“You’re a good man, Knox.” Jasper swallowed. “They won’t hurt you for this, will they?”
“Eh.” The man shrugged. “They think the spy’s capable of working miracles. I’m sure—”
A gunshot rang out, and he staggered and fell, blood spreading down the arm of his shirt as he roared in pain. They scattered, Jasper and the spy dragging Knox behind a tree as another volley of bullets rained down. Eight militia this time, if Jasper was counting correctly.
“Helping them escape, Knox?” A voice called out of the dark.
“Damn,” the spy muttered, heartfelt. He yanked a knife from his boot and Knox’s pistol from the man’s belt, handing the latter to Jasper.
Jasper peered out. Shadows were streaking through the trees, taking their places in the shadows. Wraiths, demons. How often had he seen this in wartime? And now they did it to one another; Knox had been right about this. The nation was tearing itself apart.
There was a gunshot next to him, and he jumped and swore—and saw a soldier topple from his place behind a tree. That would be Solomon. The man had always been an eer
ily good shot. Now the Confederates were learning just what it was to be fighting against him.
“Go home.” His voice rang in the night air. “Go back to your families. This isn’t worth it.”
“Damn you, Delancy!” A shot came back, chipping one of the trees, and all of them ducked. “You turned Perry, and now Knox. It was all lies. You’re a spy, aren’t you?”
“I’m not a spy!” Solomon’s voice was cold. “How can you both want to hang me?”
“Your own fault, Delancy.”
Jasper wondered if it was easier to hear curses hurled at one’s false name, and decided this was not the time to ask. He was just aiming the pistol, when Knox’s hand dragged him down, and a knife passed through the space his head had just been occupying. With a grunt, he slammed his foot out and met someone’s shin, and then covered his face as the man tumbled.
The spy was on him in a moment, grappling in the dark, his own knife flashing. For a moment they rolled downhill, leaves flying and neither side daring to aim a pistol for fear of killing their own man. Then there was a scream, hastily choked off, and the spy was panting, blood on his knife. He dove back for cover as another round of bullets clattered around them.
“Go! Now! While they’re reloading.” Knox pushed at them.
“But you...”
“It’s my word against theirs if they haul me back. Get home to your loved ones. Go now!”
Even as Jasper protested, the spy grabbed his hand and pulled him downhill, hissing for Solomon and Cecelia. They ran with no thought to the noise, throwing themselves flat by instinct—all save Cecelia, who they pulled down with them—in time for the next volley to go over their heads. Then they were up and running again, running until they thought their lungs would burst with it.
“Get the horses!” someone yelled.
The sound of Solomon’s laughter echoed through the trees.
“What in Heaven’s name...” the spy began.
“I feel so alive,” he gasped back. “I haven’t felt so alive in years, Vi. Cee, are you all right?”
“You’re insane,” his sister gasped back. She had her skirts hiked up and she was heaving for breath, but she kept on running gamely.
“Who’s Vi?” Jasper called.
“Not important! Keep running!”
They burst out of the trees and ran for the river, hearing the shouts and the distant pound of hoof beats.
“This way!” Jasper led them to the outer bank, scrambling up the rock face and onto a densely-covered hill, dragging them all into the scrub brush and praying no one had seen them disappear. They lay, holding their breaths, as the group passed them by, shouting curses and yelling for them to come back.
“How long until they come back?” Cecelia whispered, and the spy made a shushing noise.
They waited a little longer, as the birdsong grew louder and the sky above them paled, and then the men trudged back, horses clopping and tossing their heads so the bits jangled. The men walked in angry silence, and all of them in the bushes lay still as the dead, knowing that their captors would be scanning the landscape for footprints they had missed.
They waited even longer, until the air beneath the bushes began to heat and a few rabbits hopped about nearby, sniffing warily at the humans before dashing away with their white tails bobbing. Squirrels chattered above and Jasper heaved a sigh of relief.