'Chariovalda will never believe this was a coincidence, should we have to stay after all,' he told me, while dragging the corpse. 'This will spell doom for us.'
'We are Germani,' I reminded him, and myself, 'from the eastern woods.'
'We are,' he said coldly. 'And now I am to get Cassia?'
'Take her to safety,' I told him. 'Be careful with the guard. If she does not obey, truss her up, and carry her away at spear point.'
'Be careful, my lord,' he told me. 'But, I doubt I will manage to take her anywhere, if she disagrees.'
I pulled my sword through the young man's clothing, cleaning the blade. I felt dirty and hopeless, but I was determined. She would die indeed, and as long as Drusus died, and I got away, Lif would be safe. 'Fulcher?'
'Yes, lord?' he said, as he watched some legionnaires passing the alleyway.
'I am sorry I could not help you find the man who took your son's life,' I said.
He smiled wistfully. 'We are not dead yet. And there is still time. Fate will be revealed in the end.'
I smiled as he ran away. I walked away swiftly in the dark evening, wind picking up as I made my way to the temple. Many soldiers were milling by it, Hercules overseeing the activity from his lofty perch on the top of the temple, though he was not being very attentive, for I was still alive. I greeted the men I knew, some of them Batavi, and hoped there were no more men following us around. There were none, I decided, for I could not control everything.
I walked up the steps, and a throng of centurions exited the temple, the bravest men of the army, who had a terrible mortality rate in battles. I nodded at them respectfully and squinted into the dark temple. It would be closed when Drusus arrived, and I walked forward briskly on the tiled stone floor, my hobnailed caligae making clipping sounds. A brazier was sputtering in the middle of the room, and another image of Hercules, a vicious, bearded man with a club, was staring malevolently at me from the far wall. I walked by the brazier, coughing a bit as pungent smoke billowed around me. I brushed my hands over an altar where a stick of incense was burning and smoking weakly. Ansbor stepped out from behind the statue, nodding at me while watching some legionnaires, who walked briskly forward towards the altar. I made way for them, nodding gratefully, and went to Ansbor.
He was armed and armored in his Roman gear, holding a shield. He nodded back. 'They dead?' he asked softly, nervously glancing around the room.
'None know we are here,' I said deeply. ‘Well?'
'I got the priest, but could not let you do this alone. I lost the guard,' he whispered.
'You lost him? Is the haruspex there?' I asked, and nodded towards the back rooms.
'He is, and eager to meet you. I had to pay him a terribly high prize, though. Says we have to hurry, he has other business this night,' Ansbor told me, and when I moved that way, he put a hand on my shoulder, smiling. 'Wait. Let them leave.' He nodded at the legionnaires, who were praying. I scowled at him, staring up at Hercules, one of the Greek heroes Marcus Romanus had once told me about, as he taught me the rudiments of Latin. He had shown me the ways and forms of the old ways and gods, most coming from faraway east, some from the Greek, and was not my helmet, gift of Tudrus the Older, from those lands? Heracles, Hercules, aid me, I prayed.
But, gods, Drusus.
He was a god.
He was a man to turn the fates of men, a vortex of glory I was to suffocate. He was a victim of his stepfather, a lord of swords and a … friend. Ansbor was staring at my face, as I struggled, and he hesitated, starting to speak, but he turned his face away, saying nothing. I placed a hand on his shoulder. 'I am sorry for the tensions between us. It has been harsh for all.'
'Mainly so, due to your family,' he grunted with some distress. 'I wonder what life would be like, had we served your father, and let you rot in your disfavor?'
'You would be happy, no doubt,' I told him sourly. 'But, you still would not have Cassia.'
'Cassia?' he asked, surprised. 'Oh, yes. She does not want me, no. Because she loves you,' he snickered, and then rubbed his face tiredly. 'I am sorry as well. Will you marry her?'
'Cassia?' I said. 'I do not know, Ansbor. I hope she will be far from here soon. It is such a distant dream, Ansbor.' He was nodding his head, anger playing on his face, cold, clammy sweat pouring on to his face. He pointed at the legionnaires leaving the temple, and I glanced at their receding backs. A woman was in the doorway, her head swathed and holding a baby, and one of the legionnaires bent to kiss her. The baby stared at the temple, and then at me. It, she or he, held my eyes.
I stopped.
Drusus was a father as well.
He also kissed their mother like that. His wife, Antonia, would be a plaything to Augustus's whims when he died. Their children would lose their father, their fate tied to the mother. Or the mother would lose the children? They might be separated. I had lost Lif. Now, due to Lif, his children would lose Drusus. The child chortled and smiled, as the father, about to go to war, took her to his arms, a husband who should not be married by laws of the army, and then they walked off.
I would, could regain Lif. I would orphan Drusus's children, let his wife and family fly with fates. I would likely lose Cassia, a woman who was brave and lovely. A woman I cared for. Loved. So much it hurt. I would lose Fulcher and Ansbor. I shuddered as the baby disappeared.
I shook my head.
Lif. I am sorry. I could not do it.
'Let us go in, then,' Ansbor said, and stepped aside, wondering at me, seeing the tears inside the helmet.
'No,' I told him heavily. 'I cannot.'
He looked exasperated. 'It is too late, Hraban. You have killed this night.'
'I will pay,' I told him. 'Ansbor, I … '
'Come, at least he must be paid,' he encouraged.
‘You said you paid him?’
‘I could not afford to pay fully,’ he insisted. I took a step forward then another, and stopped at the door; it was ajar, and a man was sitting in a chair, swathed with white robes and a cowl. I pushed at the door, and the figure moved. It was huge, the robes stretched over the torso. Something occurred to me, and I turned to Ansbor, who was standing right behind me. 'Where is your sword?'
He opened his mouth, instinctively groping for the huge sword of Leuthard. But, it was not there. Only the legionnaire one.
'I have it, Hraban,' said the man sitting in the room, and I flashed a look his way as he pushed back his cowl. The hand was scabbed and covered with rock-like scars. The face was the brutal, scarred face of Leuthard. Bricius's lean face appeared out of the dark corner, holding a bow, and he had some men of the Red Finger with him. And Cornix.
Gods, but Antius had made his move.
I pulled at Nightbright, hoping to sprint to safety, and then Ansbor pushed me into the room, and I fell on my belly on the feet of Leuthard, who now held his old sword. Ansbor walked in, joining the men who had been our enemies, and who were now his allies. He locked the door with a bar.
I tried to get up, but Bricius stepped on my hand with a hiss of pleasure, and they grabbed my face and arms in a vice-like grip, as Leuthard chuckled and laid his blade on my neck. Ansbor did not smile but looked away. Bricius grinned over me. 'You killed my men, Hraban. My cousin. Then, you took my benefactor, Hunfrid. When Maroboodus sent us north to slay the young Cherusci—'
'Armin?' I hissed, as I gazed around the room. Cornix was lounging in the back of the room, his burned face oddly complacent.
Leuthard grunted with bear-like anger, and Bricius went quiet. The bald man glared at me, his animal-like eyes glittering in the dark, his bald head sweaty. He took a deep breath. 'Guthbert. You killed my brother, Hraban. You nearly killed me. It was cleverly done.'
'I did, wolfman,' I told him bitterly. 'And he died well, slayer of men rather than of women.'
He chuckled. 'Ah, the Batavi have been telling you stories, Hraban. Oh, yes, they are all true. I am Lok's spawn, like Odo is. Hati's brood, I am that. Yet I serve chaos, and your f
ather sows it, and so I serve him before my father god, Hraban. I was called a beast, with the Batavi. And I am that. I feed on the weak, Hraban, not women. Most all are weak next to me, no matter their sex and age. I fed on your friend when I found her there. I took her in many ways, Hraban, and then one final way. She fought, and the two fools tried to help her, but it was useless. She was weak, like you are. I will feed on you. I will eat you, Hraban, here, after they have broken your bones, and taken your tongue.' He smiled at me as he gazed at Ansbor. 'Perhaps your friend here will join the feast? I promised to spare the woman he cares for in return for this pleasure, but there is no need for him to go hungry. He looks like he is able to swallow a war band's rations of meat in one seating.'
Ansbor said nothing, but shook his head, his face white and suffering, terrified and alone amongst the beasts surrounding him, and I cursed him softly. 'For a woman who cares nothing for you, Ansbor? This is how you think you will get her?'
Bricius chuckled as he pulled a knife, grabbing my face painfully. He leaned on me, his sinewy face close, as he ripped the helmet off and dropped it to the ground. 'Put it out, the flabby tongue, boy, and do not make me cut it out through your lips, though that would please me just fine.'
I spat at him, and gazed at Leuthard. 'So, you serve my father still?'
'Yes,' he said happily. 'I do.'
'By killing Armin? What and why are you—'
He waved Bricius back as he stared at me. 'You upset his plans. He is nearly half feebler as he was before the war. He has some thousand truly loyal, trained men, Roman-like in their ways, but the chiefs are hoping to break off him, and he has to fight the ones who would do so. Before you burned his hall, Hraban, chasing him out of Hard Hill like a fugitive, he had the ears and spears of the tribes. Over ten thousand men. Now, only half.'
'At least I achieved that.'
'Yes, you did,' Leuthard smiled brutally. 'Sigimer and Armin are the ones the rest listen to now. So, I shall go, and kill the young bastard.'
'You will get nowhere near him,' I spat.
'I will go with the Romans,' he said huskily, glancing at Cornix, 'and they will set me on his tail. I will find him. I have a hunch Armin will find the Romans, you see. But, he won't win. He will run. And I will lope after him in the dark.'
'And Antius set you on my trail as well,' I snickered. 'A coward's way of fighting me, Leuthard. Guthbert would not enjoy this.'
'Guthbert and I did respect each other, even if we disagreed on many things,' he smiled. 'But, he is not here to discuss this issue. It is pure luck I am here with you, boy. I was to come here and meet with Antius, so I could slay Armin after the Thing. Armin, the bastard, fled that night. So. I will go with the army. It will be hard. But your father asked me to do another deed, one I thought I would achieve somewhere out there. But, you are here.'
'Bastard,' I hissed.
'He wants to make sure you have gone to Hades. No matter quickly, or slowly, but dead as a stone, that is how he likes to think about you. He preferred you would suffer, though. I reckon I can serve my lord well in that by telling you I shall savage the baby after Armin is dead, for we just found out where your girl is. I shall hold her in my hands, rip her screaming head off, and eat her steaming flesh. This, I promise, and Odo and you both be damned. The god, Lok, laughs, no matter if his plans are dashed for now. I shall laugh! I'll take the skull, Hraban, and give it to your father. His deserves to see his granddaughter, does he not?'
I struggled, of course. Ansbor had told him about Lif. I gazed at my friend, who shook his head in weak denial.
Bricius pushed my head to the floor while the men sat on me, and I cried and cursed as they ripped out Leuthard's mail off my torso, beating me half senseless as they did. I was bleeding from my nose, my face was puffy and raw, as they dragged me on the floor, and then Leuthard placed his heavy knee on my neck, grinning at me. 'Let Drusus be victorious, so Maroboodus will beat him next year, and let us celebrate both their victories today with a feast.' He grinned at Ansbor, who took a reluctant step towards the door, his face glistening with fear as he stared at me. Leuthard stepped on my left hand and a finger broke. I howled as he crouched to take a hold of it, a wicked grimace on his face. It was likely the shadows and the oil lamp flickering sadly, but I thought his face was changing into darker shade, an unhuman one with subtle bestiality, his eyes small and cruel, and his bloodlust was obvious by a nervous twist of his face, his teeth shimmering in the shadowy room.
Bricius stabbed the dagger between my teeth, wounding my lip, twisting my mouth open, and another man was fishing for my tongue. My legs were thrumming the floor in pain, and I prayed to Woden, but there was no dance of savagery, no help coming from divine lords, only a waiting Valkyrie after I died.
Woden had let me down.
But, someone had once promised me help, three times in the hour of my need, and so it was I received that help for the second time.
Outside of the door, Drusus was bellowing orders, and the slap of hobnails striking the wooden floor could be heard as the Romans approached. Bricius's head shot up in astonishment, Leuthard stood up as well, his face shocked. Ansbor looked utterly lost, stammering, and the men let go of me. Cornix was swearing nastily, and he started to probe the wall, and I noticed there was a door in the shadow. Leuthard grunted, as he pulled out his sword, stepped over me, and thrust the sword through Ansbor. My friend fell back, shocked and sorry, his face blank, as Leuthard ripped the blade out. He stepped over me, hesitating for a moment as the men rushed to the back wall, where a door was opened. He turned towards me, his face brutal as the main door shuddered under repeated kicks.
'Hraban!' Drusus was screaming. 'Hraban!'
Leuthard gazed at me. 'I'll not have this end with a simple sword thrust. I shall enjoy it. So come and save him, Hraban. Armin. Save her, your daughter. I shall meet you out there. At least you get to see her before I shall break her.' He rushed and kicked me in the face so hard, I lost a molar, and I rolled on the floor, spitting blood and mucus, holding my broken finger. He disappeared out of the door to the dark, swiftly as a hunting wolf. The world was whirling around as I crawled to Ansbor, his corpse shuddering in death throes, his chain mail ripped and bent, parts of it thrust into his flesh by the terrible sword of Leuthard. He grasped my hand, my broken finger twisted crazily to the side, and smiled, as I grimaced in pain. He spat a gout of blood as the door cracked, light shining through the splintered wood. 'I am no different from Ansigar, Hraban. No different. I was jealous of you. I have paid.'
I shook my head, feeling sorry and hating him both. 'No, Ansbor. If he kills Lif, then this death of yours will never balance the scales. Never. But, you are my friend, and we shall bury you.'
'Be good to Cassia. You always had her, I know, but I loved her,' he whimpered in terrible pain and fell to his side, his guts spilling from the wound. I cried for him, and I hated him, and so it was that Drusus, his light brown lion's eyes burning fiercely, pulled me off him.
He put his hand on my face. 'Your father's men?'
'Yes,' I said, swooning. 'That, and more. That Antius's man, Cornix, was helping them.'
He nodded carefully. 'Cassia came to me, and told me everything.'
'She did?' I asked him, and gazed over his shoulder where Fulcher and Cassia were rushing for me. The Romans gazed at the carnage. A centurion ran to the open door, yelling for men to follow him, as they took after Leuthard. They would never reach them. Cornix would see to that, knowing the camp and passwords.
'She said she had a divine warning. She insisted to meet with me. She worried about you, and thought something terrible was going to happen. I knew she was right when she told me you came to meet me here. Invited by me. I did not invite you, so I knew your father was reaching out for you, friend,' he said. 'Thank her gods, Hraban. You will rest a while, friend, and we shall catch the bastards. Oh, we will, and we will hang them. I will nail them to the tree, like you do in your lands, and we will toast their cries toget
her. Cornix killed the men watching you, it seems. Near a whorehouse. Did you visit a girl, Hraban, when you have Cassia there? Naughty.' He smiled, and then sobered as he looked at my hurt hand, his eyes twinkling. I shook my head in denial and opened my mouth to speak. I wanted to tell him the truth, but he shook his head, smiling wistfully. I closed it, and thanked him with a smile. 'It is best Chariovalda thinks it was so, and let us not confuse matters more, Hraban. I know you are a good man, and would have chosen right in the end. You still have time.'
'I did choose right,' I told him with misery, 'but they were here, and I was too late to save Ansbor.'
'Tell me, is Armin involved with this …?' he asked gently.
'He is,' I said. 'As is Lif.'
Anger flashed in his eyes. 'So I was right. He has no balls for war, and tries to murder me like this. I'll teach him a thing or two.'
'Remember, Drusus, that he always has many plans,' I said.
'When I find Lif,' he told me, putting his forehead against mine, 'you will be free.' He got up and left.
Cassia leaned over me, touching a wound on my lip. I grasped her and pulled her to me. 'You are a damned fool, Marcomanni,' she told me heartily. 'A damned fool.'
'I am so happy you are not,' I said, and kissed her neck and her cheek, despite the pain.
'That old man of Tear's told me to disagree with you when you were an idiot. So I figured this was the perfect time,' she said with a smile, and I laughed painfully, for Adalfuns the Crafter had helped me once more. She kissed my nose and hugged me fiercely, until they grabbed me and carried me out of the temple. My eyes were lingering on Ansbor's cold corpse. 'We will avenge him,' Cassia said sorrowfully, and I nodded, determined not to spit with bitterness. I would keep his secret, and let him die a hero.
Raven's Wyrd: A Novel of Germania and Rome (Hraban Chronicles Book 2) Page 44
