“Now!” Julius called and the flames shot high into the air. Domitius would see them and come in to shatter the camp.

Julius rose to his feet. “With me,” he said, beginning to run down the slope. They followed him.

Domitius crawled through the darkness, pausing only to take a sight of the stars he needed to stay on course. The route he had chosen led him inside the unfinished wall and he was able to use their own lights to judge his progress. There were no sentries within the perimeter and his two thousand were still undiscovered. He prayed they would remain so, knowing that Julius must not attack without him.

He was proud of the trust Julius had placed in his leadership, but it added to the terrible tension he felt as he wormed his way across the dark landscape. Sweat stung his eyes from the physical effort, but he was determined to be in position by the time Julius gave the signal.

He glanced behind him at the men who had come on the attack. Their faces had been blackened with charcoal and they were almost invisible. When they rose to attack the flank of the legion camp, they would seem to come from nowhere. Domitius grunted as a sharp stone scraped along his ribs. He was thirsty, but they had not even brought water with them on this lightning raid. He was thankful not to have to drag a skin or a shield through the undergrowth. Their only encumbrances were swords, and even those caught on roots and made progress harder.

Two of Domitius’s forward scouts came crouching back to him. He jumped as they appeared at his shoulder without a sound.

“Sir, there’s a river ahead,” the closest one whispered into his ear.

Domitius stopped moving. “Deep?” he demanded.

“Looks like it, sir. It’s right in our path.”

Domitius grimaced. He ordered his men to halt, knowing that time was running out for all of them. Venus was approaching the zenith and Julius would go in knowing Domitius would be there to support him.

Half rising, Domitius ran forward for a hundred paces. He heard the sound of water and saw a strip of moving blackness. Sudden fear touched him.

“How wide is it?”

“I don’t know, sir. I went in up to my waist, then came back to warn you,” the man replied. “There’s a vicious current. I don’t know if we can get across it.”

Domitius grabbed him, almost throwing him toward the water. “We have to! This is why you are sent ahead. Take a rope across while I bring the men up.”

As the scout clambered into the shallows, Domitius ran back to the silent cohorts. It took only moments to bring them to the river and together they waited in the darkness.