The Founders

by Dylan Steel

  After spending the entire day glued to her screen, she’d been running a final test on the virus she’d created before crashing for the night. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep.

  “Get up right now.”

  There was an alarm in Weston’s voice that she’d never heard before. She sat up straighter, blinking.

  “What’s—”

  “Grab that and come with me.”

  He didn’t give her a chance to protest. He shoved the tablet into one hand and grabbed the other, roughly yanking her from her bed. Letting go for only a moment, he swept his hand across one of the tables and kicked another, sending lamps and vases and decorations scattering across the room, shattering to pieces.

  She stared at him in shock, taking a step back.

  “Weston, you’re scaring me.” Her voice shook.

  Spinning around to face her, he took her hand again without a word, dragging her from her room into his. He stopped just long enough to throw the door closed behind them. Blood roared a warning in her ears.

  He’s snapped.

  Swallowing hard, she tried to pull her hand from his, but his grip only tightened as he rushed across the room with her. She never should have trusted him. She’d finally decided to trust him, and he’d turned on her just like she thought he would. She should’ve known better than to think things could turn out ok in her life. Everyone either died or betrayed her, but she hadn’t expected it from him. Not after everything he’d done. Not after the night they’d spent at Razz when they’d—

  Her heart twisted in her chest.

  No. She forced her mind to stop racing through every possible scenario. He was a good actor, but he hadn’t faked his feelings for her. They were real. Whatever they were to one another, it was real.

  Stopping in front of a painting near the end of his room, he gathered her into his arms, squeezing so tightly she could barely breathe.

  “I don’t have time to explain everything,” he whispered fiercely in her ear. “They’re coming, and I can’t leave. It would ruin everything we’ve worked for, and too much has been set in motion to stop it. We won’t get another chance.”

  “Who’s—”

  “Right now, you need to disappear.” He pulled back abruptly, locking his eyes on hers. “Promise me. No matter what happens, you won’t make a sound. And you won’t come out until Martha comes and tells you it’s safe.”

  “Weston, what—”

  His hands clamped tighter around her arms. “Promise me!”

  “Ok!” She winced. “I promise.”

  He nodded. “Once activated, the door can only be opened from inside.”

  “What door?”

  “This one.” Weston stared over her shoulder at the painting, then shoved her up against it—or at least, that’s what she thought he was doing. She closed her eyes as her body flew backward, and her shoulders stiffened as she braced for impact.

  But none came.

  Weston stopped pushing her back, and she opened her eyes, whipping her head wildly from side to side.

  She wasn’t in Weston’s room anymore. Not exactly. She could still see it behind his shoulders, but it was dimmer somehow. Faded.

  Her eyes widened with realization. They were inside an illusion. Just like the one in the Dignitary of the Peace’s office.

  She looked up at Weston through tears and shook her head, silently begging him not to leave her there.

  He stroked a thumb over her cheek. “I love you, Sage Indarra. I think I have for a long time.” His lips crashed hard against hers for only a moment before he pulled back. She stared back at him, a million protests racing through her mind, but she was somehow unable to speak them aloud.

  His throat bobbed. “I’m sorry I can’t protect you anymore.” Without waiting for a reply, he punched the panel on the wall next to her and stepped back into his room.

  Sage gritted her teeth and took a step toward him, intending to follow him out, but a sudden rumbling in the hall stopped her in her tracks. She was staring at the door when it flew open, letting in a stream of officers.

  “What is the meaning of this?” Weston snarled, clenching his fists and then loosening them by his side as he stared down the officers.

  No one answered. Sage’s heart pounded in her throat as she watched the officers split into two lines, surrounding her benefactor. Then, they parted, allowing their leader to walk through their ranks.

  Mr. Gaztok. And he was followed immediately by Kai.

  “Explain this intrusion at once,” Weston demanded, glaring at Mr. Gaztok.

  The Quorum member was utterly unconcerned as he walked up to Weston, hands clasped behind his back. He raised his nose in the air, glancing around the room.

  “Where is she?”

  “Who?”

  Irritation flashed across Mr. Gaztok’s face. “Don’t play games with me. Your pair. Where is she?”

  “I don’t see how it’s any of your concern.”

  “It’s my concern because I am the sole member of the Quorum. My word is law, and I demand that you answer the question. Where is Sage Indarra?”

  Sage pressed her lips together tightly and took a half step back, too aware of how loud her breathing sounded to her own ears.

  Weston shrugged indifferently. “Dead. I grew tired of her.”

  Mr. Gaztok’s eyebrow shot up. “And I suppose you have proof of this?”

  “Not anymore.” Weston’s jaw tightened. “I had her remains burned and sent them along with some of my workers to dump at sea. There’s no way to reach them to stop them before they do so.”

  Tears burned Sage’s eyes. She blinked them back, biting down hard on the inside of her lip as she fought to keep quiet. Eliza’s unimportant task had just become her lifeline.

  “How convenient.” Mr. Gaztok’s eye twitched. “You know, I had rather hoped to do those honors myself.”

  Weston narrowed his eyes. “I won’t apologize for managing my own estate how I see fit. And I very much doubt you marched uninvited into my bedroom in the middle of the night to exterminate my pair. You owe me an explanation for whatever this is.”

  “I owe you nothing. But I will indulge you for a moment.” Mr. Gaztok tilted his head. “We have a witness who’s sworn that she manipulated security footage in her time at the Institution. Unapproved tampering with national records—that’s treason.”

  “When she was at the Institution?” Weston scoffed. “Not that it matters now, but she was a kid. I didn’t realize we were holding children to the high standards of the System of Worth now.”

  “Oh, not generally, but that’s not all, of course.” Mr. Gaztok’s lips slowly stretched into something resembling a grin. “You tethered her. She's been at your side for months now. There's no way she didn't know about the deceit right under her nose, and she never once tried to come forward. That makes her equally as guilty—as you.”

  “I’m afraid I must have misheard you.” Weston didn’t bother trying to keep the anger from his voice. “You break into my home in the middle of the night like common thieves and accuse me of—of what exactly?”

  “Well, I’m not quite sure I would even know where to begin, to be honest. But your crimes are many, and they will be accounted for.”

  Weston stole a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure he was really surrounded before turning back Mr. Gaztok. He sneered. “I didn’t realize a member of the Quorum would lower himself to such a mundane task as arresting a citizen.”

  “Oh, surely, you don’t think of yourself as just a citizen, Weston.” Mr. Gaztok’s smooth voice raked across Sage’s skin. She shuddered.

  “We’re all citizens in service of Eprah.”

  “Except you, you mean.”

  “Excuse me?” Annoyance seeped into Weston’s tone. “You may be a member of the Quorum now, but you shouldn’t forget who you’re speaking to.”

  “No, I haven’t forgotten.” A wicked grin spread over Mr. Gaztok’s face. “I’m speaking to the man who
killed five members of the Quorum and incited riots across the city.”

  “I’ve done no such—”

  “You’ve attempted to claim control of Eprah for yourself, and such an act of treason cannot go unpunished.”

  “How dare you come into my home and accuse me of treason!” Weston bellowed.

  “You think I would come here without proof?” Mr. Gaztok’s eyebrow arched up. “Mere days before the remaining Quorum members expired, you were seen colluding with Rogue factions. And it was a man without a bracelet who killed them. A Rogue.”

  “This morning, you said it was an accident.”

  Mr. Gaztok sniffed. “An easy lie. I wasn’t about to let you know where the investigation led before my suspicions were confirmed. And I, of course, wanted to see your reaction.”

  “But why in Eprah’s name would a Rogue bother with the Quorum? They don’t care what we do in Eprah as long as they get to live in peace.”

  “Why would they bother? At your behest, I assume. Though I can’t imagine what you promised them to make them consider a suicide mission worthwhile.”

  “A suicide—”

  “Bracelet or not, we will have no trouble eliminating the guilty party. After, of course, a full confession, which we will get.” Mr. Gaztok tilted his head. “It is unfortunate that this Rogue will not live long enough to see whatever it was he was promised.”

  “Nothing from me, I assure you.”

  “We’ll see about that.” Mr. Gaztok nodded to his officers. Two of the men stepped forward, grabbing Weston’s arms. “I’m sure you realize the futility of fighting this.”

  “Why would I fight?” Weston didn’t blink as he stared him down. “I look forward to proving you wrong.”

  Mr. Gaztok’s sick smile spread wider. He didn’t say a word, only nodding once more to his men before turning and walking out the door.

  The officers secured Weston’s hands behind his back and jerked his arms roughly, escorting him out the door after the Quorum member.

  Sage sank to her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks as she screamed inside, watching helplessly. Her heart was being ripped from her chest with each step they took away from her. Every breath stung more than the last.

  Kai stayed behind, motioning for a handful of men to remain with him as the others filed out of the room.

  “Start in this room. Search the grounds for Miss Indarra or any other evidence of treason.”

  “Sir? He said she was dead.”

  “And since when do we trust the word of traitors?” Kai growled. “I won’t believe she’s dead until I see evidence of it. Get started.”

  Sage clenched her fists to stop them from shaking, holding her breath as the remaining men scattered throughout Weston’s bedroom, opening every door and ransacking all his furniture and belongings. She glared at Kai through the hazy screen wall in front of her, vowing to make him pay for his part in this.

  Standing in the center of the room, Kai turned in a slow circle, taking in every detail around him. Sage’s heart pounded faster when he paused for a moment to stare at the painting on the wall in front of her. She could’ve sworn he was looking straight at her, but she knew that was impossible. All the same, she didn’t let out her breath again until he’d moved on to study the rest of the room.

  It was probably only minutes, but it felt like hours passing with the officers destroying everything in sight before they were satisfied. Sage’s palms were slick with sweat as she curled her fingers into tight fists and ground them against her thighs, waiting for them to leave.

  “No sign of the pair, sir, but there were signs of a struggle in her room. And we did find this.”

  She swore under her breath. Dangling from the officer’s hand was her mother’s necklace. It must’ve fallen off when Weston rushed her into the room earlier.

  A flicker of disbelief flashed in Kai’s eyes, but then he narrowed them into slits as he took the necklace and looked it over carefully. “Probably not real, but I’ll look into it.” He lifted his gaze, scanning the room one last time before addressing his men again. “Let’s move on. We have a lot of ground to cover, and Mr. Gaztok needs all the information we can gather before he begins Mr. Bennick’s interrogation.”

  Interrogation.

  Sage’s stomach turned and her head grew lighter as stars speckled her vision. She knew what Mr. Gaztok’s interrogations were like—she’d seen Mr. Walsh suffer through one of them before his death.

  The rest of the men started leaving, with Kai heading up the rear. Once his men were gone, he paused in the doorway one last time, his gaze sweeping the room and—she could swear—lingering for a fraction of a second too long on the painting in front of her again. He turned, slamming the door closed behind him.

  Sage stared at the door long after the officers’ footsteps faded. Her expression hardened. She wasn’t going to lose another person to Eprah’s cruelty. The leader of the Lawless might have been taken, but all his tools were at her disposal, and after today no one would be looking for her since she was supposed to be dead. This time, she could do something.

  This time, she was going to fight back.

  ***

  The story concludes in The Lawless: Sacrisvita Book XIV.

  Thank you so much for reading this book.

  If you liked this story, please share it with your friends and consider leaving a review. These are some of the best compliments an author can receive. Thanks!

  -Dylan

  P.S. Join my Insiders Club to be the first to know when the next book comes out. You’ll also get a FREE prequel scene that’s exclusively available to Insiders Club members - The Prodigy. It holds a shocking secret about one character’s past. Trust me, you won’t want to miss it.

  Sign up for Dylan’s Insiders Club at: www.DylanSteel.com

  THE LAWLESS: Sacrisvita Book XIV - Excerpt

  1. ADJUSTMENTS

  Sage stared blankly at the wall. A deafening quiet had settled over the estate for a while. Maybe minutes. Probably hours. It was impossible to tell, though she was vaguely aware of the morning light yawning its way into the room. After the officers had left Weston’s bedroom, time had just seemed to stop, and she didn’t care if it ever started moving forward again.

  She lay on the ground, hugging herself, curled up tightly against the pain gnawing at her stomach. Weston had told her not to make a sound, so she wouldn’t. She could barely move anyway.

  “I love you too.”

  She should’ve said it. But she didn’t, and now she might never get the chance. Everything had happened too fast.

  Hot tears filled her eyes, blurring her vision. But she blinked them back, refusing to let them fall.

  She wasn’t sad. She was angry. Angry at Mr. Gaztok and Kai for taking Weston. Angry at Weston for not hiding with her. Angry at how useless she’d been as they’d taken him away. Angry that Eprah thought it could win. Angry that everything that had ever been good in her life was gone. Again.

  Her nails dug into her palms as faint footsteps plodded down the corridor, growing steadily louder. She rested her forehead against her knees and squeezed her eyes shut, unwilling to see Kai’s face again.

  “Sage? It’s alright. It’s just me.”

  Sage’s head snapped up at the sound of Martha’s voice. The older woman was peering at the space above where Sage was lying, probably fixating on the painting since Sage was still hidden behind it. Sage stared back at her dully, unable to find her voice.

  “The officers are gone. It’s safe to come out now.”

  Martha waited another moment, then popped a hand on her hip and wagged a finger with her free hand when Sage didn’t say anything. “This isn’t some sort of trick, Sage. I know you’re there, and if you want to help Mr. Bennick, we don’t have any time to waste. You need to come out now.”

  Tension throbbed across Sage’s body as she tried unsuccessfully to move.

  Martha put her hand against the wall and sighed when she realized it was st
ill solid. “I can assure you, Sage, that I wouldn’t know your location without Mr. Bennick’s blessing. But I can’t open it from this side. Please come out of—”

  “I don’t know how,” Sage said quietly. She brushed back a stray tear as she slowly managed to get to her feet. “He didn’t have time to show me before…”

  “Just put your palm on the panel on the wall,” Martha said, looking a little relieved to hear her voice. “Then just—”

  “I see it.” Sage dropped her hand back from the panel and stepped through the camouflaged barrier she’d just lowered, appearing in front of Martha. Her throat swelled in raw pain as the older woman tilted her head sympathetically and gathered her in her arms, rubbing a hand over her back.

  “They took him,” Sage choked out.

  “I know.”

  “He knew they were coming.”

  “I know.” Martha held her tighter.

  “He could’ve hidden with me. Or run. Why didn’t he run?”

  “There wasn’t time. They must’ve known about the early warning system and disabled it somehow. He barely had time to hide you, and he knew you wouldn’t have been safe if he didn’t allow himself to be found. None of us would have been. They weren’t going to leave here empty-handed.”

  “So he let them take him,” Sage said weakly.

  Martha gripped her shoulders, putting some distance between them so she could look Sage squarely in the eye. “He did. But our fight isn’t over.”

  “No. It’s not.” Sage straightened, forcing down her emotions as she borrowed strength from Martha’s determination. “We have to get him back. We can’t let Mr. Gaztok interrogate him. It’s not just what he knows about the Lawless, but…” She swallowed back the bile rising in her throat, stiffening. “I’ve seen what he puts prisoners through. We can’t let that happen to him.”

  Letting go of Sage abruptly, Martha started making her way around the room, picking up the mess the officers had made. She refused to meet her eyes. “His interrogation is the least of our problems,” Martha said, a little too calmly.