I Know Not (The Story of Fox Crow) by James Daniel Ross Page A

that used to be his enemy. He touched it, twice, and each time yanked back his hand as if burned. “What… What is it?”
          “A faerie. A redcap. Battlefield scavenger.” I said, levering myself to my feet and heading for the corpse of the beheaded old woman. I tore off part of her dress and used it to clean the ichor from the Angel and my hands before realizing I was covered in the stuff and it had the constancy of snot. I was going to need another bath, “The Barbarians raided this village, killed some people, took some supplies and moved on. The redcaps smelled the carnage and showed up later, looking for food and clothing.”
          “Food and clothing, they aren’t wearing…”
          “Theo, don’t!” But, of course I wasn’t quite fast enough.
          He had gotten a good look at the crude white leather garments. He could see the raw, pink edges, the splotchy patches of blue, and the unmistakable hints of stitched shut eyes, noses, and mouths. He spent several seconds vomiting, and then several minutes heaving. I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and dragged him back into the center of the square where the air was marginally clearer. He regained control of his stomach and I sent him back down the road to the carriage, carrying a message urging the Lady to make her way here with all haste.
          An hour later the whole group arrived. I already and had a pyre started.
          The boys again showed their skill as porters, piling the villagers in a large stack spread with kindling while I hung the dead bodies of the fairies over the wall. I hoped the smell of their own dead would ward off any other fell scavengers. To be sure, as the night went on and they seemed to dissolve into bundles of sticks and piles of white curds, no fly, bird, or furred creature took even remote interest in consuming any part of them.
          In any case, we could go no further today, and I was eager to have to protection of the palisade. Aelia flat refused to sleep in any of the houses and instead had the boys pitch her tent. Her cat had no such trouble, and wandered into one and came out with a fat mouse. If danger showed up in the night I would have rather had her inside of wooden walls than behind pegged curtains of silk, and I would have argued that point if I thought there was some use.
          Worse, the boys had the enraging habit of unpacking the oak and iron treasure chest from the top of the carriage and setting it down in an out of the way spot of the camp. Surely it would take four burly men to make off with it, but I assumed all of the funds for Aelia’s mission were inside and if we lost that, we lost everything. Unfortunately, nobody was asking me what I wanted right now. Instead I made sure the watches were set for the night, and that the pig Theo had shot was well cooked and portioned out. Shame to waste fresh meat, after all .
          Theo did not eat with us, but instead kept himself away from me for several hours, only joining the campfire after I had eaten and moved on. At least he gave a full report to her Ladyship, and allowed me to get on with more important things, like sneaking into a home to procure a tub so I could wash. And wash my clothing. And my hair. I don’t remember hair being able to hold so much blood, but there you go. In fact anything I could find to keep away from her, and the feelings she brought up inside me—
          The dark thing inside flung handfuls of broken glass into my mind’s eye, and the sounds of screaming inside my skull drove all the softer thoughts away. Long after dark had vanquished any trace of the sun I took a seat on the apex of the bridge, watching the whole of the village from this one central location. I just stared into the night, drawing cold curtains inside myself.
          Theo came to me carrying a bundle. He stopped just out of sword’s reach, face pale and eyes wandering. I squelched all thought toward