The Dragons of Men (The Sons of Liberty Book 2) (39 page)

“I will not become Sue Chambers,” she said aloud as she walked over to a nearby mirror. “I will not lose my life because of her.” She began working on her hair furiously as she wondered just how in the world she was going to kill Jamie Rowe.

The men and women who had been hard at work rebuilding Lukas’ new palace slowly rumbled to a hushed anticipation as Damian Ross called for silence. The sound of hammers halting, saws ceasing, and conversations coming to a close filled the spacious halls with an eerie hush. Lukas glanced around him as those who would be in attendance tonight scurried to their seats. He stood ten feet away from a length of red carpet that led to a single podium that would face a crowd of his finest men and women in what had been the rotunda room of the Capitol Building.

He smiled, nodding to Theodore Yates who stood idly to his side. Theodore and another fifty agents with the Sovereign Guard stood quietly at all corners of the hall—their eyes and their drones scanning the crowd. Lukas doubted anyone suspected him to do what he was about to do, but he was the Sovereign and justice was his alone to give. The people had come to love him again and they had seen his gratitude in return.

Today, they’d witness a glimmer of the wrath he held at bay.

Lukas turned to Jamie, the beaming young woman standing at his left and watching droves of powerful men and women pass as she slowly swayed with anticipation. He leaned in close, whispering in her ear.

“Don’t lock your knees when you’re next to me at the podium,” Lukas said quietly, cocking his head to the side. “I’d hate to have your first appearance at my side begin with fainting.”

Jamie looked over at him with a smile, her blue eyes darting down to his lips before quickly rising back up. She nodded her head and leaned in close, nudging him.

“I’ll do my best to make you look your best,” she replied.

“And I’m sure you won’t disappoint,” Lukas replied with a grin before looking up and scanning the room. After a moment of searching the dwindling crowd, he turned back to her. “You are certain there will be other turncoats in attendance tonight?”

“Not certain,” Jamie began. “My team only managed to confirm the one. Still, where there is one rat there are usually more.”

“Good,” Lukas replied with a grin. “Let them squirm and question their loyalties after tonight.”

“Agreed,” Jamie said as she glanced over at him, a smile growing as her seductive eyes bore into him.

“Have you seen Maria?” Lukas asked. “She was here earlier and she’s cutting it too close for comfort.”

Jamie’s smile faltered before she looked back to the crowd as they found their seats. “Your wife and I just spoke a few minutes ago.”

“You two spoke?” Lukas asked, turning quickly to Jamie as his mind ran wild. It was no secret that Maria despised Jamie and Lukas had been afraid she might actually try to kill Jamie if they were ever alone.

“Yes,” Jamie replied. “I wanted to clear a few things up.”

Lukas’ eyes narrowed as he looked back at her silently. He had told Maria to stay away from Jamie while she did her investigation, but he hadn’t imagined Jamie choosing to contact Maria instead.

“What did you say?”

“I…,” Jamie paused, glancing down at her feet and clicking them together as though she wanted to be magically transferred to any other place than where she stood, before looking back up at Lukas. “I can’t play dumb anymore and pretend there is nothing between us. I am smart enough to know that if you wanted nothing from me, you would have sent me away long ago. I don’t think it’s any secret that I’m becoming quite fond of your advances. I know Maria has seen me as a threat in the past and I wanted to make sure she knew that I will happily do whatever you asked of me, be it professional or personal in nature.”

Lukas paused again, trying and failing to avoid imagining the outcome of that conversation. “And how did that go over?”

“Better than you could have imagined, my love,” Maria said as she approached from behind them. Lukas turned and looked at his wife, his eyes wide. “Don’t worry. Jamie and I fully understand each other now and we are in agreement that we must each fight for what is best for you. Even if it kills us both.”

He smiled as he surveyed his wife. She wore a dark blue dress, her hair pulled back and rising to a perfect bun at the top. Though she lacked her typical white dress gloves, her necklace, the Spirit of the Sovereign, dangled perfectly from her neck. She leaned with a grin and kissed him. It was not the typical pat on the lips but a drawn out kiss that caused Lukas to temporarily forget he was in a room full of others. She stepped back and looked at him, gazing into his eyes with invigorating pools of seduction. She was beautiful, and despite Lukas’ growing feelings for Jamie, she was everything he had ever wanted in a woman.

“I was beginning to think you might not make it tonight,” Lukas said with a smile.

“And let the world see their king without his queen?” Maria replied with a grin, her eyes flickering over to Jamie. “Never. I am with you till the end, my love.”

“Which will be centuries from now. Come, today is a day to rejoice in victories, not endings.”

Lukas, Maria, and Jamie slowly walked to the podium at the head of the room. A crowd of roughly one hundred of his most powerful czars, governors, and military commanders sat beside the everyday citizens who had been invited. Lukas paused as he reached the podium, smiling as he scanned the room. He had held a deep admiration for every one of them. Millions had banded together as neighbors and kin. At first, they were not required to flock to him and in a way he was surprised so many had. He was sure his painful past that had been revealed to the world had kept some from wanting to eagerly join him, but these brave souls had all united behind their Sovereign, despite his past flaws. For that, he would do whatever he could to see their dreams of a unified world come true. But for those who might be out in the crowd before him, smiling as they sympathized with the memory of a destroyed nation or obeyed the secret orders of Sigmund, he meant to choke them with a primal dread.

The Imperium News Network drones silently took up their position as the producer counted down. When the clock reached zero, a red light lit up beneath each drone. Lukas smiled as he took a deep breath and spoke.

“Brothers and sisters of the great and glorious Imperium, I am Lukas Chambers and I come to you from the ruins of a failed yesterday. When last I addressed a crowd in this structure, it was still the Capitol Building of the United States of America. Now, merely months later, it is being remade into the home from which we shall unite the world in peace and prosperity. I say ‘we’ because my dream was always to watch over this world as a conglomerate of the brightest minds mankind has to offer. As the central figure to this great and historic endeavor of ours, I want to begin by expressing my utmost thanks. I am truly honored to lead you all as your Sovereign.”

Lukas paused, scanning the crowd with a smile.

“We have been through a lot together over the past few months. We nearly lost our struggle for global harmony in the opening act. Had it not been for the quick actions of the men and women here today, we would have surrendered our greatest dreams to an army of misguided men fighting to keep alive the nightmare that had plagued mankind for far too long. I believe that now, as we advance into a magnificent future, the time has come for us to focus on forgetting our shameful past.”

Lukas nodded to Theodore and Damian. They nodded back, stepping to a side door and opening it simultaneously. A convoy of Praetorians entered the hall pushing rolling carts with white sheets draped over the hidden contents. They entered the room one by one, halting as they formed a line behind him.

“Despite the fairy tales and dreams of this land’s past inhabitants, the United States of America was never designed to last forever. A nation built upon laws that refuse to change with the passing of time is inevitably doomed to break like a tree that is snapped over the knee of a giant. As the United States drifted into her sunset years, the working class struggled while the elite sat back and grew fat off the labors of the masses. I too was guilty of such crimes, but fate made sure that I saw the truth. Once my eyes were opened, I did everything I could to bring about a better world. The dream that had been America nearly cost this world its ability to coexist. In the beginning, America was raised by breaking away from the empire that was uniting the globe. In the end, her last few dangerous sympathizers tried to batter down our gates and hold on to the nightmare they were on the verge of losing. But we stood together and demanded change! The brightest minds fought for the dream mankind deserves. We saved that dream and are gathered here today because of our actions. Today, our borders grow and our enemies fall with each new setting of the sun. Together, we will be victorious and the generations that follow will thank us for our sacrifices. Still, while our success requires the collaboration of each and every one of us, I believe as your Sovereign leader, certain burdens must be left to me and me alone.”

He nodded to the side and the men behind him pulled the sheets away. Lukas walked over to the first pushcart, pausing before reaching down and taking hold of a large, brown document. He smiled and turned back to the others, raising the aged parchment before clearing his throat.

“We the People
of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” He paused again, rereading the words silently to himself before shaking his head. He then tossed it to the ground in front of him and stepped back, reaching into the second cart.

“The Bill of Rights. The first amendments to the Constitution. Publicly, they were meant to guarantee the freedoms of all Americans. Personally, I believe they were the beginning of an attempt to fix the flawed law of the land.” He tossed it down atop the Preamble before reaching back again. “And the Declaration of Independence. The birth of an illegal movement that would damn mankind to endless war until we alone summoned the courage to liberate the world from a bondage to American democracy.” He tossed the Declaration of Independence to the floor, stepping back as he grabbed more of the precious documents and books that had nearly been worshiped by the country he had destroyed.

“The Articles of Confederation, Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, Washington’s Inaugural Bible, and much more.
So many good ideas corrupted by the inherent greed of politicians in masses. So much potential exploited by the dishonest as deceived men and women fought for liberties they didn’t even realize were actually enslaving them to lives of meaningless squander. Warriors sacrificed to the deceptions of the old.” Lukas shook his head, glancing down at the pile before looking back up and finding the one man he was looking for. “Speaking of warriors, Eli Kane. Would you please rise and come to the front?”

Eli glanced up from the front row with surprise, his eyes going wide. Lukas smiled and motioned for him. He slowly rose from his chair, his gaze darting to those around him as he made his way to the front. The men and women in the room stared back at him with as much confusion on their faces.

“Eli Kane, the first Battle Lord of the Imperium” Lukas said, shaking Kane’s hand as he approached the front. “I trust your rest has been well.”

Eli smiled reluctantly before nodding his head. “It has been, my Sovereign. However, I still do not think it was necessary.”

“Oh, it was quite necessary,” Lukas replied quickly. “But let us not delay with meaningless banter. Tell me, Kane, are you a religious man?”

“Religious?” Eli asked, confused with the question.

“Yes. Are you religious?” Lukas asked, reaching down to pick up George Washington’s famous Bible. “As in, do you believe in God?”

“No,” Eli replied reluctantly. “I was raised Catholic but I stopped believing in children’s stories as soon as I was wise enough to think for myself.”

“Ah, yes,” Lukas said. “A common tale for so many in this generation. But what about me?”

Eli looked back at Lukas, his eyes narrowing. He raised a fist to his mouth and coughed, trying to hide his uncomfortableness—a tension that caused Lukas to grin with anticipation.

“I am not sure what you mean,” Kane finally answered.

“Do you believe in me?” Lukas asked.

“Of course I do,” Eli replied. “You are the Sovereign. You have—”

“Yes, I am the Sovereign, but that is not what I’m talking about,” Lukas replied, raising the Bible. “Do you believe in me like you once believed in this?”

“I…forgive me,” Kane replied, shaking his head in confusion. “I really do not know what you’re trying to ask of me.”

“You see, Mr. Kane, you say you don’t believe in God, but to say that means you must not believe in hell either. I, for one, know the truth,” Lukas began, taking out a small silver cylinder in one hand. “I’ve been to hell. I’ve thrashed about in its fires. Do you want to know what it was like?”

Eli stepped back as sweat began to bead on his forehead. “What in God’s name are you doing?”

“You call upon his name and yet you still do not believe,” Lukas said, grinning a dangerous smile. “Why don’t you simply tell the truth? You were never here to serve me. Your master fights against us to the south.”