Roman - The Fall of Britannia (48 page)

‘
But
it was after she whelped her brat the rumours started,’ he
continued, ‘the sneers from those I grew up with. All the sidelong
glances that spoke silently of their condemnation and eventually I
went to the whorehouse to see for myself. To my disgust, the
rumours were right. The hair colour was right, the nose was the
same, but most importantly, the eyes said it all. You see,
slave-boy, you are not the only one to have the devil’s stare. I
may have had one smashed out in Africa, but unlike this brown one
that will soon witness your death, that one was blue. You have the
same eyes as your father slave-boy, the same eyes as
me!’

Silence fell
between the three men, eventually broken by Cassus.

‘
You
are his father!’ he gasped. ‘Surely that is impossible,’ yet even
as he spoke, he could see the resemblance and wondered how he
hadn’t noticed before. ‘Remus for God’s sake stop this,’ he said.
‘Even if this is true, you can’t kill your own son!’

‘
Son
of my loins only, not of my heart,’ shouted Remus, ‘ he should have
died in the arena, or better still, never have been born. Because
of him, I left my family in disgrace and spent all my life fighting
in godforsaken lands in the name of Rome. If it wasn’t for him, I
would have lived my life in luxury. Now it is payback
time.’

He spun Prydain
around to face the Silures, kneeling up and yanking his son’s
bleeding head back to expose his throat’

‘
I
said goodbye to my family twenty years ago,’ he snarled, ‘now, say
goodbye to yours!’

‘
Noooo!’ screamed Gwenno, but before the sound had died, a
metallic thud rang out and Remus’s body shuddered with an
unexpected impact. He looked shocked, but still held his knife
against Prydain’s throat, even though a black arrowhead protruded
from his chest armour.

He looked over
at Cassus and shuddered again as a second arrow smashed into his
back, yet still the blade lay against his son’s neck.

Cassus shook his
head slowly from side to side.

‘
Don’t do it,’ he whispered.

Remus released
his grip and staggered to his feet, still grasping the
knife.

Prydain
scrambled forward away from him and stood up before turning to face
his would be killer. The two men stared at each other before
Prydain broke the silence.

‘
You
are my father?’ he asked still shocked at the news.

A trickle of
blood ran from Remus’s mouth.

‘
So
now you know the truth, slave-boy,’ gasped Remus, ‘the burden that
the Gods placed upon me; to have been cast out by my fellows and to
sire a coward.’ He stumbled in pain and Prydain stepped forward to
catch him before he fell.

Prydain held the
wounded man in his arms as the news sunk in and even though he
hated the thought, it all made sense. Remus opened his eyes and
spoke weakly.

‘
So
what happens now, slave-boy?’ he whispered. ‘How ends this
tragedy?’

‘
I
don’t know,’ answered Prydain, ‘it is too much to take
in.’

‘
Then prove me wrong,’ gasped Remus. ‘Show me you are not a
coward, prove to me you are truly my son.’ He pressed something
into Prydain’s hand.

‘
I
need to know one thing,’ whispered Prydain. ‘What you just said
about my mother; is that the way it really was?’

‘
Every word,’ said Remus weakly.

Tears ran freely
down Prydain’s face as he answered.

‘
Then I will do as you ask,’ he said, ‘but not for you…for
her!’

Prydain plunged
the Pugio Remus had placed in his hand, deep into his father’s
heart and as the light faded in the Centurion’s eyes, Remus
silently formed his son’s name, ‘Prydain!’

Across the
clearing, Gwydion lowered Angau, the third arrow no longer
needed.

----

Chapter 45

The funeral
pyres were still burning two days later when Prydain approached the
closely guarded Roman survivors. Cassus watched him draw near and
when a Silures warrior indicated he should follow him, left his
comrades to meet with Prydain.

‘
Well,’ said Cassus, ‘has our fate been decided?’

‘
It
has,’ said Prydain.

‘
Spit it out then,’ said Cassus, ‘I tire of the
waiting.’

‘
I
have managed to secure your release,’ said Prydain. ‘You will have
one day to make good your escape before they pursue you. If you are
caught, you will be killed.’

‘
Are
we to be given horses?’ asked Cassus

‘
You
misunderstand,’ answered Prydain. ‘You alone will be allowed to
leave.’

‘
Just me, but what will become of the rest of the
men?’

‘
Do
not ask what you do not want to hear,’ said Prydain.

‘
You
can’t just murder fifty men,’ hissed Cassus. ‘They were only doing
what they were ordered to do. You are a soldier, Prydain, for God’s
sake; can’t you get them to change their minds?’

‘
It
was all I could do to get them to spare you,’ said Prydain. ‘There
is nothing more I can do.’

‘
They were your comrades,’ spat Cassus. ‘Does that not mean
anything to you?’

‘
Be
grateful you are to live,’ answered Prydain. ‘Go back to Rome,
Cassus, leave this place to those who belong here. Caratacus is to
join with the Silures and take the fight to the Romans. Get out
while you still can.’

‘
You
can’t do this, Prydain,’ shouted Cassus. ‘For Jupiter’s sake man,
you are a Roman.’

‘
No,
Cassus,’ answered Prydain, ‘I am a Briton.’

He held out his
horses reins and after a moment’s pause, Cassus mounted and rode a
few paces before spinning around to face Prydain one last
time.

‘
I
will not be caught, Prydain,’ he said, ‘neither will I forget this
day. Were it not for my desire for revenge, I would die alongside
my comrades, but you should know this. I will ride and I will
survive. My future lies not back in Rome, but here in this country,
serving my Emperor. I will continue to take my place in the ranks
of the legions and continue to kill barbarians, taking strength
from the knowledge that every one that falls beneath my blade,
brings the day closer when we will meet again. For meet again we
will Prydain, before the Gods I swear it. I will not rest until the
day when my Gladius takes the head from your shoulders in payment
for your part in this.’

‘
So
be it,’ said Prydain.

Cassus stared in
loathing at his boyhood friend before spinning the horse around and
headed back toward where he knew the legions of Rome were encamped
far to the east. The lines of Silures closed behind him and before
he had ridden a few hundred yards, the sounds of shouting and
screaming echoed once again around the valley, as the Silures
closed in on the surrounded Romans to carry out their final act of
savagery.

Cassus dug his
heels into the flanks of the horse and galloped hard away from the
slaughter, his eyes full of tears for the first time in his life,
but as he crested the first hill, he pulled up and stared at
something that chilled him to the bone. High on the next hill stood
another cross, but unlike any that Cassus had ever seen.

First of all, it
was obviously carved from a single slab of stone and stood thrice
the height of the tallest man. Secondly, though the basic cruciform
shape was there, the junction of upright and crossbar was
intersected by an integral stone circle. For a second, Cassus
struggled to remember where he had seen the design before, but
suddenly it came back to him. It was the design on Prydain’s
leather amulet. The sign of the Silures, the Celtic
cross.

He pushed the
thought from his mind as he neared the shrine and paused for the
last time to take in the grisly scene. Another crucified man was
attached to the cross, but this time the victim was obviously
Roman, as evidenced by the red cape hanging from his shoulders.
Unlike any other crucifixion, the man had been hung upside down,
his limbs spread-eagled across the central circle on the cross, and
despite the empty eye sockets that had already received the
attention of the crows, Cassus recognised the corpse of Tribune
Mateus.

‘
You
will pay for this, Prydain,’ swore Cassus under his breath, ‘if it
is the last thing I do, I swear there will be retribution.’ He
spurred his horse and rode east, back to the legions of
Rome.

----

Chapter 46

Gwydion was
putting up the tent, while Gwenno was starting a fire to cook the
small deer Gwydion had brought down with his bow. They were in a
stream fed clearing in a small glade deep within the forest, many
miles away from the scene of the battle three days earlier. A rider
approached and Gwydion looked for his sword before Gwenno put his
mind to rest.

‘
Hold,’ she said, ‘it’s Prydain.’

‘
Hail, Gwydion,’ called Prydain.

‘
A
Roman greeting,’ said Gwydion, ‘you surprise me.’

Prydain laughed
at his own mistake.

‘
Some habits die hard,’ he said, ‘we are ready to leave for
the homes of the Silures in the south. Are you sure you will not
come?’

‘
We
are sure,’ said Gwydion. ‘We have seen enough blood to last a dozen
lifetimes. It is time for some peace and quiet.’

‘
I
understand,’ said Prydain. ‘I wish you were coming with me, but at
least you should be safe enough here. We are far enough south to
deter anyone else coming after you.’

‘
What about you, Prydain?’ asked Gwenno, ‘what will you
do?’

‘
I
will go with Caratacus,’ he answered ‘and meet my fate alongside my
brethren.’

‘
Yes, I heard about that,’ said Gwydion, ‘though I still can’t
believe you are alive. I thought you had died weeks ago when you
disappeared from the woods. It’s a shame you had to kill two of
them before you realised they were your own people.’

‘
Killed two?’ quizzed Prydain, ‘I don’t
understand.’

‘
The
two men you killed back in the forest when you were first
captured,’ said Gwydion, ‘I found their bodies.’

’
Oh
those,’ answered Prydain, ‘they weren’t Silures.’

‘
Who
were they?’ asked Gwenno’

‘
Druids,’ answered Prydain. ‘The two they sent after you and
the only ones who knew where you were.’

‘
Then we are safe?’ asked Gwenno.

‘
Should be!’ said Prydain. ‘You won’t be troubled by the
Silures and apparently the nearby clans are friendly.’ He looked
around. ‘The forest is full of deer, and the rivers are full of
fish. With a bit of hard work, a man could raise a strong family
around here.’

‘
I
am counting on it,’ said Gwydion putting his arm around
Gwenno.

‘
What about your clan back in the north,’ asked Prydain,
‘don’t you have some unfinished business there?’

‘
I
do,’ said Gwydion, ‘but it can wait. There is more important
business here.’

‘
Then I will leave you in peace,’ said Prydain. ‘Good luck
both, I will call in as the chance arises.’

‘
You
will always be welcome,’ said Gwenno and tiptoed up to kiss him
goodbye.

Without another
word, Prydain turned his horse and rode away. Gwydion and Gwenno
watched him go until he disappeared from view.

‘
Did
you mean it, Gwydion?’ asked Gwenno eventually.

‘
Mean what?’ he asked.

‘
What you said about unfinished business. Will you return to
the Blaidd?’

‘
I
gave my word to my father,’ said Gwydion. ‘I will gain revenge for
both my family and yours, if is the last thing I do.’

‘
Then there is something you should have,’ said Gwenno, ‘wait
there.’

She ducked into
the tent, quickly returning a moment later with the Hessian parcel
given to her weeks earlier by the fisherman’s wife.

‘
When you go back,’ she said, ‘you will need this.’

‘
What is it?’ he asked as he opened the package.

‘
It
is the sign of our clan, Gwydion,’ she said, ‘the proof of who you
are.’

The wrap fell
away revealing the golden Wolf’s head Torc he had paid the
fisherman with.

‘
How
did you get this?’ he asked holding it up reverently.

‘
The
fisherman’s wife gave it back before we left,’ she said, ‘in honour
of her daughter. Put it on.’

‘
No
Gwenno,’ he said. ‘At this moment, I am not of the Blaidd. This
Torc will not adorn any neck until the true clan leader once again
sits in council. Until then, it will remain in my pack as a
reminder of an unfulfilled promise.’

‘
But
Erwyn is dead,’ she said. ‘He cannot return.’

‘
But
his daughter still lives,’ interrupted Gwydion, ‘and will one day
take her place as leader of the Blaidd.’