Shadow Heart by J. L. Lyon Read Free Book Online

is out.”
    “Reports show that the Great Army is not mustering to retake Rio,” Orion said. “Which could be advantageous…or perhaps very bad for us.”
    “How so?” one of the others asked.
    “Because Napoleon Alexander is a proud man,” Holt interjected. “He would not allow such a challenge to his power to go unanswered…unless he has other plans for us.”
    “Explain, Councilor,” Sullivan said.
    “It is no secret that when Alexander appeared, the emperor and I both believed his intent lay in restoration. He gave us the impression that his singular goal was to gather the survivors of the Persian Resurgence and help bring back order to our country. All he lacked were the tools. Inspired by his vision, Emperor Sullivan and I gave him those tools.”
    Sullivan’s heart sank. No, you old fool. That secret is ours alone, sworn never to be spoken of again. The most monumental mistake of my life and career.
    All eyes in the room turned to the emperor, but it was the Citadel representative who spoke, his voice thick with a German accent, “What does he mean by this?”
    “You gave him the fleet,” Orion answered, and the emperor heard disbelieving voices begin to whisper among one another around the table.
    Sullivan merely glared at Holt, and Holt back at him, “When the Persians invaded, President Crenshaw signed an executive order to hide the fleet so that our enemies could not make use of our technological advancements, namely our Tetra-class ship Infallible . I was the chair of the senatorial committee that approved the order, and Councilor Holt was the Admiral who carried it out. So yes, when the time came, we entrusted our most powerful weapon to the man we saw as our last hope. We gave him the fleet.”
    “But he had fooled us,” Holt said. “His goal was not restoration at all, but the creation of an entirely new state where he would wield absolute control. He manipulated us, drew us in by playing on our deepest desperation, and by the time his true intentions were revealed it was too late to stop him.”
    “And you think he is doing the same thing now.” Orion said.
    “If I know the man at all, I am certain of it.”
    “Except that Alexander is not the same man he was back then,” Sullivan said. “He was a passionate warrior fresh from the field of battle. All these years holed up in the palace have changed him. Now he is a shadow of what he once was, a madman who only knows how to follow his latest whim. He does not muster forces to Rio because he does not care, Councilor, but we shall see how he reacts when we make it as far as The Corridor.”
    “No one here questions the MWR’s madness,” Holt said. “But he is not a fool, and if we don’t proceed with caution we will fail. I implore you all to see reason. Attacking the cities in this manner and at this pace is a disaster waiting to strike.”
    “What would you have us do, Councilor?” Sullivan asked. “Continue for yet another year of war with no progress?”
    “I would have us consider how we might achieve victory without this grievous loss of life. One hundred thousand dead in the initial strike, many more thousands in the invasion. We have stained the ground of Rio red with blood, and yet we do not bat an eye as we move to do the same at Lima.”
    “Blood is the price of victory in war, Councilor,” Sullivan snapped. “You above all others here should realize that.”
    “I commanded men on the high seas,” Holt replied. “I ordered them into battle. I encouraged them to die if necessary for their countrymen and their homes. But never did I ask them to sacrifice life needlessly. Those people at Rio died because of your impatience, and our tactics are becoming far too similar to those of the World System for me to tell the difference between them.”
    Sullivan rose from his chair to exert a dominating presence on the room, “I am sorry you feel that way, Councilor Holt—and even more sorry that it must lead to this.