Peter Darman - Parthian Dawn

I grabbed her arm; she wrenched it free.

‘Wait, Gallia, please wait. We cannot attack fifteen thousand men with just over a thousand. We must wait until Nergal and Orodes arrive. That at least will even the odds.’

Her blue eyes narrowed. ‘I don’t care about odds, all I care about is my daughter.’

‘So do I, but getting ourselves killed will not help her.’

Her eyes misted with tears and I held her close. ‘Have no fear, remember that Godarz is in command of the city and he has engines at his disposal.’

Byrd and Malik rode further south with a score of horsemen to try to discover more information, but I forbade them to take any risks or engage any enemy they might encounter. I did not want them to be staked out in the sun and tortured, or worse. While I waited for them to return the men and women took the opportunity to rest, fill their bellies and tend to their horses. Several of the latter were lame due to the exertions of the journey and so they and their riders would have to be left behind. This further reduced our numbers, and though Kuban and his officers wanted to attack the enemy without waiting, I knew that our only hope lay with Nergal and Orodes. Nergal arrived that evening with his horse archers and the lords and their retainers. I was delighted to discover that Atrax and Vistaspa accompanied them, along with two thousand of Hatra’s horse archers and another three thousand of Media’s horse archers.

‘The rest of Hatra’s army, together with the forces of the other kings, are marching down the east bank of the Euphrates, majesty,’ he said formally. Same old Vistaspa. Then he added. ‘Your foot under Domitus are following in our wake on this side of the river.’

It was a happy reunion and as the men relieved their horses of their saddles and prepared an evening meal, the senior officers gathered under a gnarled old date palm to decide what to do. The mood was relaxed as we drank water and chewed on hard biscuit. I estimated that we now numbered over seventeen thousand men, excellent odds for the morrow. And crucially, Orodes’ own and Dura’s cataphracts were following close behind.

‘The heavy cavalry will be here tomorrow, Pacorus,’ reported Nergal, ‘together with the camel train carrying armour, arrows, fodder and food.

‘Are you planning to wait for their arrival before you attack?’ asked Vistaspa, his long black hair now streaked with grey.

‘Wait?’

The atmosphere changed suddenly with Gallia’s arrival.

‘Wait for what, wait for my city to fall or for my daughter to be skewered on the end of a spear?’

Vistaspa tried to maintain his sense of decorum, bowing his head to Dura’s queen. ‘I was merely endeavouring to ascertain if…’

‘Useless words,’ she spat, ‘we attack tonight.’

A look of horror crossed Vistaspa’s face, though I was unsure whether it was caused by him being spoken to in such a manner by a woman or the thought of tired men and horses fighting a battle in the dark. To his credit he retained his composure.

‘Majesty, it would be unwise to attack now.’

But Gallia was in no mood for arguments. ‘Unwise? Is it wise for a soldier to contradict a queen?’

Vistaspa’s face hardened and his eyes flashed with anger. He had, after all, been royalty himself in a former life.

‘Gallia,’ I interrupted, ‘the horses are exhausted after a long ride. They will not perform well in combat in such a state, and night battles are confusing affairs at best.’

‘It is not the Parthian way to fight in the darkness,’ added Atrax.

The prince of Media was a brave men and a good friend, though his notion that fighting enemies face to face in daylight was more honourable than killing them at night made little impression on my wife, who now spun round to face him.

‘Not the Parthian way? What is the Parthian way, boy, to sit under a tree and do nothing while my people are butchered?’

Atrax’s eyes were wide with alarm as Gallia advanced upon him, the ferocious Kuban backing her up.

‘Enough!’ I shouted. ‘If we argue among ourselves the victory of Narses will be our only reward. Gallia, we wait until Byrd and Malik return, and then we will make our plans. Until then the men and horses will be rested.’

Gallia sneered at me, turned and strode off into the night followed by her loyal hound. I excused myself and went after her, catching her up and then walking beside her as she went back to the Amazons.

‘You know waiting till it’s light makes sense,’ I said.

‘Do I.’

‘More men will be arriving tomorrow.’

She stopped and faced me. ‘Men? I’m beginning to wonder if there are any men in Parthia.’

‘That is unfair.’

She eyed me coolly. ‘I remember a time in Italy when we fought at night to rescue the army of Spartacus.’

‘That was different.’

She would have none of it. ‘No it wasn’t. If Claudia dies then her blood will be on your hands.’

I tried to put my arm around her but she brushed away my affection and went back to her women.

An hour later Byrd and Malik returned and reported that the army of Chosroes had made no assault on the city. I thanked Shamash for that. But they suspected that the attack would be made imminently as four siege towers had been placed before the western wall. This made my heart sink — Dura’s walls were stout but not particularly high; siege towers meant soldiers could be placed on top of the city’s walls with ease. We had to attack in the early hours. They also told me that the pontoon bridge had not been destroyed and that there were in addition enemy soldiers on the eastern bank of the Euphrates. This offered some hope as it meant that the enemy had dissipated his strength by dividing his forces. I thanked them both and told them to get some food and rest, although it was now only a couple of hours before the dawn.

It was still dark when I assembled the senior officers and told them of my intentions. I had not slept a wink, partly because I had been formulating a plan of attack but mostly because Gallia’s words were still ringing in my ears. I had not shaved since leaving the kings and I felt dirty, but no worse than the tired individuals gathered around me. We stood in a circle next to the old date palm once more, Gallia’s eyes boring into me. Kuban once more attended her, who looked no different from the first time I had met him. Perhaps he was a demon from the northern steppes that required no food or sleep. Atrax kept glancing at his sister-in-law but avoided her gaze when she looked in his direction.

‘Very well,’ I said. ‘We will break camp immediately and ride south to Dura. Nergal, you remain here with the lords and wait for Orodes and the heavy horsemen and the camels. I have learned that the enemy has soldiers on the eastern side of the river as well as camped in front of the city. Therefore, if we can seize and hold the bridge across the river we will divide his army and make the odds more favourable.’

We broke camp and headed south. I threw a party of scouts led by Byrd and Malik ahead to ensure we did not run into the enemy on the way, but as the dawn broke and light filled the world we saw no activity ahead. We halted and waited for them an hour after dawn, though Gallia once again vented her frustration at the lack of action. However, when they returned and reported the road ahead was clear for the next five miles we once again commenced our journey. Ten miles from the city we divided our column. Vistaspa and the bulk of Hatra’s horse archers would keep to the road so they could seize the pontoon bridge and hold it, while I took the Amazons, my own two hundred men, Kuban’s thousand warriors and Atrax’s horsemen into the desert. This would take us more time to reach the city but would allow us to deploy into line and attack the enemy from the west. I still worried that we were too few and had insufficient ammunition but the die was cast.