Dan Smith - Red Winter

‘Are we in danger?’ Anna asked when she realised what I was doing.

‘I just want to be ready,’ I told her. I didn’t know who was in the town, who might have seen us approaching.

Satisfied the revolver was in good working condition, I tucked it into my belt, keeping it close to hand, and stuffed my gloves into my pocket. It wasn’t so cold yet that it would freeze my fingers, and gloved hands would be a hindrance if I needed to use the weapon.

Reaching the edge of town, I took the reins back from Anna and dismounted. ‘We’ll walk from here.’

Had I been alone, I would have ridden through Dolinsk. Kashtan would have given me an advantage of height and speed if ambushed, but Anna’s presence made things more complicated. If we remained on horseback, Anna in front, she would bear the brunt of any attack from ahead, and if we changed positions, she would be in the line of fire from behind. I considered leaving her on the outskirts, but didn’t want her to be alone and knew she would object.

‘Stay between me and Kashtan,’ I said, as I tugged the revolver from my belt. ‘Do whatever I tell you.’

It was almost impossible to follow Tanya’s route. Among the houses, the ground was clear of grass, packed hard and ripe for hoof prints, but there were many here already. The paths were a mosaic of prints, and though some looked fresher than others, there was no way of knowing which belonged to Tanya and Lyudmila. Their prints were lost in the throng, just as mine would be, making it more difficult for our pursuers. I had been to Dolinsk before, though, and knew the centre of the town, so that’s where I headed, thinking that Tanya would do the same thing. If she was looking for information about the man we were trying to find, the centre of the town would be the most obvious place to gather it.

The silence in Dolinsk was unnatural and troubling. The thump of Kashtan’s hooves echoed from the stone houses around us. The closeness of the buildings amplified the heavy sound of her breathing, and I watched her ears turning as she listened to her surroundings. Now I had the added benefit of Tuzik’s ears too. He had caught up with us once more and trotted ahead as if scouting the area for us.

There was a temptation to move at speed through the town, but it would be dangerous to barrel round tight corners without knowing what lay unseen beyond. Towns like Dolinsk were perfect for ambush and nightmarish to fight in. Since the uprising in Tambov last August, more and more peasants had been joining the fight. Some took up arms and fought with the peasant armies, while others remained in their hometowns and villages, waiting for units to come their way. Nowhere was free of danger and it was better to be cautious.

As we pressed on through the quiet street, I came to the older part of town where the wooden izbas were laid out in much the same way as they were in Belev, except here some of them were blackened ruins. There was no smoke, no smouldering, so it must have happened at least a few days ago, but there was a thick smell of burning in the air. Kashtan snorted and turned her ears, and I felt her reluctance to keep going. She sensed the death here as she had done in Belev.

‘It’s all right,’ I whispered to her. ‘Just keep listening.’

Some of the izbas still standing had curtains pulled across their windows, but from others faces watched without speaking. Frightened eyes followed our progress through the homes and I began to suspect that Dolinsk had already been subdued. The town was so silent and still I could hear the wind that dropped from the steppe and whistled through the paths between the houses.

Coming closer to the centre of the town, a door opened to our left and I turned, raising my revolver and aiming at the old man who stepped out.

‘We have nothing,’ he called out to me. ‘Leave us.’

A poor man, dressed in a worn jacket and threadbare trousers. He was the first civilian I had encountered since I’d met Lev and Anna. Seeing that he was unarmed, I was tempted to lower my revolver, but it could be a distraction to catch me off guard. I glanced about, looking for any sign of a rifle barrel protruding from a window, but saw nothing.

I moved so I was standing in front of Anna, almost pushing her back against Kashtan. ‘Did someone pass by here a short while ago?’ I asked.

He looked at the revolver in my hand, then leaned to one side to see Anna.

‘Have you seen anyone?’

He studied Anna, then shifted his eyes to my face. ‘Two riders,’ he said. ‘Women.’

‘Did they say anything to you?’

‘They were looking for someone,’ he said.

‘What did you tell them?’

He looked at Anna once more, but something distracted him and he backed away from the door. I didn’t take my eyes off him, but as soon as the black shape moved into my peripheral vision, I knew what had scared him.

Tuzik came close to the side of the road, just a few paces from the man’s home, and settled on his haunches, staring.

‘Tell me what you said to them and we’ll be on our way.’

The old man stepped further back into his house and began to close the door. It was odd that he would be more afraid of the dog than of me. I was pointing a revolver at him, but there was something primal about Tuzik that made the old man fearful.

‘Please,’ I said. ‘Tell me—’

‘They’re looking for someone who calls himself Koschei.’ He stood with the door half closed, one hand ready to slam it shut.

The name made me bristle. ‘What did you tell them?’

‘That I don’t know anyone called Koschei.’

‘What about Krukov?’

‘Not Krukov either, but there were some men. Came past here the day before yesterday.’

‘Into the town?’

‘No. They went past. I told those women the same thing.’

‘Soldiers?’ I studied the old man’s face. His eyes were full of defeat, his posture tired.

He shook his head. ‘Chekists maybe.’

‘How many?’

He shrugged. ‘I didn’t count them. Maybe five or six. But they had prisoners and—’

‘Prisoners? Women and children?’

‘Boys. Some women too.’

It was further confirmation of what Commander Orlov had said. Hope and relief surged in me.

‘Did you see them?’ I pressed him, trying to stay focused. ‘What did they look like?’

The door opened wider now and an old woman came out to stand close beside him. She was bundled thick with clothes, like Galina had been, with a scarf tied tight about her head. ‘Devils,’ she shouted at me. ‘You’re all devils, bringing your guns and your bloodshed. Killing old men and dragging children away to fight. You see that?’ She pointed to the izba opposite, burned to the ground, almost nothing left. ‘My sister lived there.’

I sighed and lowered the pistol. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘What good is “sorry”?’ she said. ‘Can I eat it? Will it keep me warm? Will it give me my sister back? Will it bring my neighbour’s son home and resurrect her husband from the dead?’

I turned my eyes to the ground in shame.

When I looked back at the old woman, she had spotted Anna behind me and was staring at her as if seeing a child for the first time.

‘Is he yours?’ she asked, taking a step closer. She was unafraid of both Tuzik and the pistol.

I turned my body, an unconscious movement to protect Anna. ‘Yes.’

The old woman shuffled closer still, coming out onto the road and pushing past me to get to Anna. ‘A girl? I thought you were a boy.’ She reached out to put her bony hand on Anna’s cheek. ‘Beautiful,’ she said. ‘Beautiful.’

I felt Anna flinch from her and I had to stop myself from warning the old woman away. She meant no harm.