Read Online Weapon of Fear by Chris A. Jackson, Anne L. McMillen-Jackson - Free Book Online Page B

them a morsel and they’ll turn around and bite the hand that feeds them.”
    “A
dog that has been beaten for forty years has good reason to bite, Chief
Constable!”  Arbuckle forced down his temper.  Dreyfus and his constables dealt
with the dregs of society every day.  No wonder they were jaded.  “I respect
your opinion, but please refrain from disparaging the people you are sworn to
protect!”
    Dreyfus
looked stunned, but recovered quickly.  “All I’m saying, milord, is that I
can’t guarantee your safety.”
    “That’s
not your concern, Chief Constable.  The Imperial Guard will see to my safety. 
Your job is to maintain order.  Protect the city and the populace from harm.  I
want no brutality here!”
    “As
you wish, milord.”  Dreyfus bowed and retreated to command his constables.
    “Good. 
Now, where…”  Arbuckle scanned the field of punishment and saw what he needed. 
“There.”  He pointed to one of the gallows.  The platform was high enough that
he would be visible to the entire crowd.  “There!  I’m going there.”
    “But
to expose yourself—”
    “Captain
Otar, how can I address the people if they can’t see me?”  He glared at
the man and pointed again to the gallows.  “We’re going there !”
    “Yes,
milord.”  The captain clenched his jaw and shouted orders.
    The
Imperial Guard formed a double row from the carriage to the gallows, shields
facing outward.  Arbuckle proceeded down the passage between lines of guards,
his blademasters tightly knotted around him. 
    Good
Gods of Light !  Beneath
the gallows dangled the body of a woman, a rope cinched tight around her neck.  I can’t change my mind now .  He mounted the steps of the gibbet, his
footsteps hollow on the well-trodden wood.  A breeze fluttered his robe,
wafting the scent of blood, infection, and death through the air.  Arbuckle
struggled not to gag as he gazed out across the sea of people.
    “People
of Tsing!” he shouted, hoping his words would reach to the edge of the crowd. 
“I am Crown Prince Arbuckle, heir to the throne of Tsing.  The emperor, my
father, is dead!”
    Surprisingly,
the people remained silent.  Arbuckle had expected cries, maybe catcalls,
perhaps some cheers, but not a sound reached him beyond the shuffling of feet
and the clatter of armor and hooves on stone.  He examined the crowd, looking
from face to face.  A few glanced sidelong at the squads of constables, but not
a single eye met his.
    Fear …  Ice water trickled down his
spine with the realization.  They’re terrified .
    A
lone shout of, “Good riddance!” rang out from the crowd, and a squad of constables
surged forward.
    “Stop
right there!” Arbuckle bellowed.  “I’m here to speak to the people.  If they
choose to speak back to me, they have the right.  No one here will be punished
for speaking out.  There will be justice under my reign!”
    “What
justice?” A man surged forward to the cordon of constables, his accusative hand
thrusting between the shields to point.  “How dare you speak of justice
standing above my wife’s corpse !  There ain’t no justice for common
folk.  Only for you nobles!”
    A
murmur swept through the crowd, and Arbuckle could hear the rage in it.  He
looked back at the rope trailing down through the trap door in the gallows, and
realized that the man was right.
    What
a hypocrite I look .
    “There will be justice!” He raised his hands.  “I pledge to you, there will be
the same justice for all, noble and commoner alike.”
    The
murmurs grew louder and the crowd shifted, a few more catcalls and epithets
ringing out.  The constables fidgeted, but remained in place.  Arbuckle had to
demonstrate his sincerity, but how?  Show them you’re not your father .
 
    Turning
to his nearest bodyguard, he held out a hand.  “Give me a dagger.”
    The
blademaster immediately handed over the dagger from his belt.
    “Captain
Otar!  I’m going to cut down this