Tomb of the Lost (16 page)

Caesar smirked. The man
’
s fate had already been chosen.

“
Never.
”

“
Very well.
”

The Captain once again turned and nodded and the Romans watched in anguish as the knife was drawn across the throat. The bound legionary screamed once and pitched forward onto his face.

“
Will you not reconsider now Caesar?
”

Julius was livid but even so he tried to buy some time.

“
How do I know those are my men?
”

“
You heard his name.
”

“
It could be a bluff.
”

“
It
’
s not. These men are messengers from Agrippa. They were unfortunate to be caught and now they are pawns in a game of chess. You can save the next two.
”

Caesar just stared back coldly.

“
Very well you wish another test.
”

The next man was made to give his name and number. He was killed like Livinius. The last man was searching the walls. His brother was also a messenger. He was sure he would have got through.

“
Quintus Taquinius, legionary.
”

“
Do you have something to ask of your commander?
”

Quintus took a deep breath and shouted.

“
I have nothing to ask.
”

Julius was furious. He raised his finger.

“
You let this man go now.
”

The Captain smiled and turned to give the order to kill the last man.

“
FIRE!
”
Julius shouted.

A dozen arrows flew and thudded into the Captain
’
s chest. He went down without a sound. The mob were silent, stunned by the quickness of the Roman attack. The man with the knife wasn
’
t sure of what to do. Quintus suddenly and awkwardly got to his feet and began running towards his own lines. Not easy when your hands are tied behind your back. The man with the knife taken unawares, then he gave chase, ten paces behind. A rain of Roman arrows brought him down. Now the legionaries were cheering their man on. The Romans covering the street were sent by Dolabella to get him and bring him back to safety. The mob, now angry, turned on the corpses of the two Romans until arrows began to fall on them too. Amidst the screams of the dying and wounded they fell back, leaving heaps of dead. The two Romans were unrecognisable among the bodies of the Alexandrians.

“
That
’
s got them on the run Sir,
”
Dolabella said, noting that the street was almost empty already,
“
They
’
ve fallen back and moved into the buildings. They
’
ve not gone completely.
”

Caesar didn
’
t answer. He was staring down the road. Dolabella followed his gaze. One man stood alone amongst the dead and injured, defiant.

It was Antonius.

The man who
’
d confronted Caesar before.

“
You said you
’
d consider my words,
”
Julius shouted across the gap to him.

“
You said you came in peace.
”

“
I did,
”
Caesar replied quietly so that only those nearest him heard the words. Then to Antonius he shouted,
“
I will not stop until Egypt is mine!
”

Antonius heard the words. He felt every emotion go through him. Then he shouted back,
“
So it begins!
”
before turning and disappearing down a side street.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Dolabella stood in front of Caesar. He was battered, bruised and bloodied. They were back in Caesar
’
s war room in the Royal palace. Julius stood with both hands clasped behind his back next to the wooden model of Alexandria.

He listened intently without interrupting as Dolabella made his report.

A servant arrived with a bowl of clean water and began sponging off the worst of Dolabella
’
s blood and dirt. Another prepared bandages nearby in case they were needed. The worst cut wasn
’
t that bad.

Caesar waited until Dolabella had finished before speaking.

“
How much ground have you gained?
”

“
In all Sir hardly anything. The ground we have won measures in feet not miles as would be usual.
”

“
That
’
d due to the difficulty of the narrow streets. That
’
s why we cannot use cavalry effectively. The horses would be almost unusable and quite useless. This is the only way.
”

“
Yes Sir.
”

A servant brought a chair for Dolabella to sit on while his wounds were tended but he waited for Caesar to invite him to sit first.

“
Please do.
”

Dolabella sat gratefully.

“
As soon as I gain any ground from the enemy they force me back. The fighting is like none I
’
ve ever known. The sheer numbers of the enemy are staggering. As soon as one falls another is pushed forward into the gap. It
’
s also a mixture Caesar, professional soldiers, militia, peasants. But they all fight as if their very lives depended on it.
”

“
And your losses?
”

“
Quite high.
”

Dolabella
’
s shoulders suddenly began shaking at the enormity of what he
’
d said. He was a seasoned veteran but his lips trembled as he spoke.

“
We
’
re having to storm the buildings and houses through the front doors. This is where my heaviest losses are. As we batter the doors down and go in the first of my men are cut down, unable to move by the weight of the men behind pushing them forward. There is no other way of taking the buildings. If only the houses were like those of Gaul, wood and thatch, we could burn them out.
”

Though still listening Julius was studying the wooden model. The other General
’
s seated nearby. Then a thought struck him.

“
Do we have any battering rams in the armoury?
”

“
Yes Caesar.
”

“
How solid are the walls of the houses and buildings here?
”

The General
’
s left their seats to join him.

“
They
’
re fairly strong,
”
Germanicus answered,
”
Mud brick, the roofs tiled. Virtually impossible to set fire to. The weight of the roofs devastating in earthquakes, causing the buildings to collapse and burying the occupants inside.
”

“
Is that if all the walls collapse?
”

“
I would think so Sir.
”

“
Ah but what about just one?
”

“
Sir?
”

“
The houses and buildings here have how many doors? One?
”

“
Most do Caesar. Some have two. The public buildings more.
”

“
Let
’
s suppose they all have just one door. Now behind every door are townsfolk waiting for unsuspecting legionaries and presumably they are also guarding the windows.
”

“
Yes.
”

“
Then what if we go in through the walls.
”

“
Through the walls?
”

Dolabella pushed aside the sponge that was mopping at his forehead. He got up and joined the others, all in a circle now around Caesar, giving him their undivided attention.

“
Yes through the walls. Take the battering rams and assault the walls of the first house whilst still attacking the door and windows thus forcing the defenders to split their coverage further stretching their defence.
”

“
That
’
s ingenious Sir,
”
Marcellus was excited,
“
Should we attack as many walls as is possible with each building?
”

“
No just the one for now. We don
’
t want the buildings coming down on top of us. We will move on from house to house in this way.
”

“
It
’
s brilliant Sir,
”
Marcellus again,
“
You are the wiliest, cleverest, wisest man in the whole world.
”

“
Save your praise Marcellus until we have the victory.
”

“
We will win Sir. With you in charge what could possibly go wrong.
”

“
Now!
”
Dolabella shouted. Despite his wounds he had insisted that Julius let him continue the assault. These were after all his men.

The eight legionaries manning the hand held ram brought their arms back and drove them forward. The ram smashed into the wall at the side of the first house. Across the street, directly opposite, another team did exactly the same.

Inside the first house a man sitting at a low table looked up and at the wall. The other occupants of the house, armed with a variety of weapons, glanced about nervously. They were guarding the door and windows.

“
What was that?
”
he asked.

None of them moved or answered. Again there was a thump against the wall. He got up and went over to the wall carrying an oil lamp. Darkness had descended over Alexandria an hour before. He couldn
’
t see anything unusual about the interior wall. He glanced over at the man at the window.

“
Can you see anything?
”

The man shifted position.

“
The street is filled with Roman legionaries but then it was before.
”

“
Is that all you can see?
”

“
For the moment.
”

He held the oil lamp up again as there was another thump at the wall. Dust drifted down and settled on his shoulders. Then again, thump, thump, thump. More dust came down.

“
Can any of you see what is happening?
”

“
Just a moment,
”
One man answered. He got himself into a position where he could see through a crack in the barricaded front door. He saw a legionary
’
s face up close, close enough to see the stubble on the man
’
s chin, even in the dark. He moved back for a moment and then took another look. The Roman had moved.

“
They
’
re everywhere,
”
he whispered.

Then he saw clearly across the street for the first time and his eyes widened.

“
They
’
re going through the walls!
”
he shouted.

The man with the lamp reached him in five steps.

“
What?
”

“
See for yourself.
”

The man with the lamp pressed his eye to the crack in the door. He could see what the other had seen. Across the street a team of legionaries was throwing all they had at a large house. Another thump at the wall behind him made the hairs on the back of his neck rise. Suddenly the legionaries began shouting as the ram forced its way through the other house. He saw a team push past the ram bearers and he saw the front door fly open and the defenders rush out shouting and screaming in terror only to be mown down by the soldiers in the street. Then suddenly faces surrounded his view through the crack and he knew they were also doomed. The wall thumped again and this time the whole building seemed to shake. The legionaries outside began banging on the door and shouting loudly to add further confusion.

“
This is it!
”

The man with the lamp picked up his blacksmith
’
s hammer and rushed back to the wall just as it and part of the roof collapsed on him. His lamp was buried and the flame snubbed out leaving that part of the room in darkness. Legionaries scrabbled over the fallen rubble crushing the man further and as the defenders of the house rushed over to repel the invasion Romans burst through the door slashing and stabbing with their swords, bringing the defenders down. The man in the rubble, layered in dust, was trying to push himself up. A legionary stood on his hand. Surprisingly he felt no pain from it. He was disorientated, he had ringing in his ears. He felt weight pressing down on him. Past his eyes he could see feet moving. From far away he heard screams, they seemed far away or they could be muffled. He tried again to push himself up. The last Roman through the breach slashed down with his sword and cleaved the man
’
s skull in two. The battering ram was brought through and the team fumbling around in the near dark began working on the next wall to the next building.