VIII. The lost days (3)
Michel Desjardins
I left Paris, this time with Erwan. Near Amiens, as always. I liked Erwan, he taught me everything. While Vasseur, who had not been at the front, was constantly asking boring questions, he knew how to be silent. I could finally spend quiet hours, in silence, or on the contrary discussing various subjects. He listened to everything, sometimes laughed at me with his grave benevolence. I went back to the good old days of my studies, when I followed him to Brittany or Ireland, since he was working at the same time as he was teaching me magic. Erwan had a side of his family among the Celts. Pantheons tended to attract each other, it was a rule that I quickly understood. He was only fifteen years older than me and was in charge of relations with the druids and priestesses. On paper his responsibilities were limited, he acted as a messenger, but in reality, on a day to day basis, he was the one constantly negotiating to keep some semblance of balance in the territory. No one else knew the cogs of Celtic politics like he did, who to talk to, each person's temperament.
He had been chosen him because he was native Breton, and spoke Gaelic. This was one of the other reasons why I still hadn't learned English; we had hung out with more the ICA members than with teachers. Erwan himself was a staunch regionalist, bordering independist, but he was too peaceful by nature to ever overstep the line of peaceful protest. He had been requisitioned after the war to lead the elementalist brigades that cleansed the land, and he had gladly accepted this work as a useful task, which he carried out seriously. Our Nome leader liked him very much, despite his humble origins. He was discreet, quiet, and did a lot of work. Even my mother, despite her loathing of the House of Life, esteemed him.
He was short, red-haired, with a weathered complexion, vague eyes. He was a sailor, he was also one of the most peaceful and gentle spirits I have ever met. He had traveled the whole world in the sailing navy. As an elementalist, he mastered water, and air. He was not very educated, spoke only a few words of Egyptian, sometimes had a little trouble with French, but he was one of the freest men I have met. With him, everything seemed simple, light. He was above all a man of peace. At last, he was the only one in Nome that neither Vasseur nor I had ever managed to annoy.
He had been mobilized during the Great War in Lorient, still in the navy. For lack of warships to serve, they were deployed to Diksmuide, Belgium. They had been sent to cover the retreat of the army; they had to hold out there four days, they resisted three weeks. Belgians had blown up the dikes and flooded the city. The Bretons had to fight swimming and on rafts. After that, he went to Verdun, like the whole French army. We met at Nome, while on leave. He had told his story, at night.
We worked in silence. Water magic was the most suitable for purification works, with that of fire also. Erwan always arrogated to himself the largest piece of land. We spent the night there. I suppose our work was a bit like that of plowing. I liked its repetitive, mechanical side, even if it was physically restrictive and required constant tension. It exhausted the other magicians, but il prevented me from thinking.
That night, Erwan felt their presence long before I did. "Magicians". I followed his instincts, we hid behind a bush. Three black figures stepped into the field. They were talking in low voices."What do they say ?" They spoke in Alexandrian Greek. Erwan shrugged, he didn't know the language. I had studied Ancient Greek, which was basically the same language, except that I knew Classical Age Greek better than Hellenistic, and I was working on written texts mostly. I tried to understand.
"I'm not sure they're looking for someone. They examine the ground. They say you have to honor, not choose… Choose a purified land? Something related to the lack of evidence? I can't hear them anymore.
- Have they seen us?
- I don't know. Anyway, we're quite a picture here, behind our stupid bush.
- Hairies'* instinct waking up. I don't like it. Magicians from another Nome active in the region ... Traveling here is supposed to be prohibited there until we have finished the work.
- Since when do people do only what is allowed?
- Let me dream a little. Come on, let's finish and go back to Amiens. I'll send a message to our HQ Anyway the work is almost done here, tomorrow we move towards Verdun. "
Erwan Le Bihan
In Amiens we meet up with the rest of the demining brigades. Almost all the Fourteenth's Elementalists were there, about fifteen peron in all. We were based at the Three Notary Inn, an old pre-war establishment with wood-paneled walls. I unrolled a large map on one of the tables in the upper room, to divide the territory we had to crisscross.
In the room reigned a happy mess, that of the ends and beginnings of mission. Someone had put a top hat on one of the trophy-stuffed boar's heads on the wall, probably Jean-François, a seventeen-year-old kid who hadn't even passed his entrance exam yet and had never set foot in Cairo. Justine Vasseur argued happily with Henri Dupuy. Letizia was helping me pinch the ends of the map. Arthur, Alain and Anne-Marie were snacking on a corner of the table, Jeannot was opening a bottle, Desjardins and Lefort had cleared a table in one corner, made a pile of coats and were sleeping. "There are some who don't feel concerned," Letizia told me, pointing to them.
"Come on, let's star. Get closer! I called. Thomas went to wake the two from the back. Michel joined us, but Lefort gave us a middle finger and went back to sleep. Everyone was more or less on edge after months of work. Two others accros the room were at loggerheads.
"Slept well ?" Smiled Jeannot, who had just uncorked his bottle of Pommard.
- Fuck off.
- Desjardins, the man so amiable that even the Germans did not want him. "
I thought he was going to him, but he just went downstairs and to get some coffee. Thanks Gods.
"Death cheater" Thomas said ironically.
- You are such a a fucking shithead Jeannot! Justine told him. Save your dumb remarks !
- You have a problem, Vasseur?
- Leave him alone.
- It was a compliment, that nickname.
- My ass !
- What do you know, you were in Verdun perhaps?
- You can't always bring everything back to Verdun, Jeannot" Alain du Fayou intervened.
- Agree, you're pissing of everyone, Cordelier" added Arthur.
- We know that you have balls Jeannot, no need to show them at every meeting" finally concluded Anne-Marie. And here are my earth elementalists, always ready to make some peace in the world, I sighed in my heart.
That's why I hated being a brigade leader. No wonder our rank wizards have such a bad reputation. In reality, only the Russian Elementalist Magicians enjoyed some real prestige, but they were the reason their territory was impregnable. Not to mention that Anna Assilmouratova was undoubtedly the most powerful fire magician of Per Ankh. Assia Allaouah, disembarked from Algeria a few weeks ago, rolled her eyes.
"Are they like that all the time?" She asked me.
"Can you shut up?" None of you are on night duty" yelled Jean-Louis Lefort, who had finally woken up.
His wife Agnes went to join him, to convince him to get up. Desjardins came upstairs with a coffee maker.
"You have your drugs? Justine said.
- Affirmative, he said.
- Come on, let's start!"
I divided the map into several parts.
"You, Leforts, you'll take this part." Agnes nodded, which was most important.
"Do you have your map to write it down?"
- Well no, she told me.
- What do you mean by no ?
- We have maps of the region around Amiens, but nothing on Verdun. " Tell me it's not true !
"You mean nobody has got any map here?"
Great silence. My headache started again.
"Who was in charge of the maps?
- Henri, snitched Anne-Marie.
- I went to the map department, they were in short supply.
- And you didn't think to tell me? "
He looked guilty. "I forgot.
- Those who fought in Verdun know the territory, recalled Jeannot. We can find our way. The others will just have to follow. "
Desjardins looked at him like he was a complete idiot.
"Find your way? How? They threw millions of tons of shells! Besides you know what looks like a trench? Another trench.
- Not everyone is as stuck as you, yelped Arthur, I can still recognize where I have ...
- Shut your mouth Arthur, you've just been to Verdun for a week, after you've been reformed, Desjardins told him.
- Yeah, enough with the cushy numbers! Thomas interfered. "
- Anyway, added Desjardins, even with the Nome maps, it would have been impossible to recognize the land. They are pre-war. The terrain has completely changed, they are still re-mapping some places.
- There, said Henri, so it is not so serious if I forgot to take them.
- I can't hear such fucking bullshit! Jeannot began to shout.
- Anyway, we're going to spend decades there" Agnes tried to put things into perspective.
- About two years actually, said Desjardins.
"Some here are very good at spoiling the mood," Letizia Paoli grumbled.
- Such a chick thing, to say that, Thomas sighed.
- What do you mean by chick thing? "
Vasseur, that was all we needed.
"That's enough ! Vasseur, go back to your seat! Shut up and stop behaving like children. "
I suddenly thought that Jeannot, Arthur, Michel and Thomas had all fought in Verdun and that if we were to spend two years there they would end up going totally nuts. I should separate them, to prevent them getting stuck in their military memories. Maybe I can exempt them? Yes, but that still makes me four magicians less, and then, I did not even count myself in the group. What state will I be in after, like, two years out there? The task appeared disproportionate to me. It's not even combat magic, I have to pull myself together, I'm fine ...
Vasseur stared at me darkly. I realized that everyone was watching me, waiting for instructions. "Okay, here's what we're going to do. Desjardins, Assia, try to find me the most recent maps possible." I appealed to my two most resourceful magicians. "Then we'll map the missing parts. Either way, we're actually going to spend some time there. It's over, we'll see you in Verdun tomorrow night.
- And of course, there are no portals to go to Verdun from Amiens. All hail the French countryside, sighed Neima.
- Over, I said"
After settling a few other individual concerns, I joined Desjardins and Assia in the street. She was explaining something to Michel in Algerian Arabic, and he was laughing heartily. It had been a long time since I had even seen him smile. "What's the fun ?"
- Assia is writing jokes about French magicians to add them to the Per Ankh's repertoire.
- It's still untranslatable, she apologized.
- Maybe it's for the best, I smiled.
- Are you coming to dinner with us? proposed Michel.
- I need to breathe, I apologized. See you after ?
- Where will you pitch your tent?
- Same place as yesterday.
- We won't be long, he promised. "
Michel Desjardins
The night was already late. I had accompanied Assia back to the inn, where she shared a room with Letizia Paoli. Amiens was a small town, and yet I had already managed to get lost on the way back. What a moron! Which way out of town was it again? A shadow moved and my usual sense of alarm suddenly kicked in. I was sure to be followed. Suddenly I found myself in Lyon again, with Jean d'Aubigné. We were ten years old, watching the shadows behind the houses, trembling lest they turn into monsters or those men clad in black. I froze and then blinked. I was in Amiens, not in Lyon, and the shadows here took the form of three figures that came out from behind the houses and surrounded me.
"That's the end of the road, I fear. - Who are you ? " No answer. I repeated my question in haphazard Greek. "Abdias Kane", the other made me gravely. The pieces of the puzzle fell into place. I thought about what Alice had said, what the Countess had mentioned… "Oh, I'm going to die right?" " Again.
But it was then that the third one, who had remained in the shadows approached. "Lupin? " He turned his head and looked at his two companions, with a somewhat sad expression. I had never been close to him, he had pursued me all my childhood, but his betrayal still felt like a knife between my ribs. Again I felt this nasty urge to cry, as if I was ten years old, but at the cost of great effort, I remained impassive. Oh, you'd be quite happy if you saw me father, you'd be happy. They took me inside the vehicle, the third man placed a canvas bag over my head. What a shitty name Desjardins I suddenly thought. The idea had so little to do with my current situation that I laughed. Erwan is going to wait for me I thought then, and the idea saddened me.
We drove for hours, all night. I wondered where. The bag on my head was scratching. After long hours, the truck stopped. Why are we going so far? I got out, and then the bag was brutally removed from my head. The sun blinded me. After a few seconds I saw a field with a high tree at the end of it. An ash tree? Strange. In the muddy ground, a large hole had been dug. It had rained. A few puddles of water reflected the sky.
Actually, it is not indifferent to me. I still don't want to die. Starlings flew off the lonely tree, all together. Where are they, my luck's last scarabs? "Will you let me smoke one more?" Kane nods gravely. I take out a Gallic cig, lighted it, took a deep breath, it was so good. The cigarette burned way too fast, I remained clinging to this wonderful inspiration. It's too bad, too bad... The impression remained, persistent, that of having missed something, someone. Of not having quite finished saying something. Holy shit, I forgot something.
"You are shaking ? Keane asked.
- It's the cold."
It was true, I was not dressed for a November morning in Picardy. "Okay, it's over. On your knees now." I knelt down. The grass was damp and cool. A smell of wet earth rose from the grave. They spoke to each other in English. ("Wait, we should cut a hand for evidence. - We'll get the head when it is done.") I wondered who was going to water my flowers, if someone could tell Alice that I was sorry and that she was right, that she had always been right forever. I told myself that nothing was more beautiful than these starlings' flight of and that even the earth no longer scared me. She was almost tender in the November sun. "Let's do this, One…" The world collapsed with a sound of guns.
I was lying in a pit and it was starting to make a lot of pits, and a lot of times I was hiding in holes with corpses. Corpses ? Two bodies were smoking all over me, holes in my head. "Get out of your tomb Desjardins". Lupin laughed the motherfucker, true to himself, powdered, combed, with his beautiful suit, his white gloves, his top hat, impeccable in the middle of a muddy field. "Your death was never part of the plan. And he smoothed his mustache, and his monocle shone in the sun, which rose ever higher, violent and impassive. And I loved this sun, I loved this muddy earth and this November air that stung my eyes.
*nickname for French soldiers during the war.
The 14th Nome's Elementalists:
Erwan Le Bihan
Justine Vasseur
Michel Desjardins
Letizia Paoli
Henri Dupuy
Jean-Louis Lefort
Agnès Lefort (his wife)
Alain du Fayou
Anne-Marie Bouglione
Thomas Dupré
Jean Cordelier (Jeannot)
Jean-François Coppée
Arthur Constant
Assia Allaouah
Neima Wadoche