Centurion

A thud from behind caused Cato to turn back, pulling his blade free.The first guard's body had just hit the ground, the legs kicking out in a savage spasm, as the second guard ran into sight. He stopped as he made to change direction round the corner, but the sight of his two stricken comrades, and Cato looming over them, slightly crouched and ready to spring as he raised his dripping blade, was too much. He backed away frantically, back round the corner and out of sight, then Cato heard his footsteps sprinting away as the man cried out in alarm and terror.

There was no time to take any satisfaction in his small victory and Cato quickly wiped the blood from his sword on the edge of his cloak, and beckoned to Carpex.

'Take off your robe. Put on the officer's kit.'

'What?' Carpex still looked stu

'Put it on now,' Cato ordered harshly as he cast his robe aside and leaned over the body of the guard. He untied the chin straps and pulled the helmet and the liner off the man's head, and then undid the sword belt. Glancing round he saw that Carpex had knelt down and after a brief, reluctant pause was begi

'At least now we shouldn't attract too much unwanted attention. Now, get us to that tu

The slave turned and trotted down the alley. Cato followed, sticking close to his companion so that he could see the way ahead lit by the torch. Carpex led them through the twisting network of old streets unerringly, even though it was night. Not once did they see any sign of the inhabitants and Cato guessed that they must be sheltering anxiously behind their locked doors, praying that the rebels would ignore them. At length, they entered a slightly wider thoroughfare that ended in a market square where the traders' stalls stood bare. A voice grumbled from the shadows, and as Cato and Carpex turned to the sound they saw a figure a short distance off. Before they could react the man turned and disappeared.The sound of footsteps padded away into the night.

'Must have been a beggar,' Carpex suggested softly.'They sometimes sleep in the markets. Anyway, look there, master.'

Carpex indicated a stone structure in the centre of the square with a low arched doorway.

'What is it?'

'One of the entrances to the city's sewers.The engineers use it from time to time, but it's nearly always locked.' Carpex smiled. 'At least that's what they think.'

'Locked?' Cato shook his head in frustration as they approached the heavy studded door set into the stone archway. 'What now?'

'Just watch,' said Carpex as he examined the iron bracket where the bar slid into the masonry. Drawing his dagger, Carpex scraped some of the filth away from the edges of the stones and then inserted the blade in the gap where the mortar should have been. He wriggled the blade for a moment until a square-edged piece of stone began to come out. As soon as he could grasp its edges Carpex pulled it free and placed it carefully on the ground.The bolt was exposed and now Carpex could open the locked door. The bottom grated over the flagstone and then there was a groan of protest from the hinges. Both men winced, waited a moment for a reaction, and then slid through the gap.

'How did you know about the door?' asked Cato when they were inside.

'I arranged it that way, so the prince and I could slip in and out of the sewage tu

Carpex ducked under the low ceiling, lighting his way with the torch held out ahead of him. Cato followed. Just inside was a small stone platform, with several stained steps leading down towards the tu

'Better shut the door, master.'

Cato eased it back into its frame, keeping the noise from the hinges as quiet and gradual as possible.Then he nodded to Carpex. 'There. Now let's go.'

The steps were dry at the top, but the last few were slimy and Cato trod warily as they descended through a small arch into the tu

'How far have we got to go?'

'A few hundred paces, master. Then we're beneath the citadel.'

They had waded no more than fifty yards when both men heard a muffled squeal of iron hinges, and they paused to look back down the tu

'Shit,' Cato muttered. 'That beggar must have found someone.That was quick.The other guard must have alerted the whole town.'

'What do we do?'

'Could you find your way from here in the dark?'

'No.'

'Then we have to go on! Fast!'

They moved on, splashing through the filthy stream in the wildly flaring glow of Carpex's torch.Then behind them came a shout, harsh and immediate in the closed tu

'How much further?' Cato gasped.

'Not far. Just up ahead, a tu

Cato glanced up and sca

'I see it!'

They splashed up to the junction and turned into the side tu

'What now?'

'Follow it for a short stretch, until there's a curve, then there's the spur going towards the old stables of the citadel.'

'Right.' Cato followed the slave as he surged on. The pursuers were lost from sight for a moment, and even the sound of their progress had diminished now that Cato and Carpex were in the new stretch of tu

'There! See!'

A small passage opened on to the main sewer, perhaps just over half the height of the tu

'Where does it go?'

'Directly to the barracks, master. It ends just below a grille.'

'Right.' Cato took the torch from the slave and thrust him into the small opening. 'You first. Go as fast as you can. But you stop the moment we hear the rebels.'

Carpex nodded and ducked down as he scrambled up the tu