Chapter 106 - Built On Honesty

  Turner’s face went red at my words, and for a moment I had this idea he was just going to throw down with me, right there and then. There was something in his look, a mixture of rage and barely controlled fear, that made me reach for my magic, ready for whatever was coming next.

  Then Sue’s head raised and the dinosaur gave a low-powered roar. Not the magical one that sent enemies fleeing, but still more than enough to make everyone jump, Turner included. When he met my eyes again, the look I’d seen was gone, back under a tight leash of control.

  But I didn’t forget.

  “I would rather you wouldn’t,” Turner said, biting out his words. He was back under control, but he was still pissed. “If we work together to defeat one enemy, then the other, we have a much higher chance of success. Surely you can see that? Join me, we take down the avians, and then we move on the mall.”

  I felt the magic of his Charisma beating against me like waves against the shore. Part of me just wanted to give in and do what he said. It would be easier, right? Let someone else make the hard decisions, the tough calls. I’d been doing too much of it as it was. I was a kid, barely into grad school, and this man was a senior Air Force officer. Who was I to contradict him?

  Shoving all of that aside with an exercise of Will, I shook my head. “You know, Turner, diplomacy might go a lot better for you if you ditched the Charisma and just tried convincing people without magic. Instead, you just try to brute force your way into getting people to follow your orders. I’m sure it works well here on your base. I doubt anyone has a Will as high as your Charisma. But I do.”

  He was instantly red in the face again, but this time I’d thrown him on the defensive. “What—you—I don’t…”

  I’d thrown him completely off his game. Nobody had called him out for using his Charisma this way yet? No one? Wow—that was ridiculous. He’d clearly been getting used to having everything exactly as he wanted it for the past week or so, and dealing with anything less was making him flip his lid. We were far enough away from other people that I hadn’t dumped his secret to everyone, much as I was tempted to do so.

  Frankly, I didn’t have the time for this sort of nonsense. I turned away from him and took to the air, flitting back over to land atop Sue. Kara was already there, looking surprised as I landed.

  “All good?” she asked, her voice low.

  I shook my head. “Be ready for trouble.”

  She gave me the smallest head tilt of a nod.

  I turned and spotted Patches. “We’re moving out. The Guard isn’t going to be able to lend us support. This recent attack has them too worried about their defenses. Are you still with us for this strike? It will be harder, with just us, but I think we can still do this.”

  “We are ready, Lady Death,” Patches called out, his squeaky voice louder than he usually spoke. Patches was smart. Was he tossing around that title because he sensed the tension and was adding weight to me? If so, I was grateful for the effort.

  “Master Sergeant Farnsworth, you mind opening the gate for us, please?” I asked. As I spoke, I had Sue wheel around so the dinosaur was facing directly toward said gate. If they tried to keep us in here, they were gonna lose their gate. Probably the entire gatehouse. I wasn’t in the mood for this shit.

  Farnsworth glanced at Turner, who was making his way back toward us, still fuming. Then he looked at me, saw Sue, and probably figured out exactly what I was thinking. He barked an order, and an airman bolted to the gate to get it opened up.

  Good. I didn’t actually want to blow their gate up. There were people here I cared about, and I didn’t want to see any of them hurt.

  “Selena!” A familiar voice called out from the growing crowd. Speaking of people I cared about!

  “Alfred!” I flashed him a genuine smile. “Good to see you. Not the best time to catch up; we’re on our way out. But we’ll be back soon.”

  “Eh, I was wondering if you could use a few more swords,” Alfred replied. “My little band and I still remember everything you did for us, all that you risked to get us to safety. Some of us have been hunting and growing, these past few days. We’re ready to help you out, if you will take us. It’s not much, but I figure every sword probably helps, right?”

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  It would indeed. I saw he was all kitted out, wearing plate armor he’d clearly bought from the locals at the base. He’d swapped his old fire ax for a huge battle axe, too. Behind him, there was Henry, the healer, also dressed in armor with a heavy crossbow and a mace. Samson was there, too, along with a few other people I didn’t recognize.

  “I’d be glad to have you. No promises on whether we’re all making it home, mind,” I told them. “But if that menace in the mall isn’t put down, nowhere will be safe.”

  The group around Alfred chuckled. Samson spoke. “Like that’s a guarantee anywhere, these days. We could get killed in bed by another avian raid. Or we can get out there and fight for our futures. I know my choice.”

  “I’ve done the math on that horde,” Henry added. “Based on the scout reports, they’ve been watching it grow the past few days. I figure we have maybe forty-eight hours at most before there’s so many zombies there that they’re beyond stopping. We’d have to evacuate the area, at that point.”

  Two days? “So little time… Why that timeline?”

  “Geometric growth,” Henry replied. “Each night they’re pushing out much further. They’ll hit the base around that time, tear down the walls, and that’ll be the end of this place.”

  Turner arrived then. He turned toward Alfred, Charisma dripping from every word. “Alfred, we need you and your people here. Henry, you especially—we only have a few healers, and we need everyone to be ready for the next avian assault.”

  I watched the magic take root as he spoke. It was uncanny, seeing the doubt creep almost instantly into their faces. Holy crap, this stuff was very close to actual mind control, and the more I saw it in action, the more I hated it. This man was taking away the agency of his people, giving them orders that could potentially get them all killed, and taking away their free will in the process.

  No more.

  It was time for the truth to come out. I spoke one word, in a clear, commanding tone. “Alfred.”

  This time I put my Charisma into my voice, and even Turner’s gaze flicked to me instantly. All eyes were on me.

  “Turner has a tier six Charisma stone. That gives him the power to ‘suggest’ things to people, and people will tend to follow them,” I said. My voice was like a ringing bell, tolling loud throughout the area around us. At least a hundred locals had gathered, so everything I was saying would be scuttlebutt in no time.

  “Right now, he’s using that power to convince you to do something you may or may not want to do. Like Turner, I have that power as well, and I’m using it right now,” I said. I flicked the Charisma off. “And now I’m not. Because I don’t want you to make this decision based on my will or his. I want you to freely decide on your own, as anyone ought to have the right to do.”

  “Wait—is this like mind control?” Alfred asked, his face pale. He shook his head like he was trying to clear it. “Colonel? Explain this.”

  I did the explaining before Turner could butt in again. “Not mind control, strictly speaking. Just a magical nudge to make people more likely to agree with him. It’s a good power for a leader to have, to help bust up disputes, to help keep order. But not to order men to their deaths.”

  I said the last sentence glaring daggers at Turner. He responded in kind.

  This bridge was burning merrily. I wasn’t sure what sort of reaction I was going to get when I returned to this place, but I had a feeling it might not be as hospitable as this time. Turner wasn’t going to roll out the red carpet for me anymore, not after this. I watched as suspicion and worry spread from one face to another as everyone within earshot started second-guessing every interaction they’d ever had with the man.

  “Why doesn’t it work on you?” Alfred asked me.

  “My Will is tier six,” I replied. “So is his Charisma. One blocks the other.”

  “Good to know, thanks. I’ll add it to the list.” Alfred said. “I’m with you, Selena.”

  Murmurs of agreement came from the small company he’d brought along. Looked like it was Alfred and five other people. It wasn’t what I’d hoped to get from the base, but it was still better than nothing.

  Another voice. Farnsworth. “I’d like to join you as well, if you’ll have me, Lady Death.”

  I looked down at him, surprised. “Aren’t you Air Force?”

  Turner was standing next to Farnsworth within a second. Alfred, he could maybe tolerate losing. Not his Master Sergeant. Not the man he’d poured so many crystals into building up as a commander. “You absolutely may not risk yourself in such a manner, Master Sergeant. We need you here to help defend this place.”

  “Sir, with respect—if the mall isn’t dealt with soon, the avians will be the last of our worries. They can fly away from a horde of zombies when it arrives. We can’t. Everyone within these walls will die if we don’t do this. I’m going.”

  It was time to get out of Dodge while we still could. If things kept going my way, I was going to end up with the entire defensive force of the base trailing along behind me, and that wasn’t going to work out well for anyone, especially not the helpless civilians. I turned back toward the gate and gave Sue the mental command to start forward.

  “Good enough, then!” I called out. “Let’s move out!”

  Turner stared up at me, a mix of fury and fear in his eyes again. “Do you know what you’ve done?”

  “Told them the truth?” I replied. I shrugged. “It’s what you should have done, day one. Instead you hid what your power was doing to them. When it was small things, I was fine with letting it slide. But now you’re ordering men into battle for you, using your Charisma to influence their decision. That’s crossing a line.”

  He was in trouble, and we both knew it. If he ordered his people to attack me, to block our exit, would they even obey now? I wasn’t sure, and I knew damned well Turner wasn’t either. His cushy command with everyone easily following every order he gave was now a thing of the past. What would become of the Guard base now, I didn’t know. But it least it would be built on honesty, instead of lies.

  We rolled forward uncontested. Even Farnsworth was allowed to come along. I was surprised he’d joined us, but grateful. He was one of the strongest warriors on the base, and he was well-armed. Would an extra seven fighters be enough to turn the tide in the battle ahead? Probably not. But I’d take whatever I could get.