The Lost Army (30 page)

I, and the girl I was dragging along behind me, were dirty, soaking wet and covered with mud. There was nothing beautiful or fascinating about us, nothing that would attract attention. We just didn’t matter, and the army was completely indifferent to whether we survived or succumbed. This made me so angry that when I saw the girl shoved and knocked roughly to the ground by one of the soldiers rushing forward, I grabbed him by his cloak as soon as he got close enough to me and shouted, ‘Listen, you bastard, why don’t you look where you’re putting your feet? Can’t you see that girl with the big belly you just crashed into? Her cunt isn’t worth anything now, is it? Less than spit, damn you, and if she dies no one gives a fuck, but if there hadn’t been someone like her carrying you around for nine months, you wouldn’t even exist now. If you’re in such a hurry, you bastard, you can rush off and fuck yourself !’

To my utter amazement, I’d pronounced words that under normal circumstances I would have blushed just thinking about. But the man stopped and took off his helmet, revealing a double row of pure white teeth. ‘If we don’t rush, we’ll die, woman! We’re rushing because we’ve got to get somewhere quick. When we’re there, and if I’m still alive, I’ll come back and find you and give you a hand. Try to hold out.’

I couldn’t believe my eyes or my ears: that youth was Nicarchus of Arcadia, the hero who’d succeeded in raising the alarm with his guts in his hands. I stammered, ‘But you . . . but I . . .’ No use. He was gone, he’d stuck that helmet back on his head and had turned back into a mask of bronze, like the others, one of Ten Thousand.

It was a miracle, I thought. If he had made it, so could we. ‘We have to push on,’ I yelled to the girl. ‘Grit your teeth and don’t give up. I know we can do it!’

The clouds cleared and I finally understood what was going on at the head of the column. The Carduchi had occupied the pass and a great number of them were deployed in a compact formation up above. They carried enormous bows, so tall that I could even see them at this distance, and they had gathered up huge piles of rocks, ready to throw at us.

The column stopped short.

Just then, I saw Xeno riding by at a fast clip. He drew up alongside Sophos at the head. I could imagine what they were saying.

‘Have you gone completely mad? You let us fall behind without saying a word, exposed us to continuous attacks.’

‘Can’t you see? Up there, take a look. I was trying to seize the pass before they did.’

We were stuck. I could tell that Sophos had no intention of doing battle in such a highly adverse situation.

At least we could catch our breath. The girl had let go of the mule’s tail and had sat down. She was taking in great heaving gulps of air. I tied the leading mule to a tree and went to help her. She had deep black rings under her eyes and was as pale as death; her breath was coming in short gasps now. A little pool of rainwater had collected in a hollow of the rock near us.

‘Drink,’ I told her. ‘And wash your hands, they’re covered with mule shit. I have something for us to eat.’ I gave her a piece of bread which she wolfed down. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten.

Xeno was still protesting, because he wanted to be informed when there was any danger, and he was also badly shaken because he’d lost a couple of his best men. Basias of Arcadia had been hit by a boulder rolled down from above which had crushed his helmet and smashed his skull. The other had been pierced by an arrow that had transfixed both shield and breastplate and entered his side. The heavy, deadly arrows used by the Carduchi had big pyramid-shaped tips.

But what disturbed him most was having to leave his men behind unburied. Xeno was religious, and the idea that their bodies could be violated or maimed, that their spirits would not find rest or peace in the other world without funeral rites, tormented him. On the other hand, in the battle of the gully they’d horribly mutilated the bodies of their fallen enemies, merely to scare off the Persians. Apparently it was a religion that counted for Greeks only.

Given the general indecision, Xeno proposed a solution: in the clash, his rearguard had taken two prisoners; they could be questioned to find out whether there was another passage that could be transited by the baggage animals as well. We had an interpreter, two, actually. The first knew Persian and the Carduchi language, the second knew Persian and Greek. Who knows where they’d found them! Evidently there was someone in the army who took care of such things. But they had surely joined us after the commanders had been captured and we’d decided to start marching north.

The first prisoner would not say a word. Neither threats nor blows to his face and body served to loosen his tongue. Cleanor struck him with the hilt of his spear shaft, hard in the stomach, making the man bend in two, and then struck again even harder on his back. The man crumbled to his knees, but would not talk. At this point Sophos signalled to one of his men, who drew his sword and ran him through from front to back. The prisoner collapsed like an empty sack, his blood spilling into a pool on the ground.

Xeno was surprised by that gesture, but then understood that it had been the right decision, because the other man burst into speech. He said that yes, there was another passage, wide enough for the mules and pack animals, leading to the summit. He hadn’t spoken earlier because he was afraid that his comrade would report him to the tribal chiefs.

‘What else do we need to know?’ Sophos asked, speaking calmly while the man who’d been run through writhed on the ground in his death throes.

‘Well . . .’ gulped the surviving prisoner, looking away. ‘There’s a rise overlooking the pass. You’ll have to occupy it in advance, otherwise you’ll be trapped again and no one will be able to help you.’

The sky in the meantime had cleared and the setting sun inflamed the clouds with streaks of red and gold, spreading an aura of peace and serenity through the countryside. You could hear birds singing and the rustling of tall trees that I’d never seen in all my life. Some of them had enormous trunks and foliage so vast that they could give shade and shelter to over a hundred men. Others came to a pointed shape at the top and were a deep green or an intense bluish colour. Water flowed everywhere. It frothed and rumbled over colossal boulders at the bottom of the valley, and on the sides of the mountain it spilled in white columns of foam from one cliff to another, spreading iridescent halos in the refracting light and mist left behind by the storm. In the forest it dripped from the branches and trickled from the leaves, dotting the stems of flowers with beautiful translucent pearls. Coming from the arid steppe, all this wealth of water was inconceivable, but it was also the mark of a nature so vast and so unfriendly that I felt our very lives were threatened by it.

Organizing the operation was quite challenging, because the two passes, the one seized by the Carduchi and the one our army intended to occupy, were in plain sight of each other. The officers decided that two operations would be launched at once: Xeno would launch a front attack on the Carduchi who held the pass, to make it look as if we wanted to force our passage. This would distract their attention from the main operation: a party of volunteers would follow the prisoner under the cover of night and occupy the rise that commanded the other pass. At dawn, a trumpet blast would signal to the bulk of the army that they could attempt the crossing. At this point, the enemy were bound to realize they’d been tricked and would attack the second pass. Our party there would have to counter-attack and hold their position at all costs to allow our army to cross. When Xeno’s rearguard caught up, they would cover the party’s withdrawal.

It was Xeno who explained all this to me, so clearly and effectively that I had no trouble understanding. I’d been living with soldiers for so long that I’d grown accustomed to military tactics and could even come up with my own ideas in certain situations.

‘When will the operation begin?’ I asked.

‘Now.’

‘Did you actually offer to lead the diversionary action by assaulting the pass?’

‘Yes.’

‘Why? You’ve already had to fight today, you lost two of your best men. Someone else could go in your place; no one would blame you.’

‘Because I’m the best at this type of operation. And because Agasias will be leading the other operation, the march towards the second pass, with the native guide. He’s the best after me.’

‘What about Sophos?’

‘He’s beyond any comparison with the rest of us.’

‘He’s beyond the rest of you, you’re right about that. Maybe that’s why he always shows up in the right place at the right time.’

‘What do you mean by that?’

‘No, nothing. It’s just a feeling. Xeno, I miss you. Ever since we’ve left the plain I only see you from far away, if at all. I’m terrified that something will happen. Death is hiding behind every tree in this land.’

Xeno brushed my cheek with rough fingers. ‘From the moment we come into this world there’s a death sentence hanging over our heads. The only things we don’t know are when and how.’

‘I see things differently.’

‘I know. You fight death. You think you can change the course of events, you presumptuous little barbarian,’ he teased.

‘I have done so. Do you know who I saw today? Nicarchus of Arcadia.’

‘Yes, I’d heard that he made it through. He’s in Agasias’s unit, with the other Arcadians. That lad has a tough hide.’

‘Don’t expose yourself to danger needlessly. Dying for no reason is stupid.’

Xeno did not react. He looked over at the pregnant girl. ‘Do you think you can save her?’

‘Her, and her son.’

The sun was setting behind the mountains. Xeno donned his helmet, took up his shield and left me Halys, his horse. He was an extraordinary animal. His coat was white and his eyes were big and expressive. He had hocks of steel, powerful muscles and a thick mane that Xeno combed every evening while the servants were currying him.

‘Promise me you won’t stray from the others,’ he said. ‘They have arrows they can shoot at quite a distance. I want to find you in one piece when I come back. Him, too,’ he added, slapping the horse’s rump. Halys whinnied in approval.

I tried to smile and nodded my head as he walked away.

Meanwhile the other contingent had already gathered under Agasias’s command. They had the guide with them, his hands tied behind his back. They were waiting in the forest for Xeno to launch the attack and draw all the enemy’s attention and fury down onto him.

The Carduchi. A hard people, and fierce as could be.

They weren’t satisfied to let us leave their country, they wanted all of us dead just for having dared to enter. Not one of us was to survive. I thought that such vehemence and determination must be motivated by something deeper than the mere defence of their territory, but if there was a secret behind their aggression, it was very jealously guarded.

I ordered the girl to find a sheltered place and not to move from there, hid Halys behind a group of century-old trees, and went to look for a vantage point high enough to watch from.

Xeno was ascending the trail; I could see his white crest waving in the stiff wind. The sun had disappeared and the valley was flooded with a pale, unreal light. The men following him were fanned out in formation behind their shields.

The pass was already covered by storm clouds constantly lit up from within by lightning. A heavy rain poured down almost at once, carried on violent gusts of wind. Xeno shouted to be heard over the roar of the thunder and led his men into the assault. But as soon as they started to climb the slope, a noise even more threatening than the thunder exploded up high, sounding as if the mountain were cracking apart.

An avalanche of boulders crashed down the mountainside, making a tremendous commotion. The stones collided with each other, ricocheted off the craggy rock, shattered into fragments that shot out in every direction, pulling other stones along with them in their fall. Xeno shouted even louder, his voice rising over the menacing din, and his men ran fast for cover.

Those who weren’t close enough to any of the big rocky outcrops just lay flat on the ground and covered themselves with their shields.

The storm blew stronger, and with every lightning bolt or flash I could make out the armour our men wore, shining under the pouring rain as if it were ablaze.

There must have been some barrier between our men and the Carduchi position. I couldn’t see anything, but Xeno had stopped and was trying to get first up one side and then up the other, without making any headway. Each time they tried to advance, the enemy rolled big stones and boulders at them and the violent barrage set off further landslides of stones and pebbles and rock splinters which were carried off by the turbulent streams of water formed as the rain pelted down on the mountainside. It was a terrifying sight, made even more sinister by the sudden flashes of lightning. A big bolt directly hit a colossal tree which fell to the ground with a huge crash and then caught fire all at once like a torch, spreading a haze of vermilion light over the entire valley.

Xeno waited until the worst of the fire had died down, and then continued to launch one assault after another, keeping the enemy busy till late that night. He finally returned to camp because his men were exhausted and couldn’t see a thing. Many of them had not even been able to get a bite to eat, and they didn’t have a single spark of energy left in their bodies.