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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

One of Trebellius’s men charged directly at their spears, but his horse shied away from the points, swerving aside, and the rider struggled to retain his seat. Cato just had time to pull on his reins and steer to the right side and avoid a collision. More of the Romans charged home, stabbing at the enemy while wheeling their horses from side to side to avoid becoming an easy target in turn. Macro’s voice carried above the thud and clatter of weapons.

‘Cut ’em down, lads! Kill ’em!’

Cato clamped his jaw shut and bared his teeth as he picked the man at the end of the line, a tall, sinewy warrior, with a stubbly fringe of dark hair above his snarling face. He carried a heavy spear in both hands and saw Cato at the same moment, swinging the point of his weapon round and bunching his shoulders as he braced himself. Cato kicked his heels in and his horse lurched forward, the sudden movement throwing the enemy off guard so that he instinctively took a step backwards as Cato swung his short sword down in a savage arc. He could not hope to reach the man and tried instead to strike at the shaft of his spear. The tribesman jerked his spear back and it caught just the end of Cato’s sword with a sharp, harmless rap. At once both men made to recover and strike first. Cato was quicker, as he urged his mount on and hacked again. This time the edge cut through the knuckle and two fingers of the warrior’s leading hand. He let out a howl of rage as blood sprayed from the stumps. He swept Cato’s sword to the side and stepped inside the reach of the Roman as he thrust the point of his spear home.

Despite its battle training, the horse made to rear and the blow missed Cato’s side and tore into the animal’s flank instead. The front hoofs lashed out in pain and one struck the warrior, spinning him aside and throwing him on to his back. The spear was lodged between the horse’s ribs and the animal reared again, tossing its head wildly. Cato felt a stab of terror as he struggled to control his mount, pulling hard on the reins as he shouted, ‘Easy there!’