He raised his sword to strike and Cato lunged forward, clashing shield to shield, as he thrust the blade round in a shallow arc. The point of the sword punched into Ajax’s cuirass, slid along the curve at the side and found the gap between the front and back plates where it lodged and the last of the force of the blow carried it into his side, tearing open the flesh. At first Ajax was stunned by the blow, and let out an explosive cry before a brief roar of outrage used up the last of his breath.

‘The general’s injured!’ a voice cried. ‘Ajax is hurt!’

At once one of his men thrust his way between Ajax and Cato and launched a savage attack on the Roman, driving him back.

‘Get the general out of here!’

‘No!’ Ajax roared, then grimaced. ‘No . . .’

Hands grasped his arms and pulled him away from the fight, back up the street to the far end of the village. He made to protest but had to grit his teeth to fight off the pain in his side. He saw that his men had bested the Romans. More of their bodies lay in the street, and only two of his own men. Yet the gladiators were pulling back, leaving the surviving legionaries staring after them in surprise.

‘What are you doing?’ Ajax growled. ‘Finish them.’

Then Karim was standing in front of him, an anxious expression on his face. ‘General, one of our men watching the path says there are more Romans coming. We have to pull back. There are too many of them.’

‘No.’ Ajax shook his head. ‘I had the bastard. I had him at my mercy.’

He felt sick with rage, cheated of his revenge. Then the pain hit him again. He knew that he could bear it well enough. He had been taught to endure worse during his training. ‘Let me go back. Let me fight him,’ he growled.

Karim shook his head. ‘No. I’ll not let you die this night, my General.’ He turned and nodded at the men clustered about Ajax. ‘Get him out of here. Head down the path to the river. You know the place. Go.’

Two men grasped Ajax’s arms and placed them over their shoulders and then carried him away from the village, pinned helplessly between them as he gritted his teeth. Once his leader had gone, Karim called the archers to fall back and form up on him. They came from the darkness and formed a loose line across the path, loosing shafts at the enemy and sending them scurrying for cover amid the smouldering ruins of the buildings. At the far end of the village the first of the Roman reinforcements had appeared and Karim called to his men.

‘Cease! That’s enough. We must go.’