Page 17 of Splitting Secrets
Raze
Eleven years ago
Ashton Payne claps a wooden gavel against his bench, silencing the crowd before him. The frenzied members of the Midnight Syndicate rush to take their seats, their nervous energy still crackling around the room.
Mayor Payne had lifelessly announced my father’s unexpected death at the hands of the Supremes when all hell broke loose. The spineless leaders shared panicked looks as the shouts grew louder, each one looking to the next to step up and take control of the chaos.
None of them are equipped to handle such a task, though.
I’ve remained seated at the end of their bench, calmly watching the chaos unfold.
Elijah Whitlock was a terrible man with no moral conscience, but he was well loved by those who used him to do their bidding.
TheSupremes loved him, too. Until they feared him.
A perfect weapon that got a little too dangerous for its wielder.
I’m to take his place, effective immediately.
They haven’t had a chance to announce that little tidbit, but I don’t see the news being received any better.
They don’t trust me. Especially since I’ve taken over their rank at Ravenshurst. In doing so, I’ve derailed their hateful rhetoric that their legacies are more worthy of their giftedness than the rest of us Nulls in Nocturne Valley. A laughable concept when you consider that there wouldn’t be any gifts at all if it weren’t for the families who founded the town to begin with.
It’s all semantics, I suppose.
The only thing keeping me alive up until this point was their love for my father.
Now that he’s gone, I’m an open target.
Though they’ll be careful not to cross me. I’ve been trained by the best, after all. And if they don’t want to get their hands bloody, they’ll be smart to keep their mouths shut.
I’ve earned this spot. I sacrificed the final piece of humanity inside myself to get it.
A few disgruntled rich people aren’t going to stop what’s already been done.
The memory of my initiation replays in my mind as I watch the clowns in front of me try to wrangle of their circus, and I sit back and zone out.
Wait at the top of the hill for the green Jeep to come around the corner, then step into the road.
The police have been informed. Do whatever you need to do.
I’ve been sitting here for over an hour, freezing my ass off, and the only car that passed was a silver sedan with an elderly woman driving below the speed limit.
I swear to fucking God, if these rich bastards are setting me up to get killed, I’m going to cut the skin off their faces and mail it to their families.
My father may have gone down without a fight, but I’ve never claimed to be like him.
It’s a gray, rainy day. The sky is illuminated in white, though the sun is nowhere to be found. I’ve been waiting so long that the rain has soaked all the way through my clothes, freezing me to the bone.
Finally, when the light of the sun disappears and the rain falls in sheets that make it nearly impossible to see, two circle headlights round the curve and I’m able to squint my eyes enough to make out the color of the hood.
It’s dark green.
I think.
Either way, I’m going with it.
I hold my flashlight up until it’s lined directly with the driver’s eyes, then turn up the brightness so they’re fully blinded.
