“James of the Bethlehem City Guard.” Baltazar said.
Athos bowed his head, made the sign of the cross and said, “Go in peace, brother James.”
As he said the words, Constan and Baltazar joined in and repeated them. Constan turned to the men and said, “Let’s give this man a proper burial.”
As Constan pulled himself up on his horse six Skutatoi came forward and drew small shovels from their packs. The shovels, carried by all Skutatoi, were used to build the nightly marching forts. Working together, the six men quickly dug James a shallow grave. Task completed, Constan spoke a few words over James’ grave from his perch on Viribus. The brief service complete, the remnants of the 5th Babylon resumed their journey westward.
At the front of the column rode the officers on their horses, Constan, Hovig, Athos, and the two surviving Kentarches. Behind them rode the rest of the men in Athos’ cross retrieval task force. These men and women had overcome incredible odds to retrieve the True Cross of Jesus Christ. They were now honored with a position of prominence at the front of the line, and the luxury of a horse.
Following everyone on horseback, the rest of the men marched in a column of two behind the riders. The group made their way toward the line of hills that separated Jerusalem from the coastal plain in Palestinia Province. For the remainder of the day, much to their fortune, they encountered no one, living or dead.
They made camp that night in a small valley tucked within the rough broken terrain of the hills that separated the coastal plain of Palestinia Province from the Jordan River Valley. Despite their grievous losses, the presence of the cross helped to bolster their flagging spirits. Though the absence of so many brothers in arms and comrades was keenly felt, the men smiled, joked, and generally enjoyed each other’s company.
In spite of the advantages the terrain afforded them, they posted guards on the rim of the valley just to be certain. With the damned about, it payed to be prudent. Hoping for a little alone time, Liana and Baltazar had separated themselves from the rest of the group. From atop a nearby hill, laid on a blanket gazing at the stars.
“What do you think each of the stars are?” Liana took Baltazar’s hand before she continued, “Everyone seems to have a different opinion.”
Baltazar looked over at Liana and smiled. Her face was bathed in the soft light of the stars above. He returned his gaze to the sky and said, “I’ve heard it told that the stars are windows into heaven.”
“Yes, but what do you believe them to be? Liana asked.
Baltazar gazed intently at the sky, willing for it to speak to him and provide the answer. His eyes traced the line of the Milky Way as it stretched across the sky. He noticed several of the stars formed patterns in the sky, “I think they are a message. You ever notice how they change over time?”
Liana responded by raising herself up onto her elbows and finding Baltazar’s lips with her own. She kissed him longingly, the experiences of the previous few days, creating an insistence within her body. After nearly a minute of the tender embrace in which their tongues intertwined and explored each other, Liana abruptly broke the contact.
Baltazar, gazed tenderly up at her and said, “I love you.”
Liana responded, not with words, but deeds. She left no doubt as to what resided in her heart. Exhausted, the couple fell asleep under the stars.
They awoke the next day refreshed from their second good night of sleep. It was cloudy that morning and the greyness hung on their hearts. The men, lost in their thoughts, ate their reduced rations in silence. The 5th Babylon’s morale, which had been bolstered by the recovery of the cross, began to slide as their stomachs began to protest the lack of food.
Around midday they were forced to abandon the wagon that held the cross. The rocky terrain, long starved of rainfall, forced them to march single file as they made their way up into the hills. Three men worked to carry the heavy relic across the steepening hills and ever more treacherous terrain. Several times, one of the men carrying the cross lost his balance or slipped on lose stones.
Though a hard day, their efforts bore fruit. For the second day in a row, they did not encounter a single soul, living or dead. As they made their way down the hills from their apogee, they could see the blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea laid out before them. The sea was still some two days journey from their position, but having their goal within sight helped to raise their spirits despite the emptiness in their stomachs.
That night, lacking the natural protection the hill country provided them, the 5th Babylon built a small marching fort into the side of the last hill before the coastal plain opened up before them. Despite the hardships of the journey, the men smiled and began talking of a future. A future they were convinced would never happen a few short days ago.
Athos, lounging upon the side of a hill, had his arm around Athea, who was lying beside him. She leaned up on her elbows, so that she could look down at him and smiled. He returned the smile and they shared a long and lingering kiss. Finished, Athea asked, “Do you think the Emperor will honor his word and let us do whatever we want?”
Athos nodded slowly, enjoying the way the camp fires glinted off of her hazel eyes and said, “Yes. Emperor Heraclius has been a man of his word.”
“You don’t think he would be desperate to keep us around given the damned problem?” Athea asked.
“Oh, I’m sure he will be tempted, but the Emperor has been through many trials and tribulations through his numerous years on the throne.” Athos said.
“But isn’t this the worst trial he has ever faced? How can you know what a man will do when faced with such a calamity?” Athea asked.
Athos smiled. Before he can answer her question, he is overcome with uncontrollable mirth. Athea, punches Athos in the shoulder and asks, “What’s so funny?”
“I used to groan every time Constan would give us a history lesson. I didn’t think the information would ever be useful. It truly seems like a million years ago.” Athos said.
“How long ago was it?” Athea asked.
“I don’t know, maybe three months since the last time he tried?”
Athea nodded, “We’ve been through so many trials that these last few months have felt like a lifetime.”
Athos nodded in agreement and said, “During those history lessons that Constan gave us-“
Athea interrupted, “And you didn’t appreciate.”
“And we didn’t appreciate.” Athos agreed, “He told us about the war with Persia.”
“Is it true that war lasted for twenty years?” Athea asked.
Athos laughed, “Now I am beginning to understand why he would get so irritated with me.”
“Why’s that?” Athea asked.
“Because I wouldn’t let him finish a sentence. He must have been frustrated.” Athos said.
“Oh.” Athea said.
Taking advantage of the sudden silence, Athos began his tale anew, “During the war with Persia, the Empire was in a really bad way. We had lost, all of the territory from Gaza in Palestinia, to Nicaea in Anatolia. To make matters worse, the Pechenegs invaded Thracia and laid siege to Constantinople.”
“That does sound pretty bad.” Athea said.
“Just imagine, the Empire with the exception of Egypt and the territories in Italy and Africa, consisted of Constantinople, and whatever patch of ground Emperor Heraclius’ army pitched their tents on that night.” Athos said.
Athea’s eyes widen as she said, “I didn’t think it was possible, but from the perspective of the Empire that sounds worse than what we are experiencing now.”
“Exactly. That is why I think the Emperor will keep his word to us. Though things look pretty damned bad.” Athos smiled as he said the last three words, “Things have been worse.”
“Good, I’d like to think we could go west. Beyond the reach of the damned, and find a place where we can have a normal life.” Athea said.
Athos, remembering his recent dream of a life shared with Athea, sm
iled, “That does sound nice.”
Athea snuggled up against Athos and said, “It would be a fine life indeed, to have a small villa next to the sea somewhere. Perhaps on an island, where the damned can’t bother us.”
Athos, his eyes tracing the patterns in the stars above answered, “Yes, and to have a child of our own.”
Athea raised her head up and met Athos’ grey eyes with her hazel orbs before asking, “Truly?”
Athos, smiled at her and said, “Truly.”
“Then maybe we should do something about that?” Athea asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
“With all these people around?” Athos said, with a nervous edge to his voice.
Athea giggled, “I’m sure we can manage something without drawing attention to ourselves.”
Athea kissed Athos. As the two embraced, her hands found their way down to the expanding warmth between his legs. Athos moaned softly and said through gritted teeth, “Can’t we leave the camp?”
Athea looked around at the slumbering forms nearby and said, “I don’t think we need to.”
They didn’t.
Chapter 71
Dawn, October 22nd 636, Forty Miles South East of Joppa, Palestinia Province, Byzantium
Return to the Sea
When they awoke the next morning, a fog had blown in from the sea. Visibility was limited to a dozen feet or so. The air was heavy, and the smoke from the dying fires hung low to the ground and refused to rise. The men of the 5th Babylon stoked the fading embers of their camp fires back into roaring blazes and set about breaking their fast with the meager ration of the day.
The men and women of the 5th Babylon talked and joked quietly with each other. As the Sun rose in the sky and the fog started to burn off, they gathered into a column of twos and set off across the countryside toward Joppa.
They quickly found themselves amongst overripened fields of wheat. The fields, were often divided by orchards of olives, oranges, and cherries. The trees of the orchards, untouched since the damned invasion of Palestinia Province, were heavy with fruit. Much of the produce had already detached from the branches and now rotted on the ground beneath the trees. These fields were divided by small stone walls. These walls represented the accumulation of hundreds, sometimes thousands of years’ worth of rocks pulled out of these fields when plowed.
Constan, at the behest of the men, and tired of the gnawing hunger in his own gullet, allowed them to stop for two hours and gather as many cherries as each man could stuff into their packs. It had been days since the last damned came across their path. This fact helped to lift the moods of the survivors. The men of the 5th Babylon, smiled and laughed as they consumed the juicy fruits, threw the pits at each other, and filled their packs to the brim. Their stomachs now full, and their bags bulging with sweet fruit, the 5th Babylon resumed their march toward Joppa.
Riding alongside Constan, Athos turned in his saddle and asked, “Where have all the damned gone?”
Constan, looked at Athos, shrugged his shoulders and said, “I know not.”
“If it’s as you said about Fonda, perhaps she drew all of the damned out of these lands to build her horde.” Hovig said.
Constan nodded thoughtfully before saying, “Aye, perhaps you’re right.”
“Does that mean these lands can be re-occupied by the Empire?” Athos asked.
Constan once again shrugged, “It would depend on how this curse is spread. Is it the land that causes people who die to be reborn as damned? Is it those of us that have been directly exposed to the damned that carry this plague? Who knows? Until that is figured out, the Empire is better off to focus on protecting the territory it still holds versus taking back what was lost.”
Baltazar who had been listening to the conversation asked Maarika who was also riding nearby, “The damned plagued struck the unclean Godforsaken lands of Arabia first. How was it in your lands? Did someone in your village die and become damned, or were you beset by a horde?”
“We were attacked with little warning by a horde. They came out of the desert, and consumed everything they could reach. If anything blocked their path, such as a tent or a goat pen, they would rip the barrier asunder and continue their feast unabated.” Maarika said.
“Did anyone in Damascus who died after we got back to Yarmuk become damned?” Baltazar asked.
Constan nodded, “You remember those bastards that tried to ambush us outside the fort?”
Both Athos and Baltazar nodded and said, “Yes.”
“Remember, some of them became damned.” Constan said.
“But others did not.” Baltazar said.
Constan nodded in agreement, “Exactly. It makes little sense. Many people died after we got back from Yarmuk in the city, but few became damned.”
“What’s the connection?” Athos asked.
After several moments Maarika shrugged her shoulders and said, “I don’t know, it doesn’t make sense. How some can some rise as damned, yet others do not?”
The group rode in silence for a time as the sun climbed higher in the sky. It wasn’t long before the yellow orb, burned off the fog, and provided a measure of warmth. The temperature climbed, but not so much that it made anyone uncomfortable.
They made camp that night inside the walled compound of a large villa. Though they didn’t encounter a single damned during their march, they found several that had been entrapped within the closed door of the villa. The hardened veterans of the 5th Babylon easily dispatched these individual undead without any losses.
As they sat around their campfire, they returned to the topic they had been discussing earlier in the day, “It seems that Fonda was unable to draw those who were trapped out of their confinement.” Hovig said.
“Aye, something else I’ve been thinking about. What caused those slain in the Emperor’s palace to turn?” Constan said.
“What is the common link between those people, and the ones that turned after they attacked us in Damascus?” Baltazar asked.
Athos turned to Hovig and asked, “Were people turning in Antioch before we arrived?”
Hovig shook his head, “No. I had not heard any tales of people turning in Antioch.”
“Let us work our way back from the factors that we do know.” Athea said, joining the conversation.
“Aye, lass, good idea.” Constan said.
“We do know that whoever is bitten by a damned, quickly dies, and then turns, correct?” Athea asked.
The men nodded, “We also have seen that people slain around those who have been exposed to the damned, turn on their own without any damned near. Is that also correct?” Athea said.
“That’s the part that doesn’t make any sense.” Athos said.
“Why do some turn, but others do not?” Baltazar asked.
“Witchcraft.” Constan said.
“Devils and Demons.” Liana said.
“There’s got to be a link between who turns and who doesn’t.” Hovig said.
“Could the priests be correct? Is it those that have been overcome by their sins that turn?” Athos asked.
Maarika laughed, “Don’t be daft. Those priests can’t even agree on what your bible says. How can they be correct in this case? Were all who died and reborn as damned sinful?”
“We are all sinful.” Athos said.
“No not all, what about babies and young children?” Athea said.
Constan smiled, “Aye, lass. They aren’t sinners, they can’t be.”
“Have any infants turned that we know of, but haven’t been bitten?” Baltazar asked.
The group sat in silence for several moments as they pondered the question. Athos looked around the circle and made eye contact with each individual one by one. As each looked away, he finally said, “I don’t think any of us know.”
Giving up on the conundrum for the night, the group bedded down by their campfires. While the majority of the 5th Babylon slumbered, three damned approached the perimeter of their encampment and we
re quickly slain by alert guards. Now indifferent to the carnage and loss, the men of the 5th Babylon leave the bodies where they were slain to rot.
Constan awoke with the dawn the next morning. His nose wrinkled at the smell of the nearby damned. Propping himself up on his elbows, he made eye contact with a nearby Skutatoi and asked, “Why do I smell the flesh of the damned?”
The man stiffened to attention as he replied, “Sir, three of the creatures were slain last night by the perimeter guards.”
“And no one thought to wake me?” Constan asked.
“No none thought it was required, sir. Damned encounters are not uncommon.” The unknown Skutatoi replied.
Constan nodded slowly and said, “Aye, right ye are laddie, but I left standing orders to wake me if there were any damned about! Droungarios!” Constan paused for a moment and looked about for his missing executive officer. “Where is Hovig?”
“Right here Tourmarches.”
Constan’s nostrils flared, “Glad you can pry yourself out of your tent Droungarios.” Hovig stiffened to attention, sensing the dressing down that was about to occur. He prudently remained silent and waited for Constan to speak, “Three damned attacked the perimeter and I was not awoken. Do you know anything about that?”
“No, sir.” Hovig replied.
“And why the hell not?” Constan roared.
“I don’t know sir. I shall find out.” Hovig replied.
Constan’s eyes narrowed as he said, “You’d better. We can’t afford to let discipline slip just because we are close to the end of the mission. It could end up in the deaths of us all. Dismissed!”
Droungarios Hovig, his shoulders slumped began to ask questions of the Kentarches to figure out what had happened while they slept. As he conducted his investigation. the 5th Babylon broke their fast by heating camp biscuits over open fires. His conclusion was the same as what the Skutatoi had told Constan when they first awoke, the men didn’t think a few stray damned constituted an emergency large enough to wake the entire camp.
After they broke their fast, the survivors of the 5th Babylon formed up in column of twos and resumed their march toward Joppa. They continued on without incident until the walls of Joppa appeared on the horizon, “Joppa ahead.” Hovig said.
Byzantium Infected Box Set Page 103
