The Caspian Gates

V



Ballista had admired Corvus from the first. The eirenarch did not go down in his estimation now. He bore this latest disaster like a man. With no hint of panic, he surveyed the dark panorama, took his time, obviously thinking hard.

‘How many ships do you think?’ Corvus’s voice was steady.

‘At least fifty,’ Ballista replied.

‘I think more than fifty,’ Maximus said.

‘He is probably right. His eyes are good.’

‘How many men?’ Corvus asked.

‘A longboat carries at least thirty, the biggest up to a hundred.’ Ballista shrugged. ‘Say fifty to a ship.’

‘Two thousand five hundred.’ Corvus actually laughed. ‘Our soldiers are scattered, and outnumbered by at least ten to one. Well, that is the end of it.’

‘Not necessarily.’ Ballista failed to keep the special pleading out of his voice. ‘Get the citizens in the residential areas up on the roofs. A tile thrown by an old woman can kill as well as a soldier. All warriors hate fighting in such places.’

Corvus laughed again. ‘Ballista, my friend, all these years, and you still do not understand us Hellenes. We are not like you northerners. It is not that we are cowards, as the Romans often say. But it has been centuries since war came to this city. The Ephesians would fight, but they would need some days to get used to the idea. No, it is over.’

The eirenarch looked around in the gloom. Other than Maximus, there was no one in earshot. Corvus turned and held his arms out to embrace Ballista. The northerner did not move.

‘Ballista, go to the house. Collect my familia and yours. Leave the town by the Magnesian Gate. Collect animals from my villa on the road south. Go to Priene. It is on the side of a mountain, still has good walls; the safest town in Ionia. Ask for Marcus Aurelius Tatianus, son of Tatianus. He is my guest-friend. He will take care of you all.’

Corvus stood, his arms still extended. Still Ballista did not move. ‘You can come with us.’

Corvus shook his head. ‘You are not Ephesian. I am the eirenarch of this polis.’

‘Think of your wife, your daughters.’

Corvus laughed yet again, seemingly with genuine amusement. ‘You mistake me, my friend. I do not intend to die here, unless the fates decide. I will fetch the governor. He has a few troops with him. We will see if we can defend a high place behind the palace. The Goths will be more interested in loot and rape than fighting trained men. If not, I will get Maximillianus to safety. Sooner or later, death comes to the coward as to the brave man.’

Ballista stepped forward and was enfolded by Corvus’s arms. They kissed, on each cheek, the lips. ‘I will keep your family safe.’

‘I do not doubt it.’ Corvus stood back, and shook Maximus’s hand.

In the dark, Ballista grinned. The barbarians might be inside the gates, but the social hierarchy of the imperium held. Maximus was a freedman.

The path down from the palace was steep; to the right, a precipitous drop. Ballista and Maximus kept close to the wall on the left. The steps were wide, awkward to run down, ankle–jarring. Ballista called ahead to Maximus to slow down. No point in risking a fall. ‘I do not want to carry you.’

‘I am not sure I could carry you, you fat f*cker.’

‘F*ck you too. I am just not quite in fighting trim. Anyway, you should show your patronus more respect.’

‘Certainly: Patronus, you fat f*cker.’

When they reached the Sacred Way, it was eerily deserted. Momentarily, Ballista wondered if he and Maximus had run into a different reality – one in which the Goths had made a different choice, had sailed to another town. Every choice made opened up a different path. Could they all in some way exist in different places?

Some figures ran round the corner from Marble Street. No steel in their hands. They were fleeing. Ballista and Maximus turned to their left and, holding their scabbards out so as not to tangle their legs, they ran. Past the Fountain of Trajan, its waters still and black. The Sacred Way climbed up. It drained the energy from their legs.

Not far, and they swerved left into the alley. Narrow, steep; they pounded up its steps.

The house, like all Mediterranean houses, showed a blank wall to the outside world. Ballista doubled up, panting hard. Maximus hammered on the big oak door with the pommel of his sword.

The grating of the bolts and the bar, and Corvus’s porter swung back the door.

Ballista straightened up. ‘Wake the household. Your dominus has ordered us to leave. Tell everyone to bring only what they can carry.’ The porter left. ‘Maximus, get our kit. Bring it to the atrium. I will get Julia and the boys.’

It was dark in the bedroom. Julia turned in her sleep and muttered. Ballista gently put a hand on her shoulder. She twisted, alarmed in her sleep. He moved to the boys. Isangrim was sitting up, rubbing his eyes. Ballista put his arm around him, spoke softly in Greek. ‘Isangrim, we must be men.’

The ten-year-old looked back solemnly. ‘Let us be men.’ He was doing well learning Homer.

Ballista looked at his younger son. Dernhelm was fast asleep, one hand straight above his head. In the big bed, Julia was stirring.

Bringing his lips close to Isangrim’s ear, Ballista whispered in his native tongue: ‘We will be warriors.’ The boy beamed. Julia had not approved of her sons being taught a barbarian language, but Ballista knew the child saw it as a code, one shared with him by just his father, brother, Maximus and old Calgacus. Noisily jumping out of bed, Isangrim started hunting for his miniature sword. That woke Dernhelm. Ballista scooped him into his arms before he could cry, kissed the top of his head, smelt the warm small-child smell of him.

Julia was sitting up. Ballista answered her unspoken question. ‘We are leaving. The Goths are in the city.’

She took the news calmly. ‘Are there Borani among them?’

‘I do not know.’

Julia nodded, and got to her feet.

Ballista passed Dernhelm to her. ‘As quickly as possible. Only bring essentials. Meet me in the atrium.’

She nodded again, more peremptorily, as if his words were unnecessary. At times like this, Ballista thought, she was her old self: practical and assured. She had instantly remembered the bloodfeud between her husband and the Gothic tribe of the Borani.

There was pandemonium in the atrium. Members of both familiae were rushing here and there, carrying some things, dragging others. They were getting in each other’s way, cursing loudly. In the middle of it all, seemingly perfectly at ease, Maximus stood with a mound of armour and weapons.

As Ballista and Maximus helped each other to arm – shifting the weight of the mail, tying laces – Calgacus appeared. The Caledonian was fussing over Rebecca and Simon. Ballista told him to get armed. The words came out more brusquely than intended. It was natural that Calgacus was worried – everyone was worried. And if there were Borani among the Goths, it would make everything worse. Ballista had not sought the bloodfeud. But on that boat, all those years ago, the Borani would not surrender. Ballista had not sought it, but it was real. Bloodfeuds had always been a reality in a northern warrior’s life. If the Borani discovered Ballista was here, they would try to kill him. Of course, that would not end it. If they lived, Isangrim and Dernhelm would inherit the feud when they grew to manhood.

‘Stop snivelling.’ The voice of Corvus’s wife, Nikeso, cut across the din. Nikeso was a tall woman. She was making her way, stately through the confusion. The daughter spoken to dabbed her eyes. The other two huddled behind, cowed.

‘Kyria,’ said Ballista.

‘Kyrios.’ Nikeso was collected. ‘My husband says we are to go with you.’ It was only notionally a question.

‘Yes, the Goths are in the city. I am to escort you to Priene.’

‘So be it.’

‘We must go on foot until we reach your suburban villa. There will not be enough animals and carts there. We will try to find more on the road.’

Nikeso turned to one of her slaves. ‘Put all that stuff down. Make sure you have your kyrios’s strongbox and my jewellery. And bring out all the weapons in the house, the hunting ones and the heirlooms. The Vir Ementissimus Marcus Clodius Ballista will distribute them. Leave everything else.’

Waiting, Ballista half-drew his weapons – first the dagger, next the sword – then snapped them back in their sheaths. He touched the healing stone tied to the scabbard of his sword. He was completely unaware of what his hands did. He was wondering if he should have told Corvus about his bloodfeud with the Borani.

Julia and the boys came out.

‘Is everyone here?’ Ballista asked.

‘Yes,’ said Julia.

‘One of Corvus’s boys is absent.’ Nikeso spoke with no obvious emotion, but a woman sobbed among the familia behind her.

‘Where is he?’ Ballista addressed the crying slave woman.

‘I do not know, Kyrios.’ She fell to her knees, arms outstretched: the classic pose of a suppliant. ‘Kyrios, he is my son. He is just a boy.’

Ballista was silent, thinking.

‘We cannot wait.’ Nikeso’s voice was flat.

Ballista nodded. He raised up the slave woman. ‘He will be fine. It is a big city. The Goths will not be everywhere.’

There were thirteen in the familia of Ballista, just four of them fighting men: Maximus, Calgacus, Hippothous, and Ballista himself, already armed. The familia of Corvus was larger – twenty-two in all. Two members of the watch lived with his household. These diogmitai had their big, wooden clubs. Ballista told them to take any other weapons they wanted from the pile. Five of the male slaves, including the porter, looked capable of bearing arms. Ballista told them also to select the weapons that suited them. If they did well tonight, their kyrios would hear of it, and he might give them their freedom.

Ballista got them all into some sort of order. Hippothous would lead. The five armed slaves would keep the women and children together. Ballista, Maximus and Calgacus, with the two diogmitai, would bring up the rear. If anyone got separated, they were to go out of the Magnesian Gate and make their way to the villa of Corvus just south of town, then over the mountains to Priene. Ballista told them this twice, slowly, trying to make it stick despite the darkness and the fear.

Through the door, they shuffled down the alley and turned left up the Sacred Way. There were people there now; running, jostling. A man ran into Maximus, who casually punched him to the ground.

Keeping moving, Ballista glanced back over his shoulder, down towards the library of Celsus. Most of those in sight were Ephesians – darting here and there in their terror, like animals before a bush fire. But beyond them, not far from the temple of Hadrian, were men with steel in their hands. Some of the Goths were turning aside to loot, but the majority were pressing purposefully up the hill. They must have heard about the wealth to be found in the temples and public buildings situated around the civic agora which lay between Ballista’s party and the Magnesian Gate. Someone must have told them. There had been stories of locals going over to the Goths. A persistent rumour spoke of a Greek called Chrysogonus, a leading man from one of the cities up towards the Black Sea, throwing his lot in with the pirates, guiding them on their raids. It was said he had led the Goths to the sack of Nicomedia a few years earlier.

Ballista stumbled; the pavement was uneven. He could see the backs of the crowd ahead. He felt a surge of fear until he saw the heads of his sons. The rag-tag column was moving too slowly. The Goths would overhaul them before the civic agora. There was no point in urging more speed; it would just cause panic, further delay. There was nothing else for it: the Goths would somehow have to be delayed. They would have to be faced.

Not far, and the path bent to the right. It was narrow there, further straitened by the fallen statues and drums of columns which had been dragged to the sides. The part-ruined monument of Memmius jutted into the road on one side. There was a fine fig tree on the other. The distance between them could be held by four determined men side by side. Ballista shouted for Maximus to push his way through to Hippothous. Have the column halted just beyond the monument. Make sure Hippothous kept them together. Get back down here.

Ballista positioned himself, Calgacus and the two diogmitai across the path. He was fighting to control his breathing. Maximus was right: he had been living too easy. Having checked that the familiae were shepherded together where he wanted them, Ballista drew his sword and hefted his shield. He was the right-hand man, hard up against the big ashlar blocks of the base of the monument. Calgacus was to his left, the two diogmitai beyond that. Maximus reappeared. The Hibernian took his accustomed place at Ballista’s left shoulder. Calgacus shuffled over. The end one of the diogmitai dropped out of the line. Ballista shouted at him to hold himself ready to replace anyone who fell. The man of the watch waved his agreement, his demeanour less than enthusiastic.

The Goths were still a distance away. Ballista used the time to make sure of his bearings. To the right was the monument of Memmius. The earthquake had done it no good. Of the upper storeys, only a few isolated columns and fragments of masonry remained. The lower two storeys were heavily damaged; much of the sculpture had crashed from the walls, and truncated caryatids were left hanging, legless and deformed. The thing was a ruin, but it guarded his right. To the left of his men was the fig tree, up against a wall. No way round there. Hold the line, and they would be safe. Far off to the left, across a square and above a big imperial temple, Ballista could see the dark bulk of the mountain, its safety very far away. If the line broke, they would all die.

Seeing the men standing across the way, the Goths pulled up about twenty paces short. In the gloom, it was impossible to judge their numbers. They were a dark phalanx, backlit by torches and more distant fires. Swords glittered in their hands; the curved outlines of shields glinted. Some of the Goths wore helmets. The raking torchlight made deep, crazed shadows in the empty pavement. Ballista noted it. The earthquake had lifted and moved the broad slabs of the road.

‘Watch your footing,’ Ballista said softly. Maximus repeated it. So did Calgacus. Ballista smiled. They had spoken in his native language. It would mean nothing to the diotigmai.

‘Come on, girls,’ called Maximus. ‘Do you want to dance, you arse-f*cking cunts?’

A babble of voices. Their attention caught by the use of a dialect of their own language, the Goths all called out: a jumble of threats, boasts, questions, less certain things. An individual stepped forward. The orange-red light swam over his mailed shoulders, the steel of his helmet, the blade in his hand. His face was shadowed. His helmet was adorned with the skull of a small, fanged animal. He held up his hand, and the noise dropped.

‘I am Tharuaro, son of Gunteric. I lead the Tervingi longboats in this Gothic expedition. Who are you?’

Maximus filled his lungs but, before he could answer, Ballista restrained him.

‘I am Dernhelm, son of Isangrim of the Angles. The Romans know me as Ballista.’

A deep muttering – hoom, hoom – came from the Goths: recognition, maybe grudging respect, but no warmth.

‘The man who was king of the Romans for a day,’ Tharuaro shouted. ‘We know you. It is lucky for you we are here. There are two crews of Borani with the fleet. They would want to eat your heart raw. But we Tervingi have no particular desire to kill you. Now, stand aside. My men have been at sea for three days, they want what they have come for.’

Ballista did not speak at once. A bat flitted between them. ‘Will you give safe passage to those with me? All of them – men, women and children?’ The bat banked back, hunting. ‘And the things we carry?’

Tharuaro snorted. ‘You are trading from a bad position, Angle.’

‘Will you take an oath to your high gods Teiws and Fairguneis?’

‘We will let those with you go unmolested. But we will take your weapons and your goods.’

‘No.’

‘Like all your people, you are a fool. Lay down your swords.’

‘No.’

‘I see five of you. There are thirty or more of us.’

‘But here only four can fight.’

Tharuaro spoke no more words to Ballista. The Gothic reiks turned his back, conferring with his men.

‘They would kill us anyway,’ Maximus said quietly. ‘Easier if we are disarmed. F*ck them.’

The Goths milled, sorting themselves out. Ballista wondered how they would go about it. If they advanced in a wedge – the boar’s snout of the north – even uphill their momentum would certainly smash through a line only one deep. But the road surface was deeply pitted, treacherous. If one man tripped, the close-packed ranks of the boar’s snout would pile up in chaos. They might find themselves sprawling at the feet of Ballista’s men. Then it would be like killing netted fish. Like killing tuna – fish that bled a lot.

Maximus’s gladius flashed as he tossed the short sword from hand to hand. Under his breath, he was singing in Latin, a Roman marching song:

‘Thousand, thousand, thousand we’ve beheaded now.



One man, a thousand we’ve beheaded now.



A thousand drinks, a thousand killed.



So much wine no one has as the blood that he has spilt.’




Four Goths emerged from the ranks. Tharuaro was no fool. He had seen the danger posed by the road. It would be man to man.

Tharuaro had taken his place opposite Ballista. The next Goth was festooned with bracelets and necklaces, obscure amulets braided into his hair: he must be one of their priests. This gudja would face Maximus. The other two were proven warriors. Mail-coated, their arms shone with the golden rings Tharuaro or some other reiks had given them.

The Goths advanced at a walk, evenly spaced, room to use their weapons. They rolled their shoulders, flexed their necks, made passes with their blades. They moved workmanlike, a ploughman going to his team. They had done this many times before.

Ballista got into a fighting crouch: left leg forward, shield held well out, sword back and raised, the leather thong from the hilt over his wrist. He checked the paving around his feet. The stones were mainly smooth, their surfaces very shiny. A couple of paces in front, one was cracked and tilted; another just behind his right foot stuck up, uneven. He found he was muttering a prayer: Allfather, Death-blinder, Spear-thruster …

Three paces out, the Goths roared and lunged forward. Ballista’s world shrank to the few feet that enclosed him and his enemy. Tharuaro swung down a blow to the neck. Ballista hunkered down behind his shield. A sudden step, Tharuaro slid to his right knee, his blade now singing below Ballista’s guard, towards his left leg. Hurriedly, Ballista got the shield down. The impact jarred up his arm. Splinters of wood flew. Ballista brought his right wrist over, thrust at his opponent’s face. Tharuaro took the edge of the blade on the rim of his shield, forced it up.

Surging to his feet, the Goth slammed his shield-boss into Ballista’s body. Ballista’s heel caught on the uneven pavement and he staggered back, winded. Arms wide, he floundered to regain his balance. Tharuaro thrust savagely into his chest. Ballista twisted convulsively, the point of the blade punched home. A hammer blow – white, burning pain – it broke some of the close-forged metal rings, driving them into the flesh. The point snagged, then slid off across the surface of the mail coat. Tharuaro was within Ballista’s shield. Fighting for breath, the Angle let go of his shield-grip and used his left arm to draw the man in; with his right he smashed the pommel of his sword into the bearded face. A metallic snap as the nasal on the Goth’s helmet broke. A softer, more sickening sound as his nose shattered. A grunt of pain. The scent of blood.

They were wedged together, Tharuaro’s sword arm trapped between their bodies, Ballista’s uselessly high in the air, their breathing hot in each other’s face. The Goth reacted first. A kick to the right shin and Tharuaro dropped his shield and crunched the heel of his left hand into Ballista’s chin.

As Ballista staggered back again, the other warrior used the time to scoop up his shield. The northerner, shieldless, got into a low crouch, sword two-handed out in front.

Gasping, they eyed each other, motionless in the guttering light, time not moving. Next to them, the clang of steel on steel, the stamp of booted feet, the rasping breaths of frightened men fighting for their lives.

Tharuaro spat. The blood was black in the gloom. His eyes flicked away across the road. Ballista’s eyes never left the Goth’s blade. Tharuaro laughed.

Ballista feinted forward, winning time to glance to his left. Maximus and Calgacus were still there. But one of the diogmitai was down; head half severed, dark blood coursing over the road, the slabs slick with it. The other was being driven back. A blur of blows from the Goth. The despairing defence of the man of the watch would only end one way, and at any moment.

Ballista gave all his attention back to the reiks facing him.

‘The dance is nearly over, Angle.’ Tharuaro’s front teeth were gone. Ropes of bloody spittle hung in his beard. Ballista knew in his heart the Goth was right. When, any moment now, the second of the diogmitai was downed, Calgacus, who was still trading blows with his man, would find himself outflanked, fighting two to one.

Maximus and the gudja had drawn apart. The Gothic priest’s shield was gone, the mail on his left arm broken, a great gash showing through. A warrior behind him called for him to let a fresh man take his place. The gudja did not deign to reply.

‘Thousand, thousand, thousand …’


The demented Hibernian was still singing; breathless, the lyrics staccato, but still singing.

Maybe, thought Ballista, one last, united effort from the three of them. Better that than nothing. Call to Hippothous to get the combined familia moving towards the gate. Should have told them to keep moving from the start. But in the chaos of a sacked city, one fighting man and a few slaves cannot hope to guard about thirty women and children. Too late for regrets. Allfather, look to my boys. Let them join me in Valhalla – not now, not soon. Now, we will try to buy them just a little time. Get the only other fighting man down here.

‘Hippothous!’ Ballista shouted.

Ballista was drowned out by a choking scream from his left. He pretended to cut at Tharuaro’s head; flicked a look across the road. The last of the diogmitai was still on his feet. His hands were holding the long, grey ropes of his own intestines. Hopelessly, he was attempting to force them back into the slit in his stomach.

‘Hippothous!’

With precision, the Gothic warrior chopped a leg from under the wounded man. Once the watch man was on all fours, two heavy blows to the back of the head sufficed.

The other six combatants, out of the corner of their eyes, watched as if the gruesome tragedy of a saga were being acted out.

The Goth flicked the blood from his sword, turned inwards. Without words, Calgacus, Maximus and Ballista stepped back, rearranging themselves in a half-circle, back against the high base of the monument.

The Goth jerked around, swinging his sword up the hill. Too late. It was smashed out of his grip; went ringing against the far wall. Another blow and he reeled back, clutching his right shoulder. Hippothous lunged. The Goth leapt back. His feet slipped on the blood-slick stones. He went down, hard. On his arse, boots finding little purchase, he scrabbled towards his comrades.

Hippothous came forward. Calgacus, Maximus and Ballista fanned out to join him. The line was re-established; the road blocked again.

‘You were right, Tharuaro. The dance should end.’ Ballista spoke quietly. ‘You said you have no particular desire to kill me or my men. You and your Tervingi came for treasures, for women. There are many of both in the street behind you. Take them. There are many more in the civic agora behind us. In a little while, we will be gone, the way open to you.’

‘The Borani will be glad we have not killed you, Angle.’ Tharuaro looked at the gudja, as if seeking his approval for words not yet spoken. ‘There is no bloodfeud between the Tervingi and you. It is not a matter of honour. Go now – quickly.’

Ballista told Calgacus to lead the familia. When they were moving, Ballista, Maximus and Hippothous turned and began to trudge up the hill.

The Goths watched them go, hard eyed, their thoughts unknowable.