Legion

by Catrina Burgess

  Another round of hostile whispers echoed in the tent.

  Darla continued, obviously pleased by the reaction. “When the zombie didn’t kill enough people, she raised a demon. The demon killed all the mages—killed Luke.” There was a catch in her voice, one filled with remembered pain. Her eyes sought out Luke, who stared back at her, his eyes filled with sorrow.

  She wasn’t lying. I had done those things. Guilt clamped its hand around my heart, making it hard to breathe.

  The thin old woman to Franklin’s left broke her silence to ask a question. Her voice seemed to come from a much younger woman, made lively by an inner vitality despite her years. “And who is this Macaven?”

  Darla paused as if the question surprised her. “He was a death dealer from the Garuda Guild, I believe. He’s dead.”

  Darla stood looking at the three elders. She was silent for so long that finally Franklin said, “Darla Cross, do you have anything else to add?”

  She slowly shook her head. “No.”

  “Very well. Is there anyone who would like to ask this witness any questions?” Franklin addressed the crowd, but his eyes came to rest on me. I tried to gather my thoughts, to think of something that would explain the stark terrible facts of what I had done. How could I defend myself? Everything Darla said was true.

  To my surprise, Freddy stepped forward. “If it’s all right, I have some questions. I know that I am not a member of the guild, but I am a witness to the events, and I may be able to help shine some light on the subject.”

  Franklin looked left and right at his fellow board members, who each nodded in turn. “Very well.”

  Freddy turned to Darla, a nervous smile on his face. “So while you were in the custody of these men, did they tell you why they took you?”

  Darla’s eyes narrowed as though she thought Freddy was trying to trick her with his question. But then she just shrugged and answered, “Yes. We were to be sacrificed.”

  “We? How many people were held captive?” Freddy asked.

  “I’m not sure.”

  He pushed her. “More than a few?”

  “Yes.” She finally answered.

  Freddy’s chest puffed up. He seemed to be enjoying his role as inquisitor. “Why were you going to be sacrificed?”

  “They didn’t really discuss it with us.” Darla was starting to look frustrated.

  “So, you had no idea why they were holding you? They never mentioned why they wanted to sacrifice you? What purpose it would serve?”

  “They were talking about some big ritual.”

  At her answer, he smiled tensely. “What sort of ritual?”

  I let out a sigh. He was trying to get her to say the Garuda Guild had been planning to raise a demon. If he got her to admit it had been their intention, then maybe I could convince them that my releasing the creature had been an accident.

  Darla glared at Freddy, refusing to speak.

  Franklin leaned forward in his chair, and all eyes turned to him. “Darla Cross, as the person bringing the complaint, you do not have the option of standing mute. If you do not answer all of the questions, we will be forced to dismiss your claim.”

  Darla gave Freddy a hateful glare. “The guards said they were going to summon a demon to do their bidding.”

  Another murmur rose from the audience.

  Darla raised her voice to cut through the noise, turning to look at me. “But they didn’t release the demon! She did!” To emphasize her words, she stabbed an accusing finger in my direction.

  “Did they say how and when they were planning to raise this demon?” Freddy demanded.

  “They were preparing for a conclave. I believe that is the party Colina crashed.” Darla spoke quietly, grudgingly.

  “Do you know the exact method used to bring out the demon?”

  She crossed her arms. “No.”

  “So how do you know Colina raised it?” His tone was now light, conversational, but the entire audience was on the edge of their seats.

  “The demon said so.”

  “Did the demon say that it came at her bidding?” Freddy asked.

  Darla stayed silent and looked at her uncle.

  Franklin said, “Answer the question.”

  “It said Macaven was trying to summon it, but he failed. When he did, Colina stepped in and brought that evil creature forth. She brought it here. Her magic is what pulled it straight from hell.”

  A gasp rose from the audience.

  All the while Freddy and Darla verbally sparred, Luke stayed silent.

  “Is it possible that Colina stepped into the middle of a spell put together by Macaven?” Freddy paused dramatically and then continued, “That Colina inadvertently got in the way and made the spell go haywire?”

  Darla’s eyes flashed, “It never would have happened if she hadn’t barged in without thinking!”

  Freddy looked skeptical, “Are you sure Macaven’s spell wouldn’t have worked?”

  “I don’t know if Macaven could have pulled it off. But if he had, that damned creature would at least have been bound. There wouldn’t be a demon roaming around free doing whatever it wants!”

  The expression on Freddy face turned to shock. “You would rather have the demon under the control of Macaven? A man with no morals? A man who intended to sacrifice you during the spell? What happened was an accident, Darla. Colina didn’t go into the hotel intending to bring forth a demon. It was all a terrible, terrible accident.”

  I felt tears swelling in my eyes at his words.

  Darla looked at Freddy as though she wanted to say something, but she didn’t. She kept silent.

  Freddy looked at the audience, as if gauging whether his point was made. He nodded and turned back to the board. “Thank you for your patience, that’s the last of my questions.” He walked back to stand behind me, silent stares following his every move.

  Franklin cleared his throat. “Does anyone else have any questions for this witness?” Silence met his question, and he turned back to Darla. “Miss Cross, you may now call any witnesses who can back your claims.”

  Darla struggled to gather herself before turning to look at her brother. “I call Luke Cross.”

  All heads turned in unison to look at Luke. He still stood by my side.

  Would he defend me or join the accusers? I held my breath as I waited to hear what he would choose.

  His voice was soft when he said, “I don’t have anything to say.”

  Franklin looked surprised at his answer. “You’re refusing to testify?”

  His hand was still on my shoulder. His fingers pushed into my skin. “Yes, I’m refusing to testify,” he said through gritted teeth.

  Franklin looked speculatively at Luke, sadness and concern shadowing his eyes, before turning back to Darla. “Do you have any other witnesses?”

  Darla turned to look at Freddy, her brow creased in consternation.

  Freddy grinned back as if daring her to call on him. She must have thought better of it. As a last resort, she looked at Dean, who shook his head slowly back and forth. Darla was on her own.

  “Does anyone else wish to speak?” Only silence met Franklin’s question.

  He turned his attention to me. “Miss Campbell, you have the right to reply to this charge. If you wish to call witnesses to your defense, you may do so.”

  My mouth opened, but no sound came out. What could I possibly say in my defense? Feeling self-conscious at all the people staring at me, I ran a hand through my hair and then felt my cheeks burn in embarrassment. As if unruly hair would make the board more or less likely to burn me at the stake.

  As my hand moved through my hair, the angle of my wrist gave Franklin a clear look at the black lines weaving up my forearm, the clear sign of demon poison slowly following the veins to my heart.

  Franklin’s eyes widened in shock. He looked from me to Darla but didn’t say anything.

  I yanked my sleeves down and racked my brain, trying to think of anything I could
say that would make this better. Darla had been right to focus on the night of the conclave. I had raised the demon, and I had raised a zombie and used it to kill. I had done everything she accused me of. Freddy had done his best to show that there were extenuating circumstances, but I doubted that would make a difference. There were no circumstances that made it acceptable to raise a demon.

  I began speaking without much idea of what I was going to say. “I’m sorry... Sorry for everyone who was hurt by my part in this. Macaven killed my entire family, all to power his demon-summoning spell, and when I tried to stop him, I somehow set it free. I know my actions have affected everyone in this room.” I forced myself to turn and look into the crowd. Facing the countless death dealers, I squared my shoulders and said defiantly, “But even knowing that, I don’t think I would’ve done anything differently. Macaven had to be stopped, and no one else was doing anything. Macaven paid for his crimes with his life. It brought me no peace, but it had to be done.” I swallowed hard. “And I regret especially what this has cost Luke…and I have spent all of my time since trying to make it up to him.”

  I hesitantly looked up at Luke. He smiled back at me, his eyes filled with a lifetime’s worth of sadness. In that moment I didn’t see Caleb at all in his face—just Luke. Hot tears filled my eyes. I looked down at my hands, turning back to face Franklin and the elders before the audience could have the satisfaction of seeing me cry.

  Franklin waited for a moment to be sure I was finished before speaking. “If there is no one else that wishes to speak, the board will retire to deliberate.”

  He waited to be sure no one else wanted to speak, and then he rose to his feet and headed out of the tent. The rest of the board followed slowly.

  As soon as their calming presence was gone, the tent dissolved into chaos. The cacophony of raised voices made it impossible to hear individual discussions. Luke, Dean, and Freddy came to sit with me, trying to make small talk to pass the tense wait, but I couldn’t make myself sit still. I excused myself to find a bathroom, but once outside I just moved away from the noisy tent.

  Soon I came across more raised voices, and I almost moved away—I didn’t want to hear some random death dealers arguing about whether or not I should die—but then I recognized Darla’s angry voice. I froze, listening carefully.

  “…but, Uncle Franklin, we had no choice! We have to deal with her and the demon now, before they can figure out how to bring the rest over!” I caught sight of the two of them around the corner of a tent. They were standing close together in the fringes of the dense forest—far enough not to be heard by the rest of the camp, but not to cover their raised, angry voices.

  “That isn’t your decision to make, young lady,” Franklin said harshly. Taking a deep breath, he continued in a tone of overtaxed patience. “The guild has a council for a reason. Our gifts make our kind susceptible to rash and overly harsh decisions, and the council keeps us from just the kind of notoriety this incident creates.”

  He looked toward the far side of the camp where the cabin was visible through the trees. “Are you telling me there is a demon in that cabin?”

  “Yes, but it’s bound in human form. We can kill it and end this once and for all.” Darla’s voice was emphatic.

  “And what about the child it has possessed?”

  “It didn’t possess the child, it made it from scratch.”

  Franklin shook his head, “No, my dear, that’s not the way it works. The demon had to have something to work with, some seed to build on.”

  Darla looked confused, working through Franklin’s logic despite her anger. “No—it looks like Colina. I guess it somehow used her sacrificed family to make a vessel. But that doesn’t make it a person.”

  “That is for the council to decide, not you. Colina may die because of this spell of yours, and I’m not entirely sure that wasn’t your plan from the start.”

  Darla made no attempt to deny it.

  He took a deep breath, glaring into Darla’s eyes as he spoke slowly. “You will not take any action from now on without council consent. This little ritual of yours is canceled until further notice.”

  “Uncle Franklin, you can’t do that. We have to act now while we still can!” Darla curled her hands into fists, barely containing her anger.

  “It is already done.” He spoke firmly but then softened his voice and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Darla, for your own sake, leave this in the council’s hands. You don’t need the weight of this decision on your soul.”

  Without another word, Darla turned away from him, striding into the woods with tears of betrayal in her eyes. I stepped back behind a tree before either of them could see me, waiting until I could no longer hear the leaves crunching under their feet before I walked back to the tent.

  Darla may not have been able to count on family loyalty to hand her my head on a platter after all. If Franklin was concerned about my safety, it must’ve meant that he didn’t intend to do me in. That, at least, was promising.

  As I stepped back into the tent, noisy conversations paused and all eyes turned to me. I took a few steps in, and then conversation started again. As I walked between the tables I heard whispers of “Garuda Guild” and “Macaven.”

  If nothing else, the trial let the Phoenix Guild hear from Darla’s own mouth that someone else might have borne some of the guilt for what happened.

  I moved back to my table at the front, now crowded with Luke, Dean, and Freddy. I was a bit surprised to see them all sitting together peacefully. Freddy seemed to be carrying most of the conversation. I sat down at the end of the table, my knees rubbing against Luke’s on one side and Dean’s on the other.

  Freddy kept up a constant stream of irreverent comments interspersed with jibes at everyone’s expense. I suffered an odd sense of déjà vu. I remembered spending time with people my own age, laughing and talking about nothing of much importance, and I became very homesick for my own clan and family. I knew there was no going back. My family was dead, and my clan would never forgive and forget. They would be even less understanding than the Phoenix Guild. At least the guild acknowledged the occasional need for violent action. The clan, on the other hand, would never understand such acts of violence or the darkness that now coursed through my body and my mind.

  At some point Darla came back in, and several of her young friends joined her at her table. They whispered in harsh tones and shot angry looks in my direction.

  I wondered how long it would take for the elders to render a verdict. If it took too long, would the death dealers mingling around decide to take justice into their own hands?

  The thought had barely crossed my mind when the board members filed back in and made their way to their table. The audience instantly went quiet, this time without any prompting from Franklin. Anticipation charged the air. By the look on the crowd’s faces, they were hoping for blood.

  My body tensed. I realized my hands were curled into fists. I was ready for a fight if they wanted one. I looked over at Luke. His whole focus was on his uncle. I could tell by the clench of his jaw that his thoughts were running along the same lines as mine.

  I took a deep breath and tried to remain calm, sitting stiffly in my chair as I waited for the verdict.

  Franklin seemed to sense the tension running through the crowd, because he didn’t take long to come to the point. “The board has reached a verdict. Colina Campbell, we find you guilty of violating guild law.”

  My heart sank. I don’t know why I was surprised at the ruling; did I honestly expect them to find me innocent? I hadn’t exactly gone down on my hands and knees and begged forgiveness.

  At the verdict a cheer went up from Darla’s table, but to my surprise it didn’t seem get much traction in the rest of the room. Everyone was quietly staring at Franklin. I realized the most important part of the verdict hadn’t been announced—my punishment.

  “Colina, you will be taken to the elders at Fjellborg, our oldest retreat, to be educated in how t
o use and control your powers. They will also instruct you in the rules and limitations of your new guild. You will remain there until your twenty-fifth birthday. When you turn twenty-five, the council will review your progress to be sure that you are no longer a threat to yourself or to others.”

  A shock went through my system. Seven years? They really thought I would stay with a bunch of old people I didn’t know for seven years? I looked around at the crowd. There were many unhappy faces. Seven years held prisoner at a remote location was not a severe enough punishment for the Phoenix Guild. I started to stand, but Luke’s hand reached out and grabbed my wrist. His grip was so tight, I gasped. We looked at each other. I could see the anger in his eyes, could feel his fingers begin to heat with hellfire. He was keeping it under control, but just barely.

  “Colina, it’s suicide to try and fight,” he hissed under his breath. “You have to tell them you accept their verdict.”

  I pulled my arm way and hissed, “You’re insane if you think I’m going to let them lock me up for seven years.”

  “I’ll go with you.”

  His words made me pause.

  His eyes narrowed. “I will convince my uncle to let me go with you.”

  I gave a harsh laugh. “You really think he would let you? And even if he would, you want to go off to this place? You know they’ll have me under constant supervision. I won’t be able to leave. I will be a prisoner for seven years. How is this not worse than being held hostage by Gage?”

  “My people only want to keep you safe...”

  My people. My words were laced with anger as I spat back, “Your people are no different than Gage. They want control over me, over my magic.”

  Dean and Freddy had both stayed silent until now, but Dean leaned forward and said, “They want to reign your magic in.”

  “Reign in my magic or control me, what’s the difference?”

  Freddy spoke, “Colina, this verdict is a good thing.” I started to protest and he raised his hands as if in surrender. “I get you aren’t thrilled with idea of going to this place. But the verdict could have been worse. It could have been death. At least you’re alive.”