Parthian Vengeance (82 page)

On we rode, leaving the harvest of dead behind as we cantered further east and the sweet smell of grassland entered our nostrils. The black smoke that still hung in the air over the torched camps had fortuitously masked our exit from camp, increasing our chances of achieving surprise when we struck the enemy’s flank. After five miles or so we headed south and then west before Orodes called a halt so we could deploy into our attack formation – three ranks of cataphracts spread over approximately two-thirds of a mile. Due to losses in both men and equipment over the preceding two days only the front rank was fully equipped with the
kontus
. Only around half of the second rank had lances and the third rank carried none at all. Much of our leg and arm armour was dented and many scales had been torn from their thick hide suits, but at least every man and horse was wearing some sort of armour protection.

It took only a matter of minutes for the contingents to deploy into formation. On the right flank of our depleted formation was Orodes’ bodyguard – two hundred men – in the place of honour. Next came my seven hundred Durans and to the left of them nine hundred and fifty Hatrans, now led by Gafarn as Vistaspa was lying in a cot in the hospital. Finally, on the left flank, were Atrax’s three hundred and fifty men. As they had done many times before my men had their helmets pushed back on their heads as they waited for the signal to advance, many sharing jokes with their comrades, others checking their weapons, their reins wrapped round their left wrists.

We had gathered a hundred paces in front of the centre of the line as the final preparations were made, the sky once again an intense blue.

‘I wanted to thank you, my friends,’ said Orodes, ‘for your support and faith in me. Our journey has been a long and difficult one and now it comes to an end, for good or ill.’

‘It is just the start of your journey as the high king of Parthia, lord’ I said. 

‘A new dawn for the empire,’ stated Gafarn.

‘And an end to tyranny,’ added Atrax.

Orodes raised his lance. ‘A new dawn.’

‘A new dawn,’ we replied in unison.

We then shook hands and wished each other well before rejoining our men.

‘Time to avenge our father,’ I called to Gafarn as he veered away to join his Hatrans. He turned round and raised his left hand in acknowledgement.

Horses scraped at the ground and men pulled their helmets down over their faces as Orodes raised his
kontus
to signal the advance. Horns were sounded and a wall of horseflesh moved forward into a walk.

Whatever was in the drink that Alcaeus had given us had worked for I felt invigorated, intoxicated even, my senses heightened to make me aware of every small detail around me – the heavy breathing of my horse, the clattering of maces and axes hanging from saddle horns against scale armour, the thud of Remus’ iron-shod hooves on the turf. But he and the other horses were tired from the previous two days of battle and their advance was laboured. To conserve their strength we trotted in the direction of our target for a distance of around three miles, maintaining our formation, before breaking into a canter. We cantered for a further ten minutes to bring us within striking distance of the enemy’s right flank.

I could see them now: two great blocks of horsemen, one behind the other, the front one seemingly expanding and contracting – horse archers. The front ranks were obviously advancing to shoot their arrows before retreating to allow the rear ranks to ride forward and shoot their missiles. And once they had used up all their ammunition they would be replaced by the second formation massed behind them, waiting patiently to take their turn in the front line. And on the extreme right of the scene being played out before my eyes there was another group of horsemen – Dura’s horse archers – locked in a duel with their adversaries.

Orodes rode out in front of our formation and signalled a halt, horns blasting to convey his command through the ranks. I slowed Remus to a trot and then a walk and then rode forward to join Orodes, Atrax and Gafarn who had also left their men.

Orodes was highly animated. ‘We must destroy those horse archers on their right wing but it will not require all out forces. Pacorus, your men will combine with mine to attack the horse archers. Atrax and Gafarn, take your men around them to attack the rear of the enemy’s centre.’

They both saluted Orodes and rode back to their men.

‘One more charge, Pacorus,’ shouted Orodes, ‘one more charge and they will break.’

Obviously Orodes had had a double measure of Alcaeus’ magic liquid.

I raised my
kontus
. ‘Let us crush our enemies, see them scattered to the four winds and hear the lamentations of their women.’

He screamed at his horse so she rose up on her hind legs and then bolted forward. I laughed and dug my knees into Remus and he too raced ahead. Behind us nine hundred heavy horsemen broke into a gallop. We were around a mile from the enemy and it took ninety seconds to cover half that distance before we levelled our lances to break into the charge. The enemy spotted us but had less than a minute to act before we struck them – hundreds of cataphracts hurtling headlong at the right flanks of two blocks of horse archers, while Atrax and Gafarn thundered behind them. They ran out of time.

We did not so much hit the enemy but rather gouged a great chunk out of them when we smashed into their flank. I drove my
kontus
into the side of a rider’s horse and then drew my
spatha
to slash left and right at heads and torsos that wore no armour, killing and maiming with wild abandon as I screamed at Remus to keeping moving. It was carnage as hundreds of men began a killing frenzy. The enemy horse archers had only one aim – to flee – but there was no escape from the steel-clad demons in their midst.

Orodes and his horsemen scythed their way into the front block of horse archers, those who were fighting Vagises’ men, while my heavy horsemen lanced into the rear group.

The initial impact took us deep into the enemy’s formation, those riders in our path trying desperately to get out of the way but most failing as maces split unprotected skulls and swords lacerated bodies. I held my new mace in my left hand and my
spatha
in my right. They felt weightless as I swung them at any enemy flesh that came within range. I ran a horse through the neck with my sword, smashed a man’s nose with my mace, and then severed a rider’s arm with a downward cut of my
spatha
. Arrows hit my body and horse and bounced off – Dura’s horse archers were still shooting into the enemy’s ranks – and Narses’ horse archers tried to slash me with their swords, the blades glancing harmlessly off my leg and arm armour. I was suddenly gripped with merriment and began laughing hysterically as I slashed, hacked and clubbed with my weapons, my face and armour being splattered with enemy blood.

On we fought, now herding the defeated horse archers before us. The din of thousands of men locked in combat filled the air, a great roaring noise that engulfed the battlefield and blotted out all other noise. I was screaming at the enemy but could not hear my voice as the ranks of the horse archers thinned and suddenly disappeared. We had ridden straight through them. I looked left and right and saw other riders coming to a halt with blood-smeared weapons in their hands. I turned and saw Vagharsh with my banner and nodded to him. He smiled grimly and then pointed ahead. I turned and saw a great mass of archers on foot loosing their missiles over the heads of the dense ranks of spearmen arrayed in front of them. He looked exhausted but I felt elated. I caught sight of the tall trees of the date palm grove in the distance and realised that the legions must have pushed the enemy spearmen through it and out the other side. Behind the latter enemy archers were shooting volley after volley to support the hard-pressed spearmen in front of them.

More and more riders grouped around me as we reformed our ranks to attack the foot archers. As we did so I looked to my left and saw the heavy horsemen of Media and Hatra envelop of formation of foot soldiers, though from this distance I could not tell what or who they were. And then, in the same area, I saw a brief glimpse of a large yellow banner. Narses!

Orodes came to my side, his armour battered and his sword covered in gore. I pointed at the archers in front of us attired in yellow tunics, red felt caps, brown leggings and carrying only bows and long daggers.

‘They are shooting at the legions over the heads of their spearmen.’

Orodes wore the expression of a man possessed. ‘We will destroy them, my friend.’

‘You will destroy them,’ I told him. ‘I have a personal debt to settle.’

‘Debt?’

I pointed to the south, to where Gafarn and Atrax were battling the enemy. ‘Narses is there. Vengeance is mine.’

‘Go, then,’ he said. ‘And may God go with you.’

I nodded to him and turned in the saddle.

‘First company of cataphracts, with me.’

We galloped across ground carpeted with the corpses of dead and dying men and horses, Vagharsh and seventy men behind me, as I went in search of retribution.

Gafarn and Atrax were now assaulting the palace guards of Narses and Mithridates: spearmen wearing bronze helmets with large cheekguards, leather cuirasses and large round shields faced with bronze and carrying the symbols of Persis and Susiana. I shouted with joy. Finally, after the oceans of blood that had been spilt and the years of fighting, we had the last reserves of the enemy cornered. The heavy cavalry were lapping round the solid phalanx of the spearmen, which appeared to number around four thousand, trying to work their way in. But the guards were holding firm and presented an unbroken square of spear points. I would have swapped my kingdom for Marcus’ machines at that moment.

I saw the banners of Media and Hatra and headed towards them. I found a frustrated Gafarn and Atrax with their senior officers.

‘We failed to break them,’ said Atrax bitterly.

‘Palace guards, the best the enemy has,’ remarked Gafarn.

Their cataphracts were already beginning to disengage from the spearmen and were falling back to our position around four hundred paces from the enemy, when from behind I heard a great rumbling noise, like distant thunder.

‘What is that?’ asked Atrax.

Gafarn appeared drained as I turned to face the direction the noise was coming from. My heart sank as I saw a yellow flag and a great wave of horsemen riding towards our position. Their frontage must have covered at least half a mile.

‘It is Nergal,’ exclaimed Atrax.

I could still not identify the banner. ‘Are you sure?’

He laughed out loud. ‘Quite sure, Nergal has come.’

My eyes then focused and I saw that the banner was yellow and sported a double-headed lion sceptre crossed with a sword – Nergal had brought his army. Wild cheering began to erupt around me as word spread that reinforcements had arrived.

As Nergal’s horse archers flooded the area immediately south of our position the king and queen of Mesene rode to my side. I reached over to hug Praxima and gripped Nergal’s forearm, and then saw with surprise that Gallia and the Amazons were also with them.

‘Your presence is most welcome, lord king,’ I said to Nergal. ‘As is yours, lady,’ smiling at Praxima beside him.

Gallia came to my side. ‘I thought you were supposed to be guarding the camp.’

She waved away my admonishment. ‘Surena guards it with his horse archers that have no arrows, him and the squires.’

She looked at the square of enemy spearmen. ‘What is happening here?’

‘It is quite simple,’ answered Gafarn, raising his hand to Nergal, ‘they stand in rock-like defiance of us. We cannot break them.’

Gallia nodded thoughtfully and then smiled at Praxima who pulled her bow from its case. ‘Like old times, Gallia.’

Gallia grinned in delight. ‘Like old times. Amazons!’

She then pulled her own bow from its case and dug her knees into Epona’s sides and bolted forward followed by Praxima and the Amazons. I shook my head.

I looked at Nergal. ‘I would greatly appreciate it if your archers would assist our two wives.’

He grinned, raised his bow and then he and hundreds of his horse archers galloped after the Amazons.

The cataphracts sat and cheered as the Amazons and Nergal’s horsemen rode at the enemy in continuous circuits, loosing their arrows and slowly eroding the number of spearmen. Fortunately Nergal had brought his own camel train with spare arrows so the destruction of the enemy spearmen was now assured. Then I saw the yellow banner of Narses and knew that the battle was not yet over.

The King of Persis was riding at the head of a line of armoured horsemen that was moving at speed towards the surrounded spearmen in an attempt to relieve them. I saw more spear points behind the cataphracts stretching into the distance and realised that a great number of horsemen were bearing down on my wife and friends.

‘We must head them off. Line and column to deceive them,’ I shouted to Gafarn and Atrax.

They gestured to their officers and seconds later horns were sounded to signal the advance. Moments later over twelve hundred riders were cantering towards the enemy horsemen, without lances and riding tired horses. But if we did not intercept Narses and his men they would swat away our horse archers and save the spearmen. So we broke into a gallop and extended our line to cover half a mile as the gap between the two sides shortened by the second. Five hundred paces from them our formation divided into two columns, the riders at the extreme ends of each flank forming the head of a column as cataphracts suddenly veered left and right to fall in behind them to create a space into which Narses and his heavy horsemen charged, to hit thin air.

There is no point in tired horsemen that have not a
kontus
among them charging headlong at riders who are fresh and armed with lances, unless they wish to become a kebab – a
kontus
will go straight though the thickest scale armour. So we flanked right and left to become columns as Narses and his men hurtled past us and we wheeled inwards to strike them in their flanks. The enemy slowed and then halted as the horsemen in front of them parted but in doing so their momentum was lost as we once again drew our weapons and moved into the enemy mass.