At last, we halted before him. The Praetorians made a line, flanking us on either side. For a long moment, the two sides stared each other down. The moment dragged into minutes, each leader refusing to speak first.
Finally, Carin Black raised a hand.
“You said the prisoners had something to tell me.”
Augustus waited a moment before nodding toward Ashton. Ashton gave the Emperor an annoyed sideways glance. I could tell he’d rather Augustus do the explaining, but we had to do our part of getting the two forces to work together. We needed that spaceship, after all.
Ashton summed up the basics of what we had learned about Askala and the Radaskim in about five minutes, a telling that should have taken five hours. He concentrated mostly on the science of it: how the xenovirus basically worked, the two opposing sides, composed of Elekai and Radaskim, and how we had to destroy the Radaskim side by infecting Askala in Ragnarok Crater. Carin Black would have been familiar with perhaps just the viral aspect of the monsters, but everything else was probably new information.
When Ashton was finished speaking, Carin shifted his focus to Augustus.
“I would ask if this was a joke,” Carin said, “but it’s obvious he meant every word. So what do you propose we do about it, Emperor?”
“We have to shift our focus,” Augustus said. “The Wastelanders no longer pose a threat. In fact, I have convinced them to ally with us. The swarm that destroyed them is coming to destroy us.”
“They are all dead, then?” Carin asked, arching an eyebrow.
Augustus nodded. “There is but a remnant left. These are the only ones I found. They also know how to destroy Askala, which is the only way to stop the swarm.”
“How long before these…Radaskim….arrive?”
“A few days, at least. We must secure the eastern portion of the city and man the fortifications. When the horde is defeated, we can plan the counterattack.”
“And where will we be attacking?” the Warlord asked.
“Ragnarok Crater.”
Carin went quiet at that. I realized how ridiculous it sounded. Ragnarok Crater was almost two thousand miles away, an unfathomable distance, especially when considering the Great Blight.
“Of course, we wouldn’t be directly attacking Ragnarok Crater,” Augustus said. “We would be advancing toward it, hopefully drawing the attention of the Radaskim. This would give the Wastelanders an opening to attack the Crater, if it has been emptied.”
“You sound like you don’t know if this is going to work,” Black said.
“There are no guarantees,” Augustus said. “The only guarantee is our mutual death should we do nothing at all.”
Carin appeared to be deep in thought. I noticed his son, Onyx, among the ranks of Reapers. His dark eyes glinted as if he knew some secret that would change everything, if only we knew. That made me distrust Black. There was something he wasn’t telling us. Anna stared at the Warlord with open loathing, but Carin did not seem to notice, or care.
At last, Carin gave a small, superior smile. “And so we find ourselves caught in our enemy’s net.”
Augustus frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I’ll not play the bait,” Black said. “What is to stop the Wastelanders from allowing Askala to do what they cannot do themselves? We will be destroyed, Augustus, while our ‘friends’ escape.”
“Nothing’s stopping you from doing the same,” Anna said. “How do we know you’re not planning to let us die?”
Carin’s cold eyes turned on her. “If you are suggesting that I would betray my ally, then you have misjudged. If there is any betraying to be done, it won’t be on my part.”
“Then why not work together?” Augustus said. “The original purpose of our alliance has ended. The Wasteland is already ours, as all of its players have been taken over by Askala. If we are to keep our gains, we have to destroy her. Surely, you see that.”
Carin Black frowned. “Is there any Wasteland left to own? Supposing we are victorious, we will only have the coastline of California left. The rest will be covered in Blight. And my concern, Emperor, is that you did not come here from Nova Roma to do us a good deed. No, you want to control all of the Wasteland. And if you do not want me dead, then you’ll at least want me to kneel at your feet.”
“Come now, Carin,” Augustus said. “Whether my army is here, or in the south, you will not be able to contend with my strength. After all, a small country cannot contend with a great. The few cannot contend with the many. And the weak cannot contend with the strong.”
Carin’s face darkened. His men looked nervously at one another, waiting for their leader to respond.
“You call me weak, Emperor?”
Augustus, aware of his advantage, pressed on. “I call you fortunate, Carin, that I even allow you the opportunity to serve the Empire, because the many men who have taken your stubborn stance are no longer standing.”
Carin went quiet, staring at the Emperor with his glacial eyes.
Augustus continued. “What is your decision, Carin? You have two roads before you. One leads to survival and peace. The other to death and destruction. The Radaskim will be here in days, and she will not care about our petty differences. Will you join me on the field of battle?”
“I will join you,” Black said. “I will join you, only if you leave this city afterward, never to return.”
“Very well,” Augustus said. “Los Angeles will be left in peace, but I do hope, for your sake, that you won’t be completely closed to communication in the future. For the sake of our continued friendship.”
Black’s face reddened. “That is my condition. I know you need my help as much as I need yours. You won’t convince me otherwise.”
“We will work together then, my friend,” Augustus said. “Victory will require sacrifice, on both of our parts. I am willing to pay my dues in order to help you defend your home. I hope, in the coming days, you will think on what you can do to help me.”
Carin gave a weak smile. “Very well, Augustus. You have your agreement.”
“Good. We will meet again tomorrow to coordinate our battle plans.”
Carin nodded. “I’ll be preparing my men for the defense. We might need to fall back behind the walls.”
“Yes, the walls will help,” Augustus said. “But bravery is an even stronger defense. These monsters have a way of breaching barriers, and they have flyers. The spaceships will help, but there might be too many for me to fight alone.”
“Then you are going through with your plan?” Black asked.
“Yes, as I have told you,” the Emperor said. “Tomorrow I’m taking the Wastelanders to Bunker Six to liberate Perseus.”
Carin nodded. It was hard to read those eyes, whether something was hidden behind them. In the end, though, the Warlord of the Reapers gave a slow nod, reaching out a hand.
“It is done,” he said.