Final Campaign

enforced regulations inthe army. If I happened to pick a man who had fortified himselfwith wine, which was extremely likely, I would technically have towrite him up and have him punished. I decided to forego that riskentirely, instead bending down to pick up a pebble from the rubble,the pile having been somewhat packed down from our weight andstomping all over it, and popped it into my mouth to soothe mythirst. Just then, I heard someone call my name, and turned to seeMacrinus returning, climbing back up over the ladders, pushing menaside to reach me. Using just his head to keep from alerting theSerdi, still just a few ranks away, he pointed to the small spottucked just around the edge of the left side of the breach and theruined wall. Like I had instructed, he had brought men, more than adozen actually, fifteen in number, and they all looked tough andcapable. Because of the small space, they were crowded together,men standing one behind the other, so I could not immediately seeevery man’s face. There was one Legionary, tall and lean, standingbehind all the other men, but for some reason, he was not facingthe same way, choosing instead to look back toward theplutei and artillery. I felt my mouth twist into a frown,waiting for this one lone Legionary to turn about so I could givemy orders. Finally running out of patience, I snapped, “I hate totear you away from admiring the view, Gregarius, but you might wantto pay attention to what I have to say.”

I stared in disbelief at the man, who seemedto refuse my order, and I was taking a step toward the group tograb him when I heard Macrinus give a loud cough, the kind that oneuses to attract someone’s attention. Turning in irritation, helooked at the ground with a sheepish expression.

“Porcinus, you might as well turn around,”he called out, and only then did my nephew do so, looking at mewith a mixture of defiance and apprehension.

For a moment, I completely forgot that therewas a battle raging several paces away to stare at Gaius, wearing aranker’s helmet on his head that he had somehow managed to jam overthe bandage, or so I thought. I learned later that he had taken offthe bandage, reopening the wound on the back of his head.

“I don’t know what the fuck you think you’redoing, Centurion,” I snarled at him, but he did not answer.

Instead, one of the other men, one of thefour Centurions that Macrinus had selected, spoke up. Only then didI recognize the face of Sextus Vettus, the Septimus Pilus Posteriorto whom Gaius had served as Optio for a few years before beingpromoted.

“I came to fight, Prefect,” Vettus saidmildly, pretending that what I said was aimed at him.

“And so did I,” Gaius put in, and I couldsee that he was actually more scared of me than what he was aboutto face. I also saw the tilt of his head and the set of his jawthat I knew so well from my own childhood when my sister would sether mind on something. I took a deep breath, knowing there was nomore time to be wasted arguing, along with the fact that he wouldnot obey my order to stay behind. I turned to glare at Macrinus, myanger flaring anew, except this time not at the enemy. To hiscredit, he did not flinch, looking me in the eye.

“You said bring the best fighting men in myLegion, Prefect,” he said softly. “And like it or not, he’s one ofthem.”

“Fine,” I snapped, shaking my head more toclear it than in any sign of acknowledgment. Returning to thematter at hand, I told the assembled men, “We’re going to smashthis line, or we’re all going to die trying. We have to take thisfortress and quickly. We’ve been fucking around too long, and Ihave no doubt that the garrison in the city has sentreinforcements. That means that your friends in the Third and Fifthare probably fighting for their lives.”

I could see by their expressions that theyneeded no more incentive to fight than that, so I turned to morepractical matters.

“We’re going to slam into their lines at theoblique, with this,” I patted the remains of the gateway, “directlyat our backs. I’m going to lead the way.” I hefted the new shieldthat I had picked up, renewing my grip on my sword, and turned toface the fighting. I looked back over my shoulder at the men, stillstanding just out of sight.

“The instant this Century sounds the signalfor relief, we go. You better be right on my ass because I don’twant to be slamming into those bastards all by myself.”

My heart had been hammering in my chest fromthe shock of seeing Gaius, yet I was secretly proud of him, andprouder that he had stood up to me, even if I would not admit thatto him, at least until now. I stood waiting for the whistle blast,moving my sword in a rhythmic pattern, the point etching figures inthe air, an exercise I used to keep the muscles of my arm loose,which I had felt beginning to stiffen. The fighting was still goingat its renewed pace, but again our progress had been stopped. Wehad begun our assault on the breach more than an hour before, along time for this type of battle, and I was determined that wewould break the Serdi line to begin the final phase of taking thefortress. Finally, I heard the blast I had been waiting for, andwithout waiting, I bellowed, “Caesar!” over and over as I ranforward. I could feel the presence of the handpicked men behind meand I hunched my shoulder behind the shield, trying to time thingsperfectly. My intention was to hit into the Thracian line theinstant after our front line pushed off at the sound of thewhistle, when there would be just enough of a gap between the twolines so that I was not posing as much of a danger to our own menwho happened to be in the way. It almost worked, except that theLegionary nearest to me