man can be but who wants to risk his luck eh?’
‘Go.’
The Kyzantines ran. They didn’t look back.
Hydrus turned and walked away from the dead body of the holy man. He didn’t want to look at the piece of filth. What he wanted to do was find out who had died beside him.
Castor came back to the rendezvous, dragging the dead body of a Kyzantine behind him, his arm straining under the weight as he pulled at the gambeson. The Nails had gathered around the fallen when he dumped the body in the middle of the circle.
‘They were kids, all of them. Not a single bloody adult on the entire south flank,’ Castor spat in disgust.
The entire unit focused their attention on his outburst.
‘Does no one else care that we just butchered children who were pretending to play soldiers?’
‘Given the chance they would have killed you,’ Hydrus commented, the weight of the slaughter resting in his eyes.
‘That excuse is getting older by the minute, Hydrus.’
‘Not like those kids right?’ one of the Nails said.
Castor and Hydrus both shot him a look that silenced him immediately.
‘If you need to blame anyone, Castor, blame that bloody Kyzantine bitch. She was the one that sent them in after us knowing that they could all die,’ Volans spoke as he entered the circle clutching the wound on his arm. ‘I killed them. We all killed them. No, they shouldn’t have been involved in it but they were and we had a job to do. Us or them. That’s the only rule that matters out here.’
‘We are behind enemy lines here, Castor,’ Hydrus interrupted. ‘We aren’t going to get any support, can’t run away to avoid doing what needs to be done. You just need to shut yourself off from looking at it like that. They are not some kids, they are the enemy.’
Hydrus turned to the rest of the unit. ‘I know you all probably feel like Castor, that this lot was younger than the last, but you have to forget about your conscience and do as you are ordered. Do you understand?’
The Nails answered in chorus, murmurs and slight nods of the head as Hydrus turned to Castor.
‘Yes, captain.’ Castor spoke the words but he lacked conviction.
‘How many did we lose? Volans asked.
‘Ten. All to that fucking bishop and his magic. When the fuck did they start dabbling in it anyway? Hypocritical bastards.’
‘Wounded?’ Volans asked as Hydrus’ breathing slowed.
‘Another eight,’ Hydrus answered.
‘I want graves dug, shallow but deep enough that the animals won’t get to them. It needs to be done quickly. We move back the way we came and head out before the bitch and her cavalry get around to the other side and realise that they haven’t flushed us out.’
The Nails dispersed quickly, getting on with their jobs. Castor stood there silently for a while, looked at the dead bodies, their young eyes staring back at him until he didn’t feel anymore. He didn’t care that they were dead, just saw them as bodies, corpses. He blinked once during the whole time, then again only when he was done, deciding that he would kill who he had to, to make sure he had his chance at Pyxis.
The sun was setting on the horizon and Pyxis became increasingly frustrated and erratic. For hours now there had been no sign of the cavalry exiting the woods and the thoughts that they might have escaped sent her fuming.
The infantry were slow but it shouldn’t have taken them this long to push the Murukans out of the forest into her trap. Doubt was beginning to set in.
‘Cunx better have found them,’ she swore under her breath as she pressed her destrier harder.
The beast under her was exhausted, only her constant urging and prodding kept it at its relentless pace. Pyxis would not stop until they found the Nails or Cunx and his half of her cavalry. Those behind her were trailing at a distance, cautious of getting too close.
The last soldier who reported no sign of the enemy ended up with a blade through his chest. Pyxis was seething and made no
‘Go.’
The Kyzantines ran. They didn’t look back.
Hydrus turned and walked away from the dead body of the holy man. He didn’t want to look at the piece of filth. What he wanted to do was find out who had died beside him.
Castor came back to the rendezvous, dragging the dead body of a Kyzantine behind him, his arm straining under the weight as he pulled at the gambeson. The Nails had gathered around the fallen when he dumped the body in the middle of the circle.
‘They were kids, all of them. Not a single bloody adult on the entire south flank,’ Castor spat in disgust.
The entire unit focused their attention on his outburst.
‘Does no one else care that we just butchered children who were pretending to play soldiers?’
‘Given the chance they would have killed you,’ Hydrus commented, the weight of the slaughter resting in his eyes.
‘That excuse is getting older by the minute, Hydrus.’
‘Not like those kids right?’ one of the Nails said.
Castor and Hydrus both shot him a look that silenced him immediately.
‘If you need to blame anyone, Castor, blame that bloody Kyzantine bitch. She was the one that sent them in after us knowing that they could all die,’ Volans spoke as he entered the circle clutching the wound on his arm. ‘I killed them. We all killed them. No, they shouldn’t have been involved in it but they were and we had a job to do. Us or them. That’s the only rule that matters out here.’
‘We are behind enemy lines here, Castor,’ Hydrus interrupted. ‘We aren’t going to get any support, can’t run away to avoid doing what needs to be done. You just need to shut yourself off from looking at it like that. They are not some kids, they are the enemy.’
Hydrus turned to the rest of the unit. ‘I know you all probably feel like Castor, that this lot was younger than the last, but you have to forget about your conscience and do as you are ordered. Do you understand?’
The Nails answered in chorus, murmurs and slight nods of the head as Hydrus turned to Castor.
‘Yes, captain.’ Castor spoke the words but he lacked conviction.
‘How many did we lose? Volans asked.
‘Ten. All to that fucking bishop and his magic. When the fuck did they start dabbling in it anyway? Hypocritical bastards.’
‘Wounded?’ Volans asked as Hydrus’ breathing slowed.
‘Another eight,’ Hydrus answered.
‘I want graves dug, shallow but deep enough that the animals won’t get to them. It needs to be done quickly. We move back the way we came and head out before the bitch and her cavalry get around to the other side and realise that they haven’t flushed us out.’
The Nails dispersed quickly, getting on with their jobs. Castor stood there silently for a while, looked at the dead bodies, their young eyes staring back at him until he didn’t feel anymore. He didn’t care that they were dead, just saw them as bodies, corpses. He blinked once during the whole time, then again only when he was done, deciding that he would kill who he had to, to make sure he had his chance at Pyxis.
The sun was setting on the horizon and Pyxis became increasingly frustrated and erratic. For hours now there had been no sign of the cavalry exiting the woods and the thoughts that they might have escaped sent her fuming.
The infantry were slow but it shouldn’t have taken them this long to push the Murukans out of the forest into her trap. Doubt was beginning to set in.
‘Cunx better have found them,’ she swore under her breath as she pressed her destrier harder.
The beast under her was exhausted, only her constant urging and prodding kept it at its relentless pace. Pyxis would not stop until they found the Nails or Cunx and his half of her cavalry. Those behind her were trailing at a distance, cautious of getting too close.
The last soldier who reported no sign of the enemy ended up with a blade through his chest. Pyxis was seething and made no
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