Ruthless: Path of Conquest

After the meeting finished, Mitzi and Alan watched James and his family from a distance as they spoke to their new subjects.

James found ways to make everyone who approached him feel important for at least a moment or two. Mitzi could tell by the way their faces lit up. He also seemed to be giving out responsibilities, based on how serious some people looked as they nodded in response to his words.

It was clear that James had become more comfortable with being in command over time. Still, there was definitely something else on his mind. Even as he stood there, talking to everyone with his baby held against his shoulder with one hand, she detected a trace of melancholy in his expression.

But Mitzi was most concerned about how Alan felt after witnessing James’s first assembly.

“So, do you want to stay here?” she whispered. “It’s okay if you do. I’m comfortable enough here. We’ll get by just fine, and I have no doubt we’ll make ourselves useful.”

“I—I don’t know.” Her husband’s face looked conflicted. “I am tempted. I had resolved to come back to the office unless something kept me away. James even agreed to go with us, so in my mind, that settles that. But after—well, I don’t know.”

I know, Mitzi thought. I know where we’re going to land on this.

“There’s no hurry to get to an answer,” she whispered, smiling softly.

“Why are you whispering, anyway?” he whispered back.

“I feel like he could hear anything we’re saying, if he wants to,” she replied in a not quite whisper, “but if he wants to hear a whisper, I imagine it takes more concentration than listening to normal speaking voices. Especially if there are a bunch of people standing all around him, all competing for his attention.”

Alan turned his back toward James before he spoke again. That’s smart, she thought. That makes it impossible to read his lips.

“Do you think he listens in on all the conversations in his territory?” Alan whispered. “That would be a gross invasion of privacy. That sort of thing is part of where my doubts come from. Can we really trust James with the authority that these people are imbuing him with?”

“I think our old government was working to do much the same thing,” Mitzi whispered, “on national security grounds. I wouldn’t be surprised if it occurred to him. Hopefully he won’t take that idea seriously. Then again, maybe that’s part of the good work you and I can do here. He takes our advice seriously, we’ve seen it already. The world has changed. James has decided to found a kingdom, and the System gave him powers to support that, I guess. But we can guide him. Keep him following his better instincts.” She realized that she was selling a bit.

“I didn’t intend to persuade you either way,” she hastened to add. “I’m still figuring out how I feel too.” Though there is an undeniable excitement in the idea of helping found a new country, went unspoken. “Well, I am leaning one way, but you know him better than I do, even after Orientation. You know what he’s like in normal times. What his temperament is. We’re not always going to be facing emergencies. I want you to be the one to make this call. Do you trust him? Do you want to stay here?”

Alan looked back at James, his gaze steady, for a few long seconds before he replied.

—

James spent what felt like a long time fielding questions from his new citizens.

It wasn’t actually very long, as tracked by the movement of the sun through the sky—which he kept a distant eye on, because he was hoping to reach Dean’s camp before the end of the day. But it felt like forever.

Maybe I shouldn’t have chosen the Politician route, he thought as he finally politely excused himself from the gathering. He looked at his son in his arms. This is who’s important. I have to make sure I never neglect my family while I’m dealing with them. He was a bit sad at the idea of leaving James, Junior for any length of time, which was why he was spending all this time holding him. Mina would have him to herself for the next twenty-four hours. James needed to get in some time with the son he’d only just met.

On the bright side, Mina had given him a long list of items to pick up if he could. Some of them, like diapers, were things he would have needed to get regardless of whether he went to help Dean. So at least he could tell himself that he wasn’t de-prioritizing his family to assist a bunch of strangers and one of his old bosses.

“Are you feeling alright, skapi?” Mina asked as they reached the top of their apartment stairs. “You look like you’re thinking about something unpleasant.”

“I’m just sad to leave you guys for any length of time,” he said. “I hope you’ll all be alright.”

“We have plenty of people here to protect us,” Mina said. “People who are loyal to you personally, now. The people you care about will be important to many of them too.”

“We survived a pretty dangerous place with less help before,” Yulia said quietly. She was standing a few feet back, close to the children. James heard her quietly tell Abhi, “Take the little ones to the room.”

“You made sure to tell your new subjects to mind me while you’re gone,” Mina said. “That will help. Since that was one of the last things you said while we were outside, I don’t think they’ll forget it. They only just swore their loyalty. As long as you come back soon, we’ll be okay.” She stood on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “So just get back here as soon as you can, alright?” James caught the hint of sadness in her voice, though. They had just been reunited, and already, he was leaving.

“I’ll always come back,” he said fiercely, looking back and forth between Mina, Yulia, and the departing young children. Abhi had begun shepherding his siblings, one holding his hand, one in his arms, but he stood listening in the space between the stairs and their room. Halfway between staying and going. “Anytime I have to go anywhere. Don’t believe I’m dead unless you see a body.”

Mina, Yulia, and James shared a laugh at that.

“I know it,” Mina replied, giving his bicep a quick squeeze. “Let’s go put Junior down. He’s been trying to go to sleep since halfway through your speech, but couldn’t with all the people talking.”

She has a really good read on the baby, he thought. I was wondering what all the wriggling was about.

“I’ll go watch the kids,” Yulia volunteered. She moved toward Abhi, and he reluctantly continued walking toward the children’s room.

“Our baby is very quiet,” James observed, staring down at Junior in the crook of his arm and following Mina into the bedroom.

“He is,” she agreed. “He’s a strangely calm boy. I can’t help wondering if it’s the influence of this System. I know he was inside my womb during Orientation. So he didn’t go through what the other children did. Still, I wouldn’t put it past them to interfere with him in some way. And you know I had to let the proctor look after him a few times…” Her voice trailed off into a silence pregnant with worry.

James nuzzled the baby’s stomach, and was rewarded with little happy noises. And Mina’s anxious expression shifted to a smile.

“There’s no point in thinking about the System’s plans for the children right now,” he finally said. “We know it tried to at least give us what we needed for a shot at survival. I think we can assume it’s trying to do something similar for the kids. And there are potentially much more immediate threats.”

“I guess so,” she said. There was a short pause. “Did you have something specific in mind?”

“There is that Cara woman. In my conversation with Anansi, he mentioned only three big threats to look out for in our two Orientations. I destroyed two of them, but the third was in your Orientation. I think he meant her.”

“So you’re wondering if you need to destroy her,” she finished. “Have you tried following up with Anansi to find out if she’s still a threat?”

“I haven’t. I don’t know how that would change, though. Someone as power hungry as she is only becomes more dangerous over time, though. I would know.”

Mina bit her lip. Her body language radiated conflict in James’s eyes. She wants to protect her.

“There’s more than one way to neutralize a threat,” she finally said.

“Can you be sure she’ll never be a problem in the future?” he asked.

“No, but by that standard, you’d have to kill everyone in the world.”

He snorted. If anyone else had said that, he’d have disregarded their opinion, but he trusted Mina’s judgment. It had been invariably good through the years he had known her.

“Let’s assume you’re right about her,” he said. “Can she keep a muzzle on her creatures?”

Mina swallowed. “She did during the last days of my Orientation—no, that’s not true. She funneled their wrath in specific directions. But the Wendigos’ hunger is endless. Eventually, it’s inevitable that we’ll face her, unless she leaves the region completely.”

James nodded. “I’ll order my flying creatures to keep an eye out for her kind. Any telltale signs they should be looking out for?”

She considered it for a moment. “Just unseasonably cold weather.”

“So anything below eighty, then.”

He smiled. She returned the expression, but hollowly. He could tell she was a bit troubled at the thought of that future conflict. When I destroy the Wendigos, I’ll make sure she’s not there.

“Is there anything you need from me?” he asked. “Besides the items you already mentioned.” Mina started to shake her head. “Anything for the family, then?”

She thought for a moment. “I know we spent some quality time with Yulia last night. She seems to be adapting well to being back on Earth. Maybe having the kids around helps her. Gives her something to focus on other than how her life has changed. But I think you need to have a few words with Abhi before you go. He won’t say anything—he hardly talks so far, which is understandable given what he’s been through—but I think he’s bothered by you leaving. Maybe scared of you not coming back. He’s just old enough to understand some of what’s going on, but not much of it. I think he’s becoming attached to you on an instinctual level, even though he’s still waiting for his parents to come home. Whatever you do, don’t leave without saying goodbye. He’ll probably have nightmares.”

“That makes sense,” James said slowly. “I am the one who found them. I don’t want to make the world feel more unstable than it already does.” Maybe I already do that just by leaving right now, he thought. He frowned.

“Yes, there’s that,” Mina said. “And you’re strong. Steady. You make everyone around you feel more secure. I would become attached to you myself, if I wasn’t already!” She chuckled a little as she spoke those last words.

He smiled. “Thank you. And I’ll talk to him.”

They kissed.

When James entered the children’s room, all eyes turned to him immediately. Yulia, Abhi, Indira, and even little Deepam. It made James feel slightly self-conscious, but at least they were happy to see him.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” he said.

“We’re playing!” Abhi said, smiling. He held a transforming robot action figure in one hand. James saw that Yulia held one too. The kids and Yulia were all sitting on the floor.

That’s sweet.

“Did you come to join us?” Yulia asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No.” James chuckled a little. “I would love to, but I was actually just getting ready to go with our friends Alan and Mitzi. I wanted to say goodbye to you and Abhi.”

Abhi’s smile dried up like a raisin. “You’re going?” he asked. “Will you be back?”

James closed the distance between them in a few short strides. It wasn’t a very large room. He’d already thought, when he was putting the children to bed with Yulia the other night, that it ought to be enlarged. I’ll put in some windows too, more windows all over the apartment. That would be his last order of business before he left. Narrow slit windows that children couldn’t fall through. For now, he sat down so that he was almost at eye height with Abhi.

“I will,” James said. “I’ll be back either tomorrow or probably the day after tomorrow—”

“What if you’re not?” Abhi interrupted. “What if you aren’t back by tomorrow?”

He really is anxious about this.

“I’ll be back by the day after tomorrow,” James said. “If not, I’d be back the day after that. But you don’t need to worry. I’m very tough. I built this whole place by myself, remember? I just wanted to make sure you guys are going to be okay while I’m gone. You can help me out by listening to Mina and Yulia and taking care of the little ones. You’re going to be the man of the house for a little while, right?”

Abhi seemed to think about that carefully for a long moment. “Alright,” he said. He still didn’t look happy, so James pulled out his trump card.

“I also made this.” He took a small spider out of his pocket and held it out. It wasn’t a real spider, but a crude sculpture made of James’s hair mixed with clay he’d pulled from the soil. It wasn’t much to look at, he assessed. I’ll never be an artist.

“What’s that?” Abhi said. He didn’t extend his hand to accept the spider, but he looked transfixed by its strange appearance all the same. The spider walked slowly, clumsily, back and forth across the surface of James’s hand as it moved for the first time. The movements had a slightly crunchy sound as the clay shifted around to make its legs move a bit better. Finally, it began to get its footing and straightened up its posture.

“It’s a monster that I made,” James said.

“Hello, human!” The clay spider opened its disproportionately large mouth and spoke, and Abhi jumped six inches off the ground.

“Wow,” Yulia said quietly. “That’s such a cool Skill.”

“Thanks,” James said, smiling as he looked back and forth between her and Abhi. It wasn’t his best work, but it was nice

“What’s it for?” Abhi asked, grinning like he hadn’t been scared a moment ago.

“This little guy is for you,” James said. “He’s a Clay Spider. Think of him like a pet that can talk. He doesn’t need to be taken for walks, but this spider can play with you when Yulia is busy. If you need me, you can tell the spider, and I’ll know.”

“That’s so cool,” Abhi said quietly. “Can I name him?”

“Of course you can!” James said.

Abhi extended his hand, and the spider jumped onto it. Abhi jumped a little again despite himself, but the spider managed to hang on.

James struggled not to laugh. “You two will get used to each other,” he said. “By the time I’m back, you’ll be good friends.”

Abhi suddenly rushed forward and wrapped his arms around James. “Thank you,” he said, holding James tightly around the neck and shoulders.

“You’re welcome,” he said, a little unsure of how to feel, but returning the hug. There was an odd sentimentality swirling in his heart. It feels a little like I’m this kid’s Dad now. I guess I probably need to get used to it. Unless some relatives suddenly appear, we’re responsible now.

Then Yulia was hugging them both too. “Travel safely,” she said. “I know you’ll be home soon.” James felt the tears on her cheeks.

“I will,” James said. “I’ll be back very soon. I know you’ll be fine while I’m gone. Thanks for taking such good care of the kids.”

“It’s fun,” she said, and he could hear that she was smiling.

“I decided to name my new friend Peter,” said Abhi quietly, “after Spider-Man.”

James smiled and shook his head. “That’s a great name,” he said.

This trip had better be worth it, he thought. I’d better accomplish some meaningful stuff. It feels rotten leaving them all like this.

Before he left the apartment, he went from room to room and created those small, narrow windows he’d imagined. Hopefully this would make things just a bit more comfortable for them while he was gone.

“I’ll try and make sure we get some glass or screens for those soon,” Mina said as she watched him.

“We’re making this place a little better all the time,” James said.

They said their final goodbyes, and he descended the stairs.

—

“Ready to leave, Your Majesty?” Mitzi asked as James emerged from the apartment.

“Absolutely,” he replied. “Your chariot awaits.” He gestured to the sky, and Mitzi’s eyes went wide as she saw two large creatures shaped like balloons that appeared to be made of human skin. James’s skin, by the looks of them.

“I don’t think I could ever get used to seeing those,” Alan said quietly.

“You took the words right from my mouth,” Mitzi said.

But they both allowed the Skin Balloons to grab hold of them. Each of the monsters extended long tendrils that they wrapped around their passengers’ bodies. Mitzi found their grip surprisingly comfortable. Like being wrapped up in fairly plush backpack straps.

“These are made of your skin, right?” she couldn’t help asking James. When she turned to face him, she saw that a third similar creature was attached to him. She wasn’t sure where it had come from.

“That’s right,” he said. “I read once that the skin is the single largest human organ. That makes it very useful if you need to make something like balloons.”

She swallowed. “Right.” Why did I even ask?

“So, why don’t you guys tell me about the trip here?” he asked. “We have a bit of a long flight ahead of us.”