Hannibal: Clouds of War (28 page)

‘Me too,’ said Hanno with a tight smile. It felt good to be doing something for love, instead of for vengeance, or loyalty, or any of the other myriad reasons that men fought. If things went well, he and Aurelia would be reunited. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. Clear heads survived in combat, where overexcited ones did not.

‘I’ll grab the slave girl – Elira, is it? You take Aurelia, and her son.’

‘And if Bear and his lot fail to bring down the soldiers?’

Kleitos stooped, ferreted around in the muck and came up with first one, and then a second, lump of brick. ‘We use these. For gods’ sakes, try not to kill them.’ Kleitos set off towards the mouth of the alley. He stopped about ten paces in – enough distance to remain unseen to the casual glance of a passer-by, but close enough to be able to run out the moment they had to.

Since the war had begun, Hanno had waited in ambush on countless occasions. It was normal for time to become stretched, for his vision to reduce to a small tunnel in front of him, for his mouth to be dry, his palms sweaty and his guts in turmoil. Yet he’d never felt so nervous. It was due to Aurelia’s involvement, of course, but knowing that didn’t stop his heart from racing ever faster. He began to worry. If he was too nervous, he might screw it all up.
That
thought was enough. Biting deep into the inside of his cheek, he let the resulting, exquisite pain drive all else before it. His focus soon returned.

A different urchin sauntered into the alley’s mouth. He stopped, and casually scratched at a dirty ankle. ‘They’re fifty paces away,’ he hissed, and disappeared.

Hanno’s nervousness must yet have been palpable, because Kleitos reached out to grip his arm. ‘It will be all right.’

Hanno swallowed. ‘Aye.’

‘We’ve no idea how fast they’re walking. I’ll count down from thirty, so we’re ready.’

Hanno nodded.

‘Thirty. Twenty-nine. Twenty-eight.’

Kleitos’ count went on. Hanno’s gaze was locked on the tall, narrow portion of street that he could see. An old man tottered by, leaning on a stick. In the house opposite, a woman leaned out to beat a small carpet off the iron railings of her balcony. ‘Fresh, hot sausages! Just cooked! Who wants some?’ called a stallholder.

‘Nineteen. Eighteen. Seventeen. Sixteen.’

In the sky above, a seagull screeched contemptuously, and was answered by several others. The waif wandered past without looking into the alleyway. A man pushed a little cart full of ironware past, muttering under his breath about its weight. Two girls stopped to admire something in a shop that abutted on to the alleyway, chattering about who fancied which guard on duty at the gate.

‘Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One,’ said Kleitos.

Neither spoke. They stared at the street, took a couple of steps towards it. The background noises dimmed in Hanno’s ears; he could feel a pulse there, as well as in the base of his throat.

Fweeeeee-feeeeeerrrr.
The wolf whistle was far louder than Hanno would have thought possible from someone as small as the waif.

It had begun.

Baal Hammon, watch over us. Baal Saphon, grant us your protection, and your strength, Hanno prayed as they moved to the end of the alley.

Rumble, rumble, rumble.
The noise of iron-bound wheels off cobbles came from off to their left. Bear was playing his part so far, but Hanno’s eyes weren’t searching for the wagon. They were desperately scanning the street to his right. He could sense Kleitos behind him, doing the same, but the damn priest and his party were blocking their view. Ten steps away, three urchins stood together, making a bad pretence of inspecting the wares displayed in the entrance to a carpenter’s workshop. Two more loitered on the other side, playing dice in the dirt. The others were probably with Bear.

‘Look out!’ shouted a man’s voice. The rumbling sound grew louder; shouts of alarm went up, and Hanno heard the wagon thump into the wall of a house on his side of the street. Bear laughed. ‘We did it!’

Hanno was far from happy.
If Aurelia’s guards have seen, they might turn and run.

To his immense relief, a soldier pushed his way past the priest. He was followed by a stone-faced Aurelia, carrying a small, cloth-wrapped bundle. Elira was next, and then an officer whom Hanno recognised, but couldn’t place.

There was a savage curse from behind him. ‘Agathocles! If he spots me, I’m fucked.’

Shit! thought Hanno. The officer was Kleitos’ acquaintance, the one they’d met with the group of female slaves. Yet another risk factor had been added to their enterprise.

Right on cue, Bear and the rest of his urchins appeared from behind them. They swept towards the first soldier, who let out a scornful laugh. ‘Don’t make me kick your arses!’ He hadn’t seen the rest of the children, who were swarming in from both sides.

‘Remember what I told you!’ Bear shouted at his companions. Darting in before the surprised guard could react, he grabbed the man around the back of one knee and jerked it forward, upending him on to his backside. Four urchins leaped on top of the guard, pummelling and kicking.

Hanno and Kleitos sprinted out on to the street. Elira had begun screaming, but Aurelia scarcely seemed to notice the mayhem. Agathocles elbowed his way past them, his hand already pulling at his kopis. ‘What in Hades’ name is going on?’ he roared. ‘You little bastards!’

It went against all of Hanno’s training not to look at the enemies he faced, but he kept his gaze fixed on Aurelia, who still seemed unaware of what was going on. It wasn’t until he reached her side that she even saw him. With a sad smile, she lifted the bundle in her arms. ‘This is Publius. You’d have liked him.’

‘Aurelia. Come!’ He took her arm.

‘I have to hand him to someone at the gate. I’m not to be allowed to leave the city. To see him cremated.’

Hanno hadn’t considered that her grief might have rendered her dazed. ‘We can make the arrangements later,’ he said gently, pulling her away. ‘But we must go.
Now.
’

She didn’t move, and Hanno began to panic. The first soldier was behind him. From the grunts of pain and the shouts of glee from the urchins, he was receiving a good kicking, but Agathocles, who had also been floored, had somehow struggled to his feet again. He’d seen what was going on. It was the heroic efforts of Bear, who had slit his baldric with a knife and hurled his sword down the street, that had prevented him from wading into the fray with a weapon. Armed or no, he was heading in Hanno’s direction. Bear and three other urchins were darting in and out around him, but Agathocles swatted them away like annoying wasps. In desperation, Hanno grabbed Publius’ body from Aurelia. She gasped in shock, and he hissed, ‘Follow me!’ before turning and running for the alley. He kept his eyes locked on Kleitos and Elira, who were a dozen paces in front of him.

Hanno had all but reached the safety of the passage when he realised that she wasn’t behind him. Spinning, he was stunned to see Aurelia seize a dagger from one of the urchins and plunge it into Agathocles’ groin, below the protection of his pteryges. Agathocles roared in pain, and she stabbed him twice more. ‘You whoreson!’ she screamed.

‘What the fuck is she doing?’ cried Kleitos.

‘I don’t know,’ Hanno replied as Aurelia left Agathocles to collapse to his knees, blood running in thick streams from his wounds. With great calm, she walked to the first soldier, who was still lying on the ground. Her blade rose and fell, rose and fell, and the man’s shouts came to a gurgling end. There was a clang of metal off stone as she let the knife drop. At last her gaze travelled towards Hanno, who had stepped outside the alley again.

‘This way!’ he urged.

Aurelia’s face was serene as she walked, not ran, towards him. Around her, confusion reigned. The urchins had vanished from sight, but shopkeepers stood in their doorways, craning their necks to see what was going on. One man had gone to Agathocles’ aid, but the other passers-by stood in shock, mesmerised by the sudden, random violence. ‘Hurry!’ urged Hanno, pulling up the cloth hiding his face.

When she reached him, Kleitos gave her a sharp look and then headed into the alley, Elira by his side. ‘Get a move on!’

‘Ignore what’s underfoot,’ said Hanno to Aurelia. ‘It isn’t far to the other side.’

‘I knew you would come,’ she breathed.

‘How could I not, knowing you were captive here in the city? I’m sorry that it took so long.’ His eyes fell to his burden, Publius. ‘If only I could have done it sooner.’

Kleitos beat a criss-cross path away from the ambush, for the most part taking alleys that led from one thoroughfare to another. With their masks removed, few people paid them any attention, but Hanno didn’t want to leave things to chance, so he wrapped Publius in the old cloak that Elira had been wearing. Kleitos’ circuitous route meant that he lost all sense of direction, and it wasn’t until they emerged on to a main artery that led to Epipolae, the western part of the city, that he regained his bearings. Kleitos rounded on Aurelia almost at once. ‘Why did you kill those men?’ he demanded in Latin. ‘They were guarding you, not taking you to your execution.’

‘What do you care?’ she shot back with more spirit than Hanno had expected.

‘They’re Syracusan, like me. I also knew the officer. There was no need for them to die. The urchins had them distracted.’

‘Agathocles didn’t just select me to be Hippocrates’ property. He forced me to lie with him. He wasn’t gentle either. Elira suffered the same from him, and from the soldier. What have you to say to that?’ Aurelia’s eyes blazed, and her face was distorted with fury.

‘I see,’ Kleitos said heavily. ‘I am sorry.’

But Hanno was glad that Agathocles was dead. ‘They can’t talk to anyone, which reduces the chances of us being found out.’

‘I suppose I never liked Agathocles much,’ admitted Kleitos with a shrug. ‘There’s not much we can do about it in any case. Let’s hope that Hippocrates has more things to worry about than seeking vengeance for this.’

Conversation ceased until they had reached the room that Kleitos had rented. He went on ahead, waving to them when the coast was clear so they could go up the rickety stairs without the inn’s landlord seeing them.

‘The less he knows, the better,’ said Kleitos to Hanno as he ushered them into the small, dingy space, which contained little more than two beds, a table and one chair. A chamber pot sat beside the tiny window that opened on to the street below. ‘It’s not much, but it will do.’

‘Thank you,’ Elira ventured in poor Greek.

‘Forgive me. I spoke sharply earlier,’ said Aurelia. ‘I’m very grateful for what you’ve done. This room might not be large, but it’s ours, and it’s not a prison. That counts for more than you could know.’

Kleitos inclined his head. To Hanno, he said, ‘I’ll leave you to it.’

Hanno gripped his shoulder. ‘My thanks, brother.’ In a whisper, he added, ‘We’ll need to bury or, better, cremate the child. D’you think that’s possible?’

‘Inside the walls? You never have easy problems to solve, do you?’ Kleitos sighed. ‘Leave it with me. We’ll talk later, or tomorrow.’

When Kleitos had gone, Hanno laid Publius on one of the beds. ‘We’ll arrange his funeral as soon as possible.’

Aurelia had grown calm again. ‘What then?’

‘I’m not sure. A lot depends on Hippocrates’ reaction.’ The best thing would be to stay here, he decided. Besides, where could they go? He had no friends in Sicily apart from Kleitos.

‘Can we not leave?’ she asked. ‘It’s well known that the Roman blockade is incomplete.’

He coughed. ‘It may well come to that, but we’d best stay where we are. For the moment.’

‘Because they’ll be looking for us?’

‘Partly that. And partly because Hannibal sent me to serve Epicydes,’ he said uncomfortably, before adding with even more reluctance, ‘… and Hippocrates.’ She didn’t reply, which added to his discomfort. Maybe she didn’t want to be with him, he thought. Maybe she desired nothing more than to be reunited with her husband, and to grieve over their dead child. He had to respect that. ‘Things will have calmed down in a couple of days. I’ll see about finding you a boat that can carry you to the Roman positions. They’ll make sure that you reach your husband,’ he said heavily.

‘Lucius is probably dead. Even if he isn’t, I have no reason to go back to him.’ She stepped right up to Hanno, and drew his arms one by one around her. ‘
This
is where I’ve wanted to be ever since you appeared outside our house near Capua.’

Hanno’s heart beat a staccato rhythm off the inside of his ribs. He was dimly aware of Elira retreating to the window to give them some privacy. He embraced Aurelia, breathing deep of her scent. ‘Oh gods above. It’s what I’ve wanted too. I’m just sorry that it had to be like this. With all that’s happened.’ One of her fingers came up and touched his lips, silencing him.

‘Hold me,’ she whispered. ‘When I’m here with you, I feel safe.’

Chapter XIII

NEWS OF THE
two guards’ deaths, and Aurelia’s and Elira’s escape, reached Hippocrates soon after Hanno’s arrival at the barracks. Hippocrates was said to be incensed, but to Hanno’s relief, his anger hadn’t translated into much action. Patrols within the city were doubled for a short while, and a number of street urchins were captured and tortured, but that seemed to be it. As time passed, Hanno concluded that Bear and his cronies remained at large, or if they
had
been caught, that they hadn’t had enough information to incriminate either him or Kleitos. Aurelia and Elira remained safe in their room throughout.