Page 117 of Fragile Facade
Whispers and chatter break out through the crowd as family members look at one another skeptically and friends take steps back. Soren bristles, but he masks it, slipping into a silent form of energy that can disappear into the shadows to tame this beast of a crowd if he needs to. Tonight, I don’t want to let him go.
“You’re the traitor!” Lock shouts at him. “You’re the enemy.”
“I am,” Yates agrees. “But so are they.” He nods into the crowd, and every person believes he’s nodding at someone different. A different family, group, cult, or gang. They see what they want to see, buying into Yates’ bullshit. I sense it in my bones: mass hysteria is about to break out.
“Soren,” I warn him, my voice quiet but deadly. “We’re unmasked.”
His fingers link with mine. “I know.”
“Ransom isn’t. He can call us in for backup.” Menace looks at the crowd, gauging what’s about to happen.
“You can’t just disappear or people will notice,” Kyd says. “I can, but you can’t.”
Because him and Monster aren’t that well known around town, but the rest of us are. I scan the crowd, seeing Krypt, Remi, Seven, and Facts closer to the platform where Yates is. Glitch is by himself, off to one side with his parents, moving himself in front of them in a way they won’t notice. We’re all on edge, unsure which way this thing is going to crack.
“He’s a liar!” Seven shouts, trying to calm the crowd. “He brought Reaper Corp into Moros.”
“So he really does know who they all are!” someone else shouts. “Let him talk before you kill him. Pull names from his traitor lips!”
“Think about it,” Yates says, quieting everyone again. “Think of the people who have played roles and no longer keep them.”
“Fuck,” Menace seethes, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “He’s getting to them.”
“There are traitors in this crowd!” Yates shouts right before Lock punches him in the face and knocks him out.
“Don’t let him poison your minds!” Lock yells.
But the people are already spooked. An incoming war, one attack and a bombing, the threat of retaliation from what I did to Reaper City, and the downfall of an established gang all have everyone on edge.
“Like Soren Sauder!” a guy in the crowd shouts, making my fingers grip Soren’s harder. “He was in The Misfits, and as soon as Yates got overthrown, he disappeared! He’s not even in the gang anymore!”
“He’s a traitor!”
“He’s working for Reaper Corp.”
“You’re covering for Sauder!” someone else shouts at Lock. “That’s why you knocked Yates out.” The crowd chants agreement, and Lock can’t muzzle them this time.
My vision spots, black invading the edges of everything I see. Every mask I’ve ever worn flits over my personality, passing by because I don’t fucking need them. I create a new mask, one I’m building right here, right now. It’s a protective, lethal mask that paints me as a ruthless killer with no mercy. There’s no charm, no manipulation, no understanding, and definitely no empathy. It isn’t subtle or vague in tone, and as I don it, I feel it take hold of my body—my soul. I become the man who defends and protects Soren. At any and all costs. There isn’t a price I won’t pay.
As all eyes turn towards us, I hear fucking Fabrizio roar in the distance. Kyd’s lion startles the town, but my roar of absolute rage startles them more. Their eyes snap back to me, the threat they’ve now triggered and the consequence of their actions. My fists tighten, Soren’s fingers bending in mine.
“He’s not even in The Misfits anymore!” a guy I went to high school with snarls, coming towards us. “Sauder is a spy!”
“Fucking say that again,” I snarl at him, nothing human left in me.
“Killian,” Soren says, voice trembling with a mix of rage and fear. His shame breaks me most.
“Sauder sold us out!”
My new facade settles into place, wrapping me in a fury born of protectiveness. When that asshole opens his mouth to spew more accusations, I slam my fist through it and make him choke on his teeth. My knuckles swell, bleeding down my fingers, but my fist is already flying at the next guy coming for Soren. His eye socket shatters alongside my knuckles, but the pain only fuels me to dip deeper into my spiral.
“Killian!” Soren shouts from behind.
I can’t place the tone of his voice, and when I turn back to check on him, I get hit in the side of the head with a tree branch. My world tilts, and all I see is Soren reaching for me. He knocks someone out, catching me before I tumble all the way to the grass.
“Fuck, we gotta get outta here.” He hauls me upright, holding me steady.
I shake the disorientation away, flexing my fingers to keep them from stiffening. “Fuck that. We need to kill every one of these cunts for turning on you.” I spin, shoving a chick away from approaching. Her ass hits the grass, and I step over her, joining Menace, Kyd, and Monster in a fight.
