Cato and Macro were standing to one side of the gateway as the exhausted horsemen rode into the fort, covered in dust. A few of them still wore bloodstained strips of linen from the superficial wounds they had suffered in the fight with the desert raiders.

‘What happened?’ Macro asked.

‘Postumus fell ill. Or at least he seemed to. He collapsed and started vomiting and foaming at the mouth. The duty officer had him moved to the hospital block. By the time I was informed the next morning Postumus had gone. So had one of the horses. He must have got out using one of the sally ports. But they were all locked from the inside when I checked them.’

‘Well he didn’t ride a horse over the wall, so someone had to open a gate for him.’

‘I’d guess that some of our officers are still loyal to Scrofa,’ Cato said quietly.

‘Scrofa? Is he still here?’

‘Yes. Under extra guard now.’

‘How long ago was this?’

‘The day after you left.’

Macro stared at Cato and they shared an instant understanding of the situation. ‘Shit,’ Macro said softly. ‘You know where he’s gone, don’t you?’

‘I’d guess north to Syria. To find Longinus.’

‘Where else?’ Macro thumped his fist against his thigh. ‘If he rode hard he could reach the Governor in four, maybe five, days. So we can assume that Longinus knows that I’ve taken command here. That means he knows about the imperial authority and what that implies.’

Cato nodded. ‘What do you think he’ll do?’

‘How the fuck should I know?’ Macro suddenly felt more tired than ever with news of this latest setback. He needed a rest. A bath and a rest, he decided. Then he shook off the feeling. He was the prefect in charge of this cohort and could not afford to let his guard down while he was in command.Too much rested on it. Macro rubbed his cheek and looked at Cato. ‘What do you think?’

‘Once Longinus knows the score he’s going to want to see us.To find how much we know, and how much we suspect. My guess is that he’s already sent a messenger to summon us to report to him in Antioch.’

‘The messenger could arrive at any moment.’

‘Yes.’

‘Shit.’ Macro shook his head. ‘One bloody thing after another. We can’t spare the time to see Longinus. Not with Bannus on the loose.’

‘But we can’t ignore the summons. Not without throwing into question the Governor’s authority.’

‘Our authority overrides his, surely?’

‘Of course it does. But I doubt that Narcissus would look favourably on us if we openly confronted the most powerful man outside Rome.What if we precipitated the plot that we were sent out here to investigate and prevent? If Longinus does demand that we report to him, I think we’d better go.’