Cato and Macro were sitting in the shade of a rock. The horses of the auxiliary cavalry cohort were clustered together in whatever shelter they could find, while their riders sat on the ground, their cloaks propped up on sticks to provide some cover from the afternoon sun. They were waiting for the archers, together with Aurelius and his staff, to catch up before they attempted to attack Ajax and his men. Two squadrons had been sent to find another route to the top of the plateau that overlooked the gorge to make certain that none of the enemy would escape.

Even in the shade Cato felt the sapping burden of the sun’s glare. The air caught in the defile was stifling and made worse by the pale rocks which reflected the harsh light. So much so that Cato found himself having to squint when he looked round at the rocky slopes rising up on either side.

‘It’s a hellish place,’ Macro muttered sourly as he dabbed at his brow with his neck cloth. His mood was made worse by the failure of his men to locate the body of Ajax back in the temple. It was clear that the gladiator had escaped with the other horsemen trapped further up the gorge. ‘Never been so bloody hot in my life. It’s like the heat is sucking the bloody life out of me.’

He turned towards Hamedes who was squatting close by, arms wrapped round his knees and his head bowed. ‘What did you say this place was again?’

There was no reply from the priest so Macro picked up a small stone and tossed it at him. The stone struck Hamedes on the arm and dropped by his side. The priest stirred wearily and looked round. ‘Sorry, sir. What was that?’

‘I asked you about this gorge,’ said Macro. ‘Earlier you said it was filled with tombs.’

Hamedes nodded. ‘The tombs of the old kings, and their high priests.’

‘Have you been here before then?’

‘Some days ago, when I visited the temples on the west bank.’

‘I remember,’ said Macro. ‘Thought it was a bloody silly time to go sightseeing. Anyway, about these tombs. What can you tell us? If they’re anything like the temples that crop up all over the place, then they’ll be quite a sight, I should think.’

‘No, sir,’ Hamedes replied. ‘There’s hardly anything to see, at least from the outside. Just holes in the rocks, for the most part. They look more like cave openings than anything else.’

‘Caves?’ Macro snorted. ‘You expect me to believe your lot stuffed their kings into holes in the ground when they died? Bollocks. They slapped them in the heart of those pyramids we passed near Memphis. Told me that yourself.’

‘Some of them, sir. Many of the others were buried here, together with their riches.’

‘Riches?’ Macro’s eyes lit up.