The Emperor Series Books 1-5. Conn Iggulden

him. For all his faults, Padacus had an eye for truly beautiful women, a rather wasted gift in the circumstances.

      Marius frowned at his nephew.

      ‘I do not question your decision to be wed! Cinna will be a useful support in your career. It will suit you politically as well as personally to marry his daughter. However, I do question your timing. With Sulla’s legion likely to arrive at the gates of the city tomorrow evening, you want me to arrange a marriage in such haste?’

      A legionary rushed up to the general, attempting to salute around an armful of scrolls and documents. Marius raised a hand to hold him off.

      ‘You discussed certain plans with me, if things didn’t work out tomorrow?’ Gaius asked, his voice quiet.

      Marius nodded and turned to the guard. ‘Wait outside. I’ll fetch you when I’m finished here.’

      The man attempted another salute and trotted out of the general’s barracks room. As soon as he was out of earshot, Gaius spoke again.

      ‘If somehow things go wrong for us … and I have to flee the city, I won’t leave Cornelia behind unmarried.’

      ‘She can’t go with you!’ Marius snapped.

      ‘No. But I can’t leave her without my name for protection. She may be pregnant.’ He hated to admit the extent of their relationship. It was a private thing between them, but only Marius could get the sacrifices and priests ready in the short time left to them and he had to be made to understand.

      ‘I see. Does her father know of … your intimacy?’

      Gaius nodded.

      ‘Then we are lucky he is not at the door with a horsewhip. Fair enough. I will make ready for the briefest of vow ceremonies. Dawn tomorrow?’

      Gaius smiled suddenly, released from a tension he had felt pressing on him.

      ‘That’s more like it,’ Marius laughed in response. ‘Gods, Sulla isn’t even in sight yet and a long way from taking Rome back from me. You look too hard for the worst outcomes, I fear. Tomorrow evening your haste may seem ridiculous as we put old Sulla’s head on a spike, but no matter. Go. Buy a wedding robe and presents. Have all the bills sent to me.’ He patted Gaius on the back.

      ‘Oh, and see Catia on the way out – a lady of mature years who makes uniforms for the men. She will think of a few things and where to get them in so short a time. Go!’

      Gaius left, chuckling.

      As soon as he had gone, Marius summoned his aide with a shout and spread the scrolls out on the table, holding the edges with smooth lead weights.

      ‘Right, lad,’ he said to the soldier. ‘Summon the centurions for another meeting. I want to hear any fresh ideas, no matter how bizarre. What have I missed? What does Sulla plan?’

      ‘Perhaps you have already thought of everything, General.’

      ‘No man can think of everything; all we can do is to be ready for anything.’ Marius waved the man away on his errand.

      Gaius found Cabera throwing dice with two of Marius’ legionaries. The old man was engrossed in the game and Gaius controlled his impatience as he made another throw and clapped his ancient hands together in pleasure. Coins were passed over and Gaius took his arm before another round could begin.

      ‘I spoke to Marius. He can arrange the ceremony for dawn tomorrow. I need help today to get everything ready.’

      Cabera looked carefully at him as he tucked his winnings into his ragged brown robe. He nodded to the soldiers and one of them shook hands a little ruefully before walking away.

      ‘I look forward to meeting this girl who has had such an impact on you. I suppose she is terribly beautiful?’

      ‘Of course! She is a young goddess. Sweet brown eyes and golden hair. You cannot possibly imagine.’

      ‘No. I was never young. I was born a wrinkled old man, to the surprise of my mother,’ Cabera answered seriously, making Gaius laugh. He felt drunk with excitement, with the threatening shadow of Sulla’s arrival pushed right to the back of his mind.

      ‘Marius has given me the purse strings, but the shops close so early. We have no time to waste. Come on!’ Gaius pulled Cabera by the arm and the old man chuckled, enjoying the enthusiasm.

      As evening darkened over the city, Marius left the centurions and walked out to make another inspection of the wall defences. He stretched as he walked and felt and heard his back clicking, sore from bending over the plans for so many hours. A warning voice in his mind reminded him of how foolish it was to walk around in this city after dark, even with the curfew still in place. He dismissed it with a shrug. Rome would never hurt him. She loved her son too dearly, he knew.

      As if in response to his thoughts, he felt the freshening warm wind on his face, drying the sweat that had seeped from him in the cramped barracks. When Sulla was disposed of, he would see about building a greater palace for the Rome legion. There was a slum area adjoining the barracks that could be flattened by senatorial order. He saw it in his mind and imagined entertaining foreign leaders in the great halls. Dreams, but pleasant as he walked through the silent streets, with only the clack-clack of his sandals breaking the perfect stillness.

      He could see the silhouettes of his men against the star-filled night sky long before he reached them. Some were still and some walked their prescribed, overlapping routes at random. At a glance, he could see they were alert. Good men. Who knew what awaited them the next time night fell? He shrugged again to himself and was glad no one could see him in the dim streets. Sulla would come and he would be met with steel. There was no point in worrying and Marius took a deep cleansing breath, putting it all away inside him. He smiled cheerfully as the first of many sentries stopped him.

      ‘Good lad. Hold that spear steady now, a pilum is a fearful weapon in a strong grip. That’s it. I thought I would take a tour of this section. Can’t stand the waiting, you know. Can you?’

      The sentry saluted gravely.

      ‘I don’t mind it, sir. You may pass.’

      Marius clapped his hand against the sentry’s shoulder. ‘Good man. They won’t get past you.’

      ‘No, sir.’

      The legionary watched him go and nodded to himself. The old man was still hungry.

      Marius climbed the steps to the new wall his legion had constructed over and around the old gates of Rome. It was a solid and massive construction of heavy interlocking blocks with a wide walkway at the top, where a smaller wall would protect his men from archers. Marius rested his hands on the smooth stone and looked out into the night. If he were Sulla, how would he take the city?

      Sulla’s legions had huge siege engines, heavy crossbows, stone throwers and catapults. Marius had used each type and feared them all. He knew that, as well as large stones to batter the wall, Sulla could load his machines with smaller shot that would rip through defenders too slow to duck. He would use fire, launching barrels of rock oil over the wall to ignite the inner buildings. Enough barrels and the men on the wall would be lit from behind, easy targets for archers. Marius had cleared some wooden buildings away from the wall, his men dismantling homes quickly and efficiently. Those he could not move had a huge supply of water at the ready, with trained teams to deal with it. It was a new idea for Rome and one he would have to look into when the battle was over. Every summer, fires gutted houses in the city, sometimes spreading to others before being stopped by a wide street or a thick stone wall. A small group ready with water could …

      He knuckled his eyes. Too much time spent thinking and planning. He hadn’t slept for more than a few hours for weeks and the drain was beginning to tell on even his vitality.

      The wall would have to be scaled with ladders. It was strong, but Roman legions were practised in taking fortresses and castles. The techniques were almost mundane now. Marius muttered to himself, knowing the nearest sentry was too far away to hear his