In the Heart of Darkness(86)

"I detest the creatures," replied Ousanas cheerfully. "Horses, on the other hand, are very fond of me."



The hunter led off, to the south, called over his shoulder:



"This shows excellent judgement by both parties, don't you think?"



Somehow, in the hours that followed, as the band of soldiers cantered their way toward the far distant Deccan, Menander was not surprised to discover that Ousanas was as good a horseman as he'd ever seen.





At daybreak that same day, the captain of the Bengali detachment which guarded—so to speak; "huddled about" would be more accurate—the Lion Gate of Kausambi, waved a casual farewell to the nobleman and his retinue. After the last of the nobleman's escort and their women camp-followers had paraded past, down the eastern road to Pataliputra, he ordered the gate shut.



"Fine man," he said approvingly. "Wish all those Malwa snots were like him."



"How much?" asked his lieutenant.



The commander did not dissemble. His lieutenant was also his younger brother. Most of his detachment, in fact, was related to him. He extended his hand, palm open.



His brother's eyes widened.



"Send for our wives," commanded the captain. "Today, we will feast."





That same moment, Belisarius stalked through the Panther Gate, one of the western gates of Kausambi. The gate was poorly named, in truth. Small and ramshackle as it was, the "Alley Cat Gate" would have been a more suitable cognomen.



But, of course, that was why he had picked it.



On the way through, he terrorized another Malwa soldier. The man scuttled franctically away from the barbarian's threatening fist. He had no desire to end up like his sergeant, sprawled senseless on the ground.



Once he was through the gate, Belisarius turned, planted his fists on his hips, and bellowed:



"Next time, you dogs, when a Ye-tai tells you to open the gate, do so without argument!" He drew his sword. "Or next time I'll use this!"



He thrust the sword back in the scabbard, turned, and marched away. Behind him, he heard the gate screeching loudly. The hinges hadn't been greased properly, and the Malwa troops were in a great hurry to close it. A tearing great hurry.



The road Belisarius was taking was one of the newly refurbished roads which the Malwa had been constructing. This was no muddy peasant path. The road was fifteen feet wide, raised above the plain, properly leveed and paved with stone. It was a road even Romans would have been proud to call their own.



The road ran parallel to the north bank of the Jamuna River, a few miles to the south. The road led west by northwest until it reached the city of Mathura, some three hundred miles away. Belisarius had no intention of traveling as far as Mathura, however. Just north of Gwalior, the Chambal River branched to the southwest. About a hundred miles up the Chambal, in turn, the Banas River branched directly west. There were roads paralleling those rivers which would take him all the way to the ancient city of Ajmer, at the very northern tip of the Aravalli Mountains.



"Ajmer," he mused. "From there, I can either go south or west. But—I wonder . . ."



Again, he summoned Aide to his assistance. Aide had already provided him with all the geographic information he needed. Now—



Tell me about the royal couriers.



The rain had finally stopped. As he strode along, openly, right down the middle of the road, Belisarius continued the discussion with Aide until he reached his conclusions. Thereafter, he simply admired the dawn.



Might even get a rainbow, he thought cheerfully.





Chapter 16


DARAS

Summer 530 ad




Theodora arrived at the estate toward the end of summer. Her appearance came as a surprise—not the timing, but the manner of it.



"She's worried," muttered Antonina to Maurice, watching the Empress ride in to the courtyard. "Badly worried. I can think of nothing else that would make Theodora travel like this."



Maurice nodded. "I think you're right. I didn't even know she could ride a horse."



Antonina pressed her lips together. "You call that riding a horse?"



"Don't snicker, girl," whispered Maurice. "You didn't look any better, the first time you climbed into a saddle. At least Theodora doesn't look like she's going to fall off from a hangover. Not the way she's clutching the pommel."



Antonina maintained her dignity by ignoring that last remark altogether. She stepped forward to greet the Empress, extending her arms in a welcoming gesture.



Theodora managed to bring her horse to a halt, in a manner of speaking. The twenty cataphracts escorting her drew up a considerable distance behind. Respect for royalty, partly. Respect for a surly horse at the end of its patience, in the main.