The Blood Crows (Roman Legion 12) Read Free

and humiliated all the way.’
    The tribune was silent for a moment and then swallowed nervously. ‘And if they are not lucky?’
    ‘Then they’ll be handed over to the Druids and sacrificed to their gods. Flayed, or burned alive. That is why it is best not to permit yourself to fall into their hands.’ Quintatus caught movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to look up the track leading from the main gate. The leading century of the main body had crested the hill and begun to descend the slope, struggling to maintain the pace as the ground became steadily more muddy. For a moment there was a brief break in the clouds and a thin shaft of light fell on the head of the column. A shimmering glitter showed the position of the eagle standard of the legion, and the other standards bearing the image of the Emperor and the insignia and decorations of the lesser formations. Quintatus wondered if that was supposed to be a good omen. If so, then the gods had a strange sense of timing.
    The tribune enquired, ‘What now, sir?’
    ‘Hmm?’
    ‘What are your orders?’
    ‘We finish what we started. As soon as the legion gets here I want the ditch and rampart repaired, and then work can continue on the fort.’ Quintatus stiffened his back and looked up at the dark forested slopes of the valley. ‘Those savages have won their small victory today. There’s nothing we can do about that. They’ll be celebrating in the hills. The fools. This will only harden the resolve of Rome to crush the last vestige of resistance to our will. No matter how long it takes, you can be sure that Ostorius, and the Emperor, will not allow us any rest until the job is done.’ His lips flickered in a brief, bitter smile. ‘Better not get used to the comforts of the fort at Glevum, my boy.’
    The young officer nodded solemnly.
    ‘Right, I’ll need a headquarters tent set up here. Have some men clear the ground and get to it. Send for my secretary. The governor will need a report on this as soon as possible.’ Quintatus stroked his jaw as he stared back towards the bodies of Centurion Salvius and his comrades. His heart felt heavy with grief at the loss of his men and the burden of knowing that the coming campaign was going to be as hard and bloody as any Roman had known since setting foot on this accursed island.
    This was a new kind of warfare. Rome’s soldiers would need to be utterly ruthless if the enemy’s spirit was to be broken. And those soldiers would need to be led by officers who would pursue the enemy with a merciless sense of purpose and no pity in their hearts. Fortunately such men existed, Quintatus reflected. There was one man in particular whose very name froze the blood of his enemies. Centurion Quertus. With a hundred officers like him, Rome’s difficulties in Britannia would be over very quickly. Such men were needed in war. But what would become of them in peace? That, Quintatus said to himself, was somebody else’s problem.

CHAPTER TWO
     
    The River Tamesis, two months later
     
    ‘By the gods, this place has changed.’ Centurion Macro gestured at the sprawl of buildings on the northern bank of the river. The cargo ship had just tacked round a wide sweeping bend in the Tamesis and now the bows turned directly into the steady breeze and the sail began to flap against the dull, grey overcast.
    The captain cupped his hands to his mouth and bellowed across the broad deck, ‘Hands aloft! Take the sail in!’
    As several men scrambled up the narrow ratlines, the captain turned to the rest of his crew. ‘Unship the oars and make ready!’
    The sailors, a mix of Gauls and Batavians, hesitated for the briefest of moments before going about their duty with sullen expressions. Macro could not help a grin as he watched them, seeing their mute protest for what it was: a matter of form rather than substance. It was the same with the soldiers he had known for most of his life. His gaze returned to the low, rolling landscape