“Three?” he squawked. “And you keep two?That’s outrageous!”
“Cleitos,” I replied coldly. “As I recall,you began this conversation with the promise of a great sum ofmoney. Maintaining an army of Rome is an expensive proposition. Ifyou are going to profit from our presence, and achieve yourkingship by virtue of your agreement with us, then so shouldwe.”
Now, he could have argued that we would beprofiting by the use of his Medi warriors in helping to subdueSerdica, but Cleitos was clearly a man with an eye toward thelarger prize, so he simply swallowed and nodded. With that done, Imoved Ocelus close to him, then without dismounting, I reacheddown, offering my hand.
“We have a deal?” I asked.
He did not hesitate, grabbing my forearm inthe Roman manner.
“Yes, we do.”
“Good. Now, let me go take care of my end.You return to the wagons, make yourselves comfortable, and wait.This could take a while.”
Even in the short ride to the wagons, MarcusPrimus had grown weary of the saddle, and had instead chosen tofind a spot at the edge of the forest to sit in the shade, havinghis slaves fetch him his curule chair and an awning. He orderedthem to set it up sufficiently far away so that he would not haveto be inconvenienced by the moans of the wounded or the sight ofour men walking the field, dispatching wounded Thracians andlooting the corpses. As I approached, I had to stifle a sigh,realizing that I would need to send a Century a short distance intothe woods to ensure the safety of our Praetor, since he had chosento shade in a spot not far from where dozens, if not hundreds ofThracians had fled. Although it would have made my life easier ifone of them had dispatched the little turd. Still, I waited untilthe Century marched past to fan out into the woods before joiningthe Praetor and his ever-present shadow.
“Well?” Primus demanded, quaffing a cup ofwine from one his more elaborate goblets.
“What’s the report or whatever it is youcall it?”
“The report is that we have cleared thefield, and crushed the enemy.”
I pointed where the small knot of Thracianswas even now being assaulted by two Cohorts of Legionaries, contentto stand at a distance to assail the unfortunate enemy with a hailof javelins, softening them up before going to the sword.
“We’re in the process of mopping up, and thecavalry is running down the last of the survivors and should bereporting shortly.”
I braced myself to give the loss report, nowthat I had at least a partial butcher’s bill for the Legions, butPrimus displayed a complete lack of interest in this aspect.
“Well, I suppose that this is a greatvictory, then?”
It was a half-statement, half-question, andI caught his sidelong glance up at me, so I nodded wearily.
“Yes, Praetor, it is a complete and totalvictory.”
The Praetor instantly transformed, clappinghis hands together in delight.
“That means a triumph!” he said excitedly toMasala, who smiled at his patron indulgently.
“Masala, you must begin planningimmediately!”
Turning back to me, he waved a pudgy hand inthe direction of the men.
“Shouldn’t they be declaring meimperator?”
Masala’s face took on a look of alarm, and Iwas just as surprised as he was. Instantly, Masala leaned over towhisper something in Primus’ ear, and I watched the Praetor’s facechange.
“Oh, yes,” he murmured. “I forgot aboutthat. I just got excited, that’s all.”
Feeling a little mischievous, I asked Primusinnocently, “This is a great victory, Praetor. Would youlike for me to arrange for the men to declare youimperator?”
Without waiting for an answer, I began toturn Ocelus like I was headed back to the men.
“No!” Primus screeched, and I was glad myback was turned so he could not see me smile. He had jumped to hisfeet, the same look of panic on his face that I had seen during thebattle as he waved me back.
“No, Prefect. That won’t be necessary,” hetried to regain his composure, slumping back into his chair when Irelented and turned back around. Deciding that this was as good atime as any, thinking that if he were rattled it might be easier toslip this by him, I told him of the conversation and offer made byCleitos, along with my counterproposal, which the prince hadaccepted. Primus sat listening, his lips pursing outward, anexpression that I recognized as his pouting.
“By whose authority did you make thisagreement?” he demanded when I had finished.
“I have not made any agreement, Praetor.That is for you and you alone.”
“Exactly, because of my Proconsularimperium,” he reminded me, though I almost mouthed the words forhim, knowing that they were coming. He said nothing for a moment,surprising me a bit, since I had expected some sort of fit oftemper or at the least a showing of disdain for the very idea.
“So we would gain two talents of silver, andan alliance with the Medi, who would join us against the Serdi, orTriballi, or whoever we run into, just by letting this Cleitusfellow live,” he mused.
“Cleitos,” I corrected him. “And yes,essentially, that is correct.”
I was a bit bothered by his offhand commentabout fighting whoever we ran into, because that decidedly was notpart of what had been the plan, despite it having been so distortedby this point it was hard to remember what it had been.
“But if we kill him, and he is right and hisfather dies, then there will be great turmoil in not only histribe, but undoubtedly the Medi’s neighbors,” he went on. While Idid not like where this was going, I had to admit grudgingly thathis reasoning was sound. It also showed a cunning turn of mind, buthe was not through.
“By killing him, we would at the very leastthrow the succession in doubt, if his father should survive.”
“He guaranteed that won’t happen,” Iinterrupted, and he flashed me an irritated look as hecontinued.
“Regardless, all that uncertainty is boundto get the tribes with land surrounding them involved, and wouldundoubtedly draw them away from pursuing us to go after the scrapsfrom the Medi table.”
He looked up at me, clearly pleased
