James Axler – Bitter Fruit

“If he does,” J.B. said, “and if Mildred’s still alive, it could go hard on her.”

Ryan nodded and scratched an itchy place near his empty eye socket under the patch. “Got no choice about going in, J.B.”

The Armorer adjusted his glasses. “I know it. Just putting it out there to be mindful.”

“No alarms yet?” Ryan asked Krysty.

“No.”

“Boldt going to know where we’re at, or just that his sec integrity’s been violated?”

“I don’t think he’ll know where.”

Ryan slipped a camp ax from his pack. “Doc, you and Jak keep widening this gap. I’m going to chop our way in. J.B., you and Krysty got lookout.”

The companions spread out. The Armorer and Krysty took up positions at the opposite ends of the trench, their rifles in their arms. Jak took up the shovel Ryan left sticking in the dirt at his feet and started attacking the earthen wall with Doc.

Setting himself, Ryan swung the ax. The blade bit deeply into the pulp of the root. Dark sap oozed out in sticky patterns, clinging to the ax like death blood.

VICTOR BOLDT, Prince of the Celts and ruler of Wildroot, stood in front of the computer system, watching the images relayed from the concealed cameras to the twenty screens inside the room. More than half of them were working, though some of them only just. Screens two and nine were fuzzy, and the colors were off, painting images in garish greens.

“Is there nothing we can do to the cameras?” Boldt asked irritably. His understanding of the camera equipment was rudimentary at best. Had his father lived, though, he was certain he would have known everything about them. His father would have taught him. That was one of the things he missed most about the man.

“Not without physical restoration and repair at those ends,” a deep, sonorous voice responded. The voice belonged to Merlin, the computer Boldt’s father had set up and programmed to bring Wildroot online after the nuclear war or plague. “You’ve been notified of this.”

He watched over the shadowed terrain. His feelings of paranoia had increased of late, making periods of restfulness hard to come by. The only times he had any release were during periods of high emotion, times when he was in the thick of physical activity.

“Someone is at the door,” Merlin said.

“Who?” Boldt asked.

Screen one cleared and showed a view of Pepper standing in the hallway. The seed herald looked bored.

“SubjectPepper,” Merlin intoned.

“Allow him,” Boldt said. He turned and shook his cape out, preparing to meet the seed herald.

Pepper came into the room, holding his assault rifle in his hand. “I’ve got men out there everywhere, Prince Boldt. So far they’ve seen nothing.”

“Then they’re missing it,” the Prince insisted. His paranoia assured him he was right. “The rebels know the Time of the Great Uprooting is near. They’re not going to accept it like a bunch of sheep.”

“Yes, sire. But all I can report to you is that things remain quiet.”

“Given time, I think they will act. Before they do, I want to strike first.”

“Then let us do it now,” Pepper said. “We’re ready. Come first light, we could be among them before they had a chance to get prepared.”

Boldt studied the big man’s chiseled face, seeing the bloodlust color the seed herald’s features. Pepper was a tool he loved to use. But that tool only garnered the best results when wielded dispassionately. Besides, in order for the plague to be activated to its full potential, the Celts would have to be first infected, then broken and driven from their homelands into the outer regions.

“No. It’s enough that we are not taken unawares.” Boldt resumed his study of the monitors. “What about the New Londoners?”

Pepper approached one of the screens and tapped it. The light washed over him, leeching the color out of his garments and turning them gray. “For the time being, they remain here.” His forefinger traced a tree line.

“Hew far away?” Boldt thought he knew from the past times he’d ridden that way.

“A quarter mile.”

“They’re close, then.”

“Well out of arrow shot,” the seed herald replied, “and beyond the range of the first tanglers. They won’t be moving against the tanglers. Not in the dark.”