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  “No,” I said. “You need to stop listening to rumors. That said, we do need to...clear...around a thousand people from the Nooseman’s neighborhood.”

  “What do you mean by clear?” a man asked.

  “You know exactly what I mean. We’ll clear the area then burn that section of the city to the ground. It’s sad, and I hate to lose any more people, but if we don’t do it, we’re going to lose everyone here and in Cocoa City. We need to stop this at its source, and that’s the neighborhood where it all started.”

  “How do we know it won’t come back?” someone else asked.

  “We don’t, but we can work toward making sure it doesn’t happen again. That’s why we’ll be instituting new policies to entirely redo sanitation throughout the island. I want to have pipes and running water in all homes and businesses by the end of next year.”

  “That’ll never happen,” a small man in the back said. “We don’t have enough funds.”

  “You’ll have more than you know what to do with,” I said. “Things are changing. While this was a dark period in the history of this island, Kron will continue. Until I take my last breath, I will work tirelessly to ensure the best for all our citizens.”

  A woman near me slow-clapped a few times before others joined in. I took a deep breath and hoped they got on board. The changes I had planned would change everything. In many respects, we would be rebuilding the city from the ground up. Everything would be in chaos for a long time, disrupting the everyday lives of thousands of people.

  “Thank you,” I said. “Save the applause for after we’re done. I can’t do this alone. You few who are left will become the leaders of tomorrow. Are you with me?”

  “We’re with you,” the woman in front said as she stood and held out her hand.

  I shook it then turned to Keith’s right hand man. After I nodded at him, he turned and left, knowing what needed to be done. The people who carried out the orders would be set up for life with an emphasis on counselling. I needed to improve all my social sciences. With no war going on anymore, I should be able to turn things around and build my island back up.

  “We’re doing the right thing,” I said, probably more to assure myself then the others.

  Chapter 21

  Losing the Advantage

  Sarah

  A year later, and I had bounced back, reaching 21,245 citizens. I hadn’t thought about Michael, the young boy who helped Jericho create the metal war machines, in a long while, but I should have been thinking about him every day. My disregard for his feelings turned around to bite me a couple years after running Charlotte off the island. With her gone, I’d been able to shift my focus to non-war technologies.

  Michael felt neglected when I didn’t need his bright mind as much anymore. I should have paid more attention to him, but I couldn’t change the past. As I waited for him to arrive at my office in the City Center, I went over my options. Spying was treason which would be punished by death. At least it was back during the great Spider War. Now, I wasn’t as sure what to do with him. The punishment needed to fit the crime.

  He had stolen our reverse-engineered crossbow technology and given it to Charlotte. She was hiding out on a nearby island, offering her services in exchange for asylum. All her knowledge going to the other islands would stir things up in a big way. The other players hated me for all the advances I’d been able to make with my city. At the same time, their thoughts and opinions didn’t matter as much to me as those of the inhabitants of my island.

  “What are we doing?” Keith asked.

  I took my elbows off my desk and leaned back in my chair.

  “We’ll throw him in jail,” I said. “Maybe for a long time. It’ll depend on how he acts. You said he’s not remorseful at all?”

  Keith shook his head. “No, not at all. I think he deserves death. That spider might be back because of him.”

  “We’re more than prepared to keep her off the island,” I said. “We’ve been preparing for that day for years. She’s not getting a foothold again. Not while I’m around.”

  “You’re confident, but you know life is strange sometimes,” he said.

  “I know…”

  He stood and stretched while yawning.

  “You’re not getting enough sleep,” I said.

  “Who can sleep with all the wondrous things going on because of you?”

  “It’s all of us working together,” I said. “We’ve improved the crossbow tech so much over the last few months. The version she got was from last year.”

  “She’s a smart spider, that’s all I’m saying.”

  I nodded, knowing he was right. Charlotte coming back to the island would change everything. My morale had dropped low enough that she might be able to get some of my people to blindly follow her again.

  “Let me know after you lock him up,” I said.

  “Will do.” Keith waved. “Talk to you later.”

  After he left my office, I got up to leave. Dinner waited for me at my house in the park. I couldn’t wait to see what the chef had done with the chicken. Just when I thought I had him pegged, he came up with something totally new to tantalize my taste buds.

  On the walk home, my thoughts turned to darker matters. Charlotte coming back was something I’d thought about quite a bit since I ran her off the island. During our trading with the other islands, we always got bits of information about her current whereabouts. She was doing well for herself from what I heard, amassing a large fleet of spider ships.

  When I reached my house, I ate dinner and tried to get my mind off all my problems. Until Charlotte showed up, I wouldn’t worry too much about her. Michael had been punished for leaking details of how to construct the magic crossbows. Everything else would fall in place sooner or later.

  Over the years, I’d learned that there are some things you have no control over.

  * * * * *

  The next morning, on a hunch, I traveled to Cocoa City to check the progress on the defenses being set-up around the docks. After Michael getting caught and Keith sounding spooked, I decided it would be a good idea to show up and ensure everything was on track. Julian spotted me as I approached his office building at one side of the boardwalk. He ducked inside the office, shutting the door behind him.

  I reached the building and opened the door without knocking. Upon entering, I saw his assistant sitting at a desk near a closed door. She shrugged and gave me one of those looks that said, “You know Julian and how odd he can be.”

  “No need to announce me,” I said as I walked across the room.

  “I’m not here,” Julian said on the other side of the door.

  “Very funny,” I said, opening it. “How’s things going?”

  “We’re behind,” he said then sighed, slumping in his chair.

  “How far behind? We’re not at war, but these defenses are important.”

  “I think we’re close to a breakthrough,” he said. “If it works, I don’t want to have to rebuild everything, you know? We can wait a while, right?”

  “Charlotte could come back at any time.” I sat down on a chair in front of his desk. “You know that as well as me. We need to be ready for her.”

  “I know,” he said. “Maria and I have been fighting again.”

  He looked down at his desk, avoiding eye contact.

  “What did you do now?” I asked. “She’s your wife, you need to treat her with respect and honor her. When’s the last time you bought her flowers?”

  “A floral arrangement isn’t going to fix this, I’m afraid. I’ve messed everything up, and I can’t concentrate on work. That’s the real reason we haven’t started yet.”

  “I thought so,” I said, nodding my head. “Are you two talking to the counsellor I suggested? She’s a wise woman who knows a lot about relationships.”

  “We went a few times, but Maria doesn’t like the woman, something about the way she talks down to her or looks down at her or something. I don’t know anymore.�
��

  “Love always finds a way,” I said.

  “What about you?” he asked, turning the tables. “Are you with anyone yet?”

  I stood. “And on that note, I’m leaving to inspect what’s been completed so far.”

  “You can’t be alone forever,” Julian warned. “It’s not natural.”

  “We’ll see.” I walked toward the door then stopped, turning back to him. “Can you give me a progress report by the end of the week? We can’t hesitate on this too long. Get your head in the game, or let me know if you want time off. I can assign someone else to take over here.”

  “No, no, I’ve got this. Trust me. I need to have a job to go to during the day.”

  I smiled then waved before opening the door and walking out of his office.

  “Baby killer,” the assistant muttered under her breath as I walked past.

  “Excuse me?” I asked, stopping.

  “Nothing,” the woman said.

  I walked over to her desk.

  “You’d be dead by now if I hadn’t done what needed to be done,” I said.

  “Sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself.”

  I turned and walked away, not wanting to get into it with her anymore. While the NPCs I’d killed off to save the rest of them were not real humans, I’d been having nightmares about the decision I made to kill them. Had I been mistaken? Was there another way I hadn’t thought about? I left Julian’s building and headed down the boardwalk.

  The sound of waves hitting the shore and the smell of salt in the air lifted my spirits a bit. I’d taken to traveling outside more to fight my depression. As I got closer to the docks jutting out of the water, I sensed something wrong. Most of the ships we kept out at sea to patrol the waters around the island were docked. Even odder, they were empty.

  What’s going on? I turned and headed back to the boardwalk to talk with Julian. Had he been slacking even more than I thought? I fought back my anger as I walked. Yelling at him wouldn’t solve any problems. I needed to talk with him in a way that made him understand the importance of his job as harbormaster in Cocoa City.

  Before I reached his building, I noticed a flash out of the corner of my eye. Turning, I saw a dozen huge energy bolts slam into several nearby buildings. A few of them caught fire while yet another froze completely. Was someone using our crossbow technology against us? Had Michael doomed us all? I ran toward Julian’s building.

  He came out before I arrived. Several more massive bolts of various colors hit nearby, causing even more death and destruction. The moment I saw his face, I knew Charlotte or someone had gotten to him. Michael had proclaimed his innocence. Was I wrong about him the whole time? I hated being leader. Julian pulled a wand.

  Not this way, old friend, I thought as I booked around the side of the building. A blast of cold air whipped around me. Icicles formed on the back of my neck and shirt, but I managed to get around the building. I pressed up against the side near the corner, breathing heavily.

  Why did everything have to go bad all at once?

  Chapter 22

  Honey Badger Tribe

  Sarah

  “Keith, you available? Over.”

  I stood behind a stone building, hoping I didn’t get blasted by the energy bolts slamming into the city. As I waited for Keith to respond, I peered around the corner. People were running in every direction. I saw a few of them get hit and die horribly. Their screams would be with me for the rest of my life. I stepped out, ready to fight.

  “We’re on our way,” Keith said. “Be there in ten minutes. Over.”

  “Hurry!” I shouted then put the block of wood away.

  We couldn’t allow Charlotte to get a foothold on the island again. After so many years of peace, the battle seemed surreal in some ways. I walked back to the boardwalk as the intensity of energy bolts diminished. Things were about to get worse. In the harbor, I saw several ships flying the flag of the Honey Badger tribe. They didn’t care, about anything.

  How did she get them to work with her? I wondered, also noticing a small armada of spider ships approaching. Smaller rowboats full of men and women raced toward the shore. This battle won’t be easy, but we have to do it. I saw Julian out of the corner of my eye and ran toward him as he raised a flag on a tall pole near the end of the boardwalk.

  “What are you doing?” I asked. “We’re being attacked.”

  “I gave the men some time off before we started on the big project,” he said. “I’m trying to call them back. We still haven’t given all the men those communication devices you built.”

  “You need to go tell the closest men we’re about to fight a battle to save the island. Tell them to go to others and spread the word. We’ll do this the old-fashioned way.”

  “Okay,” he said then turned and rushed away.

  I looked back at the ocean as some of the boats reached the docks. Warriors and wizards both climbed out of them, heading toward shore. The spider ships also sailed closer. Would Charlotte herself show up during the attack? I hated that nobody on the other islands had given me a heads-up. Did they despise me that much?

  At least I had all my mana. If Charlotte wanted another fight, she would get it. Our repeating magical bolt crossbows were smaller than the large ones on her ship, but she would likely have the hand-held versions if she had the other technology already. I positioned myself on the boardwalk as two groups of warriors marched toward the spot from opposite directions. We’ve got this, I told myself as they formed a defensive line around me.

  “The Honey Badger tribe doesn’t mess around,” I said. “Make sure we send them a message. Kron is our island. Kron is the best island!”

  “Kron! Kron! Kron!” the men chanted, working themselves up.

  I saw a few of our ships returning, engaging the enemy fleet, which gave me a bit of hope. Damaging my own docks would hurt in the short term, but I had to stop their troops from easily getting ashore until we had better defenses set-up. I lobbed a half-dozen Flaming Discs of Lava at the wooden docks jutting out in the water.

  The wood burst into flames, setting a lot of their men and women on fire.

  “Crossbows, fire!” I shouted.

  The men protecting me arched their crossbows into the air and shot. Dozens of glowing red energy bolts hit the docks and a lot of their fighters. Fresh fires erupted. Screams of burning wizards and warriors gave me hope that we had a chance of winning. Giant metal spiders appeared out of the sea, climbing ashore, not caring about the flames.

  “Retreat!” I shouted as they spat fire and shot electricity.

  I ran with the men a couple blocks back. While I hated to cede any land to Charlotte, I couldn’t lose what army I had before backup arrived. Speaking of the cavalry.

  “Where are you?” I asked into the block of wood. “Are you close? Over.”

  “I’m at the city gates,” Keith replied. “We’re heading your way.”

  “Hurry,” I said. “They’ve landed. Her help is fierce.”

  “The Honey Badger tribe don’t play,” he said, further spreading their reputation.

  “Just hurry it up,” I said then put the block of wood away.

  The circle of armored men with crossbows standing around me talked among themselves while watching the street for approaching forces. The Honey Badgers’ shock troops used melee and magic to fortify a stronghold on the beach, and the giant energy bolts rained down on the city once again.

  Most of the non-military citizens had already fled to my original Kron city to seek refuge, so I didn’t have to worry about them. Still, the constant barrage of powerful magic was dangerous to deal with. I stepped over to the commander of the small squad of men as even more joined our group, including Julian.

  “We need to dislodge them, but not in a suicidal mission,” I said. “You understand?”

  The man nodded, his lips pursed together and his brow furrowed.

  “More men are coming,” Julian said. “Keith is here in the city no
w too.”

  “Great,” I said. “She’s setting up a position on shore. We need to stop her.”

  “I’ve already sent a small team closer to scout out their position. We can dislodge them.”

  “Are you going to make the dock defenses a bigger priority when this is over?” I asked then smiled.

  “You’re something else,” he said.

  “Just trying to keep your spirits up. Let’s do this.”

  As Julian walked away to talk to a group of soldiers, Keith walked up. Hundreds of warriors and wizards of our own massed behind him.

  “We need to do this now,” he said. “Before it gets worse.”

  “I agree,” I said. “We’ll hit them from three directions at once.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Keith said. “I’m killing that spider this time.”

  “Not if I get her first.” I grasped his shoulder and squeezed. “Be safe out there.”

  “You too,” he said then turned and went back to his lieutenants to give our orders.

  I went forward a bit, peeking around from the back of a building. The barrage of energy bolts had stopped, but something wasn’t right. I crept forward, ready to cast at a moment’s notice. Since the war stopped years earlier, I hadn’t been so worked up. At the edge of the space between the two buildings, I stopped and glanced out at the boardwalk.

  Most of it had been destroyed, but something else caught my attention. Seven big balls of protective energy had formed next to each other, creating an impenetrable fortress. Charlotte stood in a web behind them, a larger energy shield around her feeding the smaller bubbles of protection. Even worse, I saw Julian and a bunch of troops lay down their weapons.

  “You should give up too!” he yelled after noticing me.

  You lose 74 citizens.

  You have 21,171 citizens.

  “Attack!” I shouted.

  Keith and a few dozen of his men appeared, all of them shooting their magical repeating crossbows. The energy bolts bounced harmless off the protective shields, dissipating right after contact. Everyone kept firing, feeding the shield somehow.