Chapter 39 Seven
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
SEVEN
Next week…
This is… strange.
I gaze around the courtroom, taking in the angry scowls of the jury, the cocky grins spread across the faces of the prosecution. All of them are looking at me, and I’m painfully aware of how exposed I am without my mask.
“Killer!” someone screams. “Murderer!”
The rest of the audience breaks into hushed whispers as the outcry, shooting excited glances toward the judge—no doubt wondering what sentence she will cast for the beast of Moriton.
Two more people scream out, sharing the first man’s sentiments, and it prompts the judge to bang her gavel several times. “Quiet, please! Jury members, do you have your verdict?”
“We do, your honor.”
She takes the piece of paper from the bailiff’s hand, her eyes scanning over the document before folding it and passing it off. “At this time, I will ask the court to remain silent until the verdict has been read.” She gestures toward the jury box.
The man clears his throat. “On the charge of murder in the first degree, we find the defendant guilty on all three hundred counts. We recommend the maximum penalty, which is death by lethal injection.”
As soon as the foreperson speaks, a gasp echoes out from over his shoulder, and the audience breaks into excited chatter. Mayor Cooper is the only one who doesn’t react. He just sits there, glaring at me with those cold green eyes.
The judge scowls and bangs her gavel, drawing my attention back to the podium. “Order! Mr. Seven, the court has found you guilty of all charges. You are to be held in solitary confinement until the day of your execution.”
The room fades in and out of sound. Die… I’m going to die…
“Mr. Seven? Do you have any last words for this court?”
I just smile. I do, but they’re not for them. Everything I am—my breath, skin, bones, soul, and words—all of them belong to Grace. I won’t waste them.
The judge scowls as I shake my head.
“In that case… The plaintiff may be taken into custody to await his punishment. May God have mercy on your soul, because this court will not.”
“No!” Grace jumps out of her chair. “You can’t do this!”
Grace tries to rush to the front of the room to get to me, but is hauled back by Viktor before she gets halfway to me. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Viktor standing to the side, pulling Grace kicking and screaming from the room.
“Order! Order!” The judge bangs her gavel as the rest of the audience breaks into excited chatter, some going as far as to scream out in joy.
I look over my shoulder, mouthing “I love you” to Grace as she’s hauled out of the room. The broken expression on her face breaks my damn heart.
As they drag me back to my cell, I can’t help but laugh. I’ve spent the better part of my life wishing for it all to be over, and now that I’ve finally found a reason to live, it’s being taken away from me.
What terrible luck.
For three days, I’ve been sitting alone in the dark, waiting out my impending fate.
I don’t eat, barely sleep, and most days, it feels like I’ve already died.
I spend my hours losing myself in the memory of Grace, replaying her laugh over and over in my head.
It’s the only thing that helps, the only thing stopping me from giving up.
Because I have to go on. For the chance to hold her again, I have to live.
But it doesn’t seem like that will be an option for much longer.
A gentle creaking sound has my eyes shooting open. I sit up, the back of my neck prickling in awareness as the feeding hatch opens.
That’s odd. It’s not time for my daily meal…
Before I have a chance to call out, an unfamiliar face appears in the slot. All I can see are a pair of violet-ringed eyes and a shock of white blond hair falling forward onto the stranger's forehead.
“Hello there,” the man says. His voice is eerily smooth—practically mechanical—and it sends a nervous shiver down my spine.
“Hey…” I clear my throat, wishing he would blink just once so I could shake this uneasy feeling. “Can I help you?”
“It doesn’t seem so, no.”
“Okay…” I sit up straighter, the hair on my forearms prickling in awareness. “Who are you?”
“Me?” He tilts his head. “I’m nobody. Just a friendly ghost no one will remember tomorrow morning.”
“Okay… can you leave me alone, then? You’re kinda freaking me out.”
He chuckles, a low, predatory sound that has no business being on this earth.
“Ironic, coming from the man who kills for sport. Red 7. Scourge of the night. Beast of Moriton. Lover of Grace Kent.” His strange-colored eyes twinkle with amusement as my expression morphs into one of utter shock. “You’re surprised I know this.”
“Surprised is putting it mildly.” My fists clench at my sides.
I’m not sure what this man wants, but I know with absolute certainty that he’s dangerous.
If I let my guard down for one moment, it could be the end of me.
“Who are you?” I demand, tired of playing this game of cat and mouse.
“How do you know about Grace? What the fuck do you want from me?”
“Temper, temper.” The corners of his eyes squint with a smile I can’t see. “Your good friend requested my services. So, here I am. Servicing.”
“I don’t have any good friends,” I snarl. “You’re obviously lying.”
The man rolls his eyes. “Aren’t you a treat?”
“Excuse me if I’m lacking patience given my… circumstances.” I gesture at the four concrete walls of my cell. “Now I’ll ask one more time… who are you, and why are you here?”
He lets out a heavy sigh, closing his eyes like he’s trying to hold himself back from doing something drastic. “Your friend Viktor sent me. Viktor Marreaux? Tall guy, graying hair, kinda grumpy?”
“He… sent you to help me?”
The man nods. “Indeed. At a hefty price.” His eyes crease as that eerie smile spreads his lips once more. “So… would you like me to help you, Seven? Or do you still want me to leave you alone?”
I debate his offer for several moments. I don’t want to die, but something inside me rebels against the idea of accepting the strange man’s help. Still…
“I want to live,” I say, my chest squeezing with raw emotion. “For her, I need to live.” I close my eyes, letting out a heavy breath. “You’re sure you can get me out of here?”
“Can I? Of course.” His eyes twinkle with amusement. “It should be fun.”
“I think we have different definitions of that word.”
The stranger laughs, and the sound sends an anxious shiver down my spine. “I doubt that highly.”
Before I can say anything more, the food hatch slams closed. I think the man left, but then a scarred hand slides through the hatch, dropping a tiny black piece of plastic onto the ground.
I reach forward and snatch it up, turning it around in my hand. It looks like an earpiece—Sanctum tech. “What’s this for?” I ask.
“When the time comes, I’ll be able to communicate with you through that,” he says. “Until then, just sit tight and try to stay out of trouble.” His eyes swing around the barren room. “Although it doesn’t seem like you have many opportunities to cause it. All for the better.”
“When… how long will I have to wait?”
He blinks. “They plan to kill you in three days. So ideally, sometime before that.”
I grit my teeth. “I’m glad to see you find this amusing.”
He chuckles. “Why, of course. It’s not my life on the line, after all.”
Anger lights my veins at the man’s flippant attitude, but it’s not like I can do anything about it. I’m at this madman’s mercy until I’m free of this place. Choking down my anger, I bring a hand up, pushing the earpiece deep into my canal. “Will I see you before then?”
“No.” He moves back from the slot, allowing me to catch a glimpse of the man's sinister grin. “This will be the last time we see each other face-to-face.”
“Thank God.”
He laughs again, the sound cold and harsh. “I like you, Seven. I really hope they don’t end up killing you.”
“I thought you said you could get me out of here?”
He just shrugs. “I said I can. I don’t actually know if I will. There’s at least a 73 percent chance you end up in that chair.”
My eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets. “Those are terrible odds!”
“Yes. But I quite like rooting for the underdog,” he says, his words tinged with laughter.
“Well… This has been great fun, Seven, but I really must be going now.” He reaches up, tapping his ear with a scarred index finger.
“Wait and listen for my voice. If you hear me, that means I’ve found a way to get you out.
If you don’t…” He shrugs. “May God have mercy on your soul…”
His laughter echoes off the walls as he backs away, finding far too much amusement in this dire situation.
Before he leaves for good, something inside me urges me to call out, “Wait! You never told me your name!”
The corners of his eyes crease in a grin. “Ghost. Just Ghost.”