make my companion here angry. She's not too good at holding back the urge to hurt those who have clamped her in irons, stuffed her in a prison and been generally unpleasant toward her. She's probably tired, too, that tends to make people a little cranky. So, no shouting, screaming, yelling, or general loudness will leave your lips, or I'm going to find the monster that you've made a pact with and I'm going to feed you to it.'
'You won't torture me,' the captain said, his words slurred and slow.
'Who said anything about torture?' I asked. 'I said I'd feed you to the monster. If he wants to take his time, then so be it. Me, I'm not going to get my hands dirty dealing with a piece of shit like you.'
I moved him into a more upright position.
'What's your plan?' I asked him. The captain opened his mouth to answer, but before he could speak, I shushed him to silence once more. 'Before you start, we know you're involved, so don't bother denying it. You've been told to ride to both the ranch and the fort east of here, where you will find the various signs of violence left behind-blood at the fort and the ranch owner’s body strung up and butchered. You will then cry 'Indians did it' and use the tomahawks as evidence.'
'They're savages, goddamn savages. May the Lord burn-'
I punched him in the face with just enough force to shut him up. 'Don't bring any Lord of yours into this. You did this for revenge or money. Probably both. So, don't you dare pretend that this was some divine act.'
Captain Waltham touched his bloody lip and glanced at his fingertips. 'You're going to burn along with them. The righteous will cast your bones into the flames of hell.'
I stood back and laughed. It was a full belly laugh, and Captain Waltham's expression slowly evolved from one of anger into one of confusion. 'You're an idiot,' I said. Fire ignited in my hands. It was only a small sphere, spinning with slow purpose like a planet on its axis.
Captain Waltham scrambled back up and over the chair, ducking behind it.
'As you can see, the fires of hell would have to be really goddamn hot to make me concerned.'
I stopped my magic as screams sounded from out in the courtyard. The momentary loss of concentration allowed Captain Waltham to sprint away and up a nearby flight of stairs. A door slammed above us.
'Someone's nervous,' I said, as more screams ripped through the air around us.
'Sam, stay back,' Sky told him. To his credit he didn't argue.
The two of us moved toward the door and opened it slightly. The courtyard was a battleground. Two dead soldiers lay near the barracks, and even from the distance between us I could tell that their throats were torn out.
There were things moving in the darkness around the buildings. Occasionally another scream would sound out, and then those who had finally armed themselves, or found their nerve, would start firing wildly. Sergeant Roberts ran past us as we stepped outside, and I grabbed his arm. 'Is there someplace big enough for everyone that can be barred from the inside?'
'There's a room in the basement. The captain had it built. The doors are reinforced with steel plating. It's big enough to hold a hundred people and there's food and water stored there. The entrance is over in the corner.' He pointed off past the officer's building to what I'd assumed was just a storage shed when I'd first entered the fort.
'Get everyone down there, now.'
'But-'
'But nothing, get your people in that room right now, or you'll have no one left.'
He nodded curtly, with more than a little fear in his eyes, but he was soon barking orders and gathering his men. Sam ran with a large group of soldiers, as Sky and I covered them. But whatever was hiding in the shadows did nothing to stop their retreat.
'How many men did you lose?' I asked once the massive doors were closed and forced shut.
'I'll do a count,' Sergeant Roberts said.
'I'm in charge here,' Lieutenant Burns snapped.
'Were you even out there? I didn't see you run in,' I said.
Lieutenant Burns glanced around at his men with nervous anticipation. I was certain they weren't about to like his answer. 'I was in here already, preparing for my men's retreat.'
'Well, and didn't you do a good job, too? If the US had more men like you, you'd still be under English law.'
I glanced around at our new temporary home. It was mostly a giant open space with a small room at the rear. Through the open door, I could see bags and barrels of food and drink, enough to keep us supplied for some time. There were only twenty-six bunk-beds, and most of those were now taken up with the injured. But there was plenty of floor space for the remaining soldiers to take the weight off their feet and try to come to terms with their new circumstance.
Torches on the wall burned brightly and I could see the holes in the ceiling that supplied the ventilation. There was even a dart board at the far end of the room. The captain had certainly taken his time to plan out everything he'd need.
A massive pounding sounded against the outside of the door, but stopped soon after. 'Someone isn't taking the hint,' I said.
'I sensed barrens out there, Nate. A lot of them. Ghouls, too,' Sky whispered to me.
'We need to protect the captain,' Lieutenant Burns snapped to no one in particular.
'Where is he?' I asked.
'Still in his quarters. He needs to be rescued.'
A picture of the maid I'd met earlier flashed to mind. 'How many have we left out there?'
'We got everyone we could' Sergeant Roberts said re-joining us. 'In terms of Army losses, we've lost twenty- two men, thirty are injured and another six are unaccounted for. But there are still civilians who work in the officer's quarters that we couldn't get to in time. There's probably four or five people still inside. What the hell attacked us out there?'
'I'll answer the 'what' in a second, first we need to get everyone from upstairs in here,' I said. 'Is there any other way to get out of here, besides that door?'
Sergeant Roberts was about to talk, when someone shouted him over and he excused himself to go deal with the problem.
Lieutenant Burns was spending his time yelling at anyone who dared to help the injured instead of rallying to find Captain Waltham. Thankfully, everyone appeared to be ignoring him.
'Sam, can you go help any wounded? I know it's not going to be nice, but we can't have people dying in here if we can help it.'
'I'll do my best,' Sam said with a forced smile.
'You have taken charge very quickly,' Sky said. 'But if you think I'm going to be nursing people-'
'I need you to find anyone who had been bitten by a ghoul,' I interrupted. 'We both know what'll happen to them. We can't have people turning in here. I assume a ghoul bite and barren bite can be told apart?'
'It'll be easy enough to find those who were bitten by a ghoul and not by a barren. You want me to use my necromancy to kill them without people knowing?'
'We can't have panic in here. You're the only one who can kill those infected in a peaceful way. My glyphs give it away and we can't start shooting or stabbing them. I'm sorry to ask this of you.'
'Those bitten are already dead, Nate. I'll be doing them a favour. But if you're not back soon, I'm going to find you.'
'Deal. But let Roberts know that anyone infected will die. Hopefully, he'll be able to better prepare people for what's going to happen.'
I collared Lieutenant Burns as he walked by. 'A second exit into the officers' quarters. Where is it?'
Burns shook my hand off. 'That's not your concern.'
'Do you see anyone else running upstairs? Because if you want that captain of yours back, you'd best point me in the direction of an exit from this place. One that doesn't involve me running a gauntlet through a mob of killing machines.'
'In the food pantry, there's a lever beside one of the cupboards, pull it and the cupboard moves. The stairs will take you to the dining room directly above.'
'Excellent,' I said. 'Sergeant Roberts, the men seem to respect and like you, you're in charge until I
