‘I can’t explain now. Just do as I say. Go with him, find out what you can about Ajax’s position, and watch Hamedes closely. I may be jumping at shadows. I don’t know, but just watch him.’

‘As you wish. But I’m telling you, Hamedes is all right. I feel it in my bones. He’s no traitor.’

Macro stilled his tongue as the priest approached and handed him one of the canteens. Macro nodded his thanks and slung the strap over his shoulder, adjusted his sword belt and then looked at Hamedes. ‘Ready?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Then let’s be off.’ Macro surveyed the sides of the gorge and then saw a small cut in an outcrop that seemed to offer a steep climb up to higher ground. ‘That way.’

He was about to set off when the sound of hoofbeats echoed up the gorge. A moment later the legate and his staff officers appeared, cantering up the track. They reined in in front of Cato and the others in a cloud of dust and dismounted. Aurelius handed his reins to one of his orderlies and paced over to the three men who stood to attention.

‘The archers are half a mile behind me,’ Aurelius announced. ‘We shall put this business to an end before the hour is up.’

‘I’m not so certain, sir,’ Cato replied, and explained his intention to send the two men forward to reconnoitre. The legate dismissed it with a brusque shake of the head.

‘Out of the question. There’s no time for it.’

‘But sir, the moment we advance in force, the enemy will go into hiding. If we don’t know which tomb they use for cover, it could take us days to find them. Better to spend an hour or so now than risk that, surely?’

Aurelius was perspiring freely from his ride up through the baking heat of the gorge and like most of his officers he had had little sleep for some days.

‘You presume too much, Tribune Cato. I told you earlier, I am in command of the mopping up. Not you. You have no right to issue orders for our men to hold position while you send these two forward on some pointless spying mission.’

‘Sir, I gave the order while we waited for you to reach the gorge. I did it because you wished to save time. You made it very clear that we must end this part of the operation as quickly as possible and march against Prince Talmis. Your priorities were very much in my mind when I gave the order.’