There was no verbal reply. Just three self-confident smiles and nodding heads.
“All right,” said Belisarius. He gave out a little sigh. “The moment’s come, then. It’s my turn to climb that damned hill.”
He turned and set off, slogging his way. Every step forward was marked by half a step backward, sliding in the loose soil. Progress was marked by the soft, crunching sounds of semifutility. Within a few yards, his armor and weapons felt like the burden of Atlas.
“Some day,” he muttered. “If this war goes on long enough. I’ll be skipping through the meadows with nothing but a helmet and a linen uniform. Not a care in the world.”
Except frying in napalm, or being shredded by high explosive shells, came Aide’s unkind thought. Not to mention being picked off at five hundred yards by a sniper armed with a high-velocity rifle. And while we’re at it, let’s not forget—
Not a care in the world! insisted Belisarius. His thought was perhaps a bit surly. Death is a feather. Cataphract gear is the torment of Prometheus.
Then, very surly: Spoilsport.
* * *
By the time he reached the trench at the crest of the pass, Belisarius was exhausted. He half-collapsed next to Maurice. Valentinian and Anastasius were still in the trench, a few feet to his right.
Maurice gave him no more than a cursory glance before resuming his study of the enemy troops on the slope below. “You’ll get over it soon enough,” he said. The words were unkind but the tone was sympathetic. “You’d better,” added Maurice grimly. “The Ye-tai aren’t wasting any time.”
Wearily, Belisarius nodded. Fortunately, his exhaustion was simply due to heavy, but brief, exertion. It was not the kind of fatigue produced by hours of relentless labor. He knew from experience that his well-toned muscles would recover in a few minutes—even if, at the moment, he didn’t feel as if he could ever walk again.
The general’s head was below the parapet, resting against the sloped wall of the trench. He was too tired to lift it. He could hear the faint sounds of orders being shouted in Hindi, coming from far down the slope.
“What are they doing, Maurice?” he asked.
“The Ye-tai will be making the main assault. Nothing fancy, just a straight charge up the slope. On foot. They’ve just about finished dressing their lines.” He gave a little half-incredulous grunt. “Good lines, too. Way better than I’ve ever seen barbarians do before.”
“They’re not exactly barbarians,” said Belisarius. He made a brief attempt at raising his head, but gave it up almost instantly. “They act like it, sure enough. The Malwa encourage them to behave barbarously, not that the Ye-tai need much encouragement. But they’ve been an integral part of the Malwa ruling class for three generations, now. All of their sub-officers, to give you an idea, are literate. Down to a rank equivalent to our pentarchs.”
Maurice emitted another grunt. From Belisarius’ other side came Valentinian’s half-incredulous (and half-disgruntled) exclamation: “You’ve got to be kidding!”
Belisarius smiled. Valentinian’s attitude was understandable. Even in the Roman army, with its comparatively democratic traditions, not more than half of the sub-officers below the rank of hecatontarch could read and write.
Valentinian himself carried the rank of a hecatontarch. That was the modern Greek equivalent of the old Latin “centurion”—commander of a hundred. But in his case, the rank was a formal honor more than anything else. Valentinian didn’t command anyone. His job, along with Anastasius, was to keep Belisarius alive on the battlefield.
Valentinian was literate, just barely. He could sign his name without help, and he could pick his way through simple written messages. But he had never even thought of trying to read a book. If someone had ever suggested it to him—
“You should read a book sometime,” commented Anastasius mildly. “Be good for you, Valentinian.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” came the instant, hissing response.
He’s got to be kidding, echoed Aide.
Listening to the exchange, Belisarius’ smile widened. Anastasius was literate—and not barely. The giant Thracian cataphract read any book he could get his hands on, especially if it dealt with philosophy. But his attitude, for a Roman soldier, was unusual—it might be better to say, extraordinary.