Wings of the Walker - CoraLee June Page 0,276

posture. Cyler's leg was bouncing up and down, the only sign that he was anxious.

And, as if they'd trained their whole lives to seek me out in a crowd, their eyes found mine. They bore into my soul with their gazes, and I was comforted by their hard stares. I hated how much stood between us at that moment. I wanted to run to them—to save them. Cavil personified fear, and fear was the only thing standing between me and what I wanted.

Above the stage, orange flags folded and floated in the wind. It wasn't until the music stopped and the place went eerily silent that I completely lost my nerve. How could I possibly keep my composure through this storm?

Maverick and Cyler severed their attention from me, and it felt like someone was ripping my heart from my chest. I clutched myself, and Jacob choked out one more word of affirmation. "Br-breathe." I loved him for fighting to be my rock through this.

When Cavil walked on stage, I half expected the flashbacks to hit me like a crescendo too intense to contain, but instead, it was like a sledgehammer fell on my feelings, cracking through the storm of emotions until all that was left was a cool, calm rage.

There, on that stage, looking like a smug, dark-eyed prey, was the man I was going to kill. Seeing him didn't send me into the tailspin I'd expected. It just pushed forward the resolve I'd locked deep within five months ago: I would kill him if it were the last thing I did.

Jacob let out a gasp, and I looked down at our entwined hands, releasing his once I realized that I had such a death grip on him. "Sorry," I whispered with a shaky breath. Guards behind us yelled over the crowd, ordering us all to be silent and listen. Cavil wrinkled his nose, then made a big production of pulling a mask from his pocket and putting it over his mouth with gloved hands. He wore all black, yet not an inch of skin below the neck was showing.

"Walkers!" his voice boomed over the crowd. Numb dread seemed to fill the courtyard where we stood. It was like watching a disaster but being helpless to stop it. "A leader is someone willing to risk danger to serve a greater purpose. Not once did Lackley ever step foot in the Zone. The most he traveled was to the auction post, the most sanitary and guarded outpost here."

I didn't like where this was going. I wished that I had more insight into the Cavil-Lackley feud. It felt like if I knew more, maybe I could decipher Commodore Cavil's intentions.

“You know,” Cavil began again once the mild applause died down. “Lackley and I were friends once. I viewed him as a worthy leader. But Lackley hid his dealings behind closed doors. He wanted to appear benevolent, I think. And this is why I believe that Lackley failed all of you.” Jacob’s breath was impossibly shallow, and I locked my eyes on Maverick and Cyler once more. I couldn’t believe this was happening. Cavil just wanted a forum to speak highly of himself.

“Lackley had his merits, don’t get me wrong. As the population grew, our resources were dwindling. Influenza X saved the human race. Only the worthy survive, you see. We can also thank him for establishing the class system currently in place.”

How could he think any of this was okay?

“But I don’t deal my punishments behind closed doors. I lead with an iron fist and a strong stomach. Nothing scares me. Nothing. I am fear. Which is why I am here today, to show you how strong I am, and how I will never fail you as Lackley did in that regard.”

At his last words, a shuffling began on stage that made me grab my stomach. Around me, the sun beat down on our backs, and the trees in the courtyard’s leaves were falling. A light breeze picked up my hair, and a baby cried in the distance. A lean man with shaking knees scrambled to the podium, and after bowing to Cavil, he took the microphone with a submissive slump. “Today, our gracious leader will execute a traitor,” his low voice growled over the crowd.

I felt the Walkers around me go stiff with awareness. “The man about to be executed has been employed by Emperor Cavil as a scientist researching the cure. He was cared for. Provided for. This man was