The idea that he was supposed to fight for it was obscene. He wondered how Santi stood it, knowing what he knew.
A line of carriers rolled up in a hiss of white steam, and one by one, Blue Dog squad received an inspection not from Santi himself, but from one of his top lieutenants, a round-faced woman with startling greenish eyes in a very dark face. Those eyes missed nothing, and when they lingered over Jess and his pack, he felt a chill. “You,” the lieutenant said, and gestured to him. “Come with me.”
Glain broke from her rigid attention to send Jess a startled glance as he followed the lieutenant out of ranks to a spot at the back of the carrier. A thick white wisp of steam left a damp streak across his face as it drifted past, and the lingering smell of bitter metal. “Is there a problem, sir?”
The lieutenant fixed those intimidating eyes on him. “You’re Brightwell,” she said. “Correct?”
“Yes, sir.” He felt sweat trickle down the side of his face. “Problem, sir?”
She leaned forward suddenly, and it was all he could do not to flinch. She didn’t blink as she stared into his eyes from a distance close enough that their noses nearly brushed. “You’re acquainted with Captain Santi.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Then know this: if you presume on prior acquaintance, I will end you. Is that understood? You speak to Captain Santi when spoken to by him. You will not approach him. You will not send him messages. There is a chain of command, and you are the link at the ass end of it.” Every word was as bright and sharp as a razor, and she never blinked. “If I catch a whisper of a rumor to the contrary, I will destroy you. Understood, Brightwell?”
He sucked in a breath and said, “Understood, sir!”
“Good.” She held there another beat, then drew back and nodded. “I’ve been instructed to tell you to stop looking for your friends. They’re safe. That comes directly from the captain himself, and if I hear you’ve stepped over that line, I’ll destroy you twice over. Now fall in.” She gestured sharply to the squad leader, and he counted off as each of the squad members lunged up into the carrier. Jess climbed in, as promised, last. The ass end of the chain, just as the lieutenant had said, but he couldn’t shake the other part of her message.
They’re safe. Santi had said so. What did that mean? Had Dario and Khalila gone into hiding? Had they come under some kind of threat? Can’t ask. It was going to kill him to resist.
He tried to focus on the other soldiers in the carrier. Apart from Glain, he knew none of them, and not a single face seemed familiar or even friendly. The seats were arrayed facing each other in two rows, with space between for packs, and Jess struggled to unbuckle his and lay it in the assigned space between his boots.
The carrier lurched into motion, throwing him against the deep, padded seat. Circulating cool air only cut the heat but didn’t defeat it, and didn’t hide the smell embedded in this vehicle: sweat, blood, a whiff of old fear. The smell of battle. It took him back to Oxford, and he felt cold despite the heat.
“What did the gold band want?” Glain asked, and Jess realized that she was right: the lieutenant had been wearing a gold band, a career appointment. He hadn’t noticed until Glain brought it to mind.
“Nothing.” He couldn’t tell her, not here. She seemed to accept that and nodded.
“Well, you do know a good deal about nothing, so that makes sense.”
“Where do you think we’re going?” There had been enough carriers pulled up to move Santi’s entire company—and that, he thought, wasn’t normal. Usually squads were sent out, or, more rarely, centuries. Even heading to Oxford, Santi had taken only a half century as escort. Taking the whole company meant real trouble.
“The hot spots are in England,” the man across from Jess said. He was older, with a dust of gray in his dark blond hair and a neatly trimmed beard and mustache. The accent was familiar—English, Jess thought. Manchester, maybe. “The Welsh are still pushing up toward London.”
“We’re not going to England,” said a shorter man next to him. “We’re heading to Rome.”
Rome. Jess felt his heartbeat speed up and he couldn’t stop a look at Glain, who maintained her usual mask of cool indifference. “Why?” she asked. “Is Rome about to fall to the Welsh, too?” She made sure, in saying it, that her native Welsh accent was on full display.
There was a ripple of laughter. The Englishman across from Jess didn’t crack a smile, and there was a dark look in his eyes. Easy, Jess thought. These aren’t our friends. They’re trained killers.