Ironroot (39 page)

Varro stared at her.

“You know damn well I’m not leaving the pair of you,” Catilina snapped. “I’m as much a witness to all this as you. You think I’ll be safe riding back into the darkness? How many more groups do you think Cristus has out there? He’ll be watching every road for my father coming. And I expect he’d think it a real shame if I just disappeared in the night and never reappeared. The safest place I can be right now is with you two. Besides, you think in straight military lines and Salonius can only wrap his mind around a problem if it involves building or dismantling something. You need some common sense. Now get going.”

Varro opened him mouth and then closed it again with a look of frustrated defeat. As he followed Catilina into the edge of the tree line, Salonius trod quietly behind him, a look of mixed confusion and disappointment on his face.

The young engineer glanced up to either side warily, regarding the trees of this hallowed space from the narrow deer trail, and imagined the face of the angered Huntress peering from every knot hole in every tree.

“Well that’ll be useful.”

Varro laughed again.

“If Phaianis has enough time on her hands to worry about three folk wandering among her trees then I’m sure there’s better things she could be doing. Besides, I’m almost out of her reach and your people don’t even believe in her.”

After a few minutes they reached a small, overgrown clearing and Varro judged they had passed far enough into the woods and drew them to a halt.

“I think we’ll be safe now. I suggest we sit and wait.”

Catilina dropped her pack to the ground at the base of a tree and slumped against it, rubbing her sore hand and adjusting the splint before tightening the knot that had worked itself loose on the ride. Varro frowned and reached out to her wounded hand.

Without warning the man suddenly collapsed as though his legs had been swept from under him, landing with a crash among thick tree roots. Salonius rushed over to him, bearing a look of extreme concern.

“What is it?” Catilina was suddenly next to his shoulder as he grasped Varro by the shoulders and tried to haul him into a seated position.

“I don’t know. Whatever it is, it’s not good.”

Salonius gently raised the captain’s face and a dark gobbet of blood blurted from the older man’s mouth and ran down his chin onto his chest, leaving a slick trail. His eyes flickered open and he looked around in confusion.

“I…” He choked on another gob of blood that ran down his chin, following the trail of the first. His look of confusion cleared and he frowned.

As Catilina nodded and spun away to the other packs, Salonius realised she was forcing herself to stay in control. He could see just how close to panic and despair she truly was and wondered just how long she’s been hiding that beneath a veneer of optimism. A marvellous woman.

Turning his attention back to Varro, he undid the belt around the man’s waist and hauled his tunic up to examine the wound that had begun all this. As the meagre light afforded by the moon shining between the leaves hit the man’s pale skin, Salonius recoiled in shock and almost dropped the captain. The wound was no longer a neat and tidy scar. Repeated reopenings had given it a torn, jagged look and the edges of the wound were clearly badly infected. That wasn’t what had struck Salonius though. He was aware that the captain had been pushing himself further than he should and that the wound would likely be a mess. What truly frightened him was the area of skin surrounding the wound. Most of the man’s side, almost up to the armpit and half way around the torso was a dark purple-green colour and the veins stood out as black lines wriggling among the sickness.

Salonius concentrated on pulling the tunic back down and fastening the belt, unwilling to look at the young lady in case she saw the concern in his face. He had no great knowledge of medicine, but nobody that looked like that was going to last long.

Varro grasped him by the tunic below his neck and drew the young man down to his face level.

“Say nothing to her,” he whispered. “Let her hope.”

Salonius nodded, suddenly aware that there was a tear in the corner of his own eye. Clearing his throat, he wiped it away and turned to Catilina.

“I think we need to give him a dose of each of the three.” He was acutely aware now of the warnings Scortius had given him about the administration of medicines. Under no circumstances was he to allow Varro to take the strong one close to the others. It was a judgement call that wasn’t his to make. He leaned over Varro and whispered.

“You know what that means?”

Varro nodded.

“How could it make me worse, eh? You and I both know I’ll be lucky to leave this wood now.” Varro’s voice tailed off from a whisper to nothing.

“Just look after him. I’ll be back in a moment. The Huntress might listen. It’s her wood after all, and I’m not about to make a sacrifice of him.”

The young man watched the silent dark trees for a long moment and then drew his eyes back to the captain slumped in his arms. Varro smiled weakly.

“I wouldn’t rely on that.” Varro tried unsuccessfully to pull himself upright. “Alright. The three medicines. You’re brighter than me, lad. We both know I’m dying and we both know that mixing these three is probably going to place the coins on my eyes for my final journey. The only question I have is how long can you keep me upright. I need to feel strong and healthy for a little longer yet.”

“I can’t guarantee anything” the young man frowned. “I just don’t know what it’ll do.”

“Shh!”

Varro waved his hand in front of his young companion’s face and point out back along the deer trail. As Salonius concentrated, he realised someone was shouting outside the woods. Varro grasped the medicines from him and began to ingest them as fast as his laboured breathing and strength would allow. Salonius stared.

Salonius gingerly lifted the captain to his feet, aware unhappily that the front of the man’s tunic was spattered with his own dark blood and noting also that fresh trickles of blood ran from the corner of his mouth occasionally as he spoke.

There was a long pause and Varro grinned at Salonius; a grin that, with the rivulets of blood on his pale, moonlit skin, looked far more frightening than any war paint Salonius had ever seen.

“If you surrender now, I give you my word that the lady will go free. You and your companion are a different matter, but I’m sure you can see that’s a generous offer.”

Varro frowned.

“Huh.”

He took a deep breath and bellowed out of the woods “Very generous. But liars and traitors can afford to sound generous, can’t they. Who are you?”

Another pause.

“My name is captain Crino. I’m prefect Cristus’ adjutant. I am authorised to speak for him. I given you a promise that Catilina Sabianus will be escorted to safety. I pledge that by the flag fo the Fourth.”

“Piss off.” Varro sneered audibly. “I wouldn’t trust you to fasten your shoes right now.”

“Then we are at an impasse, captain” the soldier called. “I would prefer not to violate the sacred wood to come get you, but I don’t think I really need to. How much food and water do you have in your packs? Not a lot I would suspect. We can sit here for days.”

The voice came once again. “I do have some unscrupulous barbarian scouts with me who don’t really believe in Phaianis. One of them already offered to burn the woods down for me. Obviously that would be irreligious and I could bring myself to give that order. But it’s possible that if I don’t keep them on a tight rein, they might do it anyway. They’re very eager to help, you see.”

Varro laughed.

“I think your biggest problem, soldier, is the fact that marshal Sabian isn’t far behind us and he’s really not going to be very happy with you when he gets here. In fact, I think you’d probably be advised to make a miraculous switch and offer your sword to him and give up your boss.”

“Very frightening. I don’t believe you, Varro. And even if he is, he’ll be on the main road. He won’t come to the woods.”

“I think you’ll find,” Varro countered, “that Sabian has more and better men than you. Our trail’s nice and easy to follow, and the mess you lot have left will make it all the easier. Now shall we stop this pointless banter and get down to business?”

There was a pause again and then Crino’s voice.

“You have only two options, Varro: surrender or hold out. If you surrender, we’ll make it nice and quick. If you hold out, we’ll burn you out.”

“I guess it’s the best chance I’ll get. The only question is who gets here first: Sabian or Cristus. Both of them are about a half day away. You need to keep me alive and strong ‘til then.”

Salonius nodded.

“Alright” the voice called from outside the woods. “Prefect Cristus leaves the fort at first light for Vengen. I’ll bring him here on the way.”

Helping the weakened officer along the deer trail, Salonius pushed into the depths of the wood to the small space where Catilina sat waiting for them.

“All went well, I take it?”

Salonius blinked. She seemed so calm; hardly the same person they had seen a few minutes ago leaving the clearing. As Salonius gently lowered his commander to the ground, Varro cleared his throat and smiled.