King of Ends

by Sam Ryder

  Before I reached the hut, I noticed a plant I had never seen before growing in large bunches in the far section of the garden. It looked like marijuana, but had bright blue leaves tinged with red specks.

  At first, I thought it was a weed until I noticed a gardener working an entire section of the odd-looking plant.

  Reminding myself of why I was there, I made my way to the hut’s door. The guard motioned me toward it, unspeaking. I raised my fist to knock, but before the blow could land, a gruff voice called out: “Enter.”

  I opened the door, which creaked slightly. A puff of smoke hit me full in the face. Through the haze, I found the outline of a large man sitting on a high-backed wooden chair. “I’m here to speak to Belogon,” I announced.

  “What took you so long?” he asked. Before I could respond, he continued. “Let me guess, you spoke to Lustak first. Figures. The Corps is so fucking special, after all.”

  “The Corps had nothing to do with it,” I said. “People knew where I could find Lustak. You, on the other hand, are rather well-hidden.” It was meant to be a subtle jab, but he didn’t react to it.

  “You think you’re the man to take down the Rising, huh?” I could feel his eyes roaming up and down over me. “Color me unimpressed.”

  “I never said that.”

  “It was implied in the Queen’s decree, no? You came here to recruit, am I right? To get Enders to follow you into a massacre. I’m certain many will go with you. I bet Lustak already signed up, correct?”

  “That’s right,” I said.

  “Great,” he said. “Let me get this straight. So far, you’ve got a washed up drunk, three women, and the Queen’s support. And you think I’ll ally with you too?”

  His tone was full of mockery and thick with sarcasm. This was going to be tougher than I expected. I walked through the haze and located another wooden chair, which I carried over in front of him, facing backwards. I sat in it in reverse, resting my arms on the back.

  “Look, I don’t give a fuck about egos or feelings or any of that shit. I know war. War is death and blood and violence. But that’s not where war is won, on the battlefield. No, it’s won well before, when the strategy is formulated. Hell yes we need you, or we may as well be doomed before we start.”

  Belogon’s eyebrows lifted and he stared at me, surprised. “You’re only partially correct,” he said, sounding less amused. “The supply chain is the other factor I doubt you’ve considered.”

  “I have considered it,” I said. “But our plans are in their infancy. With the Queen’s support, supplies shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

  “Let’s say you’re right, and she handles all the supplies you’ll need. How many soldiers do you think you can recruit?”

  I shrugged, continuing to play up my need for expertise. “This is your turf. I have no idea. Lustak agreed to sign up the Corps and put out feelers across the city, but that’s as far as we’ve gotten so far.”

  “The Corps is only about a dozen guys,” he said. “With his connections, maybe he can get a dozen more.”

  “How big of an army do you think we’d need to give us a chance in hell?” I asked, once more deferring to his knowledge and stroking his ego. I had a pretty good idea, but it wouldn’t hurt to get a second opinion from a military strategist.

  “At least five-hundred,” he said. “For a chance in hell. You’ll want a thousand to reduce the risk.”

  Shit. That was more than I’d planned on. Hell, I hadn’t even seen that many Enders since I’d been here. “Are there that many in Paris?”

  He shook his head. “Maybe three hundred total, and they won’t all agree to go with you, even if I’m on board.”

  “Are you?”

  He laughed and blew a puff of smoke right in my face. I held my breath, refusing to give him the satisfaction of coughing. “Unlike Lustak, I don’t make rash decisions. Do you have medics yet? Supply wagons? Anything?”

  “I have a healer,” I said. “But she can only do so much at a time, then she requires rest.”

  “You’ll need a lot more help, unless your Ender soldiers will be expendable and you plan to leave them to die on the battlefield anytime they get injured.”

  “You don’t know me,” I said. “I get that. But you’ll soon learn that I’m not the type to leave good men or women behind.”

  “Fair enough,” he said, and I thought I detected a look of respect on his expression before it returned to the devil-may-care face he wore relatively well despite his mutated features.

  I remembered Adi and the care she took as she prepared me to meet the Queen. “I might have somebody else who can help care for the wounded. She may know others.”

  “What about ammo, weaponry, those sorts of things?”

  I shook my head.

  “Christ, what do you have, soldier?”

  “Moxy?” I said, half-joking.

  The joke landed well and he chuckled. “You need me more than you know.”

  “Then join us,” I said.

  “I just met you. I don’t enjoy the prospect of running off half-tilt into a warzone only to watch my own people be slaughtered.”

  “We’re not going to do anything until we have a plan, a strategy. And this is not all on the Enders. I do plan to recruit humans who are sympathetic to our cause too. We can get to five hundred. Maybe not a thousand, but I’m willing to try.” I hoped my voice communicated the conviction I felt in my heart. Gehn’s visions may have started as a joke to me, but I believed them with every ounce of my being at this point.

  “I’m not willing to commit just yet,” Belogon said.

  It wasn’t a no. That counted for something. “Okay…why don’t we meet as a group. You, my companions, Lustak and anyone he manages to recruit. Are you willing to at least do that much?”

  “I can do that,” he said slowly. “But don’t expect me to pull any punches. I will question everything. And I’ll have my own ideas, and you may not like all of them. We’ll meet first thing tomorrow at the Corps. And make sure Lustak is sober.”

  “I’ll work on that,” I promised. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me yet,” Belogon said. “After tomorrow you might wish you’d left me out of all this.”

  “I’ll take the risk,” I said.

  I started to leave, looking forward to getting away from the smoke-filled hut and drawing some fresh air into my lungs. “One more thing,” he said, stopping me. I turned back and met his steely gaze. “Don’t tell anyone about the gardens.”

  I didn’t like secrets, especially not this kind, but I wasn’t in a position to risk destroying this alliance. “I won’t.”

  Anger continued to brew in my chest as I walked back through the gardens, though it was tempered by the belief that we were making progress. Thanks to the Queen, for all her faults, I had a shot at earning the trust of the Ender people, or at least a portion of them.

  The seeds of war had been planted, now we just needed to make them grow.

  Chapter 14

  Reluctant recruits

  I ducked under the gateway to the garden and stepped out into the city, where the women were waiting patiently.

  “How’d it go?” Belenie asked, immediately placing a hand on my arm.

  “Relatively well, all things considered,” I said. “He wants more proof of our conviction before he commits.”

  “What do you mean?” Hannah asked.

  “He wants to meet tomorrow, see how much progress we’ve made. In addition to recruiting, we need to work on getting medics, ammo, weapons, supplies, those sorts of things.”

  “Belenie is our medic,” Hannah pointed out.

  “Her energy is limited. Not to discount her abilities, which are amazing,” I said. “but she can only heal two or three people before she needs to rest—only one if the injuries are extensive.”

  Belenie wasn’t insulted. “It’s true. We need more like me.”

  “Is your ability common?”

  “Unf
ortunately not.”

  “Then we’ll need to find some medics who do things the old-fashioned way.”

  “Like who?” Gehn asked.

  I looked up at the sun, which had risen high into the sky. Midday had arrived already. “We might find what we’re looking for at Medusa’s.”

  “You just want a drink,” Hannah accused.

  “True, but I swear there’s a real purpose too.”

  Hannah looked at me skeptically, but then shrugged. “Fine, have your mysteries. We could all use a bite to eat anyway.”

  As we walked, I considered the plethora of requirements of building and maintaining an army. In truth, I hadn’t really considered all the details. I had been so intent on just getting to this point and recruiting that I hadn’t thought about what comes after, in between the recruiting and the righting. Belogon was right to be cautious, which was exactly why I needed him on our side.

  An army consisted of more than just troops. There were strategists, battalion leaders, medics, those in charge of weaponry, and so on. I was just scratching the surface of what it meant to build an army.

  I had experience in combat, but not so much on the management side. I needed to gain some, and fast.

  As we made our way across town, Enders still stared at our group. The looks were somewhat different, or at least more varied than before. Less glares. More raised eyebrows and expressions of interest. They were mostly females, but still…change was in the air.

  “Wait out here,” I said.

  “What?” Hannah said, looking annoyed. “We’re hungry and thirsty.”

  “I know, I’m sorry. I’ll call you inside in a few minutes. I just need to take care of something on my own first.”

  Hannah cursed. “My patience is wearing thin, Cutter.”

  I laughed. “I know. Just trust me. I won’t be long.”

  “Then hurry up.”

  I entered the bar. Just like last time, local Ender women packed the place. And just like the previous day, Adi sat at a table in the back, nursing a drink while she stared out the window.

  “Is this seat taken?” I asked, pointing to the chair next to her.

  She flashed half a smile of surprise, propped her foot up onto the chair and slid it back. “It is now.”

  “Listen, I want to apologize for yesterday,” I said, sitting down and trying to control my thoughts, which I now knew she could read. “I know you know I’m trying to control my thoughts.” It would’ve been a weird thing to say if not for her revelation the day before.

  “You’re not doing a very good job,” he said, blushing slightly.

  Dammit. She was right. She wasn’t making things easy, not with the low-cut, tight tank and short shorts that accentuated her toned thighs and calves. “I’m attracted to you,” I said, stating the obvious.

  She bit her lip, staring down at the glass on the table in front of her, tapping her foot.

  “But that’s not all I see you as, some pretty little thing. I want you to join up with us. We have a healer in Belenie, but we need more people with your skills. You and anyone else you know from the Queen’s palace.”

  “I’d have to leave my post with the Queen,” Adi said. “She wouldn’t be too happy about that. And if I took others with me…”

  “I know it will be hard. I know we only just met. But…” The words weren’t coming out right, so I stopped, opening up my mind to her. Amongst the variety of sexual positions I couldn’t help but imagine us engaging in together, there were other, more noble thoughts flitting around. I focused on those, clarifying them in my mind.

  Adi gave no response, frowning slightly. “Christ,” she said.

  “I don’t know much about J.C.,” I said. “But I know war is coming. Tending to the Queen’s guests may seem like a noble job, but it won’t last when the Rising gets to Paris. You’ll all have to fight anyway.”

  She said nothing, seeming to consider. Finally, she spoke again. “I am afraid of change,” she admitted. “That’s what is really holding me back. When I first became an Ender, it almost shattered me. I almost took my own life multiple times.”

  “What?” Shit, I hadn’t known things were that bad for her. I should’ve known she was depressed, considering how she always drank alone. Then again, that had been me not so long ago.

  “It’s true. I held the knife to my throat. Tears blurred my vision. I was so close. But I didn’t finish the job. You know why?”

  I didn’t, so I shook my head.

  “My ability manifested itself at that moment. Suddenly my mind was opened up to a hundred other minds. It was horrifying but also satisfying, in a way. There were bad people, good people, people wanting each other, people sad and happy and everything in between. I realized I wasn’t the only one feeling strong things. I wasn’t alone.”

  “That’s true,” I said. “Which is even more so the reason you should come with us. You fit in well with our group and we could use all your talents. You have more to offer than washing feet.”

  “What about those other thoughts you’ve been having?” she said, a small smile playing on her lips.

  “What about them?” I asked.

  “We might be distracted. It could get in the way of what we’re trying to accomplish.”

  “Only if we let them,” I said. “And we won’t. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun along the way. Anyway, we won’t do anything you don’t want to do.”

  “Who said I didn’t want to do anything?” Holy shit. Her hand had landed on my leg and was moving up and down my thigh.

  “Then I guess we’re on the same page,” I said. “I’d love to talk more about these things, but the others are waiting outside, hungry and thirsty. You mind if I invite them in?”

  “Of course not,” she said. “The more the merrier.”

  I sensed the innuendo in her words, and my thoughts betrayed me once more. She sucked in a sharp breath, biting her lip again. “I can’t see the future like Gehn,” she said. “But the thoughts you just may just be in our future.”

  I ran for the door before I could think anything else.

  Chapter 15

  Preemptive attack

  We drank, we ate, we talked.

  Adi was shy at first, but the others soon drew her out of her shell while I used every ounce of my strength to control my thoughts. Still, from time to time they betrayed me, and Adi’s eyes would dart over to mine, a mischievous look filling them. I was about ready for a cold shower, when the party came to an end.

  I’d been around Gehn enough to know the instant her demeanor changed. Hannah and Belenie were still laughing and talking, but Adi and I were staring at Gehn. Adi was likely reading her mind while I was reading her expression, which was full of concern. Her lips were trembling.

  “Gehn,” I said. “What is it?”

  “I...I don’t know,” she said, lifting a shaking hand to nervously touch her horn. “But it’s bad.”

  “We need to move,” I said. “Now.” It was my command voice, and even Hannah and Belenie ceased conversation mid-sentence. All eyes were on my as I stood, knocking over my chair and dragging Gehn to her feet. Hannah and Belenie weren’t far behind, while Adi was the slowest, her brow furrowed in concentration. I understood why: She was trying to make sense of the visions she was seeing in Gehn’s head. Gehn had told me many times that they were fuzzy, difficult to discern, more feelings than concrete images. Until she’d dreamed of my leading an army, she’d never seen anything so…clear.

  “Adi,” I said. “I’ll explain later. We need to go.”

  The urgency in my tone seemed to snap her out of her fog, and she hustled after us as dozens of Ender women stared us out the door.

  I emerged first, blinking in the daylight. The blow came from behind, a sharp crack to the back of my head that made my knees turn to rubber, taking me to the ground in a heap. For a split second, I blacked out. Or at least I think it was a split-second. Hard to tell given the throbbing in my skull. Whatever I�
��d been hit with, it was hard and solid.

  As I came to, screams filled my ears. I groaned, trying to clear my vision. People, Enders, were scrambling in all directions, as best I could tell. Dust kicked up in large clouds, choking me when I tried to take a deep breath.

  I scrambled to get myself off the ground, but the world was spinning so much that getting up was briefly impossible. My feet slipped like I was wearing roller skates and my head thumped into the dirt. After I crashed down again, I blinked a few times, attempting to shake off the haze and straighten out my vision.

  I felt like I was riding a merry-go-round that was out of control, and there was no way to stop it.

  I lifted my head carefully, forcing my eyes to focus. A group of men swarmed us. They were grabbing the women, trying to drag them away. Hannah fought like a wildcat, kicking and scratching, while Belenie succumbed without much of a battle, as did Adi. These guys weren’t the pathetic pawns who’d been sent earlier. These were the real deal, the A team, not only built like bodybuilders but with enough brains to know how to win a fight. Even with Hannah’s efforts, the three were easily overpowered, their arms pinned behind their backs and gag stuffed into their mouths. Hannah attempted to talk through the gag, but her words were unintelligible, though I suspected she was saying something about an impossible sexual position she wanted the men to attempt on each other.

  Gehn was the last of our group standing, her back literally against the wall, her fangs extended and bared, her horns glowing. She looked fucking awesome. The odds were stacked against her, however, three capable-looking men closing in. These were men, humans, and each of them wore a bracelet.

  It was the Wanderer’s Guild back for more with plenty of reinforcements.

  As the men closed in on Gehn, I tried to make sense of the situation, though even thinking hurt at this point. What do they want with the women? I wondered. They hadn’t killed them, which was good, but it also meant Atticus had requested that they be brought back alive. I didn’t know if the same rule would apply for me, and I didn’t intend to find out.