had two or even three chargers apiece – and I meant to keep it that way.
The army camp was vast, reaching across the rolling valley to the north and west. At a glance I thought there were more than thirty thousand men in the valley.
And then there was the other camp.
I rode along the edge of it with the taste of grit in my mouth. There were more than two hundred great pavilions, towering edifices of canvas and silk.
Thais sneered. She had a very pretty sneer. She was dressed as a man and riding at my side, our preferred method of travel. With a scarf over her hat, she was invisible to most men. These days, she sometimes led her Angeloi in person, dressed this way.
‘Look at them,’ she said.
Thais shook her head. ‘Alexander must be winning,’ she said. ‘These vultures are usually in the Great King’s camp.’
I found Parmenio at the north end of the town, under the great ridge that rose above it. He was standing in the middle of a dozen Macedonian officers, watching two female slaves fight. They’d torn off most of their clothing and they were hard at it in the dust, and they both meant business.
To the Macedonian mind, this is about the highest form of entertainment.
I slid from Poseidon’s back and hobbled over to the old man. I’d been in the saddle for twenty days and I wanted wine, bread and oil, in that order. A massage. A bed with Thais in it, if she was clean.
Heh. Anyway, I got to Parmenio, and he turned at my approach and surprised me by throwing his arms around me.
‘There’s a proper Macedonian,’ he said.
Apparently we were few enough on the ground that we all loved each other. I filed that away.
‘Coenus has a letter for you from Antipater, and another from your factor.’ Parmenio held me at arm’s length. ‘Well done with Queen Ada, lad – brilliant campaign. When we heard that Memnon was landing troops, we wrote you off!’
I grinned. Praise is praise, and he was the greatest strategos of our day, for all that I thought he wanted to be rid of the king.
We even embraced.
‘I think all the troops I have are yours,’ I said. ‘I didn’t lose many and I picked up about eleven hundred. They’ll need a place to camp.’
‘So how many?’ Parmenio asked.
‘Five thousand foot, and five hundred cavalry. You already have Kineas back, eh?’ I said, looking around for him.
Parmenio flashed a grim smile. ‘There’s a good soldier. A little too Greek for my tastes, but a damn fine officer.’
Philotas shook his head. ‘Fucking Athenians think they’re better than us. All of them.’
I wondered what was going on in Thais’s head. She was standing right behind me.
‘I’ll assign you a campground. I’m delighted to have my mercenary infantry back. What did you think of them?’
I nodded. ‘First class, really. As good as the pezhetaeroi, in most cases. There’s a new officer – Isokles. I had him from Memnon. He’s Athenian, and a damn sight better than that clown Casides you left me with.’
‘Casides is a Spartan!’ Philotas said.
‘I doubt it, and if he really is, he’s from the bad side of Sparta.’ I made them laugh, always a good sign. ‘Anyway, they’re all yours again. Isokles will be here in an hour. I have the cavalry at the back. Where do I camp?’
Parmenio looked at Philotas, who frowned.
I couldn’t help but notice that Philotas was wearing a fortune in clothes – a silk chiton that must have cost the value of a good farm, Boeotian boots in red and gold with ivory eyelets, a scarlet felt hat. He had a brutish face with a pair of burning blue eyes that showed how smart he really was, and he always stood with his hands on his hips.
‘Why do you have your grooms in with your Hetaeroi?’ he asked. His tone was ignorant. He was looking for a fight.
So much for my homecoming.
‘The king gave me permission when he gave me my commission for Caria,’ I said.
Parmenio gave me an odd glance.
‘You provided me with some good information, last winter,’ he said. ‘I appreciate it.’
I nodded. In fact, Thais sent her best tidbits to both Alexander and to Parmenio, and I was, for once, privy to all of it, which was fun.
‘Your troop should be camped in my area,’ Philotas continued, as if his father had not spoken. ‘But I have no more space. Go and camp to the east.’
His tone was so disobliging that I couldn’t ignore it.
‘Philotas, I’ll camp where I please, if you take that tone with me,’ I said.
Philotas spat. ‘You need to learn to obey your superiors, lad.’
This from a man only ten years my senior.
I held his eyes and shrugged. ‘Never seen the need so far,’ I drawled. ‘Except the king. He has the right to give me orders.’
‘Fuck the king.’ Philotas spat again. ‘Being his butt-boy doesn’t make you immune to discipline.’
I looked to Parmenio for help. Parmenio slapped his son – pretty hard – on the arm.
‘What are you thinking, boy?’ he said. ‘If you treat your officers like this, you’ll have no friends.’
‘I don’t need friends,’ Philotas said. ‘Only obedient slaves.’ He ended the comment with a smile to me.
I started to tremble. I wanted to punch him, but I knew where that would end. So I shook my head. ‘You have neither, with me,’ I said. And turned on my heel.
My next stop was Alexander’s tent. He had a whole compound, now, I saw – five red silk tents all together, and the starburst of Macedon on every one in gold.
There was a low but solidly built palisade all the way around his enclosure, and there were four hypaspitoi on duty in full kit. I saluted, but they barred my way. I didn’t know three of them, but the fourth I did.
‘Bubares! I don’t know the password, I’ve been on detachment.’ I waited for the black man to recognise me. ‘I’m somatophylakes, and I’ve had a bit of a morning.’
He saluted. He met my eyes, and he was trying to tell me something. ‘You’ll have to wait for an equerry. It’s orders, and I don’t want to be beaten.’ He said this so quietly I wasn’t sure, at first, that he had spoken.
After ten minutes, a young man in a spotless white military chiton and boots appeared. He had a stick under his arm. He looked at me.
‘Yes?’ he asked.
‘Ptolemy, son of Lagus,’ I said with exaggerated courtesy. I knew him – he’d been a page until last year, and his name was Simonides.
‘You may not come before the king unless you are clean,’ he said. ‘Indeed, I’m surprised you would even —’
That’s as far as he got before I put him in the sand with a throw. Then I kicked him in the arse for good measure. Then in the balls. Then I raised his chiton, showing his bare arse to the camp.
Bubores laughed. When the young man had run for help, Bubores let the laughter take over. ‘I’ve wanted someone to do that for a long time, boss,’ he said.
‘I’ll come and have wine with you,’ I said. ‘How’s Astibus?’
Bubores positively glowed. ‘Alive, and well enough. Got himself a Persian girl at Granicus – he’s besotted.’ He bowed past me at Thais, who had watched the whole exchange impassively from mule-back.
‘My lady,’ Bubores said.
She laughed. ‘Most men can’t even tell who I am,’ she responded.
