should've seen her back there, she nearly peed her pants.”
Chancellor Kole chuckles. They all stare at me, even Slate. I want to tear the mask off my face and curl up in a ball and disappear.
“Her strength lies in her mind. Gage made sure of that.” There’s an edge to Slate’s voice.
“Right.” Dena rolls her eyes and leaves.
Chancellor Kole continues to stare at me. I can feel him sifting through my mind, learning everything in my silence.
“You killed Gage.” I surprise myself by blurting out. It’s far from the truth, I know now, but he did hang him.
He shrugs, nonchalant. “Someone has to do the killing. Better me than them.”
Chancellor Kole’s voice is constant in my mind as I try to find the training room, where Slate said Julian is waiting for me. Every hall looks the same, with unfeeling white walls and smooth unblemished floors.
After I take the wrong turn thrice, stumbling on a stern-faced soldier each time, I find it.
I push open the door and step inside. But it isn't Julian standing before me. A one-sided smile lifts Chancellor Kole's gaunt face. His black suit hangs from his shoulders, and makes him look like he has sticks instead of legs.
“You're scared of me, aren't you?” He asks. His voice reaches the soles of my feet before my ears.
“No,” I say. I am terrified. And my voice betrays that.
“Do you know why Gage wanted Slate to kill him? He was going to hang anyway—what difference is there?”
I asked the same question. I have no answer.
Chancellor Kole clasps his hands behind him and slowly walks closer, just as he does when he strides onto the platform to announce another crime and death.
“You see, Lissa, the Jute have a ship.” He pulls a small ball out of his pocket. I look at it without giving him the satisfaction of my interest. Blue and green, with hints of white. A replica of Earth.
Earth in his pocket.
“How? How did they build a ship?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Something about dust making metal and sand making glass. I wouldn’t know. But that’s aside from my point. We don't have gas or oil. Where would they get fuel?”
“I don't know,” I say when he stares at me.
“Humans breathe oxygen. Our main component is oxygen—of course you know that, don't you?” Sarcasm drips from his voice. It’s true. After Gage, I know more than the average human on Jutaire will ever know. “The clever, cunning Jute found a way to convert human bodies into fuel. No one wants a bloody body. Hence the bloodless hangings.”
He leans forward, so our eyes are level. “Hence Gage's plea to be killed rather than hung. His final—and only , if I should say—act of defiance.”
“And now the Jute are furious. Gage knew of the consequences for such an act. Not for his dead body, but for the entire human race. And the bastard didn't care.”
Chancellor Kole takes in the surprise on my face. “Not so perfect now, was he?”
No. Not even close.
“Criminals are the easiest to hang, we can justify their deaths. We could easily get away with a dead body every other week. But because of Gage’s stupidity, the Jute are demanding more.”
“Why listen?” I ask quietly.
He shrugs. “It's their planet. We follow their orders and they let us live. A body a week, sometimes more, lock up the metal and the glass, and the majority of us gets to live.”
The Jute are more tangled in our lives than I thought.
“I didn't want this job, you know.” I meet his flickering dark eyes. “They took my wife. Threatened to take Dena. So I became the bad guy. The people I hang is a way of letting us all live.”
“I'm sorry,” I say. I try to sound like I mean it, but I can't.
“I don't need your sympathy.” His voice raises the hair on the back of my neck. “All I want is for Dena to live. And if I can ensure her safety by handing you over to the Jute, I will. So be careful.”
The door opens and Julian slips inside.
“I was leaving,” Chancellor Kole
Chancellor Kole chuckles. They all stare at me, even Slate. I want to tear the mask off my face and curl up in a ball and disappear.
“Her strength lies in her mind. Gage made sure of that.” There’s an edge to Slate’s voice.
“Right.” Dena rolls her eyes and leaves.
Chancellor Kole continues to stare at me. I can feel him sifting through my mind, learning everything in my silence.
“You killed Gage.” I surprise myself by blurting out. It’s far from the truth, I know now, but he did hang him.
He shrugs, nonchalant. “Someone has to do the killing. Better me than them.”
Chancellor Kole’s voice is constant in my mind as I try to find the training room, where Slate said Julian is waiting for me. Every hall looks the same, with unfeeling white walls and smooth unblemished floors.
After I take the wrong turn thrice, stumbling on a stern-faced soldier each time, I find it.
I push open the door and step inside. But it isn't Julian standing before me. A one-sided smile lifts Chancellor Kole's gaunt face. His black suit hangs from his shoulders, and makes him look like he has sticks instead of legs.
“You're scared of me, aren't you?” He asks. His voice reaches the soles of my feet before my ears.
“No,” I say. I am terrified. And my voice betrays that.
“Do you know why Gage wanted Slate to kill him? He was going to hang anyway—what difference is there?”
I asked the same question. I have no answer.
Chancellor Kole clasps his hands behind him and slowly walks closer, just as he does when he strides onto the platform to announce another crime and death.
“You see, Lissa, the Jute have a ship.” He pulls a small ball out of his pocket. I look at it without giving him the satisfaction of my interest. Blue and green, with hints of white. A replica of Earth.
Earth in his pocket.
“How? How did they build a ship?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Something about dust making metal and sand making glass. I wouldn’t know. But that’s aside from my point. We don't have gas or oil. Where would they get fuel?”
“I don't know,” I say when he stares at me.
“Humans breathe oxygen. Our main component is oxygen—of course you know that, don't you?” Sarcasm drips from his voice. It’s true. After Gage, I know more than the average human on Jutaire will ever know. “The clever, cunning Jute found a way to convert human bodies into fuel. No one wants a bloody body. Hence the bloodless hangings.”
He leans forward, so our eyes are level. “Hence Gage's plea to be killed rather than hung. His final—and only , if I should say—act of defiance.”
“And now the Jute are furious. Gage knew of the consequences for such an act. Not for his dead body, but for the entire human race. And the bastard didn't care.”
Chancellor Kole takes in the surprise on my face. “Not so perfect now, was he?”
No. Not even close.
“Criminals are the easiest to hang, we can justify their deaths. We could easily get away with a dead body every other week. But because of Gage’s stupidity, the Jute are demanding more.”
“Why listen?” I ask quietly.
He shrugs. “It's their planet. We follow their orders and they let us live. A body a week, sometimes more, lock up the metal and the glass, and the majority of us gets to live.”
The Jute are more tangled in our lives than I thought.
“I didn't want this job, you know.” I meet his flickering dark eyes. “They took my wife. Threatened to take Dena. So I became the bad guy. The people I hang is a way of letting us all live.”
“I'm sorry,” I say. I try to sound like I mean it, but I can't.
“I don't need your sympathy.” His voice raises the hair on the back of my neck. “All I want is for Dena to live. And if I can ensure her safety by handing you over to the Jute, I will. So be careful.”
The door opens and Julian slips inside.
“I was leaving,” Chancellor Kole
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