Horsemen's War (The Rebellion Chronicles #3) - Steve McHugh Page 0,127

do nothing for the poor. You are the forgotten. I will change that.”

More cheering.

“I will eliminate poverty. I will eliminate war. I will eliminate disease. I will take this world and ensure that it becomes what it was always destined to be. The rebellion stopped me from helping you once, but they are not here. They will not stop me again. They will not stop what we can achieve. Right now, throughout this country, throughout all countries, our allies are burning away everything that opposes us. In this very city, my Horsemen are destroying those who stand against us. We will soon join them in battle; we will soon be victorious. And once this land has come under my rule, no one will ever take it from us.”

The cheering grew louder, and I took the opportunity to move through more of the crowd, the noise increasing as I went, until I reached the metal barrier at the edge. Armed guards stood beyond it, and one motioned for me to move back. I did as I was told. I needed another plan.

I stopped listening to Arthur’s incessant ramblings and threaded through the crowd. I tightened my grip on my ax and removed the gun from my hoodie pocket, holding it down by my side.

“I am your salvation,” Arthur shouted, raising his spear high into the air.

The roar of the crowd was deafening, and I aimed the gun and fired twice. The first bullet hit an invisible shield that had been created at the front of the platform; the second struck the same spot and fractured it. I tried to fire again but was tackled from the side, and the gun skidded out of my grasp. Two dozen KOAs set about kicking and punching me as I curled up and tried not to get killed.

“Bring him to me,” Arthur demanded, his voice full of rage.

I was hauled to my feet and dragged to the front of the crowd, though we stopped every few feet so that someone else could punch or kick me.

“Nathan Garrett,” Arthur seethed. “Will you ever cease plaguing me?”

“Sure. When you’re dead,” I told him.

There was an audible gasp from the sycophants in the crowd, followed by a chant of “Make him pay.”

Vines wrapped around me, and I was picked up off the floor and carried over to the platform. I remained there, hanging ten feet in the air as Demeter walked toward me.

“I should have torn you apart long ago,” she said and threw me behind her. I smashed into a stone wall and dropped to the ground.

Arthur kicked me in the ribs to the cheering of his supporters. He turned back to the microphones. “This . . . worm has been sent to end me. He has been sent to stop my destiny. Your destiny. He will be dealt with. Let it be known that those who dare stand against me will be met with similar levels of fury and retribution.”

Arthur picked me up by the back of my collar and dragged me to the front of the stage. He kneed me in the face, and blood poured from a freshly broken nose. I reached for the bracelet on my wrist. If I was going to die, he was coming with me. He kneed me again and stomped down on the hand without the bracelet, breaking the bones in my fingers. He crouched beside me. “You can’t remove it with a broken hand.”

“I’ll use my damn teeth if need be,” I snapped and got a punch in the jaw for my trouble.

“Take him to the pit,” Arthur said. Vines wrapped around me again, pinning my arms back to my sides, and I was dragged offstage to the cheering of a crowd baying for blood.

“You should have just killed me,” I shouted to Arthur.

“You are right,” Demeter said. “And now you will die. And you will feed the creatures who you failed to save so many times. Your rebellion is over. Shadow Falls is either eradicated or neutralized; we will control this world. All of those countries you thought had fought us off are discovering what happens when we return. Cities who stood against us are burning, their people dying. You cannot hope to stop us all. You are nothing.”

“Arthur doesn’t care about any of you,” I said.

Demeter stopped dragging me. “I know that, you idiot. But I will get to kill Hades for taking my daughter from me all those years ago. And that is all I