Gus is now vomiting on the floor.
Marcus looks at him with disgust and says to Celia, “We need to talk. But I’m finding Gus here a little distracting. If I stay here any longer I’m likely to cut more than his ear off.”
Celia gets up. “Well, I suggest we take a walk then.”
And off they go together into the forest. And I’m not sure if Celia will come out alive, with both ears or what.
Rivers of Blood
Two hours later Celia and Marcus return to the camp. Celia has both her ears. They walk back side by side, deep in conversation, not looking at each other but staying close enough to keep their voices quiet.
Soon we’re all back sitting round the table, except Gus, who has wisely disappeared from Marcus’s sight. Van helped him heal and reattached his ear. It looked a mess to me, though.
Van has told me we’re in the Black Forest of southern Germany. Celia plans on using this place as the main camp for the Alliance.
Celia opens the meeting by stating the principal aim of the Alliance: “To remove Soul O’Brien from the leadership of the White Witches, by killing him if necessary, and to return Britain to a state of peaceful coexistence among all Witches.
“Our first objective is to drive the Hunters out of Europe. They are moving down from the north but are still concentrated in northern France and Germany. They’re growing in number, recruiting as they move south. The longer we wait before attacking, the harder it will be to stop them. We must attack, both to deter new recruits and to remove the ones they already have before they’re fully trained.
“However, we have few fighters and can afford to lose none of them. Each attack must succeed on three fronts: killing the enemy, demoralizing the enemy, raiding their stores—seizing their weapons, equipment and food—”
“I take it you have no weapons?” Marcus interrupts.
“Few, and nothing to match the Hunters’ guns. Those are what we need to get our hands on most of all. When they realize that they’re going to be killed with their own bullets—a slow, painful death—that’s another small advantage we win.”
I say to Celia, “I don’t see how the raids will deter new recruits. The Hunters are hardly going to tell anyone about them, are they?”
“News will travel. White Witches keep much closer contact with each other than Black Witches do. But we will also spread the word about Alliance successes. We need recruits too. Van will let the Black Witches know that Marcus is working with us. Once they hear that, and see us succeeding, more will join.
“But it won’t be easy,” Celia adds. “Hunters pride themselves on learning from their mistakes. They analyze all their battles, victories and defeats. They’ll soon work out our tactics.”
“And what are our tactics?” I ask.
“We have an elite group of fighters—”
“We do?”
“Yes. Myself, Greatorex, Nesbitt, Gabriel. And now you and Marcus. Plus some good trainees.”
“Not huge numbers then!”
“That’s fine. We attack, raid, and run. In and out quickly. We pick the weak groups of new recruits to attack. That’s what the scouts are out looking for at the moment. We choose our first target when they get back to base.”
“Is this base?” I ask.
“Yes, all those who join the Alliance will come here. It will soon grow and will need organizing. Everyone will have to do their bit.”
Celia explains that each person will be put in a task group. There are four groups: Scouts and Fighters; Foraging and Stores; Cooking and Camp; and Healers. Gabriel and I are fighters. Ellen, Greatorex, and Nesbitt are scouting at the moment. Annalise is in Foraging and Stores and is with one of the groups now, helping bring provisions to this base.
I look over at Marcus. He’s not in any task group. Our eyes meet and I think he’s thinking the same thing. He says, “When do I get to kill some Hunters?”
“The scouts are back tomorrow. The first raid will be tomorrow night.”
Afterward I hang back and ask Celia about Deborah. “Has she left the Council yet?”
Celia looks relieved as she answers. “She’s agreed to leave. It’s become impossible for her to get more information out without it being obvious that it’s coming from her. She should make it to us. I’ve sent someone to bring her here.”
*
That night I don’t sleep well. I don’t have nightmares but I wake and can’t get back to sleep. I wonder where Annalise is, hoping she’s safe. I thought I’d be with her tonight but she’s not due back until tomorrow. I feel sick thinking about her. She’s regained much of her health since being under Mercury’s spell. And she’s agile and great at running but if the Hunters find her group the truth is she doesn’t stand a chance. In the end I get up and start to walk through the forest. It’s still dark and Gabriel falls in beside me.
“I couldn’t sleep either,” he says.
“I need to burn off some energy,” I say. “Coming?”