"Salve Silva." I grinned, happy tosee a new face after months of campaign. "It's good to have someoneelse to play dice with tonight."
Silva laughed as he grasped my forearm, butshook his head.
"Would that I could, Prefect. But I don'tthink we're going to be here very long. We just provided an escortfor those two." He indicated the two I had marked as officers, whowere just then riding alongside Marcus Primus and Masala.
"Just the twenty of you?" I askedskeptically, not seeing that as likely, given the distance they hadto travel.
Much to my relief, he shook his head.
"No, I've got two ala with me, butonce we spotted your rearguard, these two wanted to ride ahead todo their business."
"Who are they?"
"Their names are Herennius Galba andClaudius Volusenus. At least, that's the names they gave," Silvareplied.
His words and the way he said it made melook at him sharply, but he avoided looking in my direction,examining the countryside instead.
"And what's so important that they rate sucha large bodyguard?" Lucullus asked this, although it was certainlythe next question on my mind.
"Do you recognize that pennant?" Silvaanswered by asking the question, pointing to the banner now hanginglimply after the rider carrying it had slowed to a walk aswell.
I squinted, and it was only when a straybreeze caught the pennant that I did recognize it, and I felt myheart suddenly beating more heavily in my chest. I had seen thatanimal before, but in the form of a ring, worn on the hand of theman that is now called Augustus. It was a sphinx.
"These men are from him?" I gasped insurprise.
Silva nodded in reply. Then, in a gesturethat seemed always to accompany a conversation whenever the subjectwas Octavian, he looked quickly over his shoulder.
"They carry an urgent message from Augustus,and they were ordered to kill their horses if necessary to get itto the Praetor Marcus Primus. And," he added grimly, "we just aboutdid. We haven't stopped for a full night since we started. At most,we rest for two watches, then we're off again."
"Well, it must be important," Lucullusmused, but I had turned my attention to the front of our group,just in time to see the two men hand Primus a scroll.
Even from where I was, I could see the redseal on it. Much like the seal of those orders he had shown me thatI had learned were forged. I was not surprised when Primus, with agreat show of reluctance, took the proffered scroll, but thenimmediately handed it to Masala, making it clear that he did notthink it important to open at that moment. The man nearest Masala,wearing a helmet of the same style that Primus wore, but withoutthe ridiculously high feather, visibly stiffened, and while I didnot hear the words, the tone of his voice clearly carried back tous.
"That's Volusenus," Silva said quietly."He's the man who's in charge of this mission."
"But why bring two men?" Luculluswondered.
"In case one of them didn't make it," Silvaanswered.
I was only half-listening, more interestedto see how Primus handled what was obviously a rebuke of some sort.He reacted not at all as I expected. Instead of puffing up andbabbling about his Proconsular imperium, which seemed to behis favorite method of handling any confrontation, he visiblyslumped even more in the saddle. Turning to Masala, he retrievedthe scroll. However, when he began to open it, the man Silva hadidentified as Volusenus stopped him, indicating with his head to aspot not far away, a small knoll with some trees providing shade.Without waiting for an answer, Volusenus turned his horse andcantered towards the knoll, followed first by Galba, then byPrimus, who said something over his shoulder to Masala.Immediately, the Tribune ordered the halt to sound, and the columnstopped marching while I trotted over to Masala.
"What's that all about?" I asked him.
"They're bringing a dispatch fromAugustus."
"I gathered as much," I replied dryly. "Doyou know any more than that?"
"Yes." His response was terse.
When nothing more was forthcoming, I wasabout to turn Ocelus about, resigned to waiting until the news wasofficially out, since there was no way for Primus to keep thissecret.
"Primus is being recalled. Immediately,"Masala spoke, arresting my move, and my attention.
"That," I watched as the three men pulled upon the knoll and dismounted, "isn't unexpected. After all, you andhe have been keeping that dispatch rider with us for more than amonth."
"True," Masala conceded. "But that's theleast of Primus' problems." He turned in the saddle to look medirectly in the eye. "He's also ordered to come immediately toRome."
"Without finishing his term as Praetor?" Ifound this hard to believe, but he was insistent.
"Not only that," he finished, "but he'sgoing to be tried for launching an unauthorized campaign inThrace."
Our campaign to avenge the deaths of ourfriends and to bring the might of Rome to the Triballi ended thatday. In fact, we did not march another mile, at least in thedirection of the Triballi. Amid a great deal of confusion andspeculation, the cornicen sounded the call that the marchwas finished for the day and camp was to be constructed on thespot. Naturally, this brought questions from Macrinus andFlaminius, who came trotting up from their respective spotsimmediately after the call was sounded. Deciding on the spot thatthis was not the time to tell them, I merely said that all I knewat the time was that Primus had received important news from Romethat he wanted to discuss with his staff. I could tell that theywere not convinced, but neither man pushed for a full explanation.I did tell Diocles, in a whispered conversation as we waited forthe slaves assigned to the task to erect my tent. Since thePraetorium is always the first tent erected, Primusdisappeared almost immediately, but even in the short period oftime I saw him before he hid himself away, I could see that he wasvisibly shaken. As he should be, I thought as I watched him scurryquickly from his horse into his tent. My tent was barely up and mydesk,
