Birds of Prey

ALIEN FEROCITY vs ROMAN COURAGE AS THE EMPIRE DIES

Rome, 262 A.D. It has been the capital of the greatest civilization on Earth. Now both city and civilization are dying. Germans flood across the borders from Britain to the Bosporus, leaving a trail of rape, carnage, and ashes. In the cities, mobs riot; in the countryside, cults seek salvation in dark rituals. Imperial unity has shattered into a mosaic of separatists and usurpers, squabbling among themselves as greater enemies gather to swallow them all.

One man stands between humanity and the Long Night, matching savage determination against a hopeless future. He is Aulus Prennius, an Imperial secret agent as tough and ruthless as the age in which he lives. Until now, though, his enemies have all been human...

"David Drake is one of the most gifted users of historical and military raw materials at work today."
— Chicago Sun-Times

Cover Art by Michael Whelan

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

First Baen mass market printing, February 1999

Printed in the United States of America

eISBN: 978-1-62579-678-3

Electronic version by Baen Books
https://www.baen.com