Souls Aflame

by Patricia Hagan

  “Julie, they brand a lot of the prisoners,” Gordon told her impatiently. “It’s also a form of punishment that both the Federals and the Confederates use on their own soldiers. They brand a D for deserters or a C for cowards. In this instance, from all I’ve been told, I would assume that he was marked with a T because he was considered a traitor to the South.”

  “The bastards…” She spat the words out venomously. “The savage, monstrous bastards!”

  Gordon’s voice was filled with elation as he stepped forward to clamp firm hands upon her shoulders. “That’s the spirit, Julie. That’s why you’re going to fulfill your mission to perfection. This way you’ll be getting even with them for what they did to your brother. Now we must be on our way. It will be daylight soon, and we simply must be out of the city. You aren’t to worry about Myles. He’s going to be taken care of. Later, when it’s safe, perhaps we can arrange for you to see him again…”

  Her eyes filled with tears, Julie looked up at Gordon through a blur, as though she had never really seen him before. With a bewildered shake of her head, she murmured, “I can’t leave him. Not now, the way he is. And what do you mean—I’ll be getting even with them? I don’t understand.”

  “We made a pact, dammit!” Gordon gave her an angry shake. “I kept my part, at great risk to myself and others, and you are going to fulfill yours. You might as well know, Julie, I’m a Union spy. I work for the Federal Army, just as you are going to do also.”

  “Leave me?” she heard Myles whisper as she tried to grasp all that Fox had just told her. She saw Myles’s head bobbing and wagging as he struggled to remain conscious. “No, Julie, you can’t leave me now.”

  She tried to fight her way toward him, and Gordon lost patience and brought his hand up to strike the side of her head, sending her reeling backward to the cold, damp floor. She heard a great roaring sound, and it was only through tremendous effort that she was able to hold on, to keep from slipping away to the waiting black void.

  In the shadows a man clenched his fists and ground his teeth together as he fought to keep from going to her aid.

  Julie heard a soldier whisper through the dizzy shroud that enveloped her, “This is a big crock of shit, Fox! It ain’t going like you said it would. She’s out cold, and now he’s out again too.”

  Another angry voice reached her ears. “Ain’t nothing going like you said. You was supposed to get us out of Richmond once we got this bag o’ bones out of prison, so’s we could hide out in the mountains till the goddamn war is over. Now we’ve got the two of them unconscious, and Richmond is crawling with soldiers looking for us. We’ll probably all end up in front of a firing squad!”

  “Nonsense. We’re going ahead with our plans,” Julie heard Gordon snarl and snap his fingers at one of the men. “Luther, pick the girl up and let’s be on our way. Maybe it’s better that it turned out like this. I had my doubts she would ever be properly persuaded to get secrets from the enemy. Now she’ll either do it or this wretch here will die. And not in prison, either.”

  Then he yelled that Myles was to be taken to the hideout in the mountains and kept there until Gordon sent further orders. “Once she knows he’s alive only as long as she obeys me, I doubt I’ll have any more trouble with her.”

  Julie’s head was aching fiercely from Gordon’s blow. She was using every ounce of her strength to keep from slipping away, wanting to hear as much as possible so she would know what was going on, even though she was powerless to do anything about it.

  She felt herself being lifted and thrown over someone’s shoulder. They were moving up the steps.

  They reached the upstairs hallway, and once the door to the basement clicked shut, Julie heard Gordon say to the man carrying her, “Luther, you think I can trust them to get Myles to the mountains? They’re all strangers to me. I can only go by what you and Veston tell me.”

  “Most of them can be trusted,” she heard him answer. “A few will probably desert as quick as they get out of Richmond, but there are a couple who will follow orders. I don’t think you have to worry, but frankly, I’m worried about us getting out of town without being spotted.”

  “We’ll be careful,” Gordon replied.

  “There’s a new man down there I don’t know nothing about,” the man called Luther said, tightening his grip on Julie. “He insisted on coming along. He heard about the escape plan and threatened to blow the whistle unless he was included. Said he wanted out of that place.”

  “No matter,” Gordon snapped. “Let’s be on our way.”

  The sound of the squeaking door caused Myles to stir slightly. “Julie…” he whispered weakly, “don’t leave me…please.”

  “Let’s go!” a man cried, then pointed to another who had moved out of the shadows. “You! Carry him upstairs. You insisted on coming along, so you might as well make yourself useful.”

  The others hurried up the steps, leaving the soldier in gray behind with Myles. Bending, he clasped the bony arms and whispered hoarsely, “Myles, listen to me. We’ve got to get out of here. We’ve got to get you out of Richmond.”

  Myles’s eyes opened, squinting in the lantern’s glow. His face turned ashen as recognition rippled through him. “You! Oh, God, how—”

  “No, don’t say it!” A finger was pressed against Myles’s trembling lips as the man rushed on. “Don’t let on you know me. They’d kill me for sure. Just listen carefully. When I heard about the escape plan, realized it was you they were going to break out, I knew Julie had to be behind it somehow. I insisted on coming along, and I’m going to stick by you and see that no harm comes to you.”

  “I never would have let them take Julie,” he went on miserably, “but I was outnumbered. If I’d tried to stop them, we might have all been killed. So this is the only way. Just pretend you don’t know me, and once you’re strong, we’ll get away and find her. I swear it.”

  He gave Myles a shake. “Do you understand all that I’m saying? Will you pretend you don’t know me and keep your mouth shut?”

  “Hey!” An impatient voice boomed from above. “You going to take all night? Lift that bag o’ bones and let’s get the hell out of here!”

  “I’m coming!”

  “Well, get the lead out, Carrigan! You’re the one who insisted on coming along!”

  “Yes, yes,” he nodded feebly. “I can do it.”

  Yes, Lieutenant Thomas Carrigan thought silently, I did insist on coming, and by God, you bastards will rue the day you brought me!

  He lifted Myles in his arms, shocked that the man felt as light as a child. “Let’s go, cousin,” he whispered tremulously. “We’ve a long road ahead, but we’ll make it…together.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Ice pelted the hotel window as Julie stared down at the silent, shadowy Washington streets. Running trembling hands up and down her arms, she knew she should do something about making a fire in the grate, but despite the chill, she could not move. She was overwhelmed by all that had taken place in the past three days. Gordon had insisted they keep moving north, despite the terrible weather, saying he would feel safe only when they crossed Union lines. She questioned him constantly about what he planned to do with her, but received no answer.

  He was furious with her because she wanted to change her mind, but couldn’t he understand why she didn’t want to leave Myles after she saw his condition, saw how close to death he really was? How could she have known what her reaction would be when she saw him? She had no idea he would be so frail…so emaciated.

  She had offered Gordon the family heirlooms, safely buried back in Savannah, if only he would reunite her with Myles and let her go. And he laughed at her! Then she tried talking to the two men who accompanied them; Luther, who despite his brawny, brash exterior seemed to have an underlying gentle quality; and Veston, who frightened her with his filthy talk and eyes that seemed to undress her. But neither would tell her anything, not where Myles was being taken, or where she was being forced to go.
She knew only that she was in Washington, and Gordon intended for her to work for the Yankees.

  God, she shuddered at the thought. At the time she had agreed to go with him, she’d been desperate. Now she could look back and see how foolish she had been. Myles was still a captive, as far as she knew.

  She whirled at the sound of her door being unlocked, and her heart sank at the sight of Gordon. She would have preferred seeing Luther, who had brought food to her since their arrival two days earlier. He, at least, could be quite pleasant.

  Gordon bowed slightly, giving her an arrogant smile. “My darling, you look stunning tonight.”

  She knew he was only being nasty. Her hair was brushed down, long and straight, and she wore only a woolen robe that Luther had procured for her from one of the hotel maids. It looked frightful, and so did she, but she certainly didn’t care.

  Turning back to the window, she did not acknowledge his remark.

  “We’re really going to have to do something about your wardrobe,” he commented, walking to the fireplace to throw more logs onto the dying flames. “We can’t take you back to Richmond looking so frowsy. What man would want you? And remember, we’re after important men—officers of high rank.”

  “What makes you think I’m going back to Richmond and do your dirty work?” she snapped, still staring at the sleet glazing the window. “I’m not budging from this room till I know where you’ve taken Myles. And I’ve no intention of becoming a spy for you. I was vulnerable when we made our bargain, and you were well aware of that fact. You took advantage of me.”

  “Oh, did I now?” He sounded amused. “Really, Julie, you can be so childish at times, despite the fact that you are a devastatingly beautiful woman. You knew what you were doing when you made your promise to me, and you should know by now that I have every intention of holding you to your word. Why do you want to cause everyone an inconvenience by being so stubborn?”

  “You wait a minute!” she shouted angrily, turning to face him. “You never said anything about being a damn Yankee till after you’d gotten Myles out of prison. And I never said anything about working for the Federal government. You seem to forget I’m a southerner, sir, and proud of it, and I’ll never lift a finger against the Confederacy.”

  “Now, then!” He got to his feet, satisfied that the fire was going well. “I think it is time that we discussed the arrangements.”

  “You may discuss anything you want, but my mind is made up. I want to be taken to my brother.” She turned back to the window.

  He went on as though she had not spoken. “Tomorrow we shall have you fitted with a wardrobe suitable for a lovely, talented young lady who will be traveling about entertaining the poor Rebel soldiers with her sweet voice. Once that is done, you and Luther and Veston will start on your little tour.

  “Luther is quite a gifted guitarist,” he went on, moving to stand directly behind her but making no move to touch her. “He will accompany you when you sing. Veston will more or less serve as your driver, but he will be the one who will relay the information to me that you get out of your men friends.”

  “Men friends!” She spat out the words, whirling about to face him with glaring eyes. “Do you really think I’m going to be your—your whore?”

  He raised an eyebrow and chuckled, “Now, Julie, don’t be so dramatic. Have I asked you to be my whore? I explained everything to you, how you will be taught to drug the men you take to your bed. If you don’t want to make love to them, you don’t have to. You can get the information you need, they will fall asleep, and the next morning you can tell them what wonderful lovers they were. Everyone will be satisfied.

  “Believe me,” he went on, “I have several young ladies working for me, and they are quite satisfied with their situations.”

  “Well, how your other ‘young ladies’ feel is of no concern to me,” she blazed, “because I have no intention of going along with your filthy scheme. The very first chance I get, I intend to expose you for what you are—”

  Suddenly he reached out to clamp strong hands upon her shoulders, giving her a backward shove that sent her reeling onto the bed. Stunned, she could only stare at him in terror as he unleashed his fury. “You little bitch! You’ll do whatever I tell you to do, and you’ll keep your goddamned mouth shut, because the first time you open it when you aren’t told to, that half-dead brother of yours will be put in his grave. We made a bargain. I kept my end of it, and you’ll do the same with yours. Now I don’t intend to listen to any more from you, is that understood?”

  When she did not—could not—answer, he reached out and clasped the front of her robe, pulled her inches from the bed, and whispered harshly, “I asked you a question, dammit, and you’re going to learn to obey me. Do you understand?”

  Her whisper was barely audible, hissed between angrily clenched teeth. “Yes, I quite understand you, you bastard!”

  The play of a smile was on his lips as he released Julie, moved to an erect position, and stared down at her with half-closed lids. “I think,” he murmured, starting to unbutton his shirt, “that it’s time you learned a lesson, my pretty lady. I’m going to teach you the only thing a woman is really good for, and you’ll most likely beg for more and more. I like to hear my women plead for it…”

  “You’re out of your filthy mind!” She was on her feet and screaming, running for the door to beat upon it with both fists, not caring who heard.

  He was right behind her, tearing at her robe, yelling at her to be quiet. “I’ll make it rough for you…you’ll make me hurt you—”

  The door opened so quickly that it struck Julie across her face, and she fell backwards onto the floor. Through a haze of pain, she saw Luther rushing in, gun drawn. “What the hell is going on—” and then he saw Julie and reached down to lift her into his arms. “Are you hurt?” he demanded, then whipped about to face Gordon furiously. “What did you do to her?”

  “Stay out of this!” Gordon snarled.

  “The hell I will!”

  “You seem to forget I’m your commanding officer—”

  “And you seem to forget I don’t give a shit. I said I’d go along with using her as a spy, but dammit, that didn’t include you treating her like she was your woman and using her like you would a whore.”

  Gordon was livid with rage. “Luther, I’m not going to put up with this.”

  “Then you’d better find somebody else to play your goddamn guitar, because I’m not having any part of it.” His anger was equally fired.

  Gordon took a deep breath, then let it out slowly as he tried to get hold of himself. “Very well,” he said tightly. “You win. For now. But sooner or later, I’ll get what I want.”

  “Not while I’m around, you won’t.” Luther was struggling to keep from smashing his fist into Gordon’s face. Fox might be his commanding officer, but Luther’d never liked the damn bastard.

  “That,” Gordon smiled, “can be taken care of, Luther. I can have you transferred elsewhere.”

  “You won’t, because you need me.”

  “In that case, our day will come, and we’ll settle our differences then.” He buttoned his shirt, then walked out and slammed the door behind him.

  Luther turned to Julie with a gentle expression on his face. “Are you sure you’re all right?” he asked softly.

  She nodded shakily, still frightened. “Thank you, Luther. If you hadn’t come when you did…” She shuddered to think of what would have happened.

  “I was close by, figuring he’d try something.” He reached inside his coat and brought out a bottle. “Here. Drink this. You look like you could use it. It’ll make you relax.”

  She tipped it to her lips, drank, then coughed as the liquid burned in her throat. Luther walked over and sat down next to the fireplace. “Maybe you can get some sleep if you drink enough of that. I’ll sit here with you, if it’ll make you feel better. And don’t worry. I’m not going to touch you.”

  Julie went to her bed and sat down
uneasily. She found him handsome, in a rugged, coarse sort of way. His hair was a cross between red and blond, and his eyes were deep blue. But there were lines in his face that made him appear older than she guessed him to be. It was obvious he’d led a rough-and-tumble kind of life, and she found it strange that he could be so gentle with her.

  “I’m a soldier too, Julie,” he spoke quietly. “Maybe not like the others, because I’m considered part of the secret service, like Fox. But he is my commanding officer, and I take orders from him. I was pretending to be a Reb, and that’s how I got assigned to Libby, like Fox wanted.”

  “Yet you stood up to him just now,” she murmured, awed.

  He grinned, and suddenly he didn’t look so rough anymore. “Yeah—well, I do that now and then, and he really hates my guts for it. I figure sooner or later along the line we’re going to have one hell of a fight. I’ll be ready for it. He’s a sharp one, though.”

  “He’s vile and vicious, and he still holds my brother prisoner,” she cried, blinking back tears.

  Luther gestured helplessly. “That’s the way it is, honey. This is war. I hate it as much as you do, but—” He paused to take a breath, then murmured, “Look, you’re upset, and you’ve got a right to be. Why don’t you just drink some more of that stuff and maybe you’ll go to sleep. You’ll feel better in the morning.”

  She shook her head but took another swallow. She didn’t want to sleep. She wanted to talk. “He said he’d have Myles killed if I don’t do as he says.”

  “He probably will. It won’t be so bad if you do what he wants. I’ll be around to try and make things easy.”

  Julie continued to sip from the bottle, and soon her voice was slurring, eyelids growing heavy. As the bottle slipped from her fingers, Luther reached to take it away before it fell to the floor. “I’m not going to touch you, Julie,” he said with tenderness as he laid her down and pulled a blanket up to tuck beneath her chin. “I’m going to sit here next to you and make sure nobody bothers you—this night, at least.”