ‘We have to act,’ said Carbo.
Navio’s eyebrows rose. ‘What are you suggesting?’
‘I don’t know!’ Carbo shot back. ‘But imagine if Spartacus was on a cross? Or Egbeo? Taxacis?’
‘We can’t kill six thousand men.’ Navio’s tone was sympathetic.
‘I won’t do nothing!’ cried Carbo.
In unison, they looked to Ariadne. ‘You want my approval to go?’ she asked.
‘I don’t want to leave you and Maron,’ said Carbo.
‘You won’t be.’
Her meaning crashed down on Carbo. ‘You’re not coming with us!’
‘Try and stop me. There might only be a tiny chance that Spartacus has survived, but that’s enough for me.’ Ariadne’s concerns about her dream had changed. What if Egbeo had been trying to reveal that her husband was nearby? ‘At the very least, I have to see the crosses for myself.’
‘All of them?’ asked Navio in disbelief.
‘I don’t know. Maybe.’
‘This is insane,’ muttered Carbo, but part of him felt the same way.
‘It’s more than a hundred and twenty miles from Capua to Rome. There will be regular pickets of soldiers. They might even be stationed on the road to make sure that no one interferes with the victims.’
‘If there was the tiniest possibility that your father or brother were down there, what would you do?’ she snapped.
Navio’s mouth worked, and he looked at Carbo.
