The sound of something rustling through a bed of ferns ahead made Cato rein in his horse. He lowered the tip of his hunting spear and guided the point towards the sound. An instant later a ripple of moving fronds revealed the passage of some beast and Cato gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on the spear shaft. A fox burst out of the ferns on to the bare forest floor and stopped the instant it saw the horse. Crouching low, and quite still, it stared at Cato for a moment. Then it was gone, before Cato could even decide if it was worth a prod. He laughed at the release of tension and tapped his heels into the side of his pony. Further down the line, away to his left, there was an excited shout as one of the hunters came upon his prey and there was a brief mad confusion of cries, a piercing whinny then the long grating squeal of an injured boar.

‘Cato!’ Macro called out. ‘You hear that?’

‘Yes! Sounds like someone’s had some luck.’

His head was turned towards Macro when the beast broke cover. So he heard it before he saw it and instinctively tightened his grip on the horse’s reins. The horse, spooked by the sudden appearance of the animal, and responding to the sharp tug on the reins, reared up. Cato threw himself forward, against its neck, to avoid falling off and the boar charged beneath the belly of the horse and crashed into its groin. A shriek of agony burst from the horse’s foaming muzzle as it tumbled back and to the side. Cato saw the ground rushing up towards him and just had time to throw himself clear. He landed heavily and the breath was driven from his lungs with an explosive grunt of pain. He was aware of the horse thrashing on the ground nearby, and there was an enraged squeal from the boar as it turned on the horse once again, its short powerful legs kicking up dead leaves as it charged. Cato forced himself to his feet, gasping for air and frantically scrabbling through the bed of ferns for his spear.

‘Cato!’

Cato raised his head and opened his mouth to cry for help, but he was too winded to sum up more than a terrified wheeze. Then he saw the spear tip, glistening close to his feet. He reached for the shaft and snatched the spear up, spinning back towards his horse. It lay on its side, front hoofs thrashing at the ground, rear legs strangely limp, and Cato realised its back must be broken. There was a sickening thud as the boar charged home again and Cato, circled round the rear of the horse, crouching low, the blade of the spear poised for a thrust.

‘Cato!’ Macro’s voice sounded anxious now. ‘What’s happening?’