The two men downed the contents of their cups in one long gulp. They slammed their cups back down on the table in unison and Constan said, “I’ll send Gor with ye. He knows the city and will know where to go. Who else did ye have in mind?”
Athos pondered the question for several moments before saying, “Baltazar, obviously. He’s the best hand to hand fighter we have.”
Constan interrupted with a long bellowing laugh, “Liana, too? Bloody hell! Are ye trying to get me castrated?”
“We’ll just have to bring her along as well. Both she and Athea work well together and are good in a fight.”
Constan nodded in agreement, “Aye, we definitely learned that escaping from Damascus.”
“I don’t think we would have escape if her and Liana hadn’t covered my and Baltazar’s backs.” Athos said.
“Who else?” Constan asked.
“Maarika. Her skills with a sling our legend.”
Constan snorted, “One big happy goat herding family. You’ll have to bring Nasir along then.”
“Aye, he’s a solid but unremarkable fighter. He’ll keep Maarika’s shapely backside well covered.” Athos replied.
Constan laughed again, “That he will lad, that he will. Anybody else?”
“Jerry. He did well in supporting myself and Baltazar as we cleared out the inns here in Nashon. He follows orders, and makes good decisions.” Athos said.
“Anybody else?” Constan asked.
“No, those are the team members I would like to have.” Athos replied.
“Jerry is a Dekanos now, I’ll give ye his team of Skutatoi to go along. That will give ye seventeen counting Gor.” Constan said.
Athos took a sip of his wine before saying, “That seems like a good number. Enough to win a fight or two if we get in trouble, but not so much that we will stir up the entire city against us.”
“Exactly.” Constan replied.
The two men drank in silence for several moments before Constan noticed Athos’ features paling, “What’s wrong, laddie?”
“This is going to be my first independent command.” Athos said.
“Nonsense. Ye commanded a unit on ye own outside the walls of Damascus.” Constan replied.
“But at Damascus I was within sight of you.” Athos replied.
“Still, there was nothing I could have done to save ye. Ye survived on ye own.” Constan said.
Athos snorted, “Some survival. I lost nearly two hundred men and women.”
“You would have lost fewer if not for that treacherous bastard, Zahid.” Constan paused for a moment and took a sip of wine, “One of the toughest things about being in command lad is losing the people under you.”
“Is that why you were so out of sorts after Damascus fell?” Athos inquired.
Constan nodded slowly, “Aye. Not only did I manage to lose nearly all me people, but an entire city as well.”
“The situation was hopeless. You did well to get us out.” Athos replied.
Constan sighed, “That’s what I keep trying to tell meself.”
Athos stood up, walked around the table, and placed a hand on Constan’s should, “I mean it. If not for your quick thinking none of us that survived Damascus would be drawing breath. We should have all perished to Fonda and her minions that day.”
“Thanks, lad, that means a lot coming from you. Now let’s get our arses in gear and make sure we don’t perish to that unholy bitch.” Constan replied.
Chapter 57
Morning, October 18th 636, Nashon, Palestinia Province, Byzantium
The Plan
Dawn broke the next morning with a slight chill in the air. Though the sun shone brightly, the crisp blue sky offered a hint of the coming winter. Once the 5th Babylon had broken their fast, Constan brought them all together. He sat atop Viribus and looked over the sea of heads that was his responsibility to command. I think I’m actually starting to get used to being in charge. Constan thought to himself sullenly.
Taking a deep breath, he shouted in a commanding voice, “Good morning, 5th Babylon!”
They men replied in unison with the customary reply, “Good morning, sir!”
“Ye have done well up to this point. Ye are all good fighters and work well as a team. Ye don’t know me very well yet, so let me tell ye a little something about meself. It is my habit to tell ye, when I can, what we are facing. I do not want it to be said, that ye are dying without knowing why. I think a man that knows why can use that knowledge to pull on strength from within that he did not know existed within himself.” Constan said.
He paused for several moments and met the eyes of several of the Skutatoi nearby. He could see slight nods and understanding on their faces. Good, they understand what I’m trying to say. Constan opened his mouth to continue when he heard the unmistakable sound of a rider. He listened for a moment to gauge the direction and proximity. The faint thumps of the horse’s hooves grew louder with each passing second, I guess we are about to find out whether my suspicions about that bitch being near are correct.
“At ease, men. Let me find out what the rider has to say, and we’ll continue.” Constan said.
The men of the 5th Babylon relaxed into parade rest, as Constan turned his horse toward the now visible rider and kicked Viribus gently in the sides. Viribus whinnied and began trotting in the direction of the incoming rider. Constan was quickly joined by both Droungarios Hovig, and Kentarches Athos, both of whom were also mounted.
It took but another minute before the rider was upon them. The man, yanked hard on his reins and brought his brown mount to a skidding halt before the three officers. Seeing, who was meeting him, he sat up straight in his saddle and saluted. “Report.” Constan said.
“Greetings, sir, I am trooper Azov. I bring a message from Droungarios Damir.”
“Damir!” Athos exclaimed with excitement in his voice.
“Shut ye trap, and let the man speak. What news of Damir, Azov?” Constan said.
“He sends his regards. Unfortunately, the news is not good. He attempted to lead the larger horde away with the three hundred and fifty riders left to him.” Azov replied.
“And, what happened?” Constan asked.
“They did not react as the first horde did. There was something different about them, smarter. While many of them followed Damir’s bait unbeknownst to us at the time, another portion of the horde broke off and circled around us.” Azov said.
“Christ almighty, that can mean only one thing. My suspicions were correct, the bitch is back.” Constan said.
“How did she find us?” Athos asked, his voice tinged with worry.
“Never mind that. Azov, how many escaped the trap?” Constan asked.
Azov’s shoulders slumped, and his gaze drifted downward, “I was the only one, sir. Before the trap closed completely, Droungarios ordered five of us to ride and send word to you. I was the only one that survived.”
“How do ye know for sure?” Constan demanded.
“As soon as I broke through the damned’s lines they lost interest in me. I kept looking back to see if I had attracted any pursuit. When I saw that none followed, I turned and watched the fate of my brothers as it unfolded.” Azov said,
Everyone remained silent as Azov paused for a moment to fight back tears. As he started to speak again his lower lip started to tremble, “The damned closed the trap. I watched as, one by one, they pulled my brothers off of their horses and consumed them. They fought like lions to the very end, but it didn’t matter, there were simply to many.”
“I mourn with ye, Azov. Damir and your brothers were good men, the pride of Armenia. Did ye notice anything unusual about the damned?” Constan asked.
“In what way, sir?” Azov asked,
“Did they fight differently than the damned ye are familiar with from Joppa and the first horde? Did any individual damned stand out to ye?” Constan asked in a soft, soothing tone of voice.
“These damned did act differently from Joppa a
nd the first horde. More instinct driven, and less intelligent. They let their hunger rule them and charged in without any hint of strategy or tactics. Other than the act of circling around behind us to cut us off of course. That move made it almost seem as if they were being ordered about by a general.” Azov said.
“Think hard, lad, this is important so I ask it again. Did any individual damned stand out?” Constan asked.
“Let me ponder for a moment, sir.” Azov closed his eyes and reviewed the memory he had of the final moments the horde was within his sight. Suddenly it came to him. He hadn’t noticed it before, “The part of the horde that wasn’t feeding upon my brothers just stood there and stared at me. Before I turned to leave a female separated from the horde and walked about twenty feet in front of them.” Azov said.
“Was there anyone else with her?” Constan asked.
Azov nodded, “Aye, a big fellow walked behind her. He had a long beard and tremendous size to him. A damned I would hate to have to face, except one weird thing about him.”
“What was it?” Athos urged.
“He didn’t look damned, he looked alive.” Azov said.
“He’s alive.” Constan said.
“Legion.” Athos added.
“Why didn’t the bitch kill him?” Constan wondered.
“After Legion was captured and Baltazar and I were fighting for our lives in that hallway, the two of them had a conversation. I couldn’t hear what was being said.” Athos said.
“I can’t imagine why she would keep him alive.” Constan said.
“Maybe she didn’t try to at first and noticed his immunity.” Athos said.
Constan sighed deeply and said, “Thank you, Azov. See to your mount, then ye may get something to eat from the kitchen and get some rest.”
Azov nodded dully and saluted before saying, “Thank you, sir.” He turned his horse toward Nashon, and departed.
Constan turned to Hovig, “It doesn’t seem like we have long. Hovig, I need to ride ahead with the scouts and choose the place where we will make our stand. Can ye get the men packed up and moving east? I fear it will only be a matter of hours before that thrice cursed bitch Fonda gets here.”
Hovig nodded, “At once, sir.”
Hovig saluted and turned to leave when Constan said, “Hovig, a moment if you will, let me finish addressing the men first.”
Not waiting for a response from Hovig, Constan rode back to the men, stopped in front of them and barked, “Attention!” The men, still in formation, instantly snapped into the position of attention. They stood rigidly with their backs straight, and their chests out. Their arms rested at their sides with their hands curled into fists. Their fisted hands had their thumbs facing forward. A moment after the men came to attention virtually in unison, Constan began to speak, “I have just gotten word that Damir’s force of riders has been destroyed.”
Looks of shock crossed the faces in front of Constan. Over the ensuring moments as the words sank in, many of the men, forgetting they were at attention, expressions turned to horror and fear, “They were defeated by a familiar enemy, an intelligent damned called Fonda. She is an unholy bitch that somehow retained her intelligence. She can speak and can control the damned around her.”
Discipline collapsed all together as the men turned to each other and began talking. Constan bellowed, “Ye are at the position of attention you sluggards, act like it!”
The men quickly fell silent and resumed their rigid stance, “Do not fret. We have defeated the bitch before, and will do so again. Myself, and Athos has already drawn up a plan that will enable us to keep her at bay, while we retrieve the True Cross from Jerusalem. What ye need to do to ensure that can happen is to stop fretting like a bunch of old women, get ye shit packed up, and ye arses moving toward Jerusalem within the hour. Clear?”
The men responded in unison, “Clear, sir!”
“Good, dismissed.”
The men quickly fell out of formation, and hurriedly went about the task of packing up their gear for the march ahead. Constan rode over to the Komes in charge of his remaining cavalry and said, “Tovin.”
Tovin turned and looked up at Constan mounted on Viribus. Seeing who had asked for him, he immediately snapped to attention and saluted, “Yes, sir!”
Constan returned the salute and said, “I need ye to saddle up and scout the road ahead to Jerusalem. If ye encounter any damned, even one, send a rider back to let me know. In addition, if ye see any locations that resemble a pass, where if we formed a line with the Skutatoi, our flanks would be covered, immediately send word back. Myself and Athos will be following slowly behind ye. We need to choose the ground where we will stand, so we won’t be too far behind.”
“I will see to it at once, sir. How close should we go to Jerusalem?” Tovin asked.
“That’s a good question.” Constan pondered his reply for a moment and then said, “Within sight of the walls but no closer. I need ye to make sure there are no hordes between us and the city. Be careful not stray too close to the city though, I don’t want ye attracting any of those putrid bastards on to ye.”
Tovin nodded, “I understand, sir. Scout ahead to identify any possible locations where the terrain will cover the flanks of the army should you offer battle to the damned. In addition, ride within sight of the walls of Jerusalem to ensure there are no hordes between us and the city.”
Constan smiled, “Ye got it trooper. Carry on.”
Tovin saluted crisply and turned. As Constan rode away he could hear him barking orders. Constan then rode toward Athos who was talking to both Baltazar and Jerry. The camp was a scene of chaos around him as everyone worked quickly to pack up and break camp.
“Jerry, as soon as your men are assembled, along with the rest of our group, we will ride for Jerusalem.” Athos said.
As Constan joined the group, everyone turned and saluted. He returned the salute and then asked, “How goes it?”
Before replying to Constan Athos turned to Jerry and asked, “Any further questions?” Jerry shook his head to indicate no, “Then you are dismissed. As soon as you are ready, meet at the horse corral in the middle of camp. We will be using some of the spare mounts from Damir’s group for the journey.” Athos said.
As Athos spoke the name Damir, everyone within earshot crossed themselves in unison and said, “God rest his soul.”
Athos then turned to Constan and said, “Sorry, sir, I just needed to make sure my team was clear on their orders.”
Before Constan could speak Baltazar interjected, “I’ll see to ensuring that Nasir and the ladies are ready to go.”
Athos nodded in Baltazar’s direction, “Very good, Dekanos, you are dismissed.”
Athos turned back to Constan who said, “No worries, lad. I just wanted to see where ye were at in your preparations for departure. The main part of the army should be breaking camp within the hour.”
“We should be riding out of camp before that happens, sir.” Athos replied.
“Very good, carry on, Kentarches.” Constan said.
Athos came to attention as best he could from the saddle of his horse. He straightened his back and squared his shoulders. He then clenched his right hand into a fist and touched it to his heart in salute. Salute complete, Athos turned his horse and rode to the tent he shared with Athea.
As he dismounted a voice from within the tent barked accusingly, “Why does it always have to be us?” Athea’s voiced was laced with one-part seething anger and one-part frustration.
Athos smiled innocently at his distraught mate and said, “Orders, love.”
“Bollocks! You and Baltazar probably asked for the privilege of fetching the cross. Anything, to get us surrounded by the damned so you two can have fun butchering the bastards by the hundreds.” Athea retorted.
“Well if that was our goal, we would be better off staying with the main army.” Athos replied.
“Oh really?” Athea said in a dry tone.
“Fonda is coming
.” Athos said.
Athea’s eyes widened into the shape of saucers, “Fonda? That same rotting bitch that tried to get us in Damascus?”
Athos nodded, “Aye, the very same.”
“How did she find us so fast?” Athea asked.
Athos shrugged his shoulders, “We don’t know.”
“Her abilities must extend quite far.” Athea said.
Athos smiled, “You think she can see through the eyes of other damned, even across many miles?”
“Either that, or she is the luckiest damned bitch I’ve ever heard of. Why would she happen to be in the very area where we landed in Palestinia Province if that wasn’t the case?”
“Other than pure happenstance, I can’t think of a reason.” Athos replied.
“Exactly, it would make more sense for her to continue moving north. North is where the food is after all.” Athea’s voice trailed off as she said the last sentence.
Before Athos could reply Constan lifted the flap and entered the tent, “I was riding by and couldn’t help but overhear ye conversation. In fact, I think there are probably few places in the camp that didn’t.” Athea blushed as Constan continued, “Don’t blame the lad, lassie. It wasn’t his fault. I need my smartest and best fighters sneaking into Jerusalem to get the cross while I buy ye time with the lives of the rest of my men.”
Athea wrapped her arm around Athos’ waist and threw Constan a faint smile, “I know, sir. It’s just really frustrating. I was hoping this mission would be a quick in and out, and back to Antioch. Shove the cross up the old buzzard’s purple draped arse, and then we could get on with what we were talking about during our journey to Antioch. Running away, far away, from the damned, so that we could have a chance at a normal life.” She cast Athos a sidelong glance before adding, “Maybe even a baby.”
Constan took Athea’s hand and looked into her hazel eyes. She has beautiful eyes, with flecks of gold. Athos is a lucky lad indeed. Constan thought before saying, “As do I, lass. As do I. I wish the same thing for myself and Amata, and the rest of ye. It saddens me that ye have not had a moment’s respite since ye got back together.”
Byzantium Infected Box Set Page 89
