“Our last walk this way turned out like shit,” Corporal Anders pushed through knee deep snow, the storm easing slightly while a fog formed as bitter cold air replaced the warmer air that had allowed the storm.
“What makes you think the Robber King won’t attack us?” Private Holm added with a trace of bitterness at being given no choice, virtually pressed into the journey by the imposing major.
Robert smiled in the dark, sensing victory in the wind, or at least destruction of the Robber King’s hold on Coal Island. “Three reasons. First; the King cannot be in two places at once. Second; it and Pace have their hands full, suppressing a mutiny in the Union camp.”
“You sent those men back as bait?” Anders surmised. “That was cold.”
“This is war,” Robert bluntly spoke. “Those men were going to face the King at some point. Right now, they serve our needs as a distraction.”
“And the third reason would be?”
Robert had spent many hours thinking about the events that plagued Coal Island, thoughts he had purposely not articulated under a simple rule; that the Robber King or its friend knew what they were thinking. “At West point they taught us to study our enemy and learn his weaknesses.”
To determine the proper moment to act was an art, understanding the ebb and flow of a battlefield and know when an opponent was likely to pursue a certain action. It had taken a long time for Robert to understand his foe and he was still learning, but he could counter the Robber King now.
“From the day we set foot on this island, we have faced more than one enemy, learning of each at different times, understanding them in our own way.” Robert explained as they walked. This was a ruse. Robert had no way of knowing how the Robber King gained information, but it seemed it could read thoughts and, at other times, it could understand their discussion. He had to play this right.
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“First there was Lieutenant Pace, a young man set on making his mark in the world of warfare; a pain in the ass, but manageable. But if you think about it, we all knew the Lieutenant was changing before our eyes, slowly, so slowly that we noticed nothing worse than his odd behavior.”
“Until he became what we saw today?” Private Holm trailed behind the other two men in both the cold and the discussion. “Pace is the Robber King?”
“No,” Robert glanced at the Private. “He is troubled, to distraction, and imitated, but he is not the Robber King; he is a boy.”
“That was the Robber King we saw at night,” Anders caught on to Robert’s logic as they exited the pine trees and followed the slight indentations in the fresh snow that remained from the Union guards.
“Yes, but as we saw today, the King is so far along in claiming Pace that it now appears during the daylight hours.”
“It is also something that can change its shape at will. It can become whoever it desires, whatever it desires, so we do not know what it really looks like.”
“Was it the one you saw on the Tulip?”
“How could it get there?” Robert asked in reply, searching the night for an eavesdropper. “The one on the Tulip may have been coming to the aid of the Robber King, but we’ll never know unless the King tells us.”
“You don’t know?” Holm’s voice rose as he panicked.
Robert stopped walking, with a hand to Ander’s shoulder to stop him as well, and looked at the dark shadow that was Holm.
“If the Robber King could swim, it would never have needed the cave to get to shore. If it could walk on ice, it could have reached shore. If it could hold its breath, it could have gotten out of the cave and needed no help. I am certain of these facts and of one further truth.”
“Of all the men on this island, you Private Holm, are the only person the King has willingly let live, and the only man it will let leave. Why else did it not kill you during the attack? Perhaps it is the blood of your grandfather flowing in your veins, or the story you told and it heard. We will never know the reason for its behavior, nor can we understand its thinking. We can only see what it has done until this point in time.”
“Private Holm is going to steal a boat.” Anders guessed wryly.
“Yes,” Robert tapped a finger on Holm’s chest. “Head to the south shore and get us help. I would avoid mentioning our minor war if I were you.”
“No.” Holm stood firmly. “I will not run like a dog.”
“You’ve got no choice.” Robert put his hand on Holm’s shoulder and let the Private south.
The lie for the Robber King hinged on how well it could understand a deception hidden within a truth. They would know the answer soon enough, Robert decided.