World War IV: Empires Read Online Free

burdened with my hands, you have been burdened with your mind.”
    “It’s only a burden when someone turns your gifts against you.”
    “And it’s a burden that spreads to your family.” Dean sighed, looking around for some answer that seemed to elude him. “No matter what you try and do, that weight always falls on shoulders other than your own.” Dean got up, walked to the door, then stopped and turned back before he left. “I’m not here to threaten you or your family. If you choose to leave, then one of my ships will take you back to your home in Rio. You are a free man, Alvy, and your family is now safe. But I will tell you this: there is more evil than just Ruiz, and it will come to your doorstep again unless I can stop it. And it would be much easier to stop it if you chose to help me. I’ve given the same option to your colleagues. Take some time to think it over. I think we would both benefit from your meditating.”
    Alvy sat there on the bed, just as Dean had found him down in the cells where Ruiz kept him, alone. There was a large portion of him that wanted to take his family, return to Rio, and leave all of this war behind. They could move to the countryside; his mother still had uncles in the farmlands. It would be peaceful there, quiet, and give him time to think, his family a chance to rebuild.
    But the nagging voice crawling from the depths of his consciousness came in the form of the governor’s words. He knew the man was right. Given the chance, evil would always spread, and while Alvy had never been the one to fight, he understood that his gifts could help defeat the evil trying to kill him.

 
    ***
    The moment news of Fung’s arrival reached Delun’s ears, he ordered his schedule to be cleared. The admirals and generals knew the battle plans, and Delun knew they would be pleased to hear that their emperor trusted them in handling such matters. The prospect of seeing the prototypes that Fung brought back with him couldn’t wait.
    The dock had been completely emptied per Delun’s instructions for Fung’s arrival. He didn’t want to run the risk of exposing potential military strategies to anyone who didn’t need to know them.
    “Emperor.” Fung bowed deeply, and Delun waited longer than necessary before he allowed Fung to rise. The ambassador had been gone for quite some time, and Delun wanted to make sure he remembered who held the power. When Fung finally rose, his face was red from the blood rushing to his head.
    “I hope the trip went smoothly?” Delun asked.
    “We ran into some Australian scouts in the Pacific, but as soon as we took a more northern route to the islands, we didn’t have any incidents. All of the weaponry I managed to confiscate made the trip without harm.”
    “And the engineers?”
    “Regrettably, we lost one of them in the skirmish with the Australians. A cannon blast penetrated the cabin where we held them. The others escaped with a few minor injuries, but I can assure you their minds are still intact.”
    “Then we have what we need. Show them to me.” Delun’s eye caught the massive crates being unloaded from the ships, containing the prototypes the engineers had designed. Some of them took a dozen men and the pull of horses to get them off the deck and down the docks.
    “Here they are, Emperor.” Fung gestured to four bodies huddled on the floor. They were covered in filth and smelled worse than they looked. Their skin wrapped around their bones tightly, their cheeks hollow, with dirty bandages over their wounds. “You will rise when your emperor enters!” Fung kicked one of the engineers in the leg, and the man winced.
    “Enough, Ambassador.” Delun eyed him harshly, and Fung bowed out lightly. Delun knelt down to greet one of the engineers at eye level. “What is your name?” He kept his words soft, encouraging. He knew how delicate the mind could become when the body had been stressed beyond its capacity.
    “M-Manuel.” The engineer’s