The World in Flower

55. The Arrangement

"What's going on?" Tim asked with concern.

"The fucking Wahidan of Karsaiah and most of the royal guard are marching on Home Freetown. They should be here tomorrow afternoon... or today afternoon, actually."

Tim sat in stunned silence for a moment. Too much was happening in too short a space of time. "What? Why?"

"That asshole actually imprisoned Tirwah's sister -- and niece -- and used her to find out what was going on here."

"How?"

"Apparently Tirwah sent a letter and communication device to her through a fellow trader. I don't know how Raswahnoa found out about it, but I'm thinking the trader may not have been as trustworthy as Tirwah thinks. Apparently their goons have been listening in to every conversation they've had, including the one where Tirwah told her about the nethor poisoning."

"Fuck. What do we do?"

"I don't know. We've got to figure out how to defend the town or evacuate everyone to somewhere safe."

There was a clink behind Adam. He turned to see Tim's torc on the floor. The shadow in the corner seemed less intense and the flow of energy had changed. Cthulhu was gone.

"Shit. I forgot about our visitor."

Tim shrugged. "They figured we were busy?"

"They did come to check on Eartha, so maybe they were done here?"

"Whatever the case, we've got more urgent things to worry about. Let's get the council and whoever we've got with military training here as soon as possible."

***

"I believe evacuation would be a dangerous choice," Vine opined. "People would be exposed if they are not yet to safety when the enemy arrives."

"Also, Karsaiah is likely to burn down the entire town if they find it abandoned," Big -- or Sunshine as he was now called -- added.

Abe turned to Blaine. "Were you Air Force?"

"US Army Airborne."

"But your dad was Air Force?"

"Right. I took a different path."

"How good a shot are you?" Tim asked.

"I'm not going to snipe someone from several klicks away, but you give me a decent rifle and some high ground, and I'll take out a good number of enemy combatants."

"Who else have we got? Do we know?" Adam checked.

Rob opened up a notebook and began running a finger down the list of Home Freetown residents. "Someone give me a highlighter."

"Hold on. I think Kendra has one in her pack..." Tim wandered out to the entryway.

"Someone's pulling up outside," Blaine gestured to the front window through which they could see headlights.

"That looks like Austin's truck." Rob set down the notebook and started for the entryway, Adam following in his wake.

"What are you doing here?" Tim was saying as he stepped out of the house.

"Stone told us what was happening," Austin's voice answered. "I've already sent some buddies to check it out."

"You should be home with Amb-- Oh, my God! You're awake!"

Adam and Rob stepped out onto the porch and saw Austin helping Amberly out of the truck. She leaned on him heavily, making pained noises.

Austin wrapped an arm around her waist. "You sure you're okay to walk?"