failed before a single lance made contact, and the attackers were harried again as they retired.
As Upazan prepared his second attack, the Sakje melted away, conceding the ten stades of ground they had just won, and providing him with no target for his carefully assembled main attack. The sun was high as the Sauromatae came forward, big squadrons of heavily armoured men who were immediately galled by arrows from the Sindi, who couldn't miss, shooting into the packed squadrons.
But today they only shot once or twice, and then they ran back into their cover. And Upazan's squadrons seemed unwilling or unable to follow. They were tentative in their approaches, bunching up on the road.
In mid-afternoon, Ataelus led all of his clan forward in a raid, and they rode right across the line of the Sauromatae advance on fresh horses with full quivers, and the Sauromatae died. Not a rider pursued them as they rode by at a gallop, sometimes less than a horse-length from their enemies.
Melitta watched as a flight of Sauromatae arrows landed short, just a single Sakje falling to lie in the untended wheat. There was no way the Sakje could save the body – a horde of vengeful Sauromatae fell on the downed rider and hacked it to bloody ruin.
But the loss of that one rider seemed to take the life out of Ataelus's raid, and they did little damage thereafter, although it became clear that the exhaustion was mutual. The Sauromatae army rolled to a stop well short of the Sakje camp, in a good position with abundant water, and they began to make camp before the sun was well down in the sky.
Then Temerix led the farmers down from the hills, pouring arrows into the camp.
Ataelus returned while the farmers shot their revenge into the invaders. His head was down.
Coenus took his arm. 'You reaped them! By Ares, Ataelus – they can't take another day!'
Ataelus raised his eyes, and they were dull, as if his soul was gone from his body. 'Samahe is dead,' he said.
23
Satyrus cursed every hour that it took them to unload the horses of the Exiles, but he could see the condition of the animals as they were pushed into the sea and swam weakly ashore, and he knew that Diodorus was right.
Leon watched his Numidian mare, fetched all this way by Diodorus, make a splash as she hit the water. Leon already looked better, although Satyrus doubted he would ever carry the weight of muscle he'd had a year before. He stood with Diodorus, wearing only a simple white chiton and a bronze circlet.
'I'm going with the hippeis,' Leon said. He grinned and put his arms around his nephew. 'You're all but through the channels.'
'It's your fleet, Uncle,' Satyrus said. 'I stand on your command deck, and I speak with your voice.'
Leon smiled and shook his head. 'No, lad. This is your fleet. This is your hour. Go and finish Eumeles, for all of us. As for me, I want a horse between my knees when I meet Upazan.'
Satyrus remembered then that Leon had sworn something about Upazan's death. So he embraced his uncle. 'May Poseidon of the ships and horses go with you,' he said.
Leon glanced around. 'Be careful of my ships,' he said, and grinned. 'The gods are with you, lad. Go and finish Eumeles!'
'That useless bastard,' Diodorus growled. 'To think that we have to do all this work to put him down in the sand, eh?' He embraced Satyrus. 'We'll be there in two days – maybe three. Don't fight a battle without us. And one piece of advice, eh? You need to be on the south bank of the Tanais. If you fight on the north bank, we won't get across.'
Satyrus nodded. 'As you say, Uncle. But I must tell you – if I get the sea battle I want, there won't be a land battle.'
Several of Satyrus's officers grinned, and Diokles smacked his fist into his palm.
Diodorus shook his head. 'You don't know Upazan, lad. We'll have a fight yet.' As soon as his ships could get clear of the transports, they stood on. Nonetheless, clearing the mouth of the Hypanis River took two hours, and then he had to negotiate the last of the channels and mudflats north of the mouth of the Hypanis. Twice the Lotus touched bottom, knocking men down and making his heart race with fear. Behind them in the long column, Hyacinth struck hard on a bank, but Aekes got him off before the column had passed him.
When the Lotus cleared the last sandbar and the long bay of the Hypanis opened to the sea, Satyrus could still see the transports riding high and empty down the bay, and the dark masses of the Exiles marching inland.
Satyrus couldn't wait another minute to know where he stood. He stripped his chiton over his head and climbed the mainmast. He hung from the yard while he watched the waters to the north and west, and saw Eumeles' fleet well out, heading east.
'Neck and neck,' he shouted to Diokles after he slid down the mast, recklessly scraping his arms and thighs.
Diokles leaned over the rail of his ship. 'Hope Eumeles doesn't come after us now!'
Satyrus was aware that his whole command was strung out in a long file that went back for ten stades of channels and turns, while Eumeles seemed to have his whole force on the horizon. He was tempted to make a derisive comment, but that would be hubris. 'With the gods!' he shouted back piously.
They landed just one headland north of the stone pillar that marked the bay of the Hypanis. Satyrus posted sentries on every headland and a guard squadron – his recently acquired pirates, all of Manes' former ships – because now he feared surprise more than anything else.
He drank wine with his captains and then sent Diokles to check on the former pirates who were rowing sullenly back and forth across the beach.
'I don't want this ruined by a foolish mutiny,' he said, and every officer on the beach nodded.
Draco caught his arm. 'Send us,' he said.
Amyntas nodded. 'Send us. Diokles can row us out. Those are our boys out there as marines. Put me on one ship and Draco on another. I guarantee no surprises.' He took a knife out from under his armpit and ran his thumb over the edge.
When the two Macedonians were gone, Satyrus drank his wine with more satisfaction.
'Tomorrow,' Panther said.
'I think so,' Satyrus said. 'I don't think Eumeles knows how close we are. Or that we've shed the horse transports. So he'll straggle.'
Theron and Demostrate were playing knuckle bones together. Demostrate got up and stretched. 'You have all my money, you black Corinthian thief, and now I need a battle to restore my fortunes. King of the pirates? I'm king of the paupers.' He glanced at the sky. 'Good day tomorrow. Sunny. Light winds.'
'So?' Neiron asked.
'Muster when the morning star rises,' Satyrus said, watching Panther to see if his orders were well received. 'Put to sea at first light and form up by columns off the beach.'
Panther nodded.
Theron lay back on the sand. 'What if Eumeles refuses to play?' he asked. 'I mean, see it through his eyes. He's running for his other squadron, isn't he? So why won't he just keep running?'
Panther looked at Satyrus. Satyrus shook his head. 'Our ships are faster, now that we're rid of the transports,' he said. 'Remember last time? Our fastest laid waste to his slowest, and we were losing light. Tomorrow we'll have a whole day, if we're as close as we think.'
Satyrus nodded. 'And – and he's got to stop rowing when he reaches Tanais. But if we're right up with him, there's not really time for his other squadron to man and launch.'
'Unless they're waiting for us,' Demostrate said quietly.
Satyrus had never been the commander of a force this large. When Leon joined them, it had been as if a great stone had been lifted from his shoulders, and when Leon left, riding away with the old hippeis, the stone had settled back on his neck.
But Satyrus had been around professional soldiers and sailors all his life, and he knew what was required of
