Page 41 of King of Lies (Mayhem Manuscripts Season One: 1nf3ction #6)

Keaton

The days stretched like a lifetime now that I was alone again.

Ridiculous really, when August had only been in my life for such a short time.

He’d warned me that earning the bastard’s trust—I refused to use his name—would take as long as it took.

The worst thing in a con, he’d said, was cutting corners.

But how long was as long as it took? A week? Two? A month? Longer?

Unless he was already dead and I was waiting for no one. That thought pushed at me often, unwelcome and insistent. No, that wasn’t a possibility. I refused to let it be one. August couldn’t die because of me. It was inconceivable. He’d succeed, and I’d have my vengeance.

For the first couple of days, I just moped.

By day three, when the sky threatened rain, I forced myself to the community to stock up on food in case I got stuck inside.

When they asked questions about August’s whereabouts, I lied and said he was ill.

It was easier than telling them he’d joined a cult, and far easier than the truth.

They accepted it, and I left with enough food for a week.

Which was just as well when the heavens opened and trapped me inside for the next two days.

Boredom had gotten the better of me by then, and I knew that if I didn’t find something to do, I’d go stir crazy.

Unfortunately, Dover didn’t offer many options.

No bar to drink at, and unless I counted the cult I’d been expressly ordered to stay away from, there was no community beyond the small one nearby.

So I set myself up as a one-man strike force against biters. Only for a couple of hours a day, and always with one eye on the castle in case there was any movement. The exertion of the ‘job’ at least left me exhausted enough to sleep for a few hours, though the empty side of the mattress mocked me.

On day seven, I stumbled across Madeleine in an abandoned shopping center.

The white robe, just like Serena’s, gave her away instantly.

Seeing her brought a strange mix of comfort and unease.

Comfort, because if she was here, she wasn’t in the castle to betray August. Unease, because it was too soon after Serena for another girl in a white robe not to hit me where it hurt.

She stood outside what had once been a clothing store, most of it long since picked over to leave only empty coat hangers and the occasional scrap of fabric on the floor.

It occurred to me as I approached her silently, avoiding the shards of broken glass that might crunch underfoot, that maybe she used to shop here.

The likelihood was that she wasn’t from Dover, though, that one of the bastard’s cronies had found her elsewhere, like Serena.

Something had probably been missing from her life, and she’d thought the Seekers could fill the hole.

And instead, they’d made her into this. A shell of a woman staring blankly at nothing outside a shop that hadn’t done business in decades.

“We let you go,” I said, knife in one hand, August’s axe in the other.

“Or at least August did.” Her head turned at my voice, eyes lifeless without a hint of recognition, and body swaying.

“All you had to do was get somewhere safe, and you wouldn’t be like this.

” A quick look around reassured me we were alone.

Ever since August had saved me in the forest, I’d been hyper-vigilant with biters.

Once was a mistake. Twice was stupidity.

“Maybe we should’ve grabbed you, kept you somewhere until you came to your senses.

If nothing else, I’d have company now. And you wouldn’t be like this. ”

She said nothing, her vocal cords no longer capable of speech.

“Anyway, I’m sorry,” I said quietly. “I didn’t care enough that day when I should have.

Serena should’ve made me care more, not less.

And it shouldn’t have mattered how you spoke about her.

Not when I knew you were just his mouthpiece, repeating the lies he fed you. ”

She seemed to tire of my talking, lunging at me with a ferocity characteristic of the virus that now controlled her movements.

I jammed the axe handle against her throat to keep her at bay, scanning for biters appearing.

“Anyway,” I said, “I really am sorry.” She shoved harder, teeth snapping, strong enough to force me back.

I didn’t delay any longer, bringing my other hand up and sinking the blade into her left ear.

No surprise. No emotion. Just animation ebbing away to nothing as the blade buried itself in her brain. When she crumpled to the floor, I pulled the knife free and left her there.

It was day fourteen before the castle showed any signs of life: more flickering lights at dusk. They certainly liked this time of the evening. Was it August? Was he bringing the bastard to me? My heart pounded as I watched the procession wind its way down the cliff.

The answer to my question lay in it being a procession. August wouldn’t bring a crowd. Or if he was, something had gone badly wrong. Either way, a tunnel with one exit wasn’t safe, so I moved to the beach and hid where August and I had hidden before.

There was an extra person in the group. My pulse leaped. August? I hoped it was. Just seeing him alive would go some way toward easing the knot in my chest. They had hoods up tonight, so I couldn’t tell.

Another girl in white. Same formation, same chanting, same everything once they reached the beach.

They had this ritual polished to a T, no communication needed as they set about tying the girl to the wooden stake.

The only difference was the girl crying.

She didn’t seem to share Madeleine’s conviction that this was a necessary process.

Good. Maybe she’d be more amenable to me letting her go, which I fully intended to do once the coast was clear. I could give her directions to the small community, and I prayed her being upset meant she’d take the lifeline offered to her and not end up like Madeleine. Or Serena.

My gaze locked on the red-robed bastard. Still alive. Still breathing while my sister wasn’t. Rage curled my hands into fists as I lay prone. I needed him dead more than I needed to breathe. His death would be my oxygen. He hadn’t begun his little speech yet, but I knew it was coming.

One man flicked his hood back. August. Still in one piece.

No cuts, no bruises I could see. I’d forgotten how handsome he was, the anger in my chest transforming into something lighter, but no less intense.

He tilted his head just slightly, not toward me, but enough for me to know it was intentional.

A signal. I’m okay. I breathed easier, relief flooding through me.

August’s proximity to the bastard as he began his speech said he’d made progress in earning his trust. They might not be best friends, but they didn’t need to be. He just needed to get William fucking Anderson where I needed him to be.

The girl cried even harder once they left. There’d been no kiss for her. Either she wasn’t wife material, or the bastard couldn’t stomach tears. August glanced back once, a gesture of acknowledgment I knew was meant for me.

I kept to my hiding place until the lights faded.

My body was stiff and cold from spending so long on cold concrete when I eventually clambered to my feet.

Her cries had changed to sobs by the time I set foot on the beach.

Up close, I could see she was older than I’d initially thought, at least late twenties.

More a woman than a girl. Her eyes widened at my approach, fear lending her features a sharpness.

I lifted my hands, palms open. “Hey. No need to panic. I don’t mean you any harm. My name is… Noah.” Taking a leaf out of August’s book, I gave a false name. I figured a religious one might curry me some favor.

She blinked, more tears spilling. “Rebecca.”

“If I untie you, what will you do? Stay here and wait for the tide to come in? Or get out of here?”

Seconds ticked by while she contemplated the question. At least thought had stopped the tears. I’d free her regardless, but I wanted a heads-up whether blind faith would keep her here, like Madeleine.

“I don’t have anywhere else to go.” Rebecca’s lip quivered, but she held the tears back.

“What if I said there was a place that would take you in?” More long seconds. Long enough that I felt the need to add a clarifier. “Would you stay here, or would you go there?”

“I’d go. I don’t want to be a dark servant. I thought living in a castle would be fun. It wasn’t. Too many rules. Too many expectations.”

“I bet.” I crouched to untie the ropes. “We all make mistakes.” I cleared my throat and tried to sound casual. “Anyone new there recently?”

“No… well, except for Gray. But he’s different.”

“Yeah? I knew someone called Gray once. What’s he look like?”

“Dark hair. Pretty eyes. Tall but lean. Very smiley, which is unusual there.”

The description of August as “smiley” made me smile, but more because I knew it was part of the act. The real August didn’t smile nearly as much. At least I knew what name he was going by. “Why is he different?”

“Because he’s one of us, but he isn’t. He has visions.”

“Interesting. Visions of what?” August had told me the plan, but he’d also said it might change. It was reassuring to find out it hadn’t.

She frowned. “I don’t know. It’s all very top secret. Beloved Father doesn’t share confidences with us. They hole up in a room together, just the two of them, and they talk, sometimes for hours at a time. They’ve become inseparable.” A slight bitterness had crept into her voice.

I glanced up at the sky as I let the ropes fall to the ground. “It’s too dark to take you to the community tonight. Stay with me and I’ll take you in the morning.”

Unease flickered across her face. “I―”

“You’re not my type,” I said honestly.

“Too old? Not pretty enough?”

“You’re only a couple of years older than me, and you’re plenty pretty. Just too female.”

“Oh.” She managed a weak smile. “Well, in that case.” I held out my arm, and she took it. “You’re being very kind, Noah.”

I led her toward the tunnel. “Not really. Just selfish enough to want company for one night. And it’s Keaton, not Noah.”

“But you said―”

“Yeah…” I sighed. I didn’t know how August did it. I’d barely lasted five minutes. When we reached the entrance to the converted cave, I ushered Rebecca inside while I paused at the entrance to look up at the castle. “Get this thing done, August, and come back to me.”

I imagined him rolling his eyes and telling me a few weeks was nothing compared to the time I’d already waited. And he’d be right.