Нора Робертс - Year One

He paused again, laid both his hands on the sides of the podium. “So I’m going to ask you right now: Are we a community who’s going to sit and do nothing while a young woman can’t take a walk in peace, while an old one’s home is wrecked, or a little boy has his bike taken off his front porch?”

The shouts of “NO!” and the hard or surreptitious glances at the Mercers gave Lloyd just what he wanted.

“I’m glad to hear that.” He held up a hand to quell the noise. “I’m glad to hear that. I agree. The founders of this community agree. The people who took you in, tended your wounds, gave you food and shelter agree. We survived, and we work every day to secure our homes against any who’d come here to do us harm. Now it’s time to implement laws to keep us all safe from any in our community who seek to cause harm.”

Rove surged to his feet. “Laws? Getting here first doesn’t give anybody the right to tell the rest of us what to do, how to live. We’ve got bigger things to worry about than some kid’s bike, for Christ’s sake. Look who’s sitting up there, lording it over the rest of us. Half of them aren’t like us.”

“You’ve got a pot to piss in because of the people up here. You want to piss somewhere else, no one’s stopping you.” Lloyd’s voice didn’t rise, his tone didn’t sharpen.

And his words carried weight.

“Like anybody else who’s chosen to move on, you’ll be given supplies and wishes for a safe journey.”

“That’s the way it’s going to be?”

“That’s the way it’s going to be.”

“But who decides?” A woman in the front raised her hand. “Who writes the laws, and what happens when they’re broken?”

“That’s a good question, Tara. We’re starting off with what I believe every reasonable person in this room will support. Laws against violence, against theft and vandalism. I’ve written up the laws we agree are most essential. We’re going to pass out copies of all that rather than have me stand here and go over every one. I’m just going to example killing.”

He took a sharp breath in through his nose. “Now, we’d agree the taking of a life can’t be tolerated. But what if the taking of that life was in self-defense, in defense of another? That has to be determined. The first line of that determination is law enforcement. We have Carla, who served six years as a sheriff’s deputy, Mike Rozer, who served ten years in law enforcement, and Max Fallon, who led nearly a hundred people safely to New Hope, willing and able to serve the community in this capacity.”

This time Don Mercer leaped to his feet. “I’m not taking orders from some bullshit girl deputy who probably sat on her fat ass eating doughnuts, or some asshole cop nobody around here even knows. And I’m sure as hell not taking nothing from his kind.”

He pointed at Max. “His kind’s what caused all this anyway, and most of us know it. What’s to stop that fucking weirdo from striking down any one of us if he gets the itch? It was one of his kind killed your man, wasn’t it, Lucy?”

A thin woman with short, graying hair nodded. “It was his kind killed Johnny. Swooped in on us like a demon from hell. I barely escaped with my life.”

“Probably his kind that wrecked the old lady’s place. Probably disappeared that kid’s bike, too. Laws, my ass. Just another way for them to screw with actual human beings.”

Max got slowly to his feet, barely spared Rove a glance when Rove rose with a hand on his gun. “It was human beings who killed three of our group, who ambushed us and killed three human beings before we could stop them. If you want to separate us into sides, both sides have dark in them. I know. It was one like me, and not, who caused the death of a young man who’d given us shelter. Who turned against everything we who embrace magick believe. He and the woman who turned him took a life, would have taken the life of my wife and child, my friends. He was my brother, my flesh, my blood, my family, and to stop him from killing, from using what was a gift to destroy, I took his life.”

His gaze shifted, latched cold and gray on to Rove. “Believe me, if you draw that gun and threaten anyone here with it, I will stop you. If one who has the gift seeks to harm, I’ll stop them.

“You insulted my wife, who used her talents to give the simple gift of bread. But that’s not a crime, it’s just ignorance. Draw the gun, if you’re determined to learn the difference.”

“This is bullshit!” Lou Mercer jumped to his feet. “Where does he get off threatening to use his mumbo-jumbo to go after one of us?”

“Where does Kurt get off threatening anybody with a gun?”

Kurt swung around toward Manning. “My gun’s holstered.”

“Be smart to keep it there and sit the hell down.”

“It’s all bullshit.” Lou waved his arms. “Bullshit laws they get to make up? A half-assed police force coming down on us, and all started because some of those up there got here before the rest of us. It’s bullshit. I say we vote on it. We’re still in fucking America, and we get to vote. We don’t just get told.”

“You might want to peruse the laws before—”

“Just shut the hell up!” Lou shouted at Lloyd. “You’ve got no more right than me. I say we vote on this bullshit. We vote if we’re going to let a bunch of assholes tell us how we’ve gotta live.”

“All right, Lou, we can call for a vote. We’ll do a show of hands,” Lloyd suggested. “All those who want no structure of law in New Hope, no designated authority to enforce said laws, and no system of justice to enact consequences for the breaking of said laws, raise your hand.”

He scanned the room. He’d already had a pretty good idea where he’d see hands raised, and was pleased to note he remained a good judge of character.

“I count fourteen against. Arlys?”

“Fourteen against,” she confirmed.

“That’s bullshit,” Lou began.

“You called for a vote. We’re voting. All those in favor of a structure of law in New Hope, a designated authority to enforce said laws, and a system of justice to enact consequences for the breaking of said laws, raise your hand.”

He nodded. “As it’s clearly more than two hundred for, which is the majority, the vote carries for the structure of laws. Eddie, Fred, would you mind passing out the lists so people can read what’s being proposed?”

As they went to hand a stack for each row to pass down, Rove shoved his way forward, snatched a paper from Eddie’s hands, crumpled it, tossed it down.

“Dude, don’t be such a dick.”

Eyes fired up, Rove jerked his arm back, fist balled. He punched it at Eddie’s face, where it rammed two inches away. The fire died to shock, frustration. Then disgust.

“I knew you were one of them.”

“He’s not.” Lana got to her feet. “Not in the way you mean. I blocked your punch, Mr. Rove,” she continued as she walked down. “Because I’m not going to let you bully and physically assault a friend.”

“Aw, Lana, I can handle myself.”

She patted Eddie’s shoulder. “I know it. Go ahead and pass out the stacks.” As Eddie moved on, Lana stepped into his place.

She tapped a finger in the air in front of Rove’s fist. He rolled his shoulder, dropped his arm.

“Would you like to take a swing at me, Mr. Rove?” Without looking around, she held up a hand as Max pushed to his feet. “Or are you going to leave it with insults and bigotry?”

She knew hate when he stood in front of her, and could read through that hate, the humiliation that stained it, just how much he wished to hurt her. And just how much he feared her.

Several more people rose as he stood, his fist still balled at his side and trembling there. Some moved to stand beside her, behind her.