The Lawless by Dylan Steel

Author:Dylan Steel [Steel, Dylan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: young adult dystopian
Publisher: Heritage Publishing
Published: 2018-07-12T04:00:00+00:00

15. THE OFFER

“You think I’m a coward. And your benefactor thinks I’m a fool.”

Mr. Gaztok’s voice rolled over her skin, scratching its way beneath the surface and burrowing deep inside. Sage clamped her mouth closed, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a response.

“I see,” he said calmly. He shoved her forward just enough to put a safe distance between them. Her arms throbbed as she brought them to her side, free at last from his hold. She wouldn’t be able to fight him anytime soon, and they both knew it. “Have a seat, Ms. Indarra.”

Not ready to challenge him yet, she sank into a chair at the end of the table, scowling at him as she did.

"Would you like a drink?"

Her eyes instinctively flashed to the glass Grayson had used. She glared at Mr. Gaztok.

"No," he said, a disconcerting smile touching his lips, "I don't suppose you would."

Clasping his hands behind his back, he turned and headed back to the window, staring out over the city. “How, may I ask, would a coward or a fool be capable of taking the most powerful seat in Eprah? That hardly seems possible.”

“And yet you’ve managed,” she muttered under her breath.

“Then let us see which of us is the greater fool.” He turned back to her, eyebrow raised. “I have a proposal for you. One which you would be wise to consider.”

She rolled her shoulders as she looked back at him without saying a word.

“Your benefactor will die shortly. Today. There’s no way around it.” He paused, knowing full well the weight that his words carried. It was nearly impossible for Sage to keep her face neutral as she struggled to take in a breath. “Whether or not you will join him, however,” Mr. Gaztok continued, “is entirely up to you.”

“I didn’t realize there was another option,” she said dryly.

“Of course, there is.” He turned back to the window, changing the subject abruptly. “What do you see when you look at them?”

Sage frowned. “What do I—”

“Eprah. Its citizens.” He nodded outside and motioned for her to join him. She rose cautiously. “What are they to you?”

Her brow furrowed as she stepped up to the window. She wasn’t sure what he was getting at. “People,” she said slowly.

“And in your mind, that makes them worth saving?”

“Yes.”

“But what if they’re not?”

“They—”

“What if they’ve proven that their lives aren’t worth living? That they offer nothing to us? That is, after all, one of the foundational truths of Eprah.”

She clenched her jaw, staring at him angrily. “It’s wrong.”

He cocked his head, studying her carefully. “You think we cannot measure their potential?”

Her fingers curled against her palms, digging in. “I think you don’t have the right.”

“They all have potential,” he mused, ignoring her outrage. “In fact, I think you and I would both agree that they are indeed capable of many things, none of them equal. But… people are so easily led, are they not, Ms. Indarra?”

Sage’s eyes narrowed.

“A few strategically placed officers out of uniform, a

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