Before the Fortress Falls by A. L. Sowards

Author:A. L. Sowards
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Covenant Communications, Inc.
Published: 2022-01-03T16:35:20+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Three

Friday, August 20, 1683

Katja

Vienna

Only on rare mornings did Katja eat with her brother, but she studied him now in the light streaming through the window. Most of the time, she could sense his mood, and there didn’t seem to be as much turmoil inside him today. She’d been praying for him. Maybe it had helped.

Agnes handed each of them a crescent-shaped roll. The shape reminded Katja of the moon but also of the camp outside the city and the emblem on many of the Turkish flags.

“That’s what the rations are like now.” Agnes nodded at the roll. “A good reminder of why we have rations and scarcity. Someone tried to sell me a roof hare yesterday when I complained that the price of beef has gone up five-fold.”

“A roof hare?” Katja turned to Agnes and found mischief pulling at the corner of her mouth.

Xavier chuckled, and Agnes joined him, then explained. “You haven’t heard that one yet? A cat. But don’t you worry; we still have salted pork.”

Katja smiled. A meal of roof hare appealed to her not in the slightest, but if it made Xavier laugh, she would look on the bright side. Having something to joke about was always pleasant; its rarity in the middle of a siege turned it precious.

The door opened, and Maria came into the kitchen. “Did you hear what happened?”

“A sortie was planned last night.” Xavier studied Maria. “Do you have news of it?”

“Yes.” Maria sat at the table next to Katja. “They brought in thirty-two cattle, though I don’t suppose any will make it to civilians.”

Katja inhaled the lighter mood. Talk of food, even of its scarcity, was preferable to talk of the danger to their city. “So if we don’t see Xavier tonight for supper, we should probably assume he’s enjoying beef along with the other officers?”

Xavier finished his roll. “Count von Starhemberg will give the men who stole the cattle from the Turks some of the meat, but I imagine the rest of it will go to the ill and wounded. If I’m not here for supper, it won’t be because I’m dining on fresh beef.” He stood and said his goodbyes, then headed back to the enceinte.

Katja squeezed her eyes closed and took a deep breath. He’d said goodbye so casually, as if he were leaving for a play or a hunt or a stroll to the tailor’s shop. Not as if he might never come back again. She hated saying goodbye when so much uncertainty overshadowed everything.

Agnes patted Katja’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Have faith. We’ll come out of this.”

“Some of us, perhaps.” Katja didn’t mean for her voice to crack, but it did. Yesterday, Martin had brought news that Aloys had fallen ill with the bloody flux and Paul had died from it. And her family’s footmen-turned-fire-fighters weren’t the only ones dying. Everyone was in danger, especially those like Xavier, who manned the defenses, and those like Toby, who burrowed underneath them.

“Well, if the Turks want to come inside this kitchen, it will be over my dead body.

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