Chapter 28 Gedeon
GEDEON
The slick eyeball slipped from my grip and rolled down the ebony desk in my study, leaving a mucus trail.
Lunging out of my seat, I snatched it before it could hit the floor and impaled it on the tip of a serrated knife I usually carved bones with.
Right around the pupil, speckles of green lined the edge of the iris, but its shade was repulsing, not the green blaze, the flaming forest fire of my little death.
She had gone off the rails a week ago, and honestly, I was impressed at how many times she had stabbed that guard.
Usually, a person would be completely drained of energy and motivation to continue after a few knife thrusts, as it required more effort than you would think.
But the way she had ferociously pierced his flesh again and again made my chest expand with pride.
Her tattoo celebration was scheduled for a little over a month from now, and then she would be officially marked as mine.
She might pretend I had asked for her body alone, but she was going to belong to me completely and utterly, her heart, mind, and soul.
I was making sure of it. Whether she realized it or not. Because her body was not enough for me.
A dull bang rang out as my door hit the wall and Zion barged in. “What the fuck is an eyeless man doing in my basement? Eislyn said he’d managed to climb out and terrified our kitchen staff. I had to get Eli to help me take him back and cuff him on the table.”
“I wanted to see if it was possible to carve out a person’s eyes.
” I scraped the eyeball off my knife and into a jar to join its brother.
The experiment had failed. Eyes were too mushy and small of a body part to brand them with my name.
“He’s the guard from the gates who ogled at her ass when I carried her out of the city. You can play with him now. I’m done.”
“Ugh, half the fun is gone when he can’t see. He keeps begging without me doing anything.” He pouted his lips. “And I want him begging because of me.”
I picked a tissue out of a box to clean up my desk from the slimy mucus that the slippery eyeball had left on the ebony surface. “Give him to your catch-and-play team to practice, then. I heard you approved a newcomer. You and Ava can give Amari a lesson or two.”
“Wait. You had to go back to the city that night to get him. Where did you keep him this entire time?” Zion gripped the top of the door frame.
His muscles tensed and his t-shirt lifted to reveal a slit of sandy skin above his well-worn jeans, one of the three pairs he continued wearing for the last who-knew-how-many years.
I resumed cleaning my desk. “I had tied him to a tree not far from here. I considered about playing a treasure hunt game with her, but I figured she needed a break, and I ran out of patience in making sure he stayed alive.”
“Got it. I’ll give him over to Ava. Half of the latest group of newcomers in training haven’t played with anyone so far.
Time to change that.” Releasing the door frame, he tugged his t-shirt down.
“Six o’clock. We’ll be waiting at the central square.
And bring that knife.” He pointed to the blade I was polishing with the fresh tissue and strode out of my study without closing the door.
As always.
A crowd swallowed me as I moved along the streets, everyone ordered to gather in the main square. I greeted the passing acquaintances or paused to exchange a few words with those brave enough to introduce themselves to me, yet I mostly kept to myself, as my thoughts would not cease spinning.
With all of us, the three compounds, cut off from the cities without the ability to resupply ourselves, matters were going to get difficult.
So far, our resources had not been depleted.
Our reserves brimmed with items we could not manufacture ourselves, such as weapon parts, and with our own capabilities to make whatever else we needed, we could last a couple of months before the loss of our supply chains would impact us drastically.
Approximately eight to ten weeks. But no more.
Add in sitting here idly with our smuggling operations on pause, and the combination grated at me. It delayed the inevitable attack we sought to launch on the cities and sent the general compound’s mood spiraling.
And now this, our own people working against us. It occurred every year or so—a group of morons deciding to come up with a foolish scheme to satisfy their greediness.
Dorvan, one of the victims, stopped to say hello, but I urged him to go on. “Go ahead, I’ll meet you there.”
Bodies poured out of the adjoining streets, rushing to gather in front of a temporary stage erected at the far end of the vast square.
Two men and a woman stood on top, their wrists tied behind their backs and their mouths gagged.
Zion and a couple of people from his catch-and-play team stood behind them to ensure they didn’t escape.
Another group of five lingered on the side of the stage, at the bottom of the few stairs leading up to it, under the watch of Eli, Ezra, and a few others. The five were at fault for looting our stores before their group leaders visited them and offered their protection services.
The gathering crowd faded away as I located Kali excitedly talking with someone in the corner of the square. A minute later, they exchanged goodbyes, and she climbed to the top of the tower of wooden crates piled on top of each other.
She had found a good vantage point—or a foolish and dangerous one if it toppled. Perhaps it had been a conscious choice of hers. A game of fate.
Her beautiful head hoarded so many secrets I wanted to unravel, spread wide open, and carve my name out on their margins, so once she wrapped herself back in their cocoon, they would whisper about me to her.
She had conceded to having breakfast and dinner with Zion and I and was opening up, sentence by sentence.
Yet she refused to talk about what haunted her.
What awakened her in the nights and wrenched agonizing screams rattling our bedrooms’ doors.
What chased her into a bathroom where she’d spend the next hour hugging the porcelain bowl, retching and panting.
Why she pleaded with us to leave her alone and tears welled up when we would not.
Why she trudged back to the bed, only to curl up in a ball under the fluffy duvet and stare at the wall.
But I was not going to press her into talking. Not yet. Because once my tattoo lay on her, she would have no choice but to tell us everything.
Willing my focus to fall where it was supposed to, I climbed to the side of the stage and tuned out the introduction Zion gave, observing the emotional state of the throng beneath my feet.
No concern twisted the majority’s faces, anticipation of entertainment curving their mouths instead, but a dozen or so had scowls contorting their features.
I discretely mentioned them to Ava standing beside me, and she nodded in acknowledgment. Her head swiveled as she etched their profiles into her memory. She would check up on them. Discontent could be dangerous.
“…Gedeon.” Zion gestured to me, and I halted at the sight of the playful tilt of his lips. At how the wind ruffled his hair. How he tipped his head to the side.
Shaking myself off, I sauntered to the center of the stage and positioned myself in front of the three criminals about to be punished according to our customs. No better show of authority than standing with your back exposed to the offenders.
Expectation drew the multitude of gazes to me, and I widened my stance, my chin raised and my expression stern.
“I will keep this short. I have kept our compound running for twelve years now. I have supported the expansions of Damia’s and Conall’s compounds near Ardaton and Coriattus.
I have ensured we grew to be the largest, to the point that Ilasall stays away from us.
They remember what befell them twelve years ago and have no idea what we could do if they dared to challenge us again. ”
Pausing, I studied the people filling out the vast square to the brim. Some were jumping in the adjoining streets, trying to see the stage. We had increased in size so much over the years that we had to find a better way to do these things. Not a fifth of the compound fit in here anymore.
I continued. “All this time, we have cared for each person here. We provide you with shelter, food, and jobs. We give you safety, community, and actual lives with freedom etched into our every action. We ensure plenty of opportunities and ways to create any life you wish.”
Letting my words to sink in, I paused again. Life here was not perfect, but compared to the cities, it was a dream for most. “One rule. That is all we require in return. No oppression methods of any sort. I do not and will not tolerate any coercion measures taken against our own people.
“These three will serve as an example.” I indicated the trio of lawbreakers behind me, their protests muffled by the cloth gags Ava had stuffed into their mouths.
“They are the leaders of a group that had decided to disobey our principles. A few months ago, they came up with an extortion scheme to fill their pockets. They talked their friends, the ones you can see standing at the bottom of the stage, into robbing a selection of our compound’s stores.
“After they ransacked our businesses, this trio went to the owners and threatened them with repeated incidents. They backed down only when the owners agreed to pay for their so-called protection from themselves.”
Boos exploded and curses boomed with such potent force that a deafening cloud enshrouded the entire space. With my spine as straight as a rod, I waited out the rippling wave of savage fury submerging the crowd.
I conveyed the message.
But they declared the judgment.
My compound was intimately familiar with our ways and traditions, including the sentences awaiting the transgressors.