Court of Nightfall (The Nightfall Chronicles #1)(20)

"I'm on my way to register it," the guy said. "Please…"

I expected him to get ticketed, maybe even taken in and booked on some charge or other.

I didn't expect Helmet 1 to shove his baton into the guy's gut and activate the Taser.

The brutality of it froze me in place, staring wide-eyed as the guy fell to his knees, shaking and vomiting.

"Attempting to manipulate an officer," Helmet 2 said.

The guy held up one hand as he clutched his stomach with the other. "No. No, I wasn't…"

Helmet 2 hit him over the shoulders, crushing him to the ground. His chin hit the asphalt and cracked into splashes of red.

No one stopped.

No one came to his aid.

People just walked on by, talking on their e-Glass, checking email, ignoring the human rights violations taking place in front of them. No one cared about this Zenith, this man, being beaten in public for a minor infraction.

Memories of my last trip to this city surfaced in my mind, after the Attack on Diamond Head, after our country became militarized to 'protect' us from Zeniths. A man on the street beaten by soldiers. They wore different uniforms, you could still see their faces back then, but the scene was the same.

"Why doesn't anyone stop them, dad?" I'd asked him, as I gripped his hand.

"Because they're afraid to."

"Then I'll stop them." I dropped his hand, ready to rush forward, but he put his arm around my shoulder.

"No, Scarlett."

"I can fight," I told him.

"But you can't win."

"Then you stop them, dad." I knew he could do anything.

"I can't," he said, his voice sad. "I'm afraid, too."

I balled my fists. "I'm not. And one day, when I'm big, I'll come back here, and I'll stop them. I'll win."

My dad chuckled and squeezed my shoulder with affection. "Remember, little Star, it's easy to fight, but much harder to know when. When to fight. When to win." His voice lowered. "When to lose."

"Why would I ever want to lose?"

He just smiled and ruffled my hair. "One day, I'll tell you."

He never did tell me. He never got the chance.

But this time, I would fight. And I would win. I walked up to the soldiers. "Leave him alone!"

They turned to me, batons raised. "Move along, citizen."

I didn't budge. "Leave him." I thought back to last night, when I'd taken control of that one soldier. Maybe I could do it again, with them.

They walked toward me, ready to strike. "Disobeying an Inquisition Officer," Helmet 1 said.

I steeled myself against potential attack as I stared at Helmet 2, willing him to obey me.

As Helmet 1 prepared to strike me with his baton, Jax put himself between us. "At ease." He showed his ring. "She's under my protection."

Both Helmets stepped back immediately, almost cowering before Jax. "Apologies, Sir."

They turned their attentions back to the Zenith laying on the ground, still clutching his gut.

"Leave him with a warning," Jax said before I could intervene again. "I'll make sure he registers that lighter."

They didn't even hesitate. "Of course, Sir," they said as they walked off, likely looking for another victim.

I heard them talking as they left, awe in their voices. "A Knight," Helmet 1 said. "Yeah, a Teutonic Knight, no less," said Helmet 2.

Jax helped the Zenith stand.

"Thank you, Sir," he said to Jax.

Jax grabbed the man's lighter, dropped it on the asphalt and crushed it with his foot. "Don't be an idiot," he said. "Request permission through the Z.R.D. before you carry around items on your forbidden list."

"Yes, sir," he said, stumbling away, his chin leaving a trail of blood.

I looked down at the offending lighter and sighed. "All that for this?"

"He's registered as Elemental Fire," Jax said, a hardness in his tone I hadn't heard before. "He could have used that lighter to kill us. Or blow up this entire street. Zeniths need to follow the law, just like everyone else."

"Then why'd you help him?"

He looked at me, his hazel eyes full of secrets. "I didn't do it for him," he said, then continued walking.

He did that… for me?

I rushed to keep up as we made our way through Times Square. In front of us, a large group gathered and a hush fell over the crowd as all the e-Boards went blank and then lit up with the same image. Live footage of what everyone had come to see—a platform surrounded by Inquisition Officers.

"What's going on?"

Jax crossed his arms over his chest, his jaw set in a hard line. "They're executing The Shadow of Rome."

"She's the one who led the rebellion in Italy, right? Attacked the Vatican itself. I saw it on the news. My parents…" I choked saying that but forced myself to continue, "my parents were in an uproar about it. I guess now I know why."

Jax nodded. "Though the attack failed, the rebels still consider it a victory. The Inquisitors are trying to ensure they no longer see it as such."

"Why do they see it as a victory? Didn't the other rebels retreat?"