Ruthless: Path of Conquest

A knock came at the front door, and Mina sighed to herself.

“Sweet, could you please get that?”

Just when the baby is almost done eating and just about ready to sleep, someone is knocking…

And Mina felt like a nap herself. She knew she would be working hard through the next few days, trying to help James deal with Sister Strange and the forest specters. If she could get some rest now, she’d have an easier time staying awake later in the evening.

She heard Yulia murmur something to Abhi, and then Yulia was descending the stairs.

Mina rose, still carrying Junior, and went to the doorway of the nursery.

From there, she heard Yulia quietly exclaim, “Oh, it’s you! Of course it’s you. Please come in. Hi, Alice!”

Oh, it’s Zora and Alice, Mina realized. I guess I’ll sleep later. Probably. Plenty of time to sleep when I’m dead, right?

She went back into the nursery, sat in her rocking chair, and stroked Junior’s head while she waited for Zora.

Less than thirty seconds passed before the older woman poked her head into the room.

“Hey!” Zora said in a sing-song voice. She saw the other children besides Junior, all on the verge of succumbing to sleep—Yulia had kept them active through the morning, so they were ready for a nap—and looked surprised for a moment. Then Zora smiled and said, in a lowered voice, “I thought I would come and meet the little angel, but I didn’t know you guys had more now.”

That was delicate of her, Mina thought. She realized she shouldn’t be surprised. Zora was never less than a lady. She could be blunt, sarcastic, and on rare occasions cruel. But she was always aware of the impact of what she said. James probably got his social intelligence from her.

“We are taking care of a few more,” Mina said. Because James had been doing it, she added, “Just until their folks come back for them, of course.”

Zora raised one eyebrow a millimeter but said nothing to that.

“He’s done eating,” Mina said, “if you wanted to hold little James.”

Zora’s face broke out in an impossible to fake twinkling smile, and she reached out eagerly for the baby. When she had Junior in her arms, she held him with what Mina thought was incredible tenderness. It reminded her that she had, before all this madness happened, very much wanted Zora to be involved in the baby’s life. Whatever qualities might annoy Mina about Zora, her mother-in-law was devoted to family.

“Oh my goodness! You’re the cutest baby I’ve ever met,” Zora cooed, holding Junior close to her face. The baby gurgled and patted Zora’s short, curly hair with his pudgy, uncoordinated baby hand. “Aww.”

Is she crying?! Mina looked more closely and saw, for the first time since she’d met Zora, that she had a tear running down her cheek.

“I think he likes you,” Mina said, smiling.

“He is a very charming baby,” Zora said in the same almost sing-song voice she had used when she came in. “My first grandchild. Oh, but I bet he likes every new face he sees…”

Mina thought back and wondered if that was true.

“You’re going to be a little lady’s man, aren’t you?” Zora continued.

Mina just laughed.

“There are a couple of other people waiting to see you, I should let you know,” Zora said, nuzzling the baby’s thin wispy hair and stroking his back with her thin, deft fingers.

“Not just Alice?” Mina asked.

“No,” Zora said, barely restraining herself from laughing. “You and James certainly leave an impression on people. Your other guests are apparently from your Orientations.”

Mina rose uncertainly from her seat.

“There’s no need to rush,” Zora said, keeping her voice low. “Remember, you’re the mommy. Let them cater to you. If you want, I’ll give you back the baby, and I can go entertain them. Or I could take the baby while I go entertain them, and you could sit here and relax for a bit. I won’t let anyone else hold him, but you know people love to look. They can distract themselves with a baby for hours.”

That’s very considerate.

Mina smiled but shook her head. “I’d better go do this. I want to get rid of these guests, whoever they are. I’ll do it as politely as I can. I need to go train once Junior is settled—or, if you’re willing to watch him, I could go train as soon as the guests are dealt with.”

“I would love to watch the little man,” Zora said, almost cooing again. She looked up from the baby as Mina moved to the door. “You should tell me about what it is you’re training for, though. Maybe it’s something I can help with.”

Mina looked at Zora thoughtfully. Well, she is a Mage.

“All right,” Mina said. “I’ll give you the details once we deal with our guests.”

She emerged from the nursery and saw Leo and that woman who had been with him in the Community Center. They were standing next to Alice, but the three of them weren’t talking. They were just standing around awkwardly as if no one knew quite what to say.

“Hi Leo! Good to see you again, Alice!” Mina said. “And nice to meet you, um?”

“Good to see you, too,” Alice said.

Mina smiled.

“My name is Hilda,” the woman in white said.

“I remember James waved at you in the meeting,” Mina said, “so I guess you were in his Orientation.”

“Yes,” Hilda said. She took a deep breath. “I was working with the Moloch cult when we ran into each other the first time.”

Mina’s face must have registered the shock of that statement. She did remember a few people turned on the cult leader at the end. I guess she was one of the survivors.

“I’m, um, just going to go and let you guys talk,” Alice said. She sounded uncomfortable, and she walked so quickly toward the nursery that it felt as if she was fleeing the scene.

“I’m so glad to see you again, Mina,” Leo said warmly. He stepped past Hilda and embraced Mina. For a moment, she almost forgot what Hilda had just said. It was incredibly reassuring just seeing Leo again. He stepped back, and she smiled at him. “I’m so glad you and your baby are doing well.”

“Thank you. It’s good to see you, too,” she said. I bet James is going to want to recruit you to run the police here. “Are you planning on staying?”

“That depends—” Leo’s eyes shifted to Hilda. “It depends on whether we’re welcome.”

Mina deflated slightly. It would be easier if he wasn’t tying his answer to hers. I have no idea if she’s welcome or not.

“I don’t know if there’s anything either of you could have done to make yourself unwelcome,” she said quietly. She looked up at Leo. “I know Yulia and I wouldn’t have survived Orientation without your police skills. I wish she were here so she could thank you.”

Leo scoffed and shook his head. “That’s ridiculous. I wouldn’t have gotten out alive if it wasn’t for you two. I was actually hoping to come here and thank your husband for lending you to our Orientation.” He smiled.

“I’m sure he’ll want to thank you instead,” Mina said. She couldn’t help but look at Hilda, who was standing to the side quietly.

“Perhaps it would be better if the Queen and I discussed the situation we’re sort of dancing around,” Hilda said. “I think I’m ruining your fond reunion.”

Both Leo and Mina became silent at that. Then Mina nodded.

“You’re not ruining anything,” Mina said, “but Leo and I can talk later. Whatever you want to say, Hilda, you should probably tell me now, and James and I will discuss things when he gets back.” She spoke in vague terms, because she still didn’t grasp anything close to the whole picture of the situation.

Leo seemed to understand. “Okay,” he said, nodding to Mina with a serious expression. He turned to Hilda and added, “I’ll be in the housing the building people showed us, all right?”

Hilda nodded, but her eyes were on Mina as Leo descended the stairs and left the apartment building.

“Why don’t you pull up a chair?” Mina suggested once he was gone. “There’s no reason this conversation should be awkward.”

Any more awkward than it already is, she thought.

Hilda accepted, and soon the two women were sitting across from each other in silence.

Mina was surprised that Hilda didn’t jump to speak first, but the other woman seemed to be a very calm, collected person. Calculating, perhaps. Weighing her next move carefully.

Either that, or she’s just very confident. I’m not sure where that would be coming from in this situation, though.

“I’m guessing,” Mina said, “that you want to talk about switching sides in James’s Orientation. I’m imagining, and I’m sure you’ll correct me if I’m wrong, that you started out as a Moloch worshiper and ended up helping James kill Moloch’s priests.”

But Hilda was already shaking her head. “I was never a Moloch worshiper. I was blessed early in Orientation by the God of Light, Baldr. His portfolio of powers includes prophetic dreams. He sees the future that must eventually come.” She looked a bit sad. “Even if it’s very painful. Sometimes he shares things with me. Just bits and pieces, but it is invaluable as I navigate the world.” She bowed her head reverently.

“So how did you come to find yourself with the Moloch worshipers?” Mina asked. Her voice came out more skeptical than she’d intended. But it seemed extraordinarily unlikely to her that she was meeting someone from the Rostov cult for the first time, and that person just so happened to have never been a believer.

“I recognize how it sounds,” Hilda said, her expression somber. “I will make no excuses. My god told me that if I went with Rostov and his followers, I would survive Orientation and make it here. If I didn’t, my situation was less certain. I’m sure you can imagine that even if they are morally different, a Sun God and a God of Light would have some things in common. They at least would not be likely to show open hostility toward each other. So it wasn’t hard to get them to accept me. I understand that Moloch encouraged his Chosen One to accept me. I never worshiped Moloch, although I did help his followers.” She sounded a bit guilty as she said those last words. “I think your husband will confirm that once I was able to, I switched sides and helped him kill Rostov off.” Her voice became slightly heated at the end. She seemed concerned that Mina might not believe her. “The end result is that Moloch is weakened, perhaps permanently. He had invested a great deal in this Orientation…” Her voice trailed off.

“I’ll discuss it with James,” Mina said, trying to smile at her guest. “I’m sure James is aware of how much you contributed. Are you planning on staying here?”

“More than that,” Hilda said. “My god has informed me that a great multiracial empire will be founded under King James. A place where humans and other Races live together in peace. A hub of tolerance and understanding. But there will be many enemies who wish to see this land destroyed!” She raised her voice slightly and sounded genuinely worried as she uttered that last sentence.

“I see,” Mina said, not quite understanding. “You want to join the Kingdom even though you predict many enemies will try to destroy it?”

“My god believes that this place is the best hope for lasting peace and stability for Earth,” Hilda said. “It may be a flickering candle in the wind, but I must do whatever I can to ensure it does not go out. I want to swear my sword into his service—and yours.”

“Well, I know I speak for both myself and James when I say, we appreciate your confidence. And although I cannot speak to whether he will accept your offer of service, I must admit that it sounds compelling. I will pass on what you’ve said.” Mina gave the other woman a slight smile.

Hilda nodded. “Thank you, Your Majesty. There is no rush, of course. I know that you and the King are still settling this land now. I’m certain there are many things that require your attention. I will take the citizenship oath that others have mentioned when it is convenient for the two of you—or I’ll leave if you prefer.”

“It is true there are other things we’re thinking about,” Mina said, slightly relieved. She realized as Hilda was speaking that this was a decision that she didn’t want to dump on James right now. He was dealing with more than enough.

Hilda rose as if to leave, but she hesitated for a moment.

Mina looked up at her, and for a moment, Hilda reminded her of an older Cara. Strong and fierce, but where Cara looked like she could be a Viking or a surfer, Hilda was older. Her look was pale and thoughtful. She had muscle, but it felt out of place. Unaccustomed. As if a bookworm who worked in a library suddenly realized that she needed to train for some terrible ordeal. There was a fierce intensity about her, but she was keeping it under careful control. Disciplined power to be applied at the right moment. Like James. And she’s been receiving information about the future like James, too… Mina knew suddenly that Hilda was absolutely going to stay—and perhaps be among the most loyal citizens of the Fisher Kingdom.

“Will you let me know if there is anything I can do to be of service?” Hilda asked. “I am eager to prove my loyalty—and I know the nights can be dangerous in this new world. Leo and I already experienced something of this.”

Mina had the thought that Hilda might actually know something about the challenges they were dealing with right now.

But if she knew anything useful, she wouldn’t be so vague, she thought.

“You should rest,” Mina said, “and after that, you should get ready for a late night. We’ve asked for volunteers to attack the hostile presence in the forest nearby. They’ll be going in after dark, while my husband distracts the Ruler in that place. If you’re able to go, you just need to follow Dave Matsumoto’s lead. He’ll be leading the charge, so he’s the man to talk to.”

Hilda nodded and looked pleased. “I won’t let you down,” she said.

Mina smiled. “See you tonight.”

After Hilda was gone, Zora stepped out of the nursery. Baby James had fallen asleep in her arms. He really likes her, Mina thought. That was the ultimate sign. The baby wasn’t very finicky, but he only fell asleep for certain people. So far, just her, James, and Yulia.

“I overheard something at the end there about a hostile presence in the forest,” Zora said, keeping her voice low so as not to disturb the baby. “Is that place haunted?”