Fear (Gone 5)

“Here’s your king!” Penny cried in a gloating voice. “See? See the crown I gave him? Do you like it?”

No one answered.

“I said, don’t you like it?” Penny screeched.

A couple of the kids nodded or muttered, “Yeah.”

“Okay,” Penny said. “Okay, then.” She sounded unsure what to do next. Her fantasy hadn’t gone any further than this. And now, Caine knew, she was trying to figure out how to enjoy her victory.

Her temporary victory.

“I know!” Penny said. “Let’s see if King Caine can dance. How about that?”

Again, the stunned and traumatized audience didn’t know how to respond.

“Dance!” Penny roared in a voice that disappeared into a squeak. “Dance, dance, dance!”

And suddenly the limestone beneath Caine’s feet burst into flames. The pain was instant and unbearable.

“Dance, dance, dance!” Penny cried, jumping up and down. She was waving her awkward arms at the kids, urging them to chant along with her.

As the flames crisped the flesh on his legs Caine kicked and jerked madly in a bizarre parody of dancing.

The flames stopped.

Caine panted, waiting for the next assault.

But now Penny seemed to be out of steam. She slumped a little and looked at him. Their eyes met and he burned hatred at her. But it had no effect. Caine knew she was insane. He’d known all along that she was a psycho, but psychos could be useful.

But this wasn’t as simple as Drake’s evil ruthlessness. This was madness. He was looking at eyes that were no longer partaking of reality.

She was insane.

He had helped to drive her mad.

And now all her rage, all her jealousy, all the hate that Caine had used for his own purposes was being turned against him.

He was a powerless toy in the hands of a lunatic with the power to make him as crazy as she was herself.

The FAYZ, Caine thought dully. I always knew it would end in madness or death.

For the first time, his thoughts went to the baby inside Diana. His own son or daughter. All that would be left of him when Penny was finished.

It might have gone either way for Penny at that moment. The crowd was nervous and unsure.

“Now I am the queen, and I am the boss in charge,” Penny announced. “And I don’t have to tell any of you what I can do. Do I?”

No response. Cautious silence.

Then a voice from the back. “Let him go. We need him!”

Caine didn’t recognize the voice. Neither, apparently, did Penny.

“Who said that?”

Silence.

Caine could hear Penny panting. She was in a very excited state. Mostly she didn’t know what to do next. She had expected … something. But she had not expected to be completely overshadowed by this terrible darkness.