‘I bet. Now that he knows that we’re on to his game you can be sure he won’t miss a chance to get rid of us. We’re going to have to be careful out there, Cato.’

‘Very careful. In the meantime there’s work to be done. The cohort fought well enough, but they’re not ready for a campaign season just yet.’

‘No rest for us, then,’ Macro grumbled as he poured two cups of wine and passed one to Cato.’And we’ve got to write a report for Narcissus at some point.’

‘I can handle that, if you like.’

‘What should we tell him? That threat to the Empire. Was it Longinus, or Bannus? Either way, we’ve put a stop to it. Now we’ve just got Parthia to deal with. Shit, I could do with a nice long rest.’

‘Look on the bright side, sir.’

‘Bright side? What bright side?’

‘At last you’re going to see Syria. That’s what you’ve always wanted, as long as I’ve known you.’

‘Syria . . .’ Macro mused contentedly and drained his cup. ‘There is that.’

AUTHOR’S NOTE

It has been a great pleasure to research and write The Eagle in the Sand. From the beginning of the series I have wanted to take Macro and Cato east. It is long overdue for poor Centurion Macro, who has been fantasising about the lure of the east. On this occasion the reality has been rather grittier than he had hoped. Maybe next time.

Some readers might feel that I have taken a few liberties with the story of the most famous of the Judaean rabble-rousers executed by Rome - Jehoshua, or Jesus as he has come to be known.To them I would recommend Neil Faulkner’s Apocalypse, a quite superb account of the background and history of the great revolt of AD 66.The various crosscurrents of political, religious and social class divisions are clearly analysed in great detail, and Faulkner is adept at making telling comparisons with the more recent history of the region. I cannot recommend this book highly enough to anyone keen to discover more about Judaea in the first century.