Altar of Blood: Empire IX by Anthony Riches

and fell his opponent, not to care.’
    The room was silent for a moment before he spoke again.
    ‘I know you both possess this detachment from the fears of the battlefield, or neither of you would hold the positions to which you bring great honour. Now go and find me another eight like you. Men who are not shy of killing, but who more importantly are not afraid to die.’
    The two men bowed to him briefly rather than saluting, and left him alone with his thoughts. On the steps outside the office the chosen man put a hand on his colleague’s arm.
    ‘Did you hear what he said in there, when he turned away and thought his words were private? That the goddess smiled on all three of us – if she smiled at all? ’
    Munir nodded his head soberly.
    ‘It is not the first thing he has said in the months since the battle for Nisibis that has given me pause for thought. More than once his words have implied that he is a less fervent believer in the Deasura than was once the case. You have noticed too?’
    Husam shrugged eloquently.
    ‘I was hoping that it was more a question of my imagination than his words, but it seems that our friend is losing his love for our goddess Atargatis. In any case our men must not discover his wavering belief, so keep this to yourself. I will speak with him, and encourage him to consider his position as our century’s spiritual leader in this city of unbelievers. I am sure that he will understand my concerns.’
    ‘Archers and axemen. The ability to kill at a distance or to hack an enemy to ribbons. We should have every eventuality covered …’
    Julius looked across the table at Scaurus, tearing off a piece of the bread on the plate before him and popping it into his mouth, chewing vigorously as he responded to the Roman’s musing. The tribune and his centurions had climbed the Viminal Hill with the sun’s last light to join the senior centurion and his woman for dinner, and talk had inevitably turned to their preparations for the march north.
    ‘You can kill anyone you see, hack anyone to ribbons that gets past the archers, and generally outfight anything short of a full tribal war band. So what’s worrying you?’
    His superior took a sip of wine before answering.
    ‘The lack of … guile, I suppose?’
    Julius snorted, shaking his head.
    ‘Guile? Given some of the men you’re taking, I’d say what you’ve got is more like villainy.’
    Scaurus shook his head.
    ‘You miss my meaning, that or perhaps my expression was poor. And you’re right, we have as much power to kill or terrify we can muster in a group small enough to evade detection, but we still lack something …’ He paused, spearing a piece of meat with his fork. ‘Given that we’re going to have to go in on foot, and cross the river into their territory at some point, I think it’s a lack of intelligence that’s the problem. We could make our way into the heart of Bructeri territory by the most subtle and devious of means and end up walking into something quite unexpected, simply because we’ll have no idea as to the state of play where it matters the most.’
    Julius nodded slowly.
    ‘I take your point. You could always take Silus with you and send him ahead?’
    Marcus shook his head, breaking the reverie that had descended on him upon entering the house’s painfully familiar confines.
    ‘Not Silus, and not any of our cavalrymen, I’d say. They’re too obviously serving soldiers, which would make them targets for suspicion anywhere east of the Rhenus.’
    The senior centurion thought for a moment, then his face lit up.
    ‘If you’re looking for someone who’ll blend into the landscape, a man that no one would ever suspect of being a serving soldier, I’ve just the man for you. And he’s right under your nose.’
    He opened his mouth but before he could expand on his idea one of Cotta’s men escorted a newcomer into the room. The officers watched as he saluted Scaurus.
    ‘Rutilius Scaurus, a pleasure to