Free Spartacus: Rebellion by Ben Kane Page B

the surviving Thracians. Everyone else’s reaction had been more muted, however. Gannicus had smiled and said he was looking forward to screwing a free Gaulish woman, but Castus had barely said a word. Concerned by the first real hints of resentment, Spartacus had taken to wandering through the army’s camp each night, his face obscured by the throw of a cloak. Many of the conversations he had eavesdropped on were not what he would have wished to hear. Yes, there was some talk of leaving Italy behind for ever, but there was also a great deal of grumbling and complaining.
    ‘Why does he want to leave? Everything we want is here. Undefended towns. Grain. Wine. Women. Money. All ours for the taking!’
    ‘We’ve defeated every damn force sent against us. What is there to fear by staying?’
    ‘Both consuls had to flee for their lives after we thrashed their legions. The Romans have learned their lesson. They won’t come near us again in a hurry.’
    Biting his tongue, Spartacus hadn’t challenged this dissent. He couldn’t talk to every tent group in the army. They don’t understand the Romans. They are uneducated slaves. What do they know of history? Talk of Pyrrhus, who had defeated Rome more than once, and Hannibal, who had massacred almost their entire army in one day, and the Gaulish tribes who had threatened Italy on occasions, would mean nothing to the vast majority. Yet part of him couldn’t help exulting at the level of their confidence. Why would they want to leave? What might we do if we were a hundred thousand strong? Two hundred thousand strong? The Romans would truly fear us then.
    He dragged his thoughts back to Thrace, and how he wanted to rid it of the legions for ever. The men will listen to me when the time is right, he told himself. They love and trust in me. Not all will follow me north, but most will. He glanced at the sky. Let it be so, Great Rider. Let their reverence for you and Ariadne, your faithful servant, remain, O Dionysus.
    But deep in his gut, Spartacus suspected that the Romans would not leave him be if he left Italy. They would want revenge for the humiliations he had heaped upon them. And if they followed him – what then?
    Hearing someone approach, he turned his head. ‘Carbo. Navio. I thought it would be you.’ My trusty Romans. He’d watched their faces closely during the munus for Crixus. Navio had enjoyed watching the legionaries die, which in Spartacus’ mind proved his loyalty. Carbo had protested to him about it, and had even spoken to Caepio when it was over. Spartacus had seen the centurion’s contempt from fifty paces away, had seen him spit at Carbo’s feet. He’d felt sorry for the young Roman, but he had also rejoiced, because Caepio’s rejection would have bonded Carbo to him for ever. There were few men whom Spartacus would trust to protect Ariadne and their as yet unborn son in the event of his death. Atheas and Taxacis were two, and Carbo was another. It was a relief to know that his allegiance remained strong.
    ‘Looking north?’ Carbo was wondering why their leader had summoned them so early.
    ‘Where else would I look? The Alps are close. We’ll reach them in a week to ten days.’ He was pleased that neither man looked unhappy. ‘Before that we have to pass Mutina, don’t we?’
    ‘It’s about ten miles away,’ said Navio.
    ‘Tell me about it,’ ordered Spartacus.
    ‘It’s a Roman colony on the Via Aemilia, which runs from Ariminum on the east coast to Placentia, some sixty miles distant. Mutina is also the main base for the provincial governor and his two legions.’
    ‘Proconsul Gaius Cassius Longinus,’ said Carbo. ‘He comes from an old and illustrious family.’ Like Crassus, the shitbag.
    ‘Longinus was consul last year, when Glaber and the other fools were sent to destroy us,’ mused Spartacus. ‘By now he will have heard what happened to Lentulus and Gellius.’
    ‘At this moment, I would say he’s hiding behind Mutina’s