We drove back to town, Matt, Vaneski, and my cars following the sheriff’s car to make better time. The ride was quiet. Ingrid and I barely spoke.

  “What do you think she has planned?” I finally asked, breaking the silence.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “But after all you put her through, it’ll be something you won’t like. And she’ll spring it on you…like you did to her.”

  “Yeah. That’s the part that scares me.”

  “It should, after what you sprung on her. It turned out alright, despite that, Will. Sometimes you go too far, and when your so-called sense of humor kicks in…way too far. But we all like you anyways.”

  “Thanks, I think.”

  We both laughed and let the silence return, the hum of the road filling the gap until the convention center came into view.

  In the time we’d been gone, the city’s portable stage had gone up at the far end of the parking lot, one end tucked against the building. Workers were just finishing bolting down the transparent bulletproof panels along the front edge of the stage.

  I’d seen them on the news…Presidents have used them for outdoor events for a few years.

  To the right of the stage, a giant screen had been stretched tight, the same one they used for free summer movie nights in Bradford Park. It didn’t take much thought to figure out what was going to be shown there.

  Soldiers waved us into nearby parking spots they’d cordoned off for us, then directed us toward a cluster of people where Irregulars and the 19th & Fox guilds were gathered. Ingrid and I filled them in on what happened in the woods, on P-46, and how she’d done.

  Engines growled a moment later as a convoy of Strykers and a command Humvee pulled into the alley beside the convention center. They tucked in behind the stage, mostly out of sight. A few soldiers climbed out, but when I cast DETECT MANA, more dots appeared than I could see with my eyes. Half a dozen people STEALTHed or VANISHed were scattered near the soldiers and the stage.

  “She’s here,” I murmured. “I don’t see her, but she just arrived. She’s in there somewhere.”

  A few State Patrol officers lingered near the stage. “If they’re here, the Governor may be here too,” I said under my breath. “Hope they keep it short.”

  “Too bad Mages don’t get an INVISIBILITY spell until Level 15.”

  All I could see were soldiers in standard camo. None in the President’s trademark black gear. My gut tightened. “What are they setting up?”

  It didn’t take long to find out. Mayor Buccino strutted onto the stage, followed by Harry Sakraney. The mayor hovered at the edge while Harry stepped up to the microphone.

  “May I have your attention, please?” he said, tapping it a couple of times until feedback squealed faintly across the lot.

  “Thank you for coming here this morning. Most of all, thank you to all of you who are fighting the spawns, which have caused both property damage and loss of life for the citizens of Eddington and Chandler County. Thank you, all of you.”

  Scattered clapping echoed in the crowd, boots scraping pavement as people shifted closer to listen.

  “Today we have one very special guest…and a few others,” Harry went on, glancing toward the stage entrance. When no one emerged, he gave a sheepish grin. “Someone who doesn’t seem to be with us yet. I understand they’re on a tight schedule, and I’m not allowed to tell you who they are. I don’t want certain people unhappy with me.”

  That got a ripple of chuckles.

  “Until then, we’ll have a few brief words from Mayor Buccino, and after him, our governor. Hopefully, our guest of honor will be here by then.”

  I tuned most of it out. Buccino could talk forever if people let him, praising his own administration while slipping in a few truths here and there. He ate up a solid ten minutes before Harry finally signaled for him to wrap it up.

  The Governor fared better, and was more interesting. He spoke for about ten minutes as well before Harry stepped in again, pointing toward the army troops waiting off to the side.

  Harry smiled wide as he returned to the mic. “Lieutenant Marmari. Please bring your troops up here and address the audience.”

  Fifteen soldiers in camo filed up the steps, plus one in black combat gear. They carried no weapons in hand, but I caught a glimpse of a mace hung behind the one in black’s back. They lined up along the rear of the stage, standing at parade rest, boots striking the wood in unison.

  Marmari came to the podium, adjusted the mic to his height, and scanned the crowd. “First, thank you, Eddington, for your support and for accepting our being here the last two days. We appreciate your allowing us to use your convention center as a hub to learn about the System Apocalypse. Some call it that. Others call it ‘The Game.’ We’ve been focused on how we, and our country, can adapt and deal with it.”

  He gestured behind him. “These troops fought two different spawning groups this morning under the leadership of a specialist. She’s the one in black. They used only System weapons and tactics…tactics developed here in Eddington. The specialist worked with one of your guilds late last night to successfully kill creatures at a local spawn site.”

  His voice hardened. “I want to introduce the specialist, who will give you more about what happened and our work in progress. She wishes to be identified only by a number. That’s why she’s concealed her identity. Number 46…front and center!” He bellowed.

  The woman in black barked back, “Sir, yes, sir!” and marched forward. Salutes snapped, Marmari yielding the podium to her. I noticed Marmari snapped his salute in first. After shaking hands, Marmari took her place in the line.

  As she looked around at the crowd, I couldn’t see her face, but I could tell she was back in her element. She’d probably given hundreds of speeches over the years.

  Pulling her mace out from behind her back, the loud thump of it landing on the table shocked some of the audience.

  Then she spoke, calm and steady, thanking him, thanking the guild, and promising footage of the fights. The cheer from 19th & Fox shook the air.

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  “The lieutenant was in charge of gathering the people behind us and all the details prior to my joining them this morning. We filmed what happened and will show you the films shortly. We’ll release the footage to the media after we’re finished here today.”

  “Last night, I temporarily joined one of your local guilds. We have footage of that spawn fight, too. Thank you, 19th & Fox for taking me into your party, your guild, and your arms last night. Thank you very much.” There was some loud cheering, and thank you’s from the guild.

  “I’m sorry that I have to drop your guild when I leave today. There are too many other things I’m responsible for and places I have to be. I hope you’ll have me back when I can return. I promise to give you more warning next time.” She got the laughter she wanted from them.

  “My job is to see our country through what this Game System has done to us and to the world. I have that task from the highest authority in our nation.” She looked across the audience, and it looked like she stopped looking when she saw me. “I can’t do this without knowing it from the inside.

  So, I’m here to learn from the best and Eddington has produced some of the best information we have so far. It’s also home to one of the firsts. The First Mana Mage. William of Brinsford, show them where you are.”

  What could I do? I raised my arm and waved. “Thank you 46,” I shouted back to her as people swiveled around to get pictures of me waiving.

  She waited until the audience calmed down a bit and the cameras were back on her. “Now. Two things. First, I noticed I forgot to add something to my uniform. Second, wearing all this can be hot as hell, even in early summer.” She got a few more laughs for the last part.

  Unfastening her coif, she pulled it off, handing it to another woman completely covered in black except for her eyes. She had just appeared next to her, ready to take it. I recognized Bouncing Betty. “Nice touch,” I thought.

  Only then did she pull out her patch, adding it to her left shoulder. Finally, she pulled the balaclava off and handed it to Betty while she shook her hair out. Betty VANISHed. There were sounds of shock from the audience and some members of the media.

  Cameras zoomed in, feeding her image to the screen. The presidential seal gleamed there for all to see.

  Gasps rippled through the audience.

  "My fellow Americans." Her voice carried clear and even, practiced from years of speeches. “Franklin D. Roosevelt first said those words on the radio in 1933. I looked it up. Yes, I can use Google.”

  That drew the laugh she wanted.

  “Thank you for having me and for helping me. I can’t do this without you. Everything we’ve said so far is true. Reporters are welcome to interview the soldiers behind me after I leave. They’ll remain here. I’ll have a quick talk with your governor, then I’m leaving. But I will be back.”

  She scanned the audience again, eyes briefly locking on me before she continued. “I can’t get a certain someone to come to Washington…so Washington has to come to him. And I want to reconnect with 19th & Fox, to fight alongside them again.”

  Turning toward the reporters clustered near the stage, she raised her hand. “Mz. Tarcheski, come up here, please. Bring your mic. Airmann, you too. Keep filming.”

  The crowd murmured as the two made their way forward. Tarcheski looked nervous, clutching her mic tight, while Airmann wore his usual unreadable calm, his camera steady on his shoulder.

  “Mz. Tarcheski,” the President began, “what do you do, and who do you work for?”

  The reporter blinked, caught off guard. She wasn’t used to being on the other side of the questions. Still, she kept her mic up. “I…I’m a reporter for Fox News 3 in the Capital. I cover the stories my station sends me to cover.” Her voice steadied as she spoke, though her brow furrowed with confusion.

  “Thank you. How many times have you been in Eddington since this started?”

  “Twice. Ma’am.”

  “What happened at those visits?”

  “The first time was the day it started. We were here to find out what Eddington’s response to the Game was.”

  “Did you find out?”

  “Yes.”

  “What was it?”

  “They had problems with people trying to take control of the city. I only heard about the first attempt. I arrived just in time for the second one.”

  “What happened then?” the President pressed.

  “There was a big fight between two groups. One side was trying to take over the city. The other side, local people, fought them.”

  “Was that what they call the Battle of Eddington?”

  “Yes, ma’am. It was.”

  Tarcheski had relaxed now, her posture loosening as she answered.

  “And I don’t think I have to ask who won, do I?”

  She smiled, shaking her head no.

  The President turned back to the crowd. “The forces of Eddington won because they used the Game System against people who relied mostly on guns. Many of them were unarmed, or looked it. They fought with what the System gave them. Why is that, Mz. Tarcheski?”

  For a moment, Tarcheski hesitated. Then her eyes lit with understanding. “They used magic. Magic for weapons, magic to defend themselves…and magic for HEALing.”

  “That’s right. We saw it too. We dissected your film frame by frame. The Department of Defense, CIA, Justice, Education, Homeland Security…all of them poured over it frame by frame.”

  She gave a quick smile toward the audience. “More departments analyzed your video than after 9/11. Eddington, you had more than fifteen minutes of fame, even if we didn’t say so publicly. Your interviews were treated the same way.”

  Applause broke out, swelling into cheers. Tarcheski stood taller, letting it wash over the stage.

  “I know many of you here today fought in that battle. Some of you fought in all three that day. On behalf of the United States of America, I thank each and every one of you. I am proud of you, and your nation is too.”

  The clapping grew, people cheering and stomping the pavement.

  “You showed others they could fight for their homes, their communities. You gave us hope that we could come through this together, as one country. That we could do what is right without waiting for someone else to do it.”

  She waited for the sound to die down before shifting again. “Now… the big question. Why were you here last night and this morning, and what did you and Mr. Anderson do?”

  Tarcheski wet her lips. “They asked us to come film spawn fights. One last night, and two more this morning.”

  “Who asked you?”

  “I believe it was the FBI. They contacted our manager, specifically asking for us. Channel 3 got the first broadcast rights, and Fox Network told us to do it. We had to sign NDAs…non-disclosure agreements. I’ve never seen one marked Top Secret before.”

  The President chuckled. “Are you willing to sign them again, if asked?”

  “Yes, ma’am! No reporter in their right mind wouldn’t be.”

  “Good. You’ll both be signing more before you leave.”

  For the first time, Airmann’s poker face cracked, his eyes widening slightly. Both he and Tarcheski had gone a shade paler.

  “Thank you. Now…what was the requirement for letting you film last night and this morning?”

  “That we don’t edit. If asked, we tell the truth about what we saw and what happened.”

  “This is your chance. They’ll start the footage in a moment. Step up to the podium, explain what happened, answer the questions. I’ll be back shortly.”

  The screen flared to life, showing last night’s fight.

  While the crowd’s attention shifted, the President lifted her mace and slipped quietly off the far end of the stage. A cluster of her guild immediately closed in around her, and though I couldn’t hear what was said, their laughter carried.

  When the film ended, Tarcheski fielded questions from reporters. She spoke about the fight, about the President’s safety, about the spawn. But as the back-and-forth dragged, her voice sharpened, frustration creeping in.

  “Look,” she nearly shouted into the mics, “if you don’t believe me, the next spawn happens at ten a.m. Go out there. See for yourself. Don’t just talk about it, fight it!”

  Her face went blank for a moment. Someone had messaged her. She blinked, then said, “They just told me to move on to the next videos. What you’ll see is most of what happened this morning. The first thing is William of Brinsford, the First Mana Mage, giving her full control over planning and execution. She chose the troops, how they’d fight. He only gave her one order.”

  A voice from the crowd called, “What was that?”

  “Not to use grenades. If you look at the early pictures, some soldiers had them. They were told to remove them, and they did. You can ask the troops here why later. For now, watch her first combat as a military commander.”

  The screen cut to me, Ingrid, and the President talking…then to the first combat of the morning.

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