At the ship’s rails, a handful of muskets fired, bringing down a few red-?eyes out of the horde. Winter didn’t stop to look. She pounded down the pier and flung herself into the water. It was shockingly cold, momentarily driving the breath from her lungs, but she felt her boot touch the sandy bottom and push off again. A few floating steps, and she got hold of a net and pulled herself up with arms that suddenly felt as strong as wet paper. Someone grabbed her. She looked up to find Sergeant Gorchov grinning broadly, his beard crusted with blood.
On the deck, someone took an ax to the lines, and the ships sprang into the current. They ran out the oars, sweeping hard to keep themselves steady in the swift-?flowing river. Behind them, the red-?eyes hit the shore and started to swim, and for a horrible moment Winter thought it had all been useless. But even the Beast couldn’t drive flesh and blood beyond its ultimate limits, and the Bataria was in full flood. Most of the red-?eyes that went in the water were swept under and away, and the few that closed with the ships were summarily dispatched with musket shots.
We made it. Winter stared at the crowd of monsters remaining on the shore. Saints and fucking martyrs. We actually made it. She looked across the rope net and found Vess, soaked and huddled against the hull. Some of us.
*
They put in at a rocky beach on the north bank, fifty miles downstream from the fortress. Many of the soldiers made it only as far as the shallows before collapsing from exhaustion, unable to do more than lie in the water and struggle for breath. It fell to the refugees who’d stayed out of the fighting to drag them ashore and get fires built. The north bank of the Bataria seemed to have no trace of civilization, and thick woods came down almost to the river, so firewood, at least, was plentiful.
“We’re going to be pretty hungry by the time we get to Dimiotsk,” Alex said.
She and Abraham had helped Winter, whose arms had been cramping so badly she hadn’t been able to get herself loose from the net. Now, seated beside the blaze of the fire with a cup of warm soup cradled in her hands, she was starting to feel alive again.
“Most of the refugees brought something in their packs or their pockets, but we made them leave all the heavy baggage behind,” Alex went on. “It’ll be two or three days to the city, at least.”
“We’ll survive,” Abraham said firmly. “And some of the sailors said they might be able to fish.”
Winter nodded slowly. Alex, crouching beside her, peered at her a little closer.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” she said. “Abraham, do you want to take a look at her?”
“She’s exhausted,” Abraham said. “Leave her alone, Alex.”
“I’m fine,” Winter said. She unfolded her fingers from the tin cup of soup with some effort and took a sip. It was thin, but wonderfully warm. “Just... cold.”
Alex nodded. Abraham clapped her on the shoulder, and they moved off, talking quietly. Winter stared into the depths of the fire, watching the logs slowly crumble, until she heard a soft grunt and looked up to find Lieutenant Dobraev sitting nearby.
“Your friend is quite the healer,” he said. “He tended several men I had despaired of, and they all seem much improved.”
Winter nodded. “He’s... very experienced.”
“Such wisdom in a man so young.” Dobraev shook his head. “I do not pretend to understand you, Winter Ihernglass, or what happened here. I am not sure I ever will. Are you truly a general?”
She nodded.
“In what army?”
Winter didn’t think she could lie to him at this point. “Vordanai.”
“I guessed as much. The famous Girls’ Only division.”
Correcting him seemed pedantic, so Winter only nodded again.
Dobraev shifted, holding his hands up to the fire. “No need to tell anyone else, I think. I am not even sure if we are still at war with you. I have heard rumors... of many things. When we reach Dimiotsk, I will report to the colonel there for orders. I imagine you’ll have time to slip away before then.”
“Thank you,” Winter said.
“It would be poor form to turn you in after you saved my life, and the lives of my entire command.”
“Some of your command,” Winter said.
“True. But without your warning, we all would have been slaughtered by those... fanatics.”
Maybe. Winter couldn’t be sure. If I’d never come here, would the Beast have destroyed the fortress? Or would it simply never have bothered? Am I helping people, or just mitigating the catastrophe I drag in my wake? She took a long breath, thick with the scent of woodsmoke.
“For what it’s worth,” she said, “I’m glad I could help.”
“What will your Trans-?Batariai friends do?”
“Continue north, I imagine.” I should talk to Vess. Somehow the thought of standing up, right at the moment, was unbearable.
“Tell them they are welcome to continue down the river with us, if they would like to put more distance between themselves and the enemy.” Dobraev looked over his shoulder toward the river. “Will they build boats, do you think?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so. But when we get to Dimiotsk, I would advise your superiors to be ready. They’ll be coming sooner or later.” They’ll be coming for everyone, sooner or later.
“Oh, believe me, I plan to. Mohkba needs to be told.”
“Will Kollowrath cause trouble, when he recovers?”
“I doubt it.” Dobraev looked pained. “Apparently the men I sent to retrieve him from his sickroom in the keep disobeyed orders and fled directly to the ships.”
Oh. Winter swallowed. For all that the captain had nearly gotten her killed, she wasn’t sure he deserved to be left for the Beast. No one deserves that.
“We will spend the night here, I think,” Dobraev said. “The ships are too heavy to risk the river in the dark.”
“Keep a watch,” Winter said. “Just in case.”
“Believe me,” Dobraev said, looking over his shoulder again, “I plan to.”
*
There were no tents, besides those the Haeta carried, and few blankets. Winter ended up stretched out on the hard ground beside Alex and Abraham, pressed tight together against the chill with a couple of ragged cloaks thrown across them. The watch fed the fires all night, keeping off the worst of the cold, and Winter woke feeling stiff and achy but otherwise much improved.
The trappers among the refugees had erected a few snares, and they had rabbits for breakfast, though not nearly enough to assuage Winter’s hunger. She chewed the last of the jerky from her own pack and told herself it was only two days to the city. We’ll manage.
As soon as it was light enough to see clearly, Dobraev busied himself getting the party back aboard the boats. Somehow this was much more difficult without the threat of the red-?eyes pushing everyone forward, and arguments broke out about who would get what space. Sergeant Gorchov had his hands full breaking up shoving matches. A few of the trappers and other folk used to the wilds quietly melted away, preferring to chance it in the forest rather than stay with the noisy crowd.