Parthian Vengeance (The Parthian Chronicles)

by Darman, Peter

  I raised my kontus. ‘Let us crush our enemies, see them scattered to the four winds and hear the lamentations of their women.’

  He screamed at his horse so she rose up on her hind legs and then bolted forward. I laughed and dug my knees into Remus and he too raced ahead. Behind us nine hundred heavy horsemen broke into a gallop. We were around a mile from the enemy and it took ninety seconds to cover half that distance before we levelled our lances to break into the charge. The enemy spotted us but had less than a minute to act before we struck them – hundreds of cataphracts hurtling headlong at the right flanks of two blocks of horse archers, while Atrax and Gafarn thundered behind them. They ran out of time.

  We did not so much hit the enemy but rather gouged a great chunk out of them when we smashed into their flank. I drove my kontus into the side of a rider’s horse and then drew my spatha to slash left and right at heads and torsos that wore no armour, killing and maiming with wild abandon as I screamed at Remus to keeping moving. It was carnage as hundreds of men began a killing frenzy. The enemy horse archers had only one aim – to flee – but there was no escape from the steel-clad demons in their midst.

  Orodes and his horsemen scythed their way into the front block of horse archers, those who were fighting Vagises’ men, while my heavy horsemen lanced into the rear group.

  The initial impact took us deep into the enemy’s formation, those riders in our path trying desperately to get out of the way but most failing as maces split unprotected skulls and swords lacerated bodies. I held my new mace in my left hand and my spatha in my right. They felt weightless as I swung them at any enemy flesh that came within range. I ran a horse through the neck with my sword, smashed a man’s nose with my mace, and then severed a rider’s arm with a downward cut of my spatha. Arrows hit my body and horse and bounced off – Dura’s horse archers were still shooting into the enemy’s ranks – and Narses’ horse archers tried to slash me with their swords, the blades glancing harmlessly off my leg and arm armour. I was suddenly gripped with merriment and began laughing hysterically as I slashed, hacked and clubbed with my weapons, my face and armour being splattered with enemy blood.

  On we fought, now herding the defeated horse archers before us. The din of thousands of men locked in combat filled the air, a great roaring noise that engulfed the battlefield and blotted out all other noise. I was screaming at the enemy but could not hear my voice as the ranks of the horse archers thinned and suddenly disappeared. We had ridden straight through them. I looked left and right and saw other riders coming to a halt with blood-smeared weapons in their hands. I turned and saw Vagharsh with my banner and nodded to him. He smiled grimly and then pointed ahead. I turned and saw a great mass of archers on foot loosing their missiles over the heads of the dense ranks of spearmen arrayed in front of them. He looked exhausted but I felt elated. I caught sight of the tall trees of the date palm grove in the distance and realised that the legions must have pushed the enemy spearmen through it and out the other side. Behind the latter enemy archers were shooting volley after volley to support the hard-pressed spearmen in front of them.

  More and more riders grouped around me as we reformed our ranks to attack the foot archers. As we did so I looked to my left and saw the heavy horsemen of Media and Hatra envelop of formation of foot soldiers, though from this distance I could not tell what or who they were. And then, in the same area, I saw a brief glimpse of a large yellow banner. Narses!

  Orodes came to my side, his armour battered and his sword covered in gore. I pointed at the archers in front of us attired in yellow tunics, red felt caps, brown leggings and carrying only bows and long daggers.

  ‘They are shooting at the legions over the heads of their spearmen.’

  Orodes wore the expression of a man possessed. ‘We will destroy them, my friend.’

  ‘You will destroy them,’ I told him. ‘I have a personal debt to settle.’

  ‘Debt?’

  I pointed to the south, to where Gafarn and Atrax were battling the enemy. ‘Narses is there. Vengeance is mine.’

  ‘Go, then,’ he said. ‘And may God go with you.’

  I nodded to him and turned in the saddle.

  ‘First company of cataphracts, with me.’

  We galloped across ground carpeted with the corpses of dead and dying men and horses, Vagharsh and seventy men behind me, as I went in search of retribution.

  Gafarn and Atrax were now assaulting the palace guards of Narses and Mithridates: spearmen wearing bronze helmets with large cheekguards, leather cuirasses and large round shields faced with bronze and carrying the symbols of Persis and Susiana. I shouted with joy. Finally, after the oceans of blood that had been spilt and the years of fighting, we had the last reserves of the enemy cornered. The heavy cavalry were lapping round the solid phalanx of the spearmen, which appeared to number around four thousand, trying to work their way in. But the guards were holding firm and presented an unbroken square of spear points. I would have swapped my kingdom for Marcus’ machines at that moment.

  I saw the banners of Media and Hatra and headed towards them. I found a frustrated Gafarn and Atrax with their senior officers.

  ‘We failed to break them,’ said Atrax bitterly.

  ‘Palace guards, the best the enemy has,’ remarked Gafarn.

  Their cataphracts were already beginning to disengage from the spearmen and were falling back to our position around four hundred paces from the enemy, when from behind I heard a great rumbling noise, like distant thunder.

  ‘What is that?’ asked Atrax.

  Gafarn appeared drained as I turned to face the direction the noise was coming from. My heart sank as I saw a yellow flag and a great wave of horsemen riding towards our position. Their frontage must have covered at least half a mile.

  ‘It is Nergal,’ exclaimed Atrax.

  I could still not identify the banner. ‘Are you sure?’

  He laughed out loud. ‘Quite sure, Nergal has come.’

  My eyes then focused and I saw that the banner was yellow and sported a double-headed lion sceptre crossed with a sword – Nergal had brought his army. Wild cheering began to erupt around me as word spread that reinforcements had arrived.

  As Nergal’s horse archers flooded the area immediately south of our position the king and queen of Mesene rode to my side. I reached over to hug Praxima and gripped Nergal’s forearm, and then saw with surprise that Gallia and the Amazons were also with them.

  ‘Your presence is most welcome, lord king,’ I said to Nergal. ‘As is yours, lady,’ smiling at Praxima beside him.

  Gallia came to my side. ‘I thought you were supposed to be guarding the camp.’

  She waved away my admonishment. ‘Surena guards it with his horse archers that have no arrows, him and the squires.’

  She looked at the square of enemy spearmen. ‘What is happening here?’

  ‘It is quite simple,’ answered Gafarn, raising his hand to Nergal, ‘they stand in rock-like defiance of us. We cannot break them.’

  Gallia nodded thoughtfully and then smiled at Praxima who pulled her bow from its case. ‘Like old times, Gallia.’

  Gallia grinned in delight. ‘Like old times. Amazons!’

  She then pulled her own bow from its case and dug her knees into Epona’s sides and bolted forward followed by Praxima and the Amazons. I shook my head.

  I looked at Nergal. ‘I would greatly appreciate it if your archers would assist our two wives.’

  He grinned, raised his bow and then he and hundreds of his horse archers galloped after the Amazons.

  The cataphracts sat and cheered as the Amazons and Nergal’s horsemen rode at the enemy in continuous circuits, loosing their arrows and slowly eroding the number of spearmen. Fortunately Nergal had brought his own camel train with spare arrows so the destruction of the enemy spearmen was now assured. Then I saw the yellow banner of Narses and knew that the battle was not yet over.

  The King of Persis was riding at the head of a line
of armoured horsemen that was moving at speed towards the surrounded spearmen in an attempt to relieve them. I saw more spear points behind the cataphracts stretching into the distance and realised that a great number of horsemen were bearing down on my wife and friends.

  ‘We must head them off. Line and column to deceive them,’ I shouted to Gafarn and Atrax.

  They gestured to their officers and seconds later horns were sounded to signal the advance. Moments later over twelve hundred riders were cantering towards the enemy horsemen, without lances and riding tired horses. But if we did not intercept Narses and his men they would swat away our horse archers and save the spearmen. So we broke into a gallop and extended our line to cover half a mile as the gap between the two sides shortened by the second. Five hundred paces from them our formation divided into two columns, the riders at the extreme ends of each flank forming the head of a column as cataphracts suddenly veered left and right to fall in behind them to create a space into which Narses and his heavy horsemen charged, to hit thin air.

  There is no point in tired horsemen that have not a kontus among them charging headlong at riders who are fresh and armed with lances, unless they wish to become a kebab – a kontus will go straight though the thickest scale armour. So we flanked right and left to become columns as Narses and his men hurtled past us and we wheeled inwards to strike them in their flanks. The enemy slowed and then halted as the horsemen in front of them parted but in doing so their momentum was lost as we once again drew our weapons and moved into the enemy mass.

  Most of the horsemen we faced were spearmen wearing helmets, leather cuirasses and carrying round shields. They jabbed their spears at our bellies but from a near stationary position we could break the spear shafts with our axes and maces. A spear point glanced off the steel on my left arm. I brought my spatha down to splinter the shaft and then brought up the point to thrust it at the rider as he closed on me, the blade going through his larynx. Once more I had my mace in my left hand as I swung it against the side of a man’s helmet, the flange denting the metal and knocking him from his saddle.

  Then the Amazons and Nergal’s archers were by our side, shooting arrows at the enemy who were now beginning to slowly fall back. I continued to slash and hack with my weapon and then saw a helmet with a red crest and a fleeting glimpse of a yellow banner. A spearman fell from his saddle under my blows. Then I was before Narses himself.

  Dressed in an armoured cuirass covered in silver scales, he directed his horse straight at me and hurled himself from his saddle to grab me as we both tumbled to the ground. My sword was knocked from my hand though my mace’s leather strap was still wrapped round my left wrist as I lay winded on my back. Narses wore no scale armour so he was able to spring to his feet to stand over me, ready to plunge his sword into my chest. I rolled onto my left side as he missed and thrust the blade into the earth beside me, grabbed the handle of my mace and swung it to the right with all my strength. Narses emitted a roar of pain as a flange bit into his leg just above his right knee and he staggered back.

  I used the mace to hoist myself onto my feet as he attacked me with a series of savage downward swinging cuts with his sword. One glanced off the side of my helmet to produce a ringing in my ears as I tried to fend him off. I was tiring now and several of his strikes managed to get through my defence, striking my shoulders, knocking off iron scales and biting deep into the hide underneath. I was breathing heavily, desperately trying to fill my lungs with air to alleviate the burning sensation in my chest.

  There was blood showing on his right leg but it seemed to have no effect on him as he aimed a horizontal cut against my left shoulder that I stopped by holding my mace with both hands to deflect the blow. I was aware of nothing around me as I transferred the mace to my right hand and threw it at his face. He did not expect that as he ducked to avoid it and I ran at him with all my strength, knocking him to the ground and the sword out of his hand. I held his neck with my left hand and frantically punched his face with my fist, screaming insults as I did so. But he managed to grab his sword and rain blows against the side of my helmet with its pommel, finally knocking me aside.

  He staggered unsteadily to his feet, dazed, and with difficulty grasped his sword with both hands to drive it into my prostrate body before him, as I grabbed my own sword lying between his feet and thrust it upwards into his groin.

  He winced fiercely, his teeth locked together as I took what seemed like an eternity to haul myself to me feet. Narses dropped his sword and looked at me pitifully, but there was no pity in me this day. I ran my spatha through his cuirass and into his belly, gripping it with both hands as I did so.

  ‘That is for my father.’

  I yanked the blade free and he fell to his knees, still staring at me with disbelieving eyes, blood gushing from between his legs. I reached forward and ripped the helmet off his head, then brought my blade down on his head, splitting his skull.

  ‘And that is for Farhad.’

  He pitched forward to lie face down on the ground. I stood over him, clasped the hilt of my sword with both hands and rammed it down hard, driving it through his body.

  ‘And that is for Vardan.’

  I held up my arms and screamed in triumph and then saw the figure of Mithridates gallop away with a score or more of other horsemen behind him. I pointed at him.

  ‘Kill him, kill him. Will someone kill him?’

  But no one heard me as I stood and watched the snake ride away and then disappear from view.

  Vagharsh was the first to arrive where I stood like a guard dog watching over an old bone, escorted by the men of my first company of cataphracts. He looked at the dead body.

  ‘Who is that?’

  ‘King Narses, Vagharsh. He is finally dead.’

  Vagharsh nodded and then looked at the scene of carnage all around. ‘Him and a lot of others.’

  I was suddenly afraid for Gallia. ‘Where is the queen?’

  ‘She is safe,’ he assured me. ‘She is with the kings.’

  He nudged his horse over to where Remus had been calmly standing next to Narses’ horse and brought him to me, then assisted me into the saddle. I ordered horsemen to mount a guard over the body of Narses to ensure it was not taken away and then rode to join my wife.

  When I found her she was with Nergal, Atrax and Gafarn as Vagharsh had said, and after embracing her and the others I told them that Narses was dead. I also informed them that I had seen Mithridates flee, back to Susa I assumed.

  The battle was now petering out. The phalanx of enemy guards had been decimated by arrow fire and the survivors had given themselves up after Narses’ relief charge had failed. A courier brought news from Orodes that he had destroyed the enemy’s horse and foot archers and had linked up with Vagises, while the legions, despite being under a hail of arrows and sling shots from the start of the fighting, had managed to inch their way forward into and through the date palm grove, forcing enemy spearmen back as they did so, until the remnants of the latter had simply dissolved as the survivors fled south.

  The Battle of Susa was over.

  Chapter 19

  There was no pursuit, no triumphal gatherings or after-battle boasting and bravado. Both men and beasts were at the limits of their endurance, having expended their last reserves of energy. We forgot that we had won a great victory as all our attention was diverted to the welfare of our horses. Dehydrated, sweating in the heat and many encased in scale armour, they were in dire need of water and rest. Horse archers slid from saddles and collapsed onto the ground, totally exhausted, their horses stumbling and wandering round them in a similar state.

  I slid off Remus’ back and called to Gallia. ‘Help me with his armour.’

  I felt queasy and lethargic myself now that Alcaeus’ magic concoction was wearing off and found unbuckling the straps that held his armour in place difficult.

  Gallia walked over and assisted me as I felt the last reserves of strength drain from my body. I could not focus
my eyes and my breathing was laboured.

  ‘You rest,’ she said. ‘I’ll take care of it.’

  Praxima came over to assist her friend heave the heavy hide suit off Remus’ back and onto the ground. He was breathing heavily and matted in sweat. Around us the cataphracts were also stripping their horses of their armour before discarding their own hide suits.

  I unfastened my leg and arm armour and then with difficulty pulled my scale armour suit over my head and dumped it on the ground. My arms felt like lead and I could barely stand. I glance over to Orodes and Gafarn who were in a similar state.

  ‘He needs walking to the river,’ I said to Gallia weakly.

  She also looked drained, no doubt suffering similar effects.

  ‘I will take him, lord,’ said Praxima, ‘have no fear.’

  ‘Thank you Praxima.’

  They were the last words I remember saying before passing out.

  I awoke in a cot in the hospital section of the camp, the first thing I saw being the crystal clear blue sky above me in the gaps between the canvas roof and then my wife’s pure blue eyes gazing down at me.

  ‘You are awake, then?’

  ‘What time is it?’

  ‘Mid-afternoon,’ she said.

  I was confused. ‘That cannot be. How did I get here in so short space of time.’ I tried to rise. ‘How is Remus? He was exhausted.’

  She placed a hand on my shoulder. ‘The battle was yesterday, Pacorus, and you have been asleep for nearly twenty-four hours. And unlike you, Remus is fine.’

  Alcaeus appeared beside her.

  ‘Ah, so Hypnos grew tired of your company and sent you back to us, did he?’

  ‘Who’s Hypnos?’

  He feigned surprise. ‘The Greek god of sleep, of course. How are you feeling?’

  ‘Drained.’

  He nodded. ‘Yes, Ma-huang can do that. Still, kept you awake during the battle. Drink plenty of water, not wine, eat regularly and get plenty of rest and you will be fine.’

  I looked at Gallia. ‘How is it that you suffered no ill affects?’