Burning Shadows (Saint-Germain #23)

Burning Shadows (Saint-Germain #23) Page 22

Neves took the life-sized, straw-stuffed figure dressed in old, torn garments and attempted to lean it against the wall of the battlements. "It's going to fall," he warned Sanctu-Germainios, who, after handing up the doll, had climbed up next to him, two straight tibiae in one hand, a spear in the other. A single lamp was burning, providing wavering illumination in the pre-dawn darkness.

"Not once I pin its left hand to one of the upright logs, and the other around the shaft of a spear." Sanctu-Germainios set to work doing just that, setting each short, sharp tibia firmly in the heavy cotton, and had the satisfaction of seeing the awkward figure remain on its feet. "There."

Below them the last of this morning's departing refugees were going out through the improvised gate that had been hastily constructed where the outer wall had burned; there were twenty-four of them - men, women, and five children - with two horses carrying all the goods they were taking with them.

"How many of these things have you made?"

"Forty-two," said Sanctu-Germainios. "Nicoris and Niklos Aulirios have worked with me; I could not have finished so many on my own. We should be able to make another six of them before we run out of cloth."

"I'd lend you one of my men to help, but most of them are hopeless with needles," Neves said, watching the cumbersome gate close behind the refugees. "I hope they make it to safety." He yawned and rubbed his eyes. "They have a long way to go, and Aquincum may have already been razed by the Huns."

"It is a risk," Sanctu-Germainios agreed, his countenance enigmatic.

"So is remaining here." Neves sighed. "Are you sure you want your woman to go with me and my men? The Huns might move against us because we're a company of mercenaries."

"So they might, but they might move against anyone, and at least you and your men know how to fight, and there are more of you than there are men in most of the refugee companies. I also believe your company will be easier to find than some of the others when I leave here." Sanctu-Germainios patted the straw-filled figure, paying no heed to the flash of pathos in Neves' eyes. "I only wish that he and the rest of them could be made to throw spears."

Neves made himself laugh. "A wonderful notion. Perhaps you could have more made: enough to make it appear that there's still a force here to be reckoned with instead of a token presence. If there were a hundred of these, they might be enough to keep the Huns from an all-out attack for a while - long enough that you and Aulirios could get away." He clapped his hands. "How many women remain? Do any of them have cloth to spare? Will they sew for you?"

"Thirty-nine grown women are here still, and five girls," said Sanctu-Germainios. "Sixteen go tomorrow, and the day after that, the first group of monks. Eighty-one of them."

"And the rest two days later, along with Tribune Bernardius and his lieutenants - the last to leave here, but you and your comrade -  the day after I take my men toward Viminacium," said Neves, chafing his hands together. "I know the schedule. I'm counting the hours until we go. Three days more, that's all. If only the Huns will hold off until then. We've chosen an hour between midnight and dawn, to slip past the scouts."

"A reasonable precaution," said Sanctu-Germainios.

"My men are being more diligent than ever, watching for scouts, and they know that the scouts are least active from midnight until dawn. My men want to get away from here without incident."

"And Bernardius' men still on guard?" Sanctu-Germainios asked. "Do they report more scouts?"

"So far they haven't said they've seen anything troubling, whether they have or not." He waved his hand at the mountains. "But where would we look, to be certain?"

"I suppose we must continue to hope," said Sanctu-Germainios; he could feel the first stirring of dawn as the eastern horizon began to lighten.

"At least we've been able to get in a portion of the harvest, so those leaving will have some provisions beyond hard bread and old cheese. Out on remote roads, the chance of finding food is slim, and there won't be many opportunities for hunting." With another yawn, Neves slapped the back of the dummy next to him. "Hunting and dressing takes time, so vegetable stews will have to keep them going until they reach the next safe fortress." He paused again. "They say the Huns kill their meat, then put it under their saddles to cook as they ride."

Sanctu-Germainios gave a crack of laughter. "The heat of a horse will not cook meat, but it can fill it with rot and make it deadly; that is assuming the horse would tolerate something like a joint of venison under its saddle." He knew Neves still had doubts. "These tales of the Huns are more the result of exaggerated reports and stories based on rumors than on any actuality - "

"They train their horses to tolerate the meat under the sad - "

"No one can train a horse to ignore a lump under its saddle. It would be the same as having a large stone under your armor." He regarded Neves steadily, sensing his uncertainty. "Think: what does a horse do when there is a burr or a pebble under his saddle - bucks and kicks. A joint of meat would cause - "

Neves nodded. "All right; Huns don't cook their meat that way. But they fight like the Devil's own minions, however they get their food."

"They probably carry smoked meats with them, or dried strips of meat," Sanctu-Germainios suggested; he recalled seeing nomads from the steppes riding with smoked meats hanging from their saddles, and Rugierus had eaten the dried, raw meat during their travels, as had Niklos. "And, of course, they raid for food and take few prisoners, since prisoners have to eat."

"So they do," Neves agreed, his face hardening.

"All the better, then, for those who are leaving here, to use as much of the harvest as possible," Sanctu-Germainios said.

"So the Huns won't have anything to plunder here," added Neves. "We'll have refugees in the fields later today, bringing in as much as is ready to be gathered. Bernardius' men are supposed to guard the harvesters, although most of the day-Watch are already gone; there aren't enough guards for all the fields. We'll have fewer than fifty men in the fields today, guards and harvesters, whose labors will be less than anticipated, their numbers being so few, and they will not remain outside the inner wall beyond mid-afternoon. There will be still fewer tomorrow, so the number of guards won't matter so much. All but two of Bernardius' hunters have left, and those two leave tomorrow, to guide two of the departing companies."

"There are eighteen of Bernardius' men left to serve as guards in the fields and on the walls, and thirteen of Mangueinic's Watchmen; with your men, and those from Apulum Inferior, one more full day of harvesting is still possible," Sanctu-Germainios reminded him. "They should be able to bring in half the current crops by tomorrow if the Huns keep their distance."

"I hope they'll be enough, those guards, on the walls and on the road," said Neves. "There are so many preparations we need to make. I've been thinking about what the refugees will need if they have trouble during their journeys ..." His thoughts trailed off; he regarded the dummy attentively. "More than forty of these, you say? They won't fool the Huns for very long."

"No, but it will buy Niklos and me a little time - perhaps, as you say, enough that we can escape." He saw Neves' expression change to something grimmer than it had been.

"I pray you will get away." Neves did not say to whom he would address his prayers.

Sanctu-Germainios decided not to dwell on this. "Are you going to go mounted, or leave some of your horses for Bernardius' last four men, who will leave after you do?"

"I've decided that most of my men - those who are left here -  will ride. We need to cover ground as quickly as possible, and that means riding. Some of them will have to ride double." He looked down, ashamed. "Seventeen of my company have already fled. I wouldn't have thought they were so craven."

"Why not mount all of your - " Sanctu-Germainios began, only to be interrupted.

"Because some of them are injured, and will have to ride in carts, with our supplies, or go with one of the refugee companies. And we're short of horses." He stopped abruptly. "Sorry, Dom. I'm worried, as everyone here is, that the Huns will attack again before we can empty the monastery. We'd surely lose this time, unless the monks suddenly decide to fight."

"That is - "

" - not going to happen. I know. We can hope that the fever flag will hold them at bay for a few more days, even if these straw-men do not." Neves peered out into the waning night as if attempting to find any Huns lurking among the trees. "Do you think either the flag or these dolls will - ? The Huns are single-minded fighters. Is that flag alone enough to stop them?"

"Would it not keep you from trying to take this place, if you were a Hun?" Sanctu-Germainios asked. "Fever is as deadly as arrows, and lasts longer than battle."

Neves considered this, and nodded. "What about the spy? Won't he tell them that the flag is a deception?"

"If he has contacted the Huns, then yes. But he may have left already, or he may be here, waiting to leave to deliver his report himself," Sanctu-Germainios said distantly.

"Have you thought who the spy might be?"

"No. I have not." He hated to admit it. "What troubles me more is if any of the escaping refugees are caught, they might trade their lives for information."

Neves swore. "Wouldn't the Huns just kill them?" Sanctu-Germainios shrugged. "It would depend on what they wanted most. If the refugees are clever, they would say they are escaping from the fever, not the Huns, but they would need to keep their wits about them, and that is not easily done in such circumstances."

This time Neves' laugh was angry. "Do you think any of them will? keep their wits if they're caught?"

"Some may," said Sanctu-Germainios. "If they are caught by Huns and questioned, which is, itself, unlikely."

"Do you mean caught or questioned?" Neves asked, and before Sanctu-Germainios could answer, he nodded emphatically. "You mean if the Huns find them, they'll be slaughtered and their goods and livestock taken. The Huns won't bother with questions."

"It is what they have done in the past," said Sanctu-Germainios, going on more pragmatically, "I should find a helmet for this straw soldier. The Huns may see that he has no features if his face is not partially covered." He looked at Neves, contemplating his scarred visage.

"I almost wish they would attack again. At least we could fight. This waiting and planning, it's worse than battle. Battle is chaos, but there's no doubt what's going on. What we're doing now ... It erodes the will. Whether the Huns come or not, we must get away before we turn on one another and do the Huns' work for them."

"Then I wish you a safe withdrawal and the chance to engage the Huns elsewhere," Sanctu-Germainios said with genuine sincerity. "You have done well by us. Thank you."

"So have you, Dom," said Neves. "Done well by us. I'm obliged to you."

Sanctu-Germainios stepped back and reached for the top of the ladder; before he descended, he offered Neves a proper Roman salute. "May you find triumph, Neves."

Neves returned the salute as Sanctu-Germainios continued to climb down. As he reached the ground, he turned to the east, and heard the chanting of the monks grow louder as the first Mass of the day began.

By noon, twenty of the straw-filled dummies had been clothed, armed, helmeted, and pinned in place on the battlements. "This evening," Sanctu-Germainios told Niklos, "we must shift their positions so that their ... inactivity will not give them away."

Niklos chuckled, looking up at the gate-tower. "What about reducing the number of them showing above the stockade for the night? The scouts might be suspicious of a full complement of soldiers on night duty, particularly with the fever flag up. No need to bring the dolls down to the ground. We can lie them down on the battlement walkways and set them up in the morning before dawn."

Sanctu-Germainios rubbed his chin, feeling the stubble of the last two weeks beneath his fingers; once again he missed Rugierus, who shaved his slow-growing beard once a week; he also missed Rugierus' practicality, planning, and good sense. Again he scraped his thumb along the stubble. He had managed for himself since Rugierus left, but he was not satisfied with the results. Realizing that Niklos was waiting for a comment, he said, "It would probably be wise. I'll speak to Mangueinic about it."

"He leaves tomorrow, doesn't he," said Niklos.

"Yes. He and thirty-one others from Apulum Inferior," said Sanctu-Germainios, a touch of sadness in his voice.

"Will you miss them?" Niklos was surprised. "They don't regard you as one of them."

"No one regards me as one of them," Sanctu-Germainios told him with the resignation of centuries in his tone. "But they have not cast me out."

"What of those who come to your life: what of them?" Niklos asked. "Olivia - "

"Coming to my life usually brings isolation, as my change brought me, long ago. I know Olivia has said much the same thing."

Niklos almost offered a witty rejoinder, but saw the expression in Sanctu-Germainios' dark eyes, and held his tongue. "Do you plan to put the rest of the straw-men into position this afternoon or tomorrow?"

"I think tomorrow. With laborers in the fields, adding to the figures on the battlements might raise Hunnic suspicions. Besides, we will need to find clothes and helmets for the rest of the straw-men we have before putting them in place. They will have to look like men on watch, ready for anything, which means armor of some sort or another. And I will have to find out if Priam Corydon will give us some of the old monks' clothing. I doubt the Huns know the difference between a pallium, a sagum, and an abolla." He himself had donned his most austere paragaudion and braccae, both in his habitual black. "Tonight, while we stuff a few more of the straw-men, there is something we must discuss."

"Has it to do with how we manage here once the rest have gone?" Niklos gave Sanctu-Germainios a quick, fierce smile.

Sanctu-Germainios nodded. "I have a few things in mind," he said in Greek, then went back to the current dialect of the region. "For now, armor and clothing are needed. I will ask the monks first."

"Given that peasants and monks wear garments that are much the same, why not?" Niklos grinned. "The monks may object because you want to use their old garments for defense."

"So they might," Sanctu-Germainios said quietly, lifting his head. "The wind is shifting."

"If it means cooler weather, it's welcome," Niklos said, squinting into the sky.

"It could mean rain." As Niklos looked at him, startled, Sanctu-Germainios added, "It is not unusual for there to be a day or two of rain toward the end of August. This rain is not like the thunderstorms of high summer, but more a first herald of autumn, spawned by cool winds. It could be an indication of an early season."

"Rain could damage the crops," Niklos remarked.

"It could also slow down the Huns," said Sanctu-Germainios, contemplating the gate-tower and the yellow flag flapping above it.

"So it could." For a short while neither of them said anything, then Niklos declared, "I'm going to help the grooms ready the chests for tomorrow. I'll help you with these large dolls after nightfall."

"I will be in the old chapel; Nicoris wants my help in choosing what to take with her and what to leave behind." Sanctu-Germainios looked up once more. "If the wind continues to rise in that quarter, there will be rain."

The day slipped quickly away, sunset partially obscured by gathering clouds to the northwest. The chanting of the monks went on throughout the afternoon while Priam Corydon went about organizing those of the monks who were to leave in two days; he dispatched novices to the remaining hermits in the caves above the lake, once again asking them if they wanted to depart with the rest of them; he supervised the packing of the various ritual objects that they would require for worship; he sent monks to help Monachos Vlasos secure as much food as possible for their journey; he visited the infirmary and made arrangements for the accommodation of those who were ill; he met with Mangueinic, Tribune Bernardius, and Neves; then he went to the stable to requisition horses and carts. By the time night came on, he sought out Sanctu-Germainios, entering the old chapel by the main door.

Sanctu-Germainios dropped the cloth he held and got to his feet. "Priam."

"Dom," said Priam Corydon, making the sign of the cross. "Are you alone?"

"I am. Niklos and Nicoris are off collecting more straw for our false soldiers. The slaves in the stable should be helping them. They will return shortly." He patted the cloth, then set the ivory needle in it and motioned to the bench near the fireplace as he laid the half-finished life-sized dummy down. "I have water and some wine, if you would like either, or both."

"If you have some of each to spare, I would thank you for them; it has been a demanding day," said Priam Corydon, taking his seat on the bench. "I want to extend you my thanks for your willingness to remain here when the rest of us are gone. If you should fall here, you will surely be a martyr in Heaven."

Sanctu-Germainios paused in his selecting two cups for the Priam. "I think I would prefer to continue as I am," he remarked with an ironic smile as he pulled out the jug of wine from the large standing case next to the red-lacquer chest.

"I can understand your feeling on that point," said Priam Cory- don. "No doubt you'll still earn your place among the sheep, not the goats."

"The wine is red: will that suit you?" He held the jug poised to pour.

"Very well," said the Priam.

Sanctu-Germainios poured the wine, replaced the jug, and took out the ewer of water, and poured the larger cup almost full. "I fear I have nothing else to offer you; I have sent most of the food we have here to Mangueinic to distribute among the companies leaving in the morning."

"No matter; we take no food from sundown to sunrise; I thought you were aware of that; my monks and the refugees have locked horns about this several times," said Priam Corydon, looking a bit surprised as Sanctu-Germainios brought him the two cups.

"You have not required the refugees to maintain your Rule." He handed the cups to Priam Corydon.

"Won't you join me?"

"No, Priam, I will not: I do not drink wine."

"Not even your own? How remarkable," said Priam Corydon, taking a deep sip of the water, and then a taste of the wine, approving it with a single nod. "They've told me, some of those you have treated, that you are generous with drink of all sorts. Do you refrain from other kinds of imbibition?"

"Almost all, Priam; almost all."

"But you advise wine and other inebriants for your patients, don't you? Wolfsbane and syrup of poppies and something Egyptian, I've been told." He had more of the wine and followed it with water.

"When it will be helpful, not harmful, I believe the right intoxicant can aid recovery from injuries, and ease the pain of the injured." He drew up another stool and sat down across from Priam Corydon.

"Suffering is our lot in life, because of our sins," said Priam Corydon. "Penance is necessary for Christians to enter the Kingdom of Heaven."

"Do you think so? Does that not belittle the sacrifice of your Jesus, to seek out hurt and anguish? You teach that His death redeemed all men, or so I have understood."

Priam Corydon thought this over, and kept his conclusions to himself. "My monks tell me that you've requested our worn-out garments - the ones we save to give out to beggars and other unfortunates - to put on your straw soldiers; you left such a message for me."

"That I did," said Sanctu-Germainios. "These straw-men need clothing to make the counterfeit believable for the Huns. Clothing and armor," he added.

"I will authorize the use of our old clothing, since we will not take it with us, and no Christian here has need of it, but we have no armor to offer you." He sighed. "In spite of faith, the world imposes."

"We live in the world, Priam, and must answer to its demands," Sanctu-Germainios reminded him, and would have said more, but the side-door opened and Nicoris and Niklos came in, a large sling between them laden with straw. Sanctu-Germainios rose and went to assist them.

"Dom, we have another sling with as much straw as we have here," Nicoris cried out as she and Niklos set the sling down on the floor next to the whip-stitched dolls.

Sanctu-Germainios offered her a quick, delighted smile. "Wonderful! We can stuff the rest of the dolls tonight and have them in place before the next parties leave the monastery. Assuming we have hoods and helmets enough to disguise them."

Priam Corydon drank the rest of his wine and took a large gulp of water, then got up. "You have much to do. I'll leave you to your work. One of the novices will bring you the old clothing. If there are hoods to spare, I will donate them, as well." He made the sign of the cross, and then, more circumspectly, the sign of the fish.

"May you and your monks travel safely, Priam," said Sanctu-Germainios as Priam Corydon went out of the old chapel toward the monastery.

"So he'll give us the old clothes," said Niklos with a kind of wry enthusiasm that did not completely conceal his relief.

"So he tells me," said Sanctu-Germainios. "Since the deception was his idea to begin with, he is probably inclined to help us execute it."

"Will it be enough?" Nicoris asked, her face paling as she looked at the empty dummies spread out on the floor.

"The straw or the clothes?" Niklos flung up his hands. "One more sling to go, and then we can set to work filling the dolls."

"Or do you mean the dissimulation we are attempting?" Sanctu-Germainios asked her. "It will have to be enough; there is little else we can do."

She nodded mutely, and followed Niklos out of the old chapel, leaving Sanctu-Germainios to finish sewing the doll he had been assembling. He checked his supply of thread and realized that, too, was running low, although it would be enough for the remaining figures. He took out the long spool and fingered the fine Coan linen thread that he usually employed to close wounds, then returned to his sewing, working quickly so he would be done with this figure by the time Niklos and Nicoris returned.

By the third quarter of the night all the figures were in place; Sanctu-Germainios and Niklos cleaned the old chapel while Nicoris slept. While he swept up the last of the straw, Niklos said in Greek, "She doesn't want to go."

"Yes; I know."

"She'd probably be as safe with us as with Neves," Niklos continued.

"Do you think so." Sanctu-Germainios studied him.

"I do." Niklos brushed the straw into the fireplace. "We could take her with us when we leave."

"You assume our plan will be successful," said Sanctu-Germainios.

"Of course I do. Don't you?"

There was a long silence between them. "I think Nicoris will have a better chance of getting away if she travels with Neves' men."

"Perhaps she'd prefer to be with you," Niklos said, being as blunt as he dared.

"Did she say so?" Sanctu-Germainios asked.

"She ... implied it."

"And you agree?"

Niklos set his long-handled brush aside. "Yes. I do."

Sanctu-Germainios stood very still; the sound of the monks' chanting reached them, disturbingly serene. "If that is what she truly wants, then she shall stay with us. But I suspect she will not."

Text of a letter from Atta Olivia Clemens in Aquileia to Sanct' Germain Franciscus at Sanctu-Eustachios the Hermit monastery in the former Province of Dacia, written with fixed ink in Imperial Latin on split leather, never delivered.

To my oldest, dearest friend currently calling himself Dom Feranescus Rakoczy Sanctu-Germainios, the greetings of Atta Olivia Clemens in Aquileia, although not for much longer:

Sanct' Germain,

I have just sustained a most annoying visit from our Praetor Custodis, informing me that as I live beyond the walls of Aquileia, I and my estate are not included in the city's protection, although I pay taxes that are supposed to ensure me security from all threats that are associated with the city. The Praetor Custodis also informed me that nine of my horses are being requisitioned now with another nine to follow in four days, for the city Guards to increase their patrols beyond the gates. It was all I could do to keep from railing at him. But I was mindful of the jeopardy of my position, and kept my words and manner civil - you would have laughed to see me so placating. I very nearly simpered. He puffed out his chest and gave orders like a sea captain in a wealthy port. Magna Mater, I am glad he has finally left, though I am rancorous about the horses! I am irritated by that officious, greedy fool, for it is a reminder of my situation here; this region has enough pettiness among its officials without the efforts of Sixtus Gratian Fulvius Draco.

As you should know by now, Rogerian is with me. I find it curiously amusing that I have your bondsman and you have mine. I trust that Niklos Aulirios is proving useful as well as providing you understanding company. I have to admit that I am uneasy on your behalf - not about the Huns - what with you being at a monastery at present, for Christians are becoming increasingly inflexible in regard to what and whom they deem deviant, such as vampires and ghouls.

In acknowledgment of hazards here, I am about to leave Aquileia for the villa at Lecco on Lago Comus; I expect to arrive there on the twenty-third or -fourth day of September. It will mean giving up more than half my harvest to local farmers, but it may be that they will need it more than I. Everyone here is afraid that the Huns will soon be upon us, thanks to the Praetor Custodis, and that has brought about serious disagreements among the more important personages in the city. Some want to reinforce the walls and prepare for battle, while others want to hire more mercenaries to keep the Huns away from Aquileia entirely, and others think that we should treat with the Huns to arrange tribute so that we may lose only our money, not our lives and property. Since all those stances seem to me to be short-sighted, I believe it is time I found a more congenial place to stay until the danger is over. Whether or not any Huns will attack us, or when, disputes, such as the current ones, are not beneficial to those of our blood; when the living are afraid they turn first upon those unlike them, which bodes ill for me, and for Rogerian, or Rugierus, or whatever you wish to call him. Following your good advice of four centuries past, I am removing myself from the fray.

Which is what I hope you will do. That monastery may be protected in its valley, but once the Huns have a taste of gain to be had from a location, they will make every effort to obtain all that they can. For my sake if not your own, do not remain there any longer than you must. As soon as it is practicable, leave the place and get beyond the region controlled by the Huns. I have no doubt that you will conduct yourself honorably, for you have done so for all the years I have known you, and I have no expectation that you would change now, much as I might wish that you would. But please, ask no more of yourself than you would of any living man in that valley. As I read this over, I wonder why I bother to ask this of you; you will do what you decide is necessary, the peril of little consequence to you. Yet I know my warnings will go unheeded, though I give them because of my love for you, which has never wavered from the first time we lay together, when Nero wore the purple and my loathsome husband was still alive.

And now, before I become maudlin, I will commend myself to your good opinion in spite of my hectoring, and look forward to the day when we can exchange bondsmen and enjoy as much time together as will be prudent.

Your most allegiant Olivia

on the tenth day before the end of August in the 1192nd Year of the City, or the 439th year of the Christians