Ruthless: Path of Conquest

“It’s so good to see you’re all right, Your Majesty,” Rotter began.

“Thank you,” James said, smiling. “I assume that isn’t why you’ve been sitting in the living room waiting for me to wake up, though. To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“Some of us discussed what happened earlier,” Rotter said, “and we agreed—”

“Who’s some of us?” James interrupted.

“The three of us standing here, sir,” said Dave firmly. “It seemed like an important security issue, and Damien and I are your only military officers right now. With you incapacitated, it was only natural that Jeremiah came to us.”

James sensed some defensiveness there, as if Dave was concerned that James might be angry with Rotter for taking this initiative.

He’ll understand me better than that in time, he thought. It was slightly silly to him to imagine himself being angry at Rotter for taking this initiative. But Dave had only known him for a little over a week.

“Okay,” James said. “So the three of you have kept a tight circle about this, then?”

“That masked man suddenly appeared for a moment as we were talking,” Dave said, looking slightly peevish. “I politely told him to get out.”

“We also thought about talking to your new Chief of Police,” Damien said. “But he’s, well, new.”

“I don’t know how much you trust him,” Rotter said.

“He is extremely trustworthy,” Mina said firmly.

“Would you trust him to cooperate in a conspiracy to commit cold-blooded murder?” Rotter asked bluntly.

Oh. The plot thickens.

Mina paused, and in that silence, James could already hear her answer.

“No, I probably wouldn’t,” she said finally. “I think he might be too moral for that. In our Orientation, we were trying to solve a series of murders. He was great in that specific situation, and he’s the right choice for the Chief of Police role, but not what you’re talking about.”

“Ma’am—um, Your Majesty—do you mind if I ask a rather impertinent question?” Dave asked gently.

“All right,” Mina said, brows furrowed.

“Do you want to be a part of this conversation? I only ask because you seem like a moral person, too, and if you’ll forgive my saying it, this is an ugly business.”

Mina looked slightly taken aback for a moment. In her silence and the rapid movement of her facial expressions, James read that she was wondering whether to be offended or not—whether this question was being raised because she was a woman.

“Dave, Mina is a part of everything I do,” James said, speaking before anyone else could break the silence, looking Dave in the eye. “She has to be. It’s necessary. She’s next in line to lead in the event that I’m incapacitated, anytime that happens. I love her, I trust her, and I know her better than anyone, so trust me when I say, she’s not made of glass. She’s not an angel. She’s perfectly capable of getting her hands dirty in defense of our interests. Next time, if there’s a decision that needs to be made or a discussion to be had while I’m out of commission, I expect you all to simply present what you have to say to her. If it’s time sensitive, she’ll decide what’s to be done. I trust her judgment—and her willingness to do what’s necessary.”

From the corner of his eye, James saw that Mina was clearly pleased at his response but trying to hide it from the others present.

After a moment, she simply straightened her posture and said, “I don’t need to leave.”

“All right, great,” said Dave in a professional, unemotional tone. He looked at Mina, and his voice softened slightly. “My apologies for doubting you.” He turned to face both of them and continued in the same intonation as before, “Continuing from where Jeremiah left off earlier, we were discussing what happened with Cyrus at the meeting. We ultimately agreed on a proposal that we wanted to bring to you. We would like to pursue him and those following him after they leave this evening. When we have them on unfavorable ground, we’ll surround, trap, and slaughter them all. We want your permission to do this, for the future security of the Kingdom.”

“You’re willing to do that?” James asked, slightly surprised that Dave would propose something that seemed so underhanded and ruthless.

“There is no honor to it,” Dave said. “But there is no honor in any war. We’re not breaking a promise we’ve made. You never guaranteed them safe passage or anything of the kind. What tips the scales for me is that this prevents a possible future battle that would be more evenly matched. One of the things you learn in the military is that we don’t want fair fights. That’s how we lose friends.” He sounded slightly drained as he finished.

James nodded, ordered his facial muscles to convey satisfaction, and then looked at Damien. “And you agreed with this too?”

Damien looked uncomfortable and swallowed a lump in his throat. “I did,” he said. “I do. It’s necessary. Jeremiah and Dave are right. The way they expressed it, Cyrus and the loyalists who are sticking with him are bound to hold a grudge. You permanently blinded, deafened, and silenced their Prophet. What happens when they find their way to other people who think like them? When they tell their version of how the Fisher Kingdom treated them? We’ve made enemies here, entirely because of their choices, not ours.” He grimaced and sighed. “Sometimes unpleasant work has to be done, right?”

James nodded slowly, trying to keep his expression carefully neutral.

His eyes moved quickly back and forth, examining every face in the room. It looked like Damien, Jeremiah, and Dave were all in the same boat—not exactly enthusiastic, but in clear agreement on the path forward. Mina’s expression was carefully composed and neutral.

Excellent. I thought I’d have to plan this attack myself and carefully choose and persuade people that it was necessary or send Duncan’s army of Goblins or something. Instead, two of the people who I thought would be most useful chose to come to me. And Rotter too. Though he’s the only one who I would have actually expected this from. Sly bastard. This is working out better than if I had planned it myself.

He had considered many different ways of resolving the situation, both immediately after the conflict with Cyrus and shortly after waking up.

Killing only Cyrus and Christopher Smith and letting the rest of them go, even secretly, would just make the survivors suspicious and sow the seeds of future enmity. He had imagined scenarios where he tried to plant spies in Cyrus’s camp, perhaps was infiltrated in turn by spies who would occasionally report to Cyrus, and ended up spending a great deal of energy on espionage and counterespionage. He had wished this was something he could discuss with Alan and Mitzi, who he considered suitably wise for their years.

But ultimately, this was a decision where he had always known which way he was leaning. Someone who tried to bend his mind with a Skill had to be treated as if they had tried to kill him. And there were no true innocents on the same side as Cyrus, as far as James was concerned.

Just like Leo, Alan and Mitzi were good and moral people. Given that he was already committed to repaying Cyrus’s treachery with murder, James didn’t want them to know about this.

He turned to Rotter and asked, “Do we know how many will be following Cyrus?”

“It looks like it will be around forty-five,” Rotter said, smiling smugly. “Less than half the group he came with. I guess people would rather follow a leader who isn’t permanently damaged.”

James frowned slightly. That was an unnecessary thing to say. I guess this is just him trying to curry favor by demonizing the enemy. James still did not particularly enjoy Rotter’s brownnosing ways. But the man was good at planning and organization, and James could not force Mina to be responsible for everything.

“Or they would rather stay in a safe place than wander the wilderness,” James replied. “Not everyone wants to reenact the Book of Exodus. Good job keeping track of the numbers. Will there be any children in the group leaving?”

“No.” Rotter shook his head sharply. “The families were wise enough to stay here where it’s safe.”

James nodded. “Good. That’s right at the top of the list of things I’d rather not have to deal with.”

The sentiment was especially prominent with Mina sitting there holding their baby.

“So, then, we have your permission to mobilize the military and prepare to proceed, sir? Or will you want to lead the attack personally?”

“No, I appreciate the thought, but I don’t think we’ll actually need the military,” James said. “At least not the other human members.”

Dave looked surprised. “What? Why?”

“It’s bad for morale to force humans into killing other humans more than necessary. If it’s only forty-five people, the wolf pack should be more than capable of taking care of them. I was worried it would be a lot more. And I’ll ask Samuel to join the attack with a couple dozen of his alligators, too. The idea is to overwhelm with such force and numbers that only Cyrus and his followers die. The same as in the battle with the bats.”

“Do you think that’s realistic?” Dave asked bluntly.

James looked steadily back into Dave’s eyes. “Both of the battles you and I have already been in together were more difficult than this one on paper. One of them resulted in zero casualties. The other resulted in a very small number of casualties. Yes, it’s possible. It’s not necessarily easy to do this without losing people, but it’s possible. We have to have goals, right? As the commander of my forces, I know that’s yours. Zero casualties. If you can assess the terrain Cyrus and his people are likely to migrate through and find a place for the alligators to wait, I think the best plan is to have the wolves chase the targets into the alligators. You, Damien, and Jeremiah stand in whatever little path of retreat remains open to them.

“Hopefully, you don’t have to get your hands dirty at all, but if there are any that get away from the slaughter, the three of you mop them up or stop them from escaping until the wolves bring them down. I might also be able to contribute more assets to the fight. Given how fast-moving the wolves are, though, I think the Goblins and Mole People might just get in the way. If there’s someone else you trust to maintain complete silence about this, who you think won’t slow you down, it’s okay to bring them. Otherwise, this is top secret. It can never be discussed publicly. That’s why I’m not getting the flying squirrels and bats involved. I don’t trust them to keep their mouths shut yet.” He looked from person to person. “You all understand, of course? If the former members of Cyrus’s group were to ever hear about what happened to him and his remaining followers, we would have a bigger problem on our hands than what Cyrus represents.”

“We understand, sir,” said Dave. He was not quite smiling, but he looked satisfied with the wisdom of James’s plan.

I think my skin creatures might be able to participate in the fight. And maybe some of Mom’s undead. Possibly including the new Vampires.

“Thank you for making this difficult decision for us, Your Majesty,” Rotter said.

“I think it’s a good plan,” Damien agreed quietly.

James could tell this would bother Damien, but he chose not to disrespect the Werewolf by asking him if he was certain he wanted to participate. Damien had agreed that he would be one of the leaders of James’s military. He knew that would mean getting his hands dirty.

James nodded to Rotter and Damien, then looked at Dave.

“What do you think about including the resurrected soldiers?” James asked. “You fought alongside them before. They’re the same people as before, in all respects we’re aware of, except that they will now want to occasionally feed on blood. Can we trust them to keep the secret?”

“I don’t know about all of them,” Dave said uncertainly. “I trust Amalia to participate. Maybe she can, um, collect the blood for the rest of them.” He sounded slightly disgusted.

“I know you’ll all do what’s necessary,” James said, nodding. “Bring Amalia in if you feel comfortable. Thank you guys for coming to me with this. Even if it has to be secret, this is what needs to happen to keep the Fisher Kingdom secure.

There were nods from all three men, as well as from Mina.

“Now that those unpleasant matters are dealt with,” Rotter said, “do you mind if I ask whether you will be able to attend the loyalty oath ceremony for the new citizens? I understand you have been a little—” His eyes darted to Mina, then back to James—“under the weather since the enemy’s psychic attack earlier. If you are able to attend, however, I feel certain it would mean something to your new citizens.”

“I’ll be there,” James said softly. “As long as you don’t expect me to walk around and socialize. I’d be far from the picture of strength and vigor that we want to project. And there’s one other matter I want to address. I understand that a friend of mine from Orientation has arrived here. Moishe Rose.”

Rotter nodded. “He is comatose at the moment, like those who fell in the battle.”

“Hm.” I can’t bless him yet, James thought. I’m much too weak. Damn…

“Make sure that he receives the best of care,” James said finally. “When my strength has returned, I will go and see him myself.”

“Of course,” Rotter said. “I know how essential he was to you in dealing with the Moloch cultists.” He looked as though he wanted to say something more, but refrained.

Rotter could only know secondhand pieces of information about Moishe, James knew. Perhaps Rotter would have heard something about Moishe from the Rodriguezes—that was really the only possible source for whatever information Rotter thought he knew.

But it was good enough that Rotter knew that the Assassin was someone James considered important—and that the Fisher King would be highly displeased if something were to happen to him.

So James simply nodded.

“We’ll make the preparations for tonight, then,” Dave said. “Out of hearing distance of the Kingdom.”

“Thank you,” James said. “I appreciate all of your courage and willingness to do what needs to be done.” He searched for more words but found there was nothing else to say.

The three men each left the room with solemn expressions on their faces.

Mina remained after they had gone, and when the apartment front door had closed behind them, she looked at James.

He closed his eyes for a moment and reached out with his senses.

“They’re all outside,” he said.

“What were you going to do if they said there would be children in this group?” she asked softly.

“Things were going to get messy,” James said, sighing. “We would have come up with a more elaborate plan. I think one or two of my abilities would allow me to brainwash someone—and possibly alter their appearance to people who used to know them. This new power I used on Cyrus, in particular, is potent. It can permanently change someone’s fate. Like the opposite of a blessing. Using it on a bunch of people would be incredibly draining, even if they were children—maybe especially if they were children. It could take weeks, during which time we’d have to hide their existence from the world. But now we don’t have to figure out the logistics of that.”

The plan amounted to trying to alter the memories of the children and then pretending that they were rescued by James’s monsters rather than being survivors of a deliberate massacre by the Fisher Kingdom.

I still don’t want to kill children, James thought. I don’t want to brainwash them, either. I’m glad I won’t have to—this time.

Mina nodded and kissed her husband tenderly on the cheek.

“Rest up,” she said. “Try to sleep. I’ll wake you when it’s close to time for the citizenship ceremony.”

James nodded and laid back down.

He sent a quick series of messages, through telepathy and his Fisher King abilities, to his skin creatures, Luna, Samuel, and Zora, requesting all of their help that evening in destroying the enemy who had attempted to mind control him.

Then James closed his eyes and let darkness take him. He fell into a fitful sleep, in which he dreamt of the angel that he and Anansi had faced in the mental space created by Cyrus’s Skill.

Fortunately, Mina was better than her word. She interrupted his dream and woke him with enough time to brush his teeth, change clothes, and shave before the ceremony.

While he groomed himself, he reached out with his Fisher King powers and felt where Moishe was. Instead of the community center, he had been moved to an apartment. James was pleasantly surprised to realize that Alan was caring for him—and disturbed to see the terrible condition Moishe was in.

His flesh was covered in raw, pink and red skin. Third degree burns. It reminded James of “A Nightmare on Elm Street.”

Alan was pouring magic in, but James was impressed that Moishe had even managed to make his way to the Fisher Kingdom with those injuries somehow.

After James was done preparing for the citizenship ceremony, Mina and Yulia helped him to get down the stairs. His continuing physical weakness remained concerning. He did his best to pretend that he was strong enough to walk unsupported, but it was clear to him that he was in some danger of falling down the stairs if he had no help.

From the bottom of the stairs, James was able to make the walk to the community center and take his seat on stage without help, using only willpower. He found it remarkable that he could do it. Every nerve and muscle in his body was exhausted by the time he sat down. He imagined that he now knew what being a zombie felt like.

But as his new citizens filed in, he forced his face into a serene smile.

A regal mask.

They all took the citizenship oath in unison, those formerly devoted followers of Cyrus. Not a word was altered, and James watched and listened carefully to make sure that none of them merely mouthed the words.

“I pledge allegiance to the Fisher King and to the ideals for which he stands: protection of the innocent, justice for all, and the promise to reconquer the Earth for humanity and our allied species. Only our sacrifices honor the fallen. Only victory can bring peace. Only we can win back the world. May all the gods bless the Fisher King!”