“What the hell?” Anders breathed.

All the southern men stopped and stared at the dead man. The Union sergeant smiled at the colonel while the rest of the guards seemed to gain courage.

“He’s dead,” a southern voice shook.

“He stopped your route,” Anders said to the sergeant in understanding. This stopped the Union flight from the battlefield. “He’s not real. The Colonel died the day the Tulip sank.”

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“No, he came back for us.” The sergeant smiled, a terrible sign of delusion.

They were under the spell of the Robber King and Anders did not know how to break them free.

The imitation Colonel Beltram smiled at the Rebels, its eyes flashing silver, then returning to the blue of a once living man.

The reaction of the southern men was instinctive; several of them leveled their rifles and fired at the Robber King.

The Union men acted quickly as well.

The battle fought at the field paled compared to the vicious fight that echoed in the woods.