Ruthless: Path of Conquest

Over the next few minutes, James watched Ben and Alice as the former recovered at amazing speed and began to move again, and the latter moved from disbelief to ecstatic joy.

Alice let loose a fresh torrent of tears and alternated between hugging and kissing her freshly recovered boyfriend and occasionally throwing a grateful glance at her brother, who sat slumped on the seat next to the happy couple.

“I’m so glad I woke up to see you,” Ben said, his voice slightly hoarse.

Is that the full consequence he’ll suffer from what happened in the woods? James wondered. Just a little hoarseness that just goes away? He hoped so.

Alice and Ben exchanged sweet nothings that made James glad that he had awakened Ben first. The two seemed very much in love.

James did not want to be there, intruding on the tender moment—he would much rather have walked away somewhere—but most of the strength seemed to have gone out of his legs after he blessed Ben. He did not trust them to carry his weight as far as the next chair.

Even a few level ups later, that power still takes a lot out of me.

It was frustrating. He could imagine himself saving everyone here one by one, if not for the limitations of his body.

He could feel that if he used this power too many times in one day, something would happen. Whether that was fainting or a thing of greater consequence, he could not be certain. He had only used the Blessing of the Fisher King a handful of times before.

James sensed two figures rushing towards him. His body tensed, then relaxed. It was just the two Healers again.

“You woke up,” exclaimed Gupta breathlessly, looking down at Ben in amazement.

“It’s a miracle,” said Zirndorf, throwing a curious glance at James.

“Thank you, James,” said Ben. “I was dead to the world. I couldn’t see or hear anything. Then I heard your voice, calling me back…”

His voice trailed off, as if Ben was still dazed. James picked up the conversational thread.

“Well, my sister seems to be pretty fond of you,” he said. “So, I decided you couldn’t lie dead to the world any longer, making her worry.”

“Thanks for worrying,” Ben said, looking back at Alice and smiling. “If not for that, who knows where I would be now?” His smile faded, and his eyes seemed to grow distant. “I wasn’t completely blacked out, you know. I was dead to the world, but not dead to myself, if that makes sense. I remember I was in a dark place. It was cold and getting colder.”

“Doesn’t sound like Hell,” said Zirndorf.

Sounds just like the realm of Hel to me, James thought.

He considered asking some follow up questions, but Ben had clearly been through a lot. And anyway, what would more details about his near death experience really add to James’s own understanding? If he wanted to know more about Hel’s realm, he could pick up a book on Norse mythology. He already had Skin Husks and Skin Balloons out looking for supplies that might be of value to the community, including books.

“So, you performed a miracle,” said Zirndorf, looking at James curiously. “I knew you were something different from the rest of us, but I guess it’s confirmed now.”

“He’s not a demigod,” said Gupta, needled. He looked down at James. “Are you?”

“I’m not a demigod, and I’m not a miracle worker,” James said. “I’m the Fisher King, and I don’t like letting people die on my land.”

It’s not a miracle, because I’m about to replicate it. Miracles are usually one-offs, unless you’re Jesus.

He pushed himself up from the seat. Some of his strength had returned. He started looking around the room for the next target of his mercy.

“You’re about to do it again, aren’t you?” asked Zirndorf.

“Could I ask that you pick an elderly patient this time?” said Gupta.

Everyone looked at him, slightly aghast at the presumption of telling James whose life ought to be saved next. Gupta ignored them all.

“It’s just that keeping the elderly alive in these circumstances will be more difficult than doing the same for a younger person,” he continued. “If you can take a few of the oldest patients out of harm’s way, that would help us a great deal.”

James nodded. “I’ll do what the doctor advises.”

It’s on your head, then, if some young person here dies because I showed preference for the old.

His eyes landed on the perfect elderly patients to try his ability on, and James started walking.

From behind him, he heard his sister speaking quietly to Ben. James’s senses were such that he did not have to try to listen in on a conversation that was meant to be private; the words simply poured into his ears unless he covered them or made an effort not to hear.

“I’m just going to follow my brother and make sure he’s okay,” said Alice.

“That’s a good idea,” Ben whispered back. “He looks a little unsteady.”

“You’re going to be all right?” Alice asked a little anxiously. “Not going to slip back into a coma while I’m up?”

“I feel as fit as a fiddle,” Ben replied. “I’ll be up as soon as the Healers get out of this little area.”

James heard the sound of a kiss, and then he was far enough away that he could more easily ignore the lovebirds.

I’m glad I blessed Ben first, he thought. I think they really love each other. And, of course, if he ever hurts Alice, he has to know, in the back of his mind, what sort of grisly fate would await him…

James reached the targets of his next blessing. Since the community center was only a makeshift hospital, with the bedding that volunteers had donated or provided, there were some small beds and some large ones.

Someone who clearly knew they were married had placed these two in a king size bed together.

Alan and Mitzi.

James spoke the words over Mitzi first, knowing Alan would be annoyed if James blessed him first. He gave a similar blessing to that which he had used on Ben, but abbreviated.

It seemed to take a little less out of James than the longer blessing had, but he still felt the need to sit down for a minute afterward.

A few seconds later, the old woman began to stir.

“James!” She turned her head and saw her husband lying next to her. “Is my Alan okay?” Mitzi’s voice was hoarse from disuse, as Ben’s had been.

“He will be,” James replied.

He updated Mitzi on the situation—James’s way of stalling for time while he recovered some of his strength—then got up and used Blessing of the Fisher King on Alan next.

James almost swooned this time, and he quickly took a seat in the chair next to their bed. He thought he had disguised the sudden onset of weakness well, making it look almost graceful so that Mitzi would not figure out how much using this ability drained him.

It helped that she was too busy staring at her husband to pay James any attention.

The old man was soon blinking and rubbing his eyes as if awakening from a dream.

Which James supposed Alan was, if Ben’s experience was at all representative.

A dream-like state, at least.

Mitzi and Alan kissed, and James turned away, both to give them a little privacy and to look for the next person in need of his services.

I think I’ll be strong enough to get up in a minute.

Behind him, he heard Mitzi explaining to Alan what had happened. The word “miracle” was used again. It did bring a smile to the corners of James’s lips.

He was no miracle worker, but it was not such a bad thing to have the people whose loyalty he wanted to retain thinking of him as one.

Let this rumor spread, and I’ll win some of Cyrus’s followers away from him, too, without having to say a word to them. The people who followed a Prophet in a time like this were not necessarily particularly religious. James had seen that with Rostov’s cult.

Rather, the followers came as a result of what seemed to be an age of miracles. No doubt, Cyrus had some impressive tricks up his sleeve that James had not seen yet.

With miracles, you could make a believer out of anyone.

He half-rose from the seat, slightly unsteady, before a voice called him back.

“James,” said Alan before he could walk away.

“Yes?” James turned and sat down again.

“Thank you.” His voice was as hoarse as the other two voices had been, and James saw that Alan was fighting back tears. “Thank you for saving Mitzi and me. I don’t know how—don’t know what we—”

“You don’t have to worry about that, Alan,” James said. “The two of you live here now. You’re under my protection. I should be thanking you for going into that forest. The two of you don’t have to take risks like that now, you know. We have a lot of people to fight for us. And the main thing I need from both of you is your loyalty and your best, most honest advice. Which would be compromised if you were to suddenly die.”

Alan and Mitzi chuckled quietly.

“Happy to be of service, Your Majesty,” Alan said.

“Ditto,” said Mitzi.

“Very good, then,” James said. “I’m going to try and heal another couple of people—er, bless them—and then I’m going to get out of here and take a nap. It kind of drains me.”

He hoped the understatement would slip under the radar, but he saw the suspicion on their faces as he rose and turned away. They could tell that he was underselling how much giving a blessing weakened him.

I can do two more blessings, he thought. If I try any more than that, I won’t be able to walk home.

As he turned away, he saw his sister was waiting for him. Of course she was. She had told Ben she was going to follow James.

It was thoughtful of her to keep a respectful distance. But I could have introduced her to Alan and Mitzi if she’d come closer.

She shadowed him more closely as James walked to the next recipient of his blessing—another old man.

“What kind of shape are you in after that?” Alice asked quietly.

“Not my best,” James admitted without turning his head. “I’m only going to do two more.”

She followed him and used her arm to steady him as he blessed the old man and then a middle-aged woman.

It’s lucky Alice was always so strong, was all James could think. Despite being a woman, he knew his sister had been strong enough, pre-System, to lift his body weight in a fireman’s carry. James remembered how Mina’s eyes had bugged out when Alice did that during a family vacation years back.

Now that strength was very necessary. James felt woozy, like he had taken a blow to the head. Even his mental acuity had started to slip after that last blessing. He could barely hold a coherent thought together.

“You’re really stopping now?” Alice asked after they had gotten a certain distance from the woman’s cries of gratitude. “It feels like you could get another one or two, maybe.”

James gave her a silent look that said something like, You do it, then!

“It’s just that there are so many,” she said.

“Alice, I’m not going to faint in front of these people,” James replied in a voice that was almost a hiss. “They got to see me work what they might see as miracles, and that’s great. I helped accelerate the healing process, or maybe kick start it where it wasn’t going to happen, for a few people, and I’m happy about that. But don’t forget that these are our followers. They’re looking to our family for leadership, and they’re looking to me in particular for strength. They have to see that at all times. It’s the whole basis of my political power. I need to leave now, while I can still sort of walk upright.

She nodded, murmured a quiet “Right,” and helped James walk to the door.

Once he was outside, where there were dozens of people walking around, doing their normal business, the siblings had to put on even more of an act. James put his arm around her shoulder as if he was simply giving her a hug, and Alice supported most of his weight and ‘hugged’ him back.

“Where were you hoping to go next?” Alice asked. “Bed, or—”

“I was hoping to check on Mom and her mission,” James replied. “But I think the next time I sit or lie down somewhere, I’m going to pass out, so maybe that can wait.”

“Oh, gotcha,” said Alice.

They got James’s front door open and closed it behind them. Then James called up. Alice let go of him as Mina and Yulia made it down to help him up the rest of the way.

Once they had reached the master bedroom, James collapsed into a long, dreamless sleep.