Chapter 18
The knife at my throat pressed against my skin, cutting a thin line of burning heat into my flesh. I shrank back, reversing into a mountain of armoured flesh. A hand grabbed at my hair, jerking my chin up to expose my throat. The blade gleamed in the corner of my vision and I felt my mouth go dry.
I flicked my eyes over to where Belis was sitting. A man towered over her, pressing a notched sword into the base of her thigh. Plated armour gleamed on his chest and the coat that swung from his shoulders was tattered and stained but unmistakeably red. Romans. The Romans had found us.
“Steady now,” Belis said in Latin, raising her arms slowly. “We’re just travellers. We want no trouble.”
“You’re out of luck today, then,” spat a voice behind me, causing the knife at my throat to dig back into the skin.
A figure stepped into the centre of the clearing, kicking out the ashes of the fire.
He spat in the dirt then lifted his hands to his helmet, undoing the leather strap and taking off the shining steel.
I recognised the dark hair, the hawkish nose, the dead eyes. Centurion Croser had found us.
“I know your face. I’ve dreamed of it every night since word came to the legion of what you’d done to Camulodunum,” he said, the harsh Latin syllables of the words digging into my ears like thorns.
“You’ve grown careless, little princess.
Did you think we would give up our quarry so easily?
The men of the Fourteenth are better than that.
We would have tracked you to the ends of the earth. ”
Belis froze, then flung herself backwards, bowling over the soldier behind her.
She scrambled for the knife in her boot but a tall man with a smashed nose got it off her.
The knife went spinning into the darkness and Belis lunged after it.
Another Roman caught her hand and twisted her arm behind her back ’til she screamed.
She managed to get her feet under her and swung out a kick at the man’s knee.
It crunched horribly and Belis broke free, reaching for the spear that she had left driven into the ground at the edge of the clearing.
She snatched it from the earth, twirling it around so fast that the wood was a blur, driving the blunt end into the nearest Roman’s stomach with a dull thud.
I lunged forward to go to her but the blade at my neck pressed deeper, and I felt it bite at my skin.
Blood trickled down to pool at the base of my collarbones and I slumped back before I could cut my own throat.
Belis spun around until she was facing me and I saw her catch sight of the blood.
Her face jerked in reflected pain and she yelled out.
“Drop your spear,” hissed the centurion. “Drop it now or I’ll bleed your friend like a pig.”
“Don’t listen to him, Belis, run!” I croaked, in Brittonic, unable to force much breath out. Belis froze, her eyes darting back and forth as she counted the paces between us. I knew she wouldn’t make it.
She crouched, moving the spear in a steady arc. I felt the knife dig further into my throat.
Belis screamed in frustration then threw down the spear. The pressure receded and I gasped for breath.
“It’s been a long time, Beliscena,” the centurion said, a ripple of pleasure passing over his expression at Belis’s cries. “I should have killed you years ago, should have told the governor to lay waste to your entire family. How bitterly I regret that now.”
He leaned close to her, sliding a knife from his belt and tracing it over the skin of her face. “I could cut your throat now, but Romans are not savages, we are not slaves to our base urges. I am ordered to bring you back alive and I do my duty. Shackle and blindfold her.”
The rest of the squad emerged from the woods, over a dozen men. Two of them threw a rough hessian bag over Belis’s head and yanked her arms up, binding them tightly with rope. She wriggled back, biting and kicking. One of them punched her head and she flopped forward limply.
“Belis,” I yelled, driving myself back onto the knife. The man holding me dragged me back by my hair.
One of the Romans picked up Belis’s spear, weighing it in both hands. He raised one knee as if to break the shaft over it.
“Stop that,” Croser said, cuffing the man on the ear. “Look at the engraving, the ivory grip. Damn thing’s worth more than you are. The legate will be wanting that to send back to Rome. I have to do all the bloody thinking around here. You can carry that back to camp.”
“What of this one?” asked the man behind me.
His voice was deep, familiar. I remembered hearing it back in the Cotswolds, what felt like a thousand years ago.
“She’s a bit skinny but I’ll warrant she’d fetch a couple hundred denarii at least. Once that’s split up it’d make a nice little bonus for the men.
It’s been a long hunt and there’s still a journey back. ”
Croser glanced at me, his eyes flicking over my face, dismissing me instantly.
“We’ve no time for distractions, Terrasidius. Kill her quick and leave her body for the foxes. We ride for Londinium immediately.”
Terrasidius sighed and removed the knife. He dragged my head back until I could see the stars above the clearing, glittering in the night sky. I was too stunned to fight. All I could think of was that it had been less than a day since we had left Annwn, that I would be seeing Arawn so soon.
Belis shrieked and I could hear her throwing herself around, hear the sound of blows and kicks landing. I felt tears trickling down my cheeks at her pain.
“No, no, do not touch her!” she cried.
I looked back and my eyes met those of the man who would kill me. They were a bright blue and surprisingly soft.
“If you’ve any last prayers to make, little Briton,” he said, “now would be the time.”
“Get on with it, Terrasidius,” said the centurion, gruffly.
My mind spiralled. I thought of calling the high fae, of cursing the Romans for rabid dogs, of simply screaming at the sky. In the end I could only think of one final word.
“Belis,” I whispered. Terrasidius nodded and raised his sword.
“Won’t hurt but a moment,” he said. I thought to close my eyes, but the world around me was so bright, so colourful, I wanted every last moment of this life.
“Wait!” shouted Belis. “My sister, my sister is alive!”
“Hold,” barked the centurion. Terrasidius paused, firelight playing off the blade of his sword.
His hand relaxed and I took a shuddering gasp of air.
“What do you mean? The two of you were seen staggering from the battlefield with your mother. One of the daughters was seen to be grievously injured. You’re clearly alive and well and if I know anything about your mother I’d say she took poison rather than risk capture.
She may have been a raging barbarian bitch but she never lacked for spirit. ”
He paused to spit into the dirt again. “But if you’re not injured then that means your sister was, and a wound like that, she wouldn’t have lasted the night. She’s dead. And you’re full of shit.” The centurion’s tone was sharp.
“She lives, I swear it. I swear it by my mother’s spear.” There was a muffled sound and then Belis spoke again, more clearly now. I craned my neck to see her. They’d taken the bag off but there was a bruise swelling on her cheek. I felt a wave of hate almost choke me – how dare they touch her.
Belis kept speaking, babbling the words out.
“She survived the injury but couldn’t travel.
I left to try and draw you away from her.
Sympathisers from the Atrebates are guarding her, south of the Chalk.
Only I know where. It’s a place that can only be found by our people, and since you’ve killed almost all of them I’m your only hope. ”
Croser crouched down, levering her chin up with his knife. “Why are you telling me this now?”
Belis stared back at him, rage burning in her eyes. “I will take you there, if you let my companion live.”
Silence filled the clearing. The Romans glanced at each other. I wondered if they would believe the half-truth.
“You would sell your sister, betray the blood of your blood for this?” the centurion asked, stinging contempt audible in his voice.
“I would. But she must live, live and go free. Let her go now and I will lead you to where my sister hides. You would return to the legion with both the Iceni girls, eradicating any last whisper of rebellion for generations.”
Croser laughed. “I’m not a total idiot, girl. I let her go now and you’ll suddenly lose all memory of this secret place.” He snorted. “You’re lying. Kill her!”
“No, wait!” Belis wrenched herself forward, blocking him as he turned away. “Keep her for now. Keep her alive and I’ll take you there, take us both, then when you find my sister you’ll let my friend go free.”
Terrasidius’s eyes flicked to his commander, the sword hovering in the air above me. I felt the moment hanging between life and death.
“Done,” the centurion snapped. “But if you’re lying to me…”
“I swear I will lead you to where my sister is,” Belis said. She stared at Croser, barely blinking. “Swear you will keep your promise. Vow by the Eagle of the Fourteenth.”
“I swear by the Eagle and by the legions that if you lead me to the capture of your sister I will release this girl, alive and reasonably unharmed.” The centurion paused and ground his teeth.
He leaned forward. “But if you betray me, I will flay her alive before your eyes and make a cloak of her skin for you to wear as you are dragged back to Rome.”
Terrasidius let go of my hair and I fell forward, scrabbling in the dirt.
I looked up and saw Belis, tears streaming down her face.
She tried to reach for me but her wrists were too tightly bound.
I crawled forward but someone grabbed the back of my tunic and hauled me up onto my feet.
I swayed, suddenly weak from the blood loss and feeling the adrenaline drain from my body.
Strong hands steadied me and forced a waterskin into my mouth.
I drank greedily. My own hands were tied in front of me, the coarse rope twisting into my flesh. I winced at the pain.
“Behave yourself today and perhaps I’ll loosen them a little tomorrow,” said Terrasidius. “Once you’ve proved yourself more trustworthy. You understand me, you speak Latin?”
I nodded. He sighed. “You really would have sold for a good price then. Pity that the commander never breaks his word.”
He poured water onto a rag and cleaned the worst of the blood from my neck then wiped down his sword before sheathing it.
“Don’t want you bleeding all over my cloak,” he said, almost to himself.
I twisted around to look for Belis, desperate to meet her eyes if only for a moment.
If I could at least see her, to know if she had a plan or if she had just said anything she could think of to help me.
The bag had been shoved back onto her head and Centurion Croser was checking her shackles, tightening them until she hissed in pain.
He said something I couldn’t hear and a soldier bent to tug off her boots, while another searched her for weapons.
I saw the legionary tug at the cord around her neck and felt a sudden rush of panic.
The thread held and the man shrugged and dropped it, the whelk shell settling back next to her skin.
Terrasidius left me to shout instructions to the other Romans.
They scattered back into the woods, returning with horses, sturdy hill ponies.
The saddles and tack were plain and I guessed they had bought or commandeered the beasts.
The Romans climbed into the saddle. Belis was boosted up behind one of the smaller men on a stamping black gelding, while Terrasidius pushed me onto a shaggy bay mare then swung up in front.
Croser launched himself into the saddle of a gleaming grey horse.
He gripped the reins and swung her in a circle, inspecting the line of troops.
Many of the legionaries looked uncomfortable on horseback and I wondered how many of them had ridden before.
Maybe there was an advantage to be taken.
If I could just get my hands loose then I could try to free Belis.
I was sure she could outride most of the Romans, especially after they had spent a few days awkwardly in the saddle.
Satisfied with his review, the centurion kicked in his heels and moved to the front of the pack, tucking his knife into a pocket on the saddle.
He whistled and the men stopped grumbling to each other and turned to look at him.
“There’s a week’s hard riding between us and Londinium. We have lingered in these woods too long and I am sure you are eager to be back in what counts for civilisation on this miserable clod of an island.”
There was a general grumble of agreement. Croser paused for them to settle down.
“We’ll go swift and steady, changing horses rather than resting them.
I’ll brook no delays. Anyone who falls behind is left behind, to the tender mercies of the local savages.
Either of our prisoners tries to escape I want you to cut them down.
I’d rather come back with bloody hands than empty ones.
One final push, lads, and we’ll be done with this and there’ll be a fine bonus waiting at camp along with a round of wine on me! ”
A ragged cheer went up through the legionaries and the centurion dug his heels in, leading us into the dark of the trees.