Night was starting to fall as Leah marched through Tartarus with a squad of her soldiers besides. Everywhere she looked, the people cleared her path.
She missed the old days when she could just stroll through a city block without it being a fucking crisis for the citizens who lived there. But that was when she was a regular Hunter and not at the top of the food chain. Now, everyone looked at her differently.
They looked at her like they had for Hades.
Leah sighed. As much as she hated playing the bloodthirsty tyrant in front of the Council, she had no other choice. A show of unapologetic cruelty was the only way to keep them in line, and that would trickle out to the rest of Pandemonium. Hell, the only reason that there were any heads on that table at all showed that people were starting to think she’d become weak.
I gave them one fucking order. Leah could still see the look in their eyes. She had gathered everyone from the team that’d spotted the baby and locked them in a room. She’d told them what would happen if they told anyone else. But they still had that look. That doubt. Like she was bluffing. Like she wouldn’t follow through. Sure enough, it was less than a day before half the Styx were talking about Liam and his family.
They won’t be saying shit now. Leah had gathered everyone at that point. Everyone who had ever so much as looked at the three defectors… All were brought outside the Styx and made to watch as she dragged out the traitors, kicking and screaming. Oh, sure, they begged for mercy, and Leah almost let it slide. But it was too late for that. Not with the others watching. So she removed her scarf, let the world see her disfiguring Mark, and Hunted them on the spot. All while their friends could do nothing to stop her.
Then the message was crystal clear.
Leah crossed through an intersection and watched as a group of workers glanced her way before scurrying into the nearest alley.
It would be nice for one of them to smile at her for a change. She liked to think that Pandemonium had gotten better under her rule despite these occasional shows of force. After those first few bloody weeks where she’d rallied the remaining Hunters and brought order to the chaos, she’d gone to lengths to improve the survivor’s lives. The distribution stations had been restructured to allow for everyone to get their fair share, depending on their size and weight. No more hollowing because a rezzer was too large and poor for their own good. She’d forced the bosses to give a minimum daily wage boost for shifts that broke twenty-four hours. Enough to get anyone into Elysium for a night if they put in the time. There were even shelters for the homeless and patrols to keep an eye on Tartarus. Oh, how she missed those early days when her title as Head Huntress was still fresh and new.
But like everything else in this world, nothing lasted forever. It was only a matter of time before the knives got drawn behind her back.
Leah remembered a moment she’d had with Hades, years into his own reign. “I could never do this job without Mother as my equal,” he’d said with a laugh, “and she’d be lost without yours truly.” She hadn’t understood at the time. Hades was the unequivocal ruler of Pandemonium by then. Everyone bowed to his name. They weren’t equals. Mother was just some doctor on the side.
Except that she wasn’t. Both were playing their own roles. Hades ruled with an iron fist, crushing anyone who dared step in his path. Mother did the opposite, uplifting even the weakest among them. In a world where the Hollowing pressed against all without mercy, they needed both to keep their race going. Hades as the unbeatable tyrant to drive them into submission, while Mother remained as the beacon of hope to lift their spirits back up. It kept them all alive. Always fighting, never stagnating.
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But with Hades and Mother gone, Leah was forced to embody both spirits simultaneously. The tyrant and the saint. Here to pick everyone up when they were down, only to smack them in the face if they rose too high.
It was an impossible balance, and this latest test had only further proved that truth. With the weight of Leah’s threat, the rest of the Council would lean against their subordinates to stay out of her wrath, but that would only last so long. The Hollowing had a way of selectively changing how rezzers saw their world, as Socrates identified, so it was inevitable that some would one day see those murders as a violent warning. In contrast, others would eventually consider it to be no more than justified vigilantism. She’d no doubt have to make another display like that before long.
Heavy lay the crown…
She reached the boundary to Asphodel with her entourage, where a crowd had formed. It took a second to realize why they gathered. At least someone’s having a good day. Her friend in the brown cloak still stood on his plywood box, but he seemed to have rallied a group of supporters after so much time in that spot. Good on him too. Everyone looked so happy and full of hope as they listened to him blather on about his book.
Until someone saw Leah coming. Then they dispersed like sheep before a wolf, leaving the guy in the brown cloak once again alone.
He didn’t seem too bothered and focused straight on her instead. “Ah, if it isn’t our benevolent leader, Lady Leah. You’re just in time! Would you like to join us?”
She crossed her arms. “Alright, you got me. What’s going on here?”
He smiled. “Why, it’s Sunday, of course, and I’ve just been giving a sermon on humility. You’re more than welcome to participate with us.” He waved his hand forward, if not for her benefit, then in a desperate plea to draw everyone else back.
She had no idea why the day of the week mattered, but it was clear that everyone else wanted nothing more than for her to keep walking. Part of her wished she could be like the rest of them. Just spend a couple of hours sitting here and listening to whatever this guy had to say. How nice it would be to nod along and let someone else do the thinking for a change.
But Leah was still the Head Huntress, and “humility” was a word that no longer existed in her vocabulary.
“Carry on then,” she said instead, yawning as she marched through.
The Lodge stood in front. Her home. Her fortress. It was there where she held the most power, and it was there where she kept Liam and his family in hiding.
Their presence was the real problem, throwing her world off balance. She’d made no headway in figuring out who attacked Cheyenne, and there was no telling just how long it would take without giving too much away. And if their attackers were based outside Pandemonium, the only way to find them required searching beyond the walls. That could take months of combing the countryside. Months at a time, all while keeping the real reason for this Hunt hidden to herself. She couldn’t have anyone else snooping around Cheyenne, after all.
Meanwhile, Leah still had her daily obligations to keep Pandemonium from falling apart. The Council could only do so much without her oversight. She had only formed them to keep an eye on the biggest power players in the city. When left to their own devices, they were as self-interested and greedy as any other warlord.
Then there was her own Hunt to consider. The one that she volunteered to ride out in order to gather more necessary supplies for the city. She’d need to double her protection duty to ensure it all went off without a hitch. The slightest sign of weakness now would do nothing but set everything else back.
How far was Leah willing to go with this? As far as you have to. Liam was entitled to that much. In spite of the failed mission for a cure, he’d given her a reason to live, and she couldn’t forget that, or why she’d pushed so hard to make Pandemonium greater.
Leah rubbed her eyes. Too much shit was coming for her at once, and she was letting it get the better of her. No way for her to beat this all alone in one fell swoop. But she couldn’t get help either. Not from anyone she could trust. How would she swallow this elephant by herself?
One bite at a time.