The Lost Army (17 page)

‘Instead we’re in trouble. What will we do?’

‘I told you. We’ll join the others and then look for a way out.’

I poured a little more wine so he’d forgive my insistence. ‘So you think there is a way out?’

Xeno lowered his head. ‘I don’t know. We’re at the heart of the Great King’s empire. He fears us, but he’s well aware that if we make it back, the world will know that a small group of men managed to get almost all the way to his capital without striking a single blow. Do you know what that means?’

‘I think so. That one day a man with the courage and skill to repeat this endeavour could very well succeed. In conquering the Persian empire.’

‘That’s right. You know . . .’ he said to me then, ‘do you know that, if you were a man, you could become the adviser to an important person?’

‘I don’t want to be anyone’s adviser. I want to stay with you, if you want me . . . for as long as you want me.’

‘You can be sure of that. But you should know that you’re joining your destiny to that of an exile. To a man who no longer has a house, belongings, a future. I have nothing.’

I was about to answer when the bugles sounded and Xeno sprang to his feet, grabbing his weapons.

At the second blare the men formed ranks. At the third they started marching. Evening was falling over the desert.

T
HE SOLDIERS MARCHED
in silence for about thirty stadia in the dark, straining their ears at any suspect sound. Clearchus and his officers were well aware that by making the first move they had violated the truce and were at war with the Great King. They were trying to understand where he was and what he had in mind.

I was sure that he’d already struck camp and left. He’d won the battle, he’d defeated and killed his brother, and had no time now to worry about a small contingent of mercenaries trapped between the Tigris and the Euphrates.

I looked around from my place on the wagon, searching through the darkness for the shapes of the men passing, bent under the weight of their armour and by the terrible ordeal they’d suffered in the last two days. Their hunger had drained them of all energy, and if they were attacked en masse I didn’t know how they would find the strength to react. It all depended on that brief space that separated them from Ariaeus’s camp. Fortunately, absolutely nothing happened.

I watched Xeno, riding at a short distance; he showed no signs of apprehension. He was certain that the legend of the red cloaks would keep the enemy away. Maybe that was true, but later he told me something else that was important: the Persians never attack at night; they keep their horses tethered and unharnessed. Maybe he’d read that somewhere, but it turned out to be true, for the whole length of the expedition.

We arrived about midnight and straight away a meeting was held between our officers and the Asians. Xeno was included for the second time and he found himself face to face with Menon, who had stayed behind with Ariaeus’s troops. They barely acknowledged each other. I wandered through the camp pitched by Agasias’s battalion, which had remained with the Asians throughout the battle. There were fires here and there, most of them going out, and a few lamps being lit.

I soon noticed a little group of soldiers who were pointing in the direction of a certain tent, and as I got closer I understood why. The lamplight was casting the shadow of a beautiful naked woman, who was bathing inside, onto the thin fabric of the tent.

‘What’s there to look at! Leave her alone and get out of here!’ I exclaimed loudly, hoping they’d take me seriously. I knew instinctively what was about to happen. At first none of them seemed to have heard me; a few of them even started to approach the little pavilion, snickering under their breath. I knew that things were about to take a turn for the worse and thought I should start yelling, but after a few steps they stopped, exchanged a few words and headed off in different directions.

Perhaps they thought that if I’d told them to go away, I had the authority to do so.

I walked up to the pavilion and called out, ‘If you don’t put out that lamp, you’ll be getting unexpected and very undesirable visitors.’

‘Who’s that? What do you want?’ replied an alarmed female voice. My accent sounded strange to her, I’m sure, and she couldn’t understand who I was, but she realized that I was a woman and this must have reassured her somewhat.

‘I just wanted to warn you: you can see you’re naked from outside and there was a group of men gathered here watching the show. I guess you can imagine what was coming next.’

‘I’m getting dressed,’ replied the voice.

‘Can I come in now?’ I asked.

‘Yes, of course.’

I entered and saw one of the most beautiful girls I’d ever seen, or ever would see, for that matter. She was blonde, her eyes were amber-coloured and she had the body of a goddess. Her skin was soft and silky, soothed by the rarest and most precious ointments, ready for the most aristocratic caress.

‘You must be the one who escaped Cyrus’s tent naked when the Persians arrived,’ I said, observing her attentively.

The girl smiled. ‘How do you know that?’

‘The men were talking about it, and then when I saw your shadow projected onto the tent I remembered.’

‘Who are you?’

‘My name is Abira. I’m Syrian.’

‘Are you a slave?’

‘No, I’m here with one of the men taking part in this expedition. I came of my own free will.’

The girl looked at me slyly with a curious expression. ‘Are you in love with him?’

‘Is that so strange?’

‘You are in love then,’ she said, nodding. ‘Sit down. You must be starving. There’s something to eat here.’

I could tell she wanted company, perhaps female company in particular. It couldn’t be easy for such a beautiful woman to find herself in the middle of a camp with tens of thousands of young, violent men, many of whom had already seen her naked. She opened a chest and offered me a piece of bread with a slice of goat’s cheese.

I thanked her. ‘You are very beautiful. You must have been the friend of someone very important . . .’

The girl looked down. ‘You’re observant, and clever as well.’

‘Maybe even the most important.’

The girl nodded.

‘Cyrus?’

Her eyes clouded. ‘How horrible . . .’ she said with a tremor in her voice.

‘Were you his woman?’

‘One of the many in his harem. But he’d often call me to come and keep him company. He treated me with respect, with affection, maybe even with love. He gave me beautiful gifts, he liked listening to me. He’d always want me to tell him stories, fables . . . he was like a little boy, sometimes, but other times he was hard as steel, completely inscrutable.’

‘What happened to you yesterday?’

‘I was in the prince’s tent when Artaxerxes’s soldiers came. They were going wild: killing, burning, pillaging. Some of them burst into our tent and threw themselves onto the other girls. Two of them grabbed me by my gown, but I loosened the belt and the buckles and ran off, naked.’

‘You managed to get to our garrison.’

‘I ran like I’ve never run in my whole life. When our troops counter-attacked that evening and drove the Persians out, two of the other girls were found dead. They were raped for hours and hours, until they died.’

I couldn’t stand that story, thinking of what an atrocious end those girls had come to. I got up and looked outside. Everything seemed quiet. We were safe, now. At the end of the field I could see a big tent, all lit up inside, where the staff officers were meeting. Xeno was there as well, and I kept asking myself why Sophos had insisted on getting him involved with the high command, Xeno, who wasn’t even a soldier. Why had he accepted? Had Sophos promised him something in exchange? What, exactly? And in exchange for what? I wasn’t allowed to ask, but I had to know and I would use any means necessary to find out.

I turned towards the prince’s gorgeous concubine. The lamplight cast a golden glow on her ivory skin, and her eyes reflected the flickering light with crystalline transparency, making her gaze so intense it was almost impossible to look at her. I asked her another question that had just occurred to me: ‘You’re still the most desirable prey on this side of the camp as well, and you don’t have a man looking after you any more. How could you bathe in the nude without expecting someone to attack you? There was a group out there, just waiting to . . .’

‘Do you think that it was you being there that drove them away? Do you think I would have risked bathing if I didn’t feel safe?’

‘Well then why . . .’

‘Didn’t you notice anything outside the tent?’

‘It was dark, what was I supposed to see?’

The girl took her lamp and went towards the exit. ‘Come here, look.’

I followed her and she lit up a corner of the doorway. There were the heads of two men stuck on spear shafts, with their testicles stuffed in their mouths. I backed away in horror.

‘That’s what keeps them away,’ said the girl calmly.

‘Gods, how could you . . .’

‘You can’t imagine that it was me who beheaded and castrated those two brutes.’

‘Who did, then?’

‘Well, as soon as I ran over to this side, one of the Greeks came up to me and covered me with his cloak. A group of Ariaeus’s Asians tried to claim me for themselves, but the Greeks chased them off. They brought me to this tent and I finally caught my breath, but not for long. As soon as I lay down, two of those Asians managed to slip in here without making any noise at all. I tried to scream but one of them covered my mouth with his hand – it was as huge and hairy as a bear’s paw! – and they dragged me out the back. I’ve never felt so wretched; I knew I’d either end up in the harem of one of those shaggy, stinking beasts or, worse, handed over to a mob of soldiers. But just then I noticed, about twenty paces to our left, a shadow going off in the opposite direction. I decided to give it a desperate try. I bit down hard on my captor’s hand and then yelled ‘Help!’ as loudly as I could. The shadow stopped and in the firelight I could distinctly see a Greek warrior more handsome and powerful than Ares himself ! He drew his sword and walked towards us, as calmly as if he were coming over to say hello. I can’t tell you how it happened, but the men who had captured me tumbled over one after another like rag dolls. My saviour bent over them, chopped off their heads with two clean sweeps of his sword and stuck them there where you saw them in front of the tent. Then he sliced off their testicles and crammed them into their mouths. No one has bothered me since.’

‘I believe it,’ I replied. ‘So did this warrior come back?’

‘No, not yet. He went off without saying a word.’

‘Was he one of ours? What did he look like?’

‘He was built more like an athlete than like a warrior. Golden blond hair, straight, falling into his eyes. Eyes blue as a spring sky, but cold as ice.’

‘Menon. Menon of Thessaly.’

‘What did you say?’

‘The man who saved you is one of the commanders of the biggest divisions of the Greek army. He’s a formidable fighter, and a cruel exterminator.’

‘But he’s as beautiful as a god and he saved my life. I’m sure that there are other sides to his personality. Sometimes a gentle caress can bring out the most unexpected qualities in a man.’

‘I understand. You need someone to protect you, and you don’t want to fall into the hands of some repulsive, disgusting swine. But watch out if you’re thinking of Menon: he’s not the type of man you can tame. It will be like petting a leopard.’

‘I’ll be careful.’

‘Right. I have to go now. What’s your name?’

‘Melissa. Will you be back?’

‘I’ll come again as soon as I can. Don’t do anything silly, and if you leave the tent, cover yourself. Cover up well, even if it’s not cold. Believe me, it’s best that you do as I say.’

‘I will, Abira. I hope to see you again.’

‘Me, too. Sleep now.’

I went back to my tent. Xeno was waiting.

I asked him what had happened at the meeting with the Asian army chiefs. He said that they had sworn to stick together, and to help one another. Ariaeus was wounded, but not seriously so, and he was resolved to lead the two armies out of immediate danger. It was impossible to go back the way they had come. The expedition had been difficult enough until now, even with all of the supplies that the armies had set out with. To attempt a return on the same route without any provisions at all would be folly. It was better to take a longer route that would give them the chance to stock up along the way. The plan was to move out as quickly as possible and to force Artaxerxes to make hasty, and thus dangerous, choices. To keep up with them, the Great King would have to send out a smaller contingent, which would be very risky for him; if he chose to send the army that had overwhelmed Cyrus after them in its entirety, they would lose ground day by day.

‘That seems like an excellent plan,’ I said. That made him smile. The fact that a woman approved of the decision taken by the highest assembly of the army had no importance whatsoever, but I didn’t mind that. I just wanted to express my own point of view. Before lying down I took the lamp and put all of our belongings inside the wagon so we would be ready to leave. All I kept in the tent was what we needed for washing: a jug that I always kept full of water and a damp sponge, so that even if there wasn’t much water, both of us could keep ourselves clean. I would wash him first and then myself; it felt easier to rest after wiping away the day’s dust; somehow it even made us forget about our hunger, which was getting harder to bear with each passing hour and day. Although we were fortunate enough to have some provisions, we tried to eke them out as much as possible, because no one knew when we’d be able to find more food and because we tried to share the little we had with those who had nothing.