Page 126 of The Hero Within
Eden wasn't a warrior like her friend Riley. She couldn't take up a gun and shoot her way through to the man she loved. All she had was diplomacy, a deal the Confederacy might accept, and a will of pure steel.
And if Susan, Bart, or Alan thought they could sway the rest of the council against her, then she was here to prove them wrong.
"You don't have the authority to decide that," Bart exploded.
"Eden," Alan's tone sounded a little more conciliatory, "I understand your circumstances, but wargs are wargs. Thou shalt not suffer a warg to live." He glanced toward Susan. "That's the rule we've always lived by, to keep our people safe. It's a horrible rule, but we have to protect—"
"It's the way we lived in the past."Thank you, Alan. She didn't bother to roll her eyes at him and point out that of all people in this room, she knew the most about wargs.But please, do explain just how dangerous they are... and use small words so my poor female brain can understand.
Alienating him would not help her cause. Putting up with his bullshit might. But there were limits to how long she could let him prattle on.
"What the six of you don't know," Eden said, sucking in a slow breath, "is that there are options now for those afflicted with the warg nanotech. We can't cure it, but—"
"Thought you said there were limited amulets," Alan protested.
"There are. I'm not talking about the amulets. I'm talking about wargs learning how to control the beast within without one. I'm talking about how the Confederacy uses wargs as foot soldiers, and trains them to leash their inner wolf." Not that the council needed to know about the shock collars and "breaking" sessions. That wasn't a solution either. "Johnny Colton knows more about wargs than anyone else I've ever met—including Adam. He doesn't need to wear an amulet. I've never seen him turn. Not once. I've never seen him come close to it. And he offered to teach CJ how to control himself. Imagine what it would be like to live in a world where being clawed up by a warg was no longer a death sentence—or worse?"
Susan's lips thinned. She'd personally put her husband in the ground six months before Adam's status as a warg came out, and in her grief she'd been angry enough at Adam's deception that she'd voted to cast him out of Absolution.
Eden had never held that against her. Every Wastelander grew up knowing you had to put a bullet in your loved ones if they were scratched or bitten by a warg. It was considered a mercy. But Adam's revelation about the amulet that kept him human had shattered the other woman. In Susan's place, she might have been bitter too.
But she'd never have retaliated the way Susan had.
"Maybe it's too late for those we've lost," Eden said softly to her. "But what if we could save those who'll face such a future dilemma? There aren't enough amulets. Nobody knows how to create them." Though Johnny had hinted the amulets themselves might not be responsible for halting the warg, merely a placebo effect. "Our children. Our brothers and sisters. Our husbands and wives. If you help me get Johnny back, there might be a way to save future generations."
Susan stared at her fiercely, her lower lip trembling with suppressed emotion. Eden didn't know whether it was a good or bad sign.
"Why don't we stop wasting everyone's time?" Bart broke in. "Wargs are the least of our concerns. We can deal with them the same way we always have. Clearly your emotions are engaged, but this has to be a business deal, Eden. And what you've put on the table for us is a shit deal. We're giving up a damned mine for this."
Greedy fucker. "It's goddamned better than nothing, and it's not like we have the resources to mine it."
Alan shoved the documents away from him. "I'm with Bart. If this general is open to negotiations, then we have another shot. We can get more."
"You want us to give up the rights to Copperplate for a weaker deal, Eden," Ben said softly. "I'm sorry. But I cannot vote for this."
"My vote's with you, Eden," Maggie growled. "As you say, it's not like anyone else has managed to bring the Confederacy back to the table. We know what happened last time we got greedy."
Meredith looked like she'd bitten into a rotten apple. "I need time to consider our options. Sorry, Eden. I'm not for or against. I'd like to take a week or so to assess."
Johnny might not have that time.
She looked sharply toward Susan, her heart sinking in her chest.Please. Please.
Susan stared down at the table, drumming her fingers slowly.
"Fine," Eden said, locking down all of the emotions that afflicted her. She'd been prepared for this. Eden drew the chain over her head—the one that marked her as a councilor. "Then I resign."
"What?" Meredith blurted.
The chain clanked as it hit the table. Ben—who'd been leaning back in his chair—straightened abruptly. A gasp came from Maggie.
Bart, however, looked rapturous. They'd always butted heads. "You've done a lot for the council," he said sanctimoniously—the prick. "Unfortunately, we will have to accept your resignation and take over the—"
"I also intend to leave Absolution," Eden said, cutting through his monologue. "You are welcome to attempt to contact General Bligh, if you can work out how to reach him. You might have to remind him who you are, and you'll also be competing against an offer from Haven, which I’m helming."
Six voices cut over the top of each other, echoing off the walls.
"You can't leave!" This from Maggie, who looked stricken. "Your place is here."
