“You won?” Murphy said.
“We did,” Marc said. “We won the day by leveraging the land against a numerically superior force composed of infantry and heavy cavalry.”
“That must have been a bloody battle,” Murphy said.
“We lost a lot of good men that day,” Marc said. “I was even knocked unconscious by a mortar blast.”
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“So you were the former?”
“Worse,” Marc said curtly.
“How?”
“Le Roi decided that we should be sacrificed to give his cousin a victory before they signed an armistice.”
Murphy’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second. Soldiers were like pieces on a chessboard and sacrifices were often made to win the game.
“You won?” Murphy said.
Disclaimer: This novel is an work in progress and readers may encounter grammatical errors and inconsistencies. Please view this a draft and not a published work.
Marc’s nose crinkled as though he were about to sneeze. In truth he was trying to tie together two disparate thoughts.
“I attend the evening briefings and I can say that your commanders have no such intent,” Marc said. “Some commanders might see it as glorious to waste a thousand men for nothing. Truthfully, they are just trying to find a way out of this stalemate.”
Murphy snapped his tongue as though not quite buying what Marc said. The man of war could certainly understand why.
“So you were the former?”
Disclaimer: This novel is an work in progress and readers may encounter grammatical errors and inconsistencies. Please view this a draft and not a published work.
“These were the formative points of my teens and early life as an adult. I was raised by soldiers, learned to be one and fought for king and country.” Marc added. “Until one day we were told to prepare for an attack that we were should have lost.”
“Should?” Murphy said. “Like those they send over that wall?”
Marc’s nose crinkled as though he were about to sneeze. In truth he was trying to tie together two disparate thoughts.
Disclaimer: This novel is an work in progress and readers may encounter grammatical errors and inconsistencies. Please view this a draft and not a published work.
“I started out as a basic private,” Marc began. “I worked my way to Sergeant. After that I returned to claim my title after my father’s death.”
This was the most he ever said to anyone about his early life. Even Evelyn had little idea about his past. Marc had no desire to burden anyone with his truth.
“I returned to war as a Lieutenant and worked my way to Captain,” Marc said. “We were assigned to a small garrison defending a French town along the border with Spain.”
“That explains your sharp drill and how you handle your blade.”
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That would have ended horribly for everyone involved. Marc might have superior speed compared to a werewolf, but only for limited amounts of time. It would have run me down eventually and used me as a chew toy.
“You know, Sir,” Murphy said. “You’re the only commander I served under that seems to genuinely care about his men.”
That was quite a compliment, but Marc still had to tread lightly.
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“Why—(was it out there?)”
“I have no idea,” Marc said. “We typically avoid the wilds, especially at full moon.”
“You fear them?” Murphy asked.
The way the question seemed to imply that Murphy was confirming the impossible.
“Had it been fear,” Marc began. “I would have cut and run, leaving you and the men to handle it.”
Disclaimer: This novel is an work in progress and readers may encounter grammatical errors and inconsistencies. Please view this a draft and not a published work.
“What was that thing?” Murphy finally asked.
Marc could have played dumb, but saw no point in doing so. There was no gain in alienating his second and deteriorating relations with his men.
“That’s why I didn’t send you out on a full moon,” Marc said.
He let his Warrant Officer mull it over, who was initially unsure on how that answer applied. It was not until he considered the moon itself that those eyes came aglow.
“Werewolf?” Murphy asked.
“That’s what we call them when they aren’t busy tearing us to shreds,” Marc replied.
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The next series of back and forth revolved around confirming the details. How many bodies Marc left behind and others to confirm Murphy’s suspicions on how this event unfolded.
This granted him a great deal of insight on Murphy and the meticulous mind behind the man. On the outside his second appeared calm, cool, and collected but his restless legs and fast speech implied a high degree of anxiety. He’s also dancing around the subject.
“What was that thing?” Murphy finally asked.
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The next series of questions were obvious but he knew this had to play out. Marc might have hoped to make this quick, but it was hard to explain away the two additional vampires… or that werewolf.
“Why were you there?” Murphy asked.
“I wanted to see if the first encounter with a vampire was purely by chance.”
“That would have been too easy,” Murphy stated.
“How true.”
Disclaimer: This novel is an work in progress and readers may encounter grammatical errors and inconsistencies. Please view this a draft and not a published work.
