BooksBarbecue
Back The Blood Crows Save as PDF
Chapters (49)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. About the Book
  4. About the Author
  5. Also By
  6. Praise
  7. Dedication
  8. The Roman Army Chain of Command
  9. A Brief Introduction to the Roman Army
  10. Map – Britannia 51AD
  11. CHAPTER ONE
  12. CHAPTER TWO
  13. CHAPTER THREE
  14. CHAPTER FOUR
  15. CHAPTER FIVE
  16. CHAPTER SIX
  17. CHAPTER SEVEN
  18. CHAPTER EIGHT
  19. CHAPTER NINE
  20. CHAPTER TEN
  21. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  22. CHAPTER TWELVE
  23. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  24. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  25. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  26. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  27. THE FORT AT BRUCCIUM
  28. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  29. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  30. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  35. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  36. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  37. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  38. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  39. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  40. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  45. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  46. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  47. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  48. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  49. Author’s Note

The enemy commander thought a moment and then his eyes widened as he recalled. ‘Yes! You seemed much younger then. Now you are scarred and marked by the years of war you have endured.’

‘As are you.’

Caratacus smiled briefly. ‘You can’t imagine. As I recall, when you were my prisoner we talked at length.’

‘We did, sir. I hoped to persuade you to give up the struggle.’

‘And here we are, years later. You are older but no wiser, it seems.’

It was Cato’s turn to smile. ‘I was thinking the same thing about you, sir.’

Caratacus’s expression was fixed for a moment before he smiled sadly. He clasped Cato’s forearm. ‘Well said. It is a pity that we should be enemies.’

‘Then let us not be enemies, sir.’

‘It is too late for that. Rome should have treated us as partners, rather than try to be our masters. If we ever meet in battle, I shall kill you without pity or regret.’

Cato pursed his lips. ‘Perhaps. Or maybe the next time we meet, you will be my prisoner.’

Caratacus’s expression darkened. He released Cato’s arm and strode back across the ring towards the gateway, summoning his followers. Macro watched him leave and then muttered to his friend, ‘It seems that the time for talking is over. Now we’ve got a fight to the finish on our hands.’

Cato said heavily, ‘There was never going to be any real negotiation. It was already too late. Caratacus wants a war, and Ostorius is all too willing to give him one. This was all a waste of time. Now it’s about to become a waste of good men.’

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

As soon as the governor and his party returned to the outpost he dismissed his bodyguards and retired into the optio’s cramped quarters to confer with his officers. The meeting with the tribes had been far shorter than Ostorius had anticipated and there was no prospect of it being resumed the following day. After Caratacus and the Romans had withdrawn, several other contingents had followed suit, some setting off immediately for their homelands even though night had fallen. It was clear that any attempt to agree terms for peace across the island had failed.