Kingdom Come (21 page)

His jaw stiffened. “Yeah.”

“Nervous?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded, my throat tightening. “And Ethan?” My voice was barely above a whisper. I glanced down at the very-worn bracelet still tied to my wrist. It’d probably fall apart soon, but I prayed it would last through the day. I needed it. I needed him in any way I could have him. “Is he . . .”

“Still alive,” Danny answered. His own voice held a slight tremble. “For now.”

I nodded again. Bennett had to at least keep Ethan alive until he got what he wanted from me. “And how much time do we have?”

“Bennett’s calling the outsiders together now. They’ll convene in the main courtyard for the announcement. He said the same will be happening at the other safe havens around the world, too. That all of the citizens are being debriefed right about now.”

Sorrow filled me at the thought of thousands, maybe millions of people, all hoping and praying, for an answer, gathering together to find out the man they trusted was a power-hungry fiend. My heart broke for them. “They’re not going to like what he has to say, you know.”

“They’ll either go along with it, or die.”

That meant those already dead
were
the lucky ones. My parents and sister may have met an untimely death, but at least they weren’t around to witness this. I held out my hand, which Danny took before opening the door.

“You know,” I began, stepping into the hall, “in just a little while, I’ll be walking to my own execution, Danny. Both of us will.” I turned to face him. “Anything you want to say to a girl on death row?”

He let out a breathless laugh and shook his head, but there was a smirk on his face. Never in a thousand years would I have imagined becoming so close to this guy. But the thought of him dying, of not living out his life, shattered me.

“Yeah,” he said, grabbing my hand. “Let’s go give ‘em hell.”

Hand-in-hand, we started down our dimly-lit path. Our footsteps were silent as we navigated through the maze of halls, the sound concealed by the ornate carpet. Once we reached the set of stairs leading to the third floor, which housed Bennett’s office, I froze.

Danny inhaled deeply. “I know it’s freakin’ terrifying, K, but we have to go. We’ll be late.”

I squeezed his hand as I gazed at the steps. “What do you want to be, Danny?” My eyes, swollen from a night spent crying, met his. “When you grow up, I mean.”

He winced, and his own eyes glazed over with tears. “Don’t do this—”

“What do you want to be?”

He held my gaze for a long while, studying me before replying, “An architect.” A trace of a smile ghosted his lips. “I, uh, always liked building things. Designing them. It gave me something to focus on when the rage shit flared up, you know? Good distraction, and I was pretty damn good at it.”

I nodded. “I want to be a psychologist.”

“
What
? Even after—”

I laughed, the sound echoing in the deserted space. I’d almost forgotten what it felt like. My heart fluttered with the tiniest flicker of joy. “Yeah, even after years of sitting in front of shrinks. I like listening to people, and helping them.”

“You’re a good listener, you know.”

I took a deep breath, looking again at the staircase. It seemed a little less daunting. “In about ten years, expect a call from me. I want you to build me a kick-ass office building in the new and improved Pittsburgh. Deal?”

“You got it, Pretty.”

As we continued on to Bennett’s office, the roar of the crowd outside echoed throughout the mansion. The noise, however, was dull in comparison to the thoughts rushing through my head.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.

When we reached the office, Danny knocked on the door, and I chanced a glance at him. His face was calm, but I knew deep down, he was just as much of a wreck as I was. Seconds later, the door swung open, and someone yanked Danny inside.
What the—?  

I took a tentative step into the office.  Joseph held Danny beside Bennett’s desk with his arms pinned behind his back. He stood with no resistance, but gave me a quick shake of his head. What the heck was going on here? My gaze shifted to Bennett, who was staring out the doors of his balcony, which overlooked the courtyard where the crowd was forming. Nate and Aaron stood on either side of him, both at full-attention. The room was quiet. Too quiet.

“Kerrigan.” Bennett, whose voice was eerily calm, didn’t even bother turning around as he spoke my name. “Please, come in.”

My legs shook more with each step I took across the room. I cast a questioning glance at Danny, but he only shook his head again. I gulped and kept on until I stood at Bennett’s side. Nate and Aaron closed in behind us, and a rush of other guards whooshed into the room. I looked to Bennett for some sort of explanation, but his face was one of utmost composure. Mine was flushed and already covered with a thin sheen of sweat thanks to my racing pulse.

“Bennett?” I said. “What’s going on?”

He rocked back on his heels, still not meeting my gaze; his attention was focused on the crowd, which was becoming louder by the minute. “It’s a funny thing, trust,” he said. “I’ve always kept people at arm’s length, and for good reason, might I add. But then you came along, and I thought, ‘Why not give her a little leeway? She shares the same blood as me. She should be a worthy confidant. She is my sister, after all.’”

My breath caught when he finally looked at me. The eyes that were usually cold as stone now blazed with rage. “Midnight chats with my guardsman? Sneaking around my holding cells? Plotting the murder of your own brother?” He
tsked
. “Shame on you.”

My lips parted, but no words came. Somehow, someway, he knew. And that meant . . .
 
I whirled around, but was met with a wall of guardsmen. I couldn’t even see if Danny was still in the room. Panic settling in, I turned back to Bennett.

“What happens to Danny?”

 He smirked. “Let’s just say, I now have another bargaining tool.” His smirk turned to a scowl as he pushed the balcony doors open. “After you,
sister
.”

My attention darted to the balcony. As much as I wanted to protest, I couldn’t. Not with a slew of guards standing behind us. So I stepped onto the balcony, covering my ears when the shouts of the crowd grew to a deafening level. I’d heard the expression “sea of people,” but I never knew just how accurate that description was until then. The crowd quieted when Bennett stepped to my side, microphone in hand.

“Hello, my dear people,” he began.

I winced as his voice boomed through the speakers surrounding us. But again, putting up a fight wasn’t worth it. He’d only make things more miserable for me, for Ethan, and now, for Danny.

“Many of you have been here for three weeks now. Some have only arrived just a few days ago. No matter how long you’ve been here, though, I still consider you all members of our movement. Today, this movement climbs to another level.” He cleared his throat. “Today, this world will be transformed into The New World, and a new world requires a new leader. I will be that leader.”

He paused, as if allowing the crowd a chance to cheer. All he got was silence. While I should have been terrified by the look on his face, it was priceless. He looked like my sister had when she was told she couldn’t have a pony.

“This new world will have new laws, of course. Rules by which you must abide, or you will be punished accordingly. The first, and most important law by far, is that I will be your ruler. Your king.”

That
sent the crowd into an uproar. Screaming ensued, along with a lot of shoving and a
lot
of angry gestures as far as I could see. People were pissed. They were livid, and I couldn’t blame them. They’d come here with the promise of safety. Sanctuary. Now, they were being told they had to bow to a freakin’ self-proclaimed
king
?

Bennett’s breathing intensified so much I could actually hear it above the crowd. He shoved the microphone into my hands, and my jaw dropped. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

“Say something,” he ordered through gritted teeth.

“
What
? What do I say?”

“Anything to calm them down. Maybe they’ll listen to you.”

“Maybe they
should
be upset. Did you think of that?”

“That’ll be the last thing on your mind when I call for the heads of those boys.”

My heartbeat faltered. His eyes said it all—he was dead serious. He was a lying, undeniable asshole, but he followed through on his threats. I looked out at the angry, raging crowd, wondering what the heck I was supposed to say. Where could I even begin, especially when all I wanted to do was cry? I thought of Ethan, of how strong he was when faced with Bennett our first day here. I thought of his courage, his will-power, despite the knowledge he was at the mercy of a lunatic.

I wished I had his strength. I wished I had him.

The microphone was heavy and awkward as I lifted it to my mouth. I struggled to come up with something, anything, to say. These people were terrified, and what they needed was reassurance. While I wasn’t exactly calm, I had to do my best for their sake.

 “H-hi everyone,” I began. “Just a short while ago, I was in the same place as you all. I was scared, uncertain, and confused. But Bennett here . . . he has a plan. And if we tru—” I had to force the word through my throat—“trust him, then we’ll be okay. I’m sure of it. He’ll keep us safe.” I looked to him. “He’ll keep a
ll
of us safe.”

He sneered and snatched the microphone from my hands. Just as he began to speak, however, my vision tunneled. His face blurred and darkened before my mind took on the familiar utter blackness.

The gates were made of wrought-iron and stood dozens of feet high—I couldn’t even see the tops. The flames surrounding me licked my skin, but somehow, they didn’t hurt me. For some reason, I didn’t think they could if they wanted to.

I looked around, trying to figure out where I was, but was surrounded by nothing but fire. That is, until the soldier himself appeared in front of me, materializing out of thin air. He was dressed in full armor: head-to-toe black. And while I should have been frightened, I was drawn to him. In fact, I felt drawn to this place in general.

I belonged here.

When my vision cleared, Bennett’s deathly glare pierced through me like a knife. Then I remembered—he shared my visions. He’d seen what I’d just seen. And he wasn’t happy about it at all.

He gripped my arm tightly and forced me back into his office, shoving me forward once inside. The guards all fanned out, either too shocked or too afraid to say anything. I was definitely the latter. He raised his fist, opening and closing his hand as if to release tension. He took a step forward, then another, until his face was inches from mine.

“Plotting against me does no good,” he said. “I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but if you want those boys to survive the day, I’d suggest you stop.”

Scarlet red blanketed my vision as I whispered, “I hate you,” and meant each word with the fire of a thousand suns.

“You should.” Backing away, he beckoned one of the guards to us. Nate took hold of my arm, and I winced when he touched the place Bennett had just grabbed. His grip loosened.

“It’s time for the ceremony,” Bennett announced. “Let’s go.”

Chapter 20

Left foot. Right foot.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Eyes down. Don’t look at him. Don’t give him the power of your attention.

Right foot. Now left.

Carpet’s coming up soon. Don’t trip.

I focused on anything I could other than the back of Bennett’s head as we proceeded through the mansion. Just looking at him made me want to puke. Nate held me by the arm, not letting go for even a second. Aaron was on my left, and another guardsman followed closely behind us, sandwiching me in. This was what prisoners must have felt like. Guess my death row comparison wasn’t too far off.

Bennett, still surrounded by his slew of guards, led our procession. The day before, he’d told me what to expect, what was to take place today. Mentally, I assumed I was prepared.  The moment our little setup came into view, however, all my mental preparation flew out the window.

Our group stopped in the doorway that led to the balcony in the foyer. Bennett continued forward, where Joseph waited for him beside a crystal podium. Holding a small, rectangular steel box, he knelt before Bennett on one knee. My stomach rolled at the sight of someone willingly submitting to this . . . this
monster.
It was a nightmare. And more than anything, I just wanted to wake up.

Joseph lifted the box, and the moment it touched Bennett’s waiting hands, emotion overwhelmed me. I took a step back, desperate to
go
. I had no idea where, but I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. When I took another step back, Nate cleared his throat and squeezed my arm to remind me of my place and that I would, in fact, be doing this. It wasn’t up to me anymore. Surrounded by guards, all thirsty for the power they believed this guy could give them . . . I didn’t have a choice.

Once again, I’d failed. And this time, there was no fixing the situation. There was no remedy. I had to sit back and watch the world crumble. Again.

I hated Nate with renewed fervor for not only going along with the insanity, but for cluing Bennett in to our group’s plan from the get-go. Maybe things could have gone differently. Maybe Bennett would have let Ethan go at some point if he didn’t know about our mission. At least one of us wouldn’t have had to endure all this. At least one life could have been saved.

As if hearing my thoughts, Nate whispered, “I’m sorry,” right next to my ear.
Too little, too late.

With the box firmly in his grasp, Bennett turned to face me. He beamed, like our earlier spat was nothing more than a figment of my imagination. He had what he wanted. He probably didn’t give a damn about anything else. He won. We were just pawns in his game, a means to an end.