Shadow Heart (43 page)

They obeyed.

Davian dropped his Spectral Gladius and caught Grace up in a joyful embrace, the two of them laughing like giddy children. Cheers broke out among the warriors at the sight of their commander’s return, and more started to leave the line to go greet her.

“Halt!” Crenshaw’s command stayed their movement. “Maintain the line. Do not put down your weapons.”

Davian’s attention snapped back to Crenshaw, and then to the Great Army soldiers who flanked Grace and himself. Crenshaw watched the realization dawn on him, that in his joy at her return he ignored all the warning signs. She was with the Great Army, wearing a World System uniform. So either she was here under duress, or worse—she was not of sound mind.

He cautiously made his way down the hill to join them, Spectral Gladius still alive at his side. She looked at him approvingly, exuding that confident air he had missed so much. He hadn’t even realized just how much her death would have destroyed him until this moment, reunited with her again. She certainly didn’t appear brainwashed.

“What’s the matter, General?” she asked. “Not happy to see me?”

“I have never been happier to see someone alive in my entire life,” he breathed. “But you have been missing for several days. Now you reappear with the Great Army at your back and a World System uniform, apparently with the ear of the magistrate of the city. What are we to think?”

“I don’t have the ear of the magistrate, Crenshaw,” Grace said. “I
am
the magistrate.”

Crenshaw shook his head, “You…how?”

“Napoleon Alexander himself ordered me branded,” she pulled back her sleeve to reveal the tattoo. “And along with it he gave me a Systemic designation. When I entered the city, it had no magistrate. The central computer selected me, and here we are. Prime is mine, Crenshaw. Now I need Silent Thunder to help me hold it.”

“You want us to fight…alongside the Great Army?” Davian asked.

“I want you to fight for the future,” she replied. “I know this will be hard for you to accept. I expect others will take it harder. But a new path has opened to us, one we did not expect, and it is the best path we have had since fleeing Alexandria. I need you to trust me, now. I can get our people to safety. I can provide for them, feed them, clothe them. I can build the foundation for the world we have always dreamed of.

“But before I can do any of that, I need you to trust me, Crenshaw. We cannot linger here. There are greater threats in the Wilderness than the Spectorium. Please.”

Everything about this rubbed Crenshaw the wrong way. To go willingly into a World System fortress, carried by Great Army soldiers? That was just asking for death. But then again, if someone was pulling Grace’s strings, and they had wanted Silent Thunder dead, they could have done it several times already. And there was that one fact that swayed him above all others.

He did trust her. Like he imagined he would trust his own daughter.

The blade of
Renovatio
went dark, and he returned it to his side. Then he, too, stepped forward to embrace her. A wave of emotion nearly overcame him, and tears formed in his eyes, “I am glad to see you, Grace. I missed you.”

She returned his embrace and patted him affectionately on the back, “I missed you, too.”

S
ILENCE REIGNED IN THE
Stone Hall as Grace finished bringing Crenshaw and Davian up to speed on everything that had transpired since the attack on the camp. Both men wore the very same look of consternation, though Davian also spent a significant amount of time trying not to stare at Liz, who leaned against the wall a couple of yards from them.

She had wanted it to only be her most trusted friends, and it seemed right to include Liz, but in retrospect she wondered if that had been the best choice. Liz appeared aloof the majority of the time, as if uncomfortable being there. It brought the various worlds Grace was now a part of into sharp focus, and she wondered if she was foolish to have believed the two could be reconciled. But if she couldn't bring Liz into the fold with Davian and Crenshaw, how could she even attempt what she had to do next?

“I suppose we should begin by addressing the most important part of your story,” Crenshaw said. He turned toward Liz, and Grace felt a lump rise in her throat, fearing the worst. Liz had been their enemy for the majority of her life, and Crenshaw had not experienced her actions the Wilderness, actions that redeemed Liz in her eyes.

Liz watched warily as Crenshaw closed the distance between them. She might try to pretend that none of this mattered to her, but Grace knew better. More than anything else in the world, Liz wanted a place to belong, to feel safe in who she truly was. She believed she would only find that in the family she had never met, but Grace hoped to show her otherwise.

Crenshaw held out his hand, “It is good to finally meet you, Elizabeth Aurora. We are connected in many ways, you and I, for two people who have never crossed paths.”

Liz looked down at Crenshaw’s hand suspiciously, then over at Grace, who merely shrugged. Not really having any other choice, Liz reached out and took the general's hand, “Nice to meet y—” Her eyes went wide as he pulled her forward into a full hug, and Grace couldn't help but laugh. Liz's body was stiff and uncertain as she accepted Crenshaw's invasion of her space, and she breathed out a sigh of relief when he finally released her.

“Thank you,” Crenshaw said sincerely, “for all you've done. There is nothing we can do to repay you for returning her to us.”

“She saved me just as much as I saved her,” Liz said sheepishly. “You owe me nothing.”

“When Davian told me that he had brought you into the camp and all signs pointed to the two of you leaving together, I feared the worst—that you planned to sell her back to the World System, or to Sullivan. But I was wrong. Just the fact that you are here, in this room with the three of us, is a testament to how much Grace trusts you, and that speaks volumes for me.”

Grace turned her attention to Davian, “
You
were the one who brought her into the camp?”

Davian nodded, “I didn’t know who she was at first. We found her nearly dead on our way back from leading the Spectorium off-course. Attacked by a wild animal it looked like. Catastrophic blood loss, hypothermia maybe. It didn’t look good, but I couldn’t just leave her there. We brought her back and the doctor was able to stabilize her, but,” he turned his attention back to Liz, “you were still in pretty bad shape. I’m shocked you were even able to stand, much less fight.”

“I thought I had sat down in that ruin to die,” Liz said, watching Davian now with greater interest. “Thank you, for saving my life.”

Davian reddened, and an awkward silence followed during which Grace felt a pit in her stomach. Davian had been the one who had brought Liz into the camp, which might explain why he had been acting so strangely around her. Had he been thinking of her—the beautiful woman he had saved in the Wilderness—more often than he thought of Grace?

She recognized that look. It was the very same one Davian had been giving her for years. Now it belonged to another.

A part of her wanted to be jealous, but she couldn't fault Davian for wanting to move on. She had made him wait too long. And, truth be told, she no longer believed love was in the cards for her. She had been willing to explore something with Davian, but seeing his attentions diverted, she was surprised to learn that all she really felt was relief.

He deserved happiness of the kind she could never provide.

“I do trust Liz, and that is the main reason she is here,” Grace said. “But there is another reason. We are in a precarious situation here, and Liz has more knowledge and experience concerning the World System than we can learn in the short time we have. Liz, we need you to help us navigate this world.
I
need you.”

Liz stood a little straighter, eyes beaming with gratefulness, and opened her mouth to speak. Davian, however, cut across her, “I take that to mean your first order of business will
not
be to dismantle the System’s infrastructure in the city.”

“No,” her gaze shifted between the three of them. “It will not. In fact I have no intentions of dismantling Corridor Prime’s infrastructure in my capacity as magistrate.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“You understand what this will mean, Grace,” Crenshaw exerted his calmer tone over Davian’s incredulity. “The men will not take this well. You have taken a city without firing a shot, and if we can withstand the forces of this General Van Dorn you will control the entire Corridor. They will expect you to end the World System’s tyranny and raise the United States flag over the Stone Hall.”

“And what of the people of this city, and what they want?” Grace asked. “Would it not just be another form of tyranny to force them to accept a government they did not choose for themselves?”

“They didn’t
choose
the World System!” Davian said.

“No,” Grace conceded. “Not in the beginning. But there are those who would fight now to preserve what they have, and not only the soldiers and the rulers.” She turned to Crenshaw. “You once told me that the people would never rise up against the World System because it works for them. That the central computer gets it right for all but about fifteen percent of the population.”

Crenshaw nodded, “I did.”

“And the economy of this city has been dependent on Systemics for over sixteen years now. What will happen if I suddenly take that away?”

“The cities of the Imperial Conglomerate were forcibly disconnected from Systemics,” Liz said. “Their stability has been slipping ever since. People are going hungry again. Soon, they will be starving under the burden of Emperor Sullivan’s war.”

“And how long do you suppose I will remain in power if I dismantle the process that put me there? Van Dorn is not the only general with reservations, he is just the only one prepared to do something about it because of what he has to gain. If the generals waiting in Corridor North and South feel that their positions are in jeopardy, they will march to Van Dorn’s aid. I need to keep the allegiances I have and prevent Van Dorn from gaining any more.”

“What about Silent Thunder’s allegiance?” Davian asked quietly. “How long can your new army withstand Grand Admiral Blaine and his Spectorium without Spectral-adepts at their core?”

“Do you think those men will so quickly abandon me, after all we have been through?” Grace asked, cold and harsh. “Will
you
, Davian?”

Davian’s expression softened to a childish smolder, “Of course not.”

“They will have to trust me, as you will have to trust me,” Grace went on. “There will be reforms to give those who are disenfranchised by the World System a chance to change their circumstances. I don’t know exactly what, or
how
, but between Liz and Jeremiah Bruce, we should be able to find a way. Then, yes, we will have a vote, and the citizens of the Corridor will decide if they want to remain in the System’s model, or return to their Old World democratic republic. Should they choose the latter, we will begin the process of restoring the old infrastructures. But if they do not, Silent Thunder will have to accept the will of the people.
That
is what we are fighting for. Not a particular form of government.”

“You’re right, of course,” Crenshaw said. “But Davian is right as well. The men won’t see it that way. For years restoring the rights of the people has been synonymous with restoring the old ways. They will start to wonder if you have been corrupted by this new position…perhaps not at first, but eventually it is inevitable.”

“We will cross that bridge when we come to it,” Grace replied, already dreading the day. “But none of that will matter if we can’t hold the city. Everything hinges on the defeat of Van Dorn’s army.”

“The men will not like fighting alongside Great Army soldiers,” Davian said. “Even if it is to kill other Great Army soldiers. These are the same soldiers that have been hunting us down, killing our people in the Wilderness, and making our lives hell, Grace. And you want us to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them?”

“For the greater good, yes, I do.”

“And what about the Great Army?” Crenshaw turned to Liz. “How will they react to Undocumented in their ranks?”

“The soldiers will do as they are told,” Liz replied. “It is the generals who are the concern. If the tide of battle turns, they may seek to save their own skins and throw their support to Van Dorn. Turning on Silent Thunder in the course of the fight would be the best way to signal the defection to Van Dorn.”

“Both of the generals in the city seem to be in Bruce's inner circle,” Grace said. “I doubt they would betray us.”

“It is a risk to assume we can even trust Bruce to remain loyal at this point,” Liz went on. “He opposed Van Dorn when it appeared he might have something to gain from it, as he remained acting magistrate so long as the Code Zero was in effect. He may only be paying lip service to these System fanatics now because of the hard line he took. But if it serves his interests to turn, he will, Grace. And he may take both generals with him.”