The Lord of the Crows

Part 18 - The Bloody Gorge

I watched her pour the wine, slowly and carefully, as if giving me more time. I knew I had no obligation to tell her exactly what had happened in the Bloody Gorge, just as I knew I owed her some kind of explanation. The Lagrenian guards agreed to my plan without any discussion - they listened to me, asked for some additional explanations and, on the same day, made sure to catch one of the thieves, alive and not much injured, in order to convey the message. The first, more dangerous part of the negotiations passed too easily, which meant that things still had time to get more complicated.

She handed me the wine and sat on the leathers and furs, right across from me. I took a sip, lightly, enjoying the fullness of the smell and taste, and finally asked:

"How much do you know about the Bloody Gorge battle?"

"That the battle had happened. And some stories. I was already here at the time."

I wanted to ask her if she had heard of the Red Guard, but she was faster.

"Death is coming. That's how they described you."

I nodded, staring at the fire. The flame burned evenly, dancing lazily as if it too was giving me time.

"My men had only one order: no survivors." I turned to her. "By that, I really mean no survivors. Man, woman, child, young, old - it made no difference. And I had demanded blind obedience from them."

She shivered. I reached out and caressed her palm, small, hot, and soft.

"Go on," she clenched her fist. "What happened?"

"New men," I sighed.

The new soldiers always meant a problem, and the Red Guard, unlike the regular army, took in the members from other units. With new people came already inherited habits that appeared to die really, really hard.

"It was difficult, you know. Sometimes we would get an older, experienced soldiers who were used to raiding and raping and getting drunk. Old habits to be re-examined by a young commander - well it was never well tolerated. And from their point of view, I, regardless of my successes up to that point, I was merely that - a young boy and, consequently, an unexperienced commander."

That day, the roar made me turn my horse and head back to the group that had separated. A dozen of them surrounded something and cheered.

"What's going on?" I shouted, angry that no one even noticed I approached them from behind. They were a too easy target and thus put the entire Red Guard in danger.

The talks died instantly and the crowd parted, letting me forward.

"They caught four of them and played a bit. Like they were dogs or animals ... Are you sure you want me to continue? "I whispered.

She nodded.

"Commander!"

One of the horsemen who followed me there, came forward, frowning.

"What is the first order of the Red Guard?"

"No survivors, sir. "

I pulled the reins and turned the horse toward him.

"Would you mind to repeat that, please?"

"No survivors!" It erupted from several sides, mostly from my own entourage.

"And what do we have here?"

"I would had ordered them killed, Daina, but then... "

A murmur of disapproval followed my command and a clear, harsh whisper reached me: "Waste of a whore." I stood taller on my horse after those words and looked more carefully at the captured four on the ground. And there she was. A woman! A disapproving murmur continued to spread around among a dozen newcomers, mostly warriors older than myself, and I had to do something. I turned my horse and rode up to the soldier who was stroking his chin and asked him to repeat his words.

"Getting too itchy, right? Can't wait till the evening?"

He shifted in the saddle and grinned.

"Come on, Executioner, everyone got it but us ... it's not okay. Only our units are under restriction."

I glanced at him, then looked at the Lagrenians again.

"You know what? I'll allow it. I will even double your weekly salary (this was accompanied by whistles, laughter, and approval) ... if you succeed. But", I raised my voice so that everyone could hear me, "if she manages to hurt you, even a bit, she is free. I'll let her go, damn it, I'll let them all go."

The crowd fell silent. I headed towards Lagrenian woman and focused on her once more. Dirty and bloody, injured, but not too much, she stood a good chance. I took a deep breath, looking for a hint of something else besides sweat and blood. It was there, weak and barely noticeable, but it lingered around her.

"I'm a man of my word, girl", I told her. "stop him and you all are free."

She nodded.

The murmur and comments behind my back meant that the soldier got of his horse and was heading there. I moved my horse and turned around to watch. The girl moved swiftly.

"In the blink of an eye, she bit off half of his neck, before he could even touch her. He just fell into the dust. And I kept my word, I let them all go."

I got off my horse and bent over him as, unaware of what had befallen him, he grunted in the dust, pressing his torn throat with all his might. The crowd was now eerily quiet and I decided that they had to learn. I had to make a point: we were not capable of distinguishing beasts, distinguishing shifters and the ordinary ones except by smell, especially not among women whose smell was naturally weaker.

"The order is there for a reason since the Day of the Fall", I hissed. "I watched my best friend die because he wanted to get laid, so the bitch, just like this one, ripped out half of his throat. I had no knife, and I couldn't stand seeing him suffer so I broke his neck. You will not be that lucky. You will die slowly, in pain, as an example to others."

I turned to the soldiers, now pale, unable to move, and shouted:

"What is the first order of the Red Guard?! "

This time, the answer was strong, unanimous.

"No survivors!"

I went back to my horse.

Daina was silent, and I was staring at her little palm resting in mine and had no strength to look up.

"One random act of mercy ...", she whispered.

I winced and forced myself to look her in the eye.

"It was no act of mercy," I shook my head. "I had to make a point. I had to teach them a lesson, my beautiful lady, and I invested everything in that girl. Until an hour ago, I didn't even know that she managed to escape from them after I had let her go. It didn't matter to me."

"But you kept your word. You did let her go."

I shrugged.

"And that was a part of the lesson, too."

She took a deep breath and muttered:

"I'm sorry about your friend, he must've ..."

"You shouldn't be sorry," I interrupted, rougher than I wanted. "The bastard deserved what happened to him."

She straightened up and gently pulled her hand out of mine.

"I don't understand ... If that's not the reason... Then why do you hate my people so much?" She whispered.

I couldn't answer her. I knew she would understand but I couldn't answer her. I didn't have the strength. Obviously, her shirt covering her secrets was not the only thing that stood between us.

"I don't hate your people, Daina. That's all you need to know."

"So much death ..."

I stood up.

"Please, I can't talk about it."