***
They reached the outskirts of the vicus with about three hours of daylight left to them. But as they marched through the settlement it became apparent that this was not a normal community. This was no bustling productive workplace for the fort, the usual sounds were missing here, and so were the people. They could only see a few despondent children rummaging lethargically through the debris on the ground and a few older women, who watched them warily as they rode through the almost deserted street.
The door of the fort was open, but only one man was standing guard and he immediately raced off when he saw them.
By the time Marius and Celer rode through the entrance with Junius walking beside them, the commander of the fort was jogging to meet them.
Marius left Celer to organise the soldiers whilst he jumped down and walked with Junius towards the anxious young man.
“We’re from Apulium, though we’ve been sent by Emperor Hadrian to find out the cause of the illness in the fort. Can you assemble your men?”
The man blanched and Junius saw that his skin was pale for a Thracian and his eyes unnaturally dark. The man was clearly in the first stage of Becoming.
“I’m not the prefect. He’s away on patrol.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Marius said. “You’re obviously in charge, so assemble your men. That’s an order.”
The man gulped and nodded, then called out to the small group of men gathered around watching.
Junius stepped closer to Marius. “He’s in the first stage, but you can still trust him. As soon as the men are in position, send your soldiers to check every building. Anyone not able to move, kill.”
Marius frowned. “I’ve done this before, remember. I know what to do.”
Unperturbed by his friend’s disdain, Junius continued. “Don’t kill or imprison the men who can move, but are sensitive to sunlight. You might be able to save some.”
“What do you suggest we do with them?” Marius asked despite his annoyance. “They won’t have many cells here.”
“Let me look at them. I’ll be able to tell if they’ll turn tonight or not. The last thing you want is a group of men who become Kin once night falls. The rest can help us fight.”
Marius studied him with a wary look on his face. “I still don’t completely trust you. What if it’s all a trap?”
“You don’t have to trust me. But it does make sense. If you feel easier, lock them up in the grain store or somewhere like that. But make sure that you keep them isolated from each other, like you did in Apulium, and give specific orders not to let anyone get close to them. You know what happens if they do.” Junius could see that Marius clearly remembered, and was wondering how he knew about his precautions the night before. “If you want, you can lock me away as well. Or send me away. It’s up to you, but not yet, I can still be useful.”
At that moment Celer approached, but the young tribune waited until they were ready to give him their full attention before he gave them his report.
“The men are all inside the fort and awaiting your orders.”
Junius saw Marius glance at him. He shrugged, declining to take responsibility for the operation. “It’s up to you, you’ve done this before,” he told him, moving away to emphasise his point.
“Split the men in half, one group to check in here and the other to go into the settlement. Tell them to round up anyone who can walk in daylight and send them to the parade ground.”
“And if they can’t move?” Celer asked quietly.
“You know what to do,” Marius replied.
Junius had to interrupt. This wasn’t Apulium, they were surrounded by the Kin who were planning to attack and kill them tonight. “What about the ones who can move, but need to be covered? What are going to do with them? You can’t just allow them into the fort to mingle with the others.”
Celer looked over at him, comprehension spreading across his face as he realised what Junius meant. “We could lock them away as we did in Apulium?” he suggested.
“I think you’ll have too many for that and besides, these ones will be desperate and Marius knows that you shouldn’t underestimate a man or woman anxious to join the Kin.”
Marius stared at him, whilst considering Junius’s words. “Leave any like that outside. Junius Silanus will decide if they’re to enter or not and I’ll see them as well. Leave any auxiliaries who can’t stand daylight out there too,” he added glancing over to Junius, who nodded.
Celer gave a salute and moved away calling out to the centurions as he did so. Moments later, two centuries detached themselves from the ordered ranks of soldiers and marched out of the gate with the young tribune leading them.
Junius watched as Marius called the remaining centurions to him and gave them their orders. He had to admit that his friend was in his element; no one would have ever known that Marius Tullius Varens was not aristocratic by birth. His skill at leadership and command seemed to be innate and the men were accepting his orders without any qualms at all. That was a weight off Junius’s mind, because tonight, Marius would be in charge. He would be the man leading the combined forces of the remains of the auxiliary unit and half the men of the first cohort of XIII Gemina legion, as well as any civilians who took it upon themselves to help.
Before too long the auxiliaries had gathered on the parade ground, and the anxious young acting commander was presenting them to Marius. Junius wandered over to listen to the conversation.
“Are these all that’s left?” Marius was asking.
The young Thracian licked his lips. “Yes, sir, the others are sleeping. Since the mushrooms started to secrete their spores, we’ve changed to a night operation. It’s safer. We’re the only men on duty during daylight hours. Once night falls the fort wakens and goes about its business as usual.”
“Do you have any men in the infirmary?”
The man shook his head. “No one, sir.”
Surprised, Junius glanced at Marius, who returned his puzzled look, then addressed the young man.
“But we’ve been told to investigate the illness here.”
The acting commander nodded. “It’s not fatal. We’ve learnt that after a few days of feeling tired and a brief fever, you make a full recovery. The only side effect seems to be sensitivity to light, which actually helps us at the moment.”
Marius dismissed the man, who stepped back and re-joined his Thracians. Then he nodded to the waiting centurions who shouted commands out to their men. Within moments, the soldiers of the XIII Gemina were streaming through the fort in an organised formation with wooden stakes held firmly in their hands.
Junius braced himself for the inevitable sensations that would emanate through his body, as each one of the Kin were destroyed.
At first they died silently, and he was able to resist the temptation to throw his head back and cry out. But after the first few deaths the others became aware and started to fight back, changing into their true form and attacking their destroyers. Before long, the late afternoon was filled with the sound of the blood-curdling screams of the dying Kin and Junius was holding onto the wall for support, as wave after wave of death filled his mind and seared through his body.
Dimly, he was aware of a girl who was being dragged by her legs from the praefect’s headquarters out into the sunlight. For a moment she smouldered then her body burst into flames, whilst the soldiers cheered and the auxiliary troops looked on in terrified fascination. For a split second, Junius felt her pain, then she was gone. Appalled, he turned away. This was wholesale slaughter, which the men were revelling in. He’d started this; he’d wanted them destroyed but not like this: there was no honour in this type of killing. At least in Parthia they’d died in battle; here, like this, they were defenceless.
Gradually the carnage lessened until it eventually stopped and Junius was able to stand upright again. In his head he could hear the Kin, or some of them at least, vowing revenge. It was mostly the young ones, and they included Felix, the comman
der of the fort, who once again reiterated his plan before falling back into his slumber.
He was still collecting himself when Marius approached and waited on the periphery of Junius’s vision, aware that the last half hour had been uncomfortable for him.
“Are they all gone?” he asked eventually.
Junius nodded. “Your men know what they’re doing. There’s no one left inside the fort or the settlement. They were very efficient.”
“They’re soldiers of Rome, it’s what they’re trained to do.”
Junius looked at his friend. “But not to have such relish for their job. They enjoyed themselves.”
Marius shrugged. “You wanted them dead and they are. Unless of course you’re changing sides again?”
“It was cruel.”
“They were already dead. I’ve kept back the ones who can’t bear the sunlight, but can still move around. Do you still want to look at them, or shall I kill them as well?”
Junius frowned. “I’m coming.”
In response Marius turned on his heel and led him across the parade ground to the entrance.
“They’re outside. We’ve room for three of them in the isolation cells, and another three or four in the main chamber together. I’d rather not use the grain stores.”
Junius acknowledged the information and began to make his way outside, but he stopped. “Will you close the gate when I’m outside?”
Marius met his gaze. “The sentries will give you a warning before they close the fort.” He paused then continued. “The choice is yours. I took the decision from you last time, so I’m leaving it up to you to decide what you do now.” Then he turned away and walked back across the parade ground leaving Junius alone at the entrance.
Outside there was a mixed group of Thracian auxiliaries and residents from the settlement. They were all huddled together against the wooden wall of the fort under their individual covers. Curious, Junius approached them and crouched down.
“Are any of you in contact with them?” he asked as he studied each face in turn.
“None of us are,” an older Thracian man replied.
“In contact with who?” another demanded to know. Junius turned to look at the speaker. His skin was still tanned and his eyes and hair relatively light. This man was still stage one and perfectly safe to go into the fort.
“You, go and wait by the door. Say that Tribune Silanus sent you and that you need to have permission from Tribune Varens before you enter. They’ll know what you mean.” The man stood hesitantly. “Go on,” Junius told him, “before I change my mind.” The Thracian didn’t need to be told twice. He ran to the fort and spoke briefly to the sentries before being allowed in.
Satisfied, Junius turned back to the rest of the group. There were three soldiers, four women and two men from the settlement. Two of the women had very pale skin and dark obsidian eyes. They were clearly stage two and would turn tonight. His heightened senses picked up the signals coming from their changing bodies and their unconscious reaction to being in proximity with him. Junius’s mind switched immediately into the purely animalistic mode of the Kin. The familiar fire in his belly burst into life and the delicious craving for their blood became an overwhelming desire. He felt his eyes darken, then the satisfying sensation as the teeth broke through and filled his mouth. He’d known it was inside him, lying dormant until the time came for it to resurface, but he hadn’t been sure what would awaken it. He had his answer now and it took all his self-control not to reach for the closest girl and clamp his teeth into her neck. The others stared in awe at him, realising that though he moved about in daylight, he was also Kin.
“Go to the others,” he told the girls. “You can’t stay here, you’ll die.”
“But we could stay and…” They began to protest, but Junius cut them off with a snarl. It wasn’t a very eloquent response, but it was effective. Reluctantly, the girls stood and begrudgingly moved away from the fort.
“Go,” he shouted after them, which caused the girls to lift up their grubby dresses and jog down the main street of the settlement and out into the countryside.
He was left with seven now. Neither of them was close to becoming Kin, so it would be possible to take them back inside the fort. He searched each of them, gauging where their loyalty lay. They didn’t know what he was, but then he wasn’t sure of that either, so he could understand their puzzlement. They were also scared of him and he could certainly relate to that.
“Come with me,” he told them, standing up. Obediently they stood and he led them back inside the fort to wait until Marius approved their admittance.