She stood still for a second, taking a long deep breath before opening her eyes and walking into the crowded room. The noise was almost deafening as they walked further into the room, everyone turning to look at her, but no one quietened.
The small room was packed with bodies, some even having to stand at the back. And there in the middle of the room, in a part of the floor lower than the rest, was a single chair.
“I take it that’s for me?” She motioned, waiting for Benedict to confirm with a nod before she sat down.
In the mass of bodies, two men stepped forward and down the steps, coming to stand in the center of the room with her and Benedict.
“Empty the room, only Miss Reece and her guardian to stay,” an older dark-skinned man commanded as he leaned on the dark wooden railing next to him. Now the room quietened, but no one moved.
“I said, empty the room,” he repeated this time his voice was louder and seemed to echo around them.
Jaycen motioned with her head for Benedict to get closer, he bent down, so they were eye-level.
“Is this normal?” she whispered, watching as everyone left, and catching a few people’s eyes watching her closely too.
“Nothing about this is normal,” he told her before standing again, not moving from his place next to her as he shared a quick word with Azrael before he, just like the rest of them, left the room.
Once everyone had left another door to Jaycen’s right open and Thornton and his father George walked in, followed by the two guards that had been at the academy the day before. Timothy was it? Whatever his name was, he smiled at Jaycen before taking a seat on the pews to her left, a smug smile that told her he had been very pleased with how yesterday’s meeting had gone.
Jaycen made a move to stand, only to be pushed back down by Benedict’s strong hand on her shoulder.
“Everyone please, take a seat,” the dark-skinned man, dressed in black commanded, but he stayed standing.
Thornton and his father, George, took their seats to her right. George looked straight ahead, not even glancing at Jaycen. But Thornton was looking at nothing else, his eyes boring into hers.
“Hi,” she mouthed with a little smile.
He didn’t say anything back, just winked and smiled. Looking at him now, you’d have no idea that he had just been arrested. In fact, he looked great. A complete contrast to Jaycen.
“My name is Edemur Ingram, and I will be holding today's proceedings.” He eyed everyone in the room, his eyes practically squinting at Jaycen, before gliding over her. “I believe we have two cases today.”
“Jaycen Reece is not on trial.” Benedict took a small step forward. “She has come to answer questions about a crime that she’s not a part of. That’s it.”
Edemur just stared at Benedict, the corner of his mouth twitched just a little. “Yes, of course. My apologies. I take it you will be Miss Reece’s guardian during the questioning?”
Benedict gave a single sharp nod, to which Edemur noted with another nod.
Jaycen looked around the room, an uneasy feeling starting to form in her gut as she realised just how on display, she looked, sat in the middle of the room, all exposed. While Thornton sat in the pew as if he was a simple bystander and not actually the one on trial.
Before Edemur could carry on talking, George Krull stood, pulling Thornton up with him.
“And in reference to the second case in question, the Krull family has demanded the case be dropped regarding the lack of evidence.”
Edemur didn’t smile now. “The Krull family are unable to demand such a thing. It is the place of this court, to decide whether or not the case has enough merit to be taken to trial or not. So please, Mr Krull, take a seat.”
Well damn, Edemur wasn’t taking any crap from anyone.
While Thornton sat, George stayed standing, his face turning stony and his eyes widening. Had anyone ever said that to him before? Jaycen wondered, and quickly deciding that no, probably not. Jaycen had been so focused on George, that she didn’t notice Timothy stand to her right.
“I would like to drop the charges against Thornton Krull,” Timothy said simply, standing straight with his hands clasped in front of him as he stared straight ahead.
Edemur took what Timothy said in, picking up some papers from a nearby desk, his eyes skimming through them. “Is that right, Timothy? And why is that? You seemed pretty consistent in your statement.” Edemur turned then to look at Timothy.
“Since then we have agreed to settle the matter privately. But thank you to you and the court for its time,” Timothy said, again not looking at Edemur as he took his seat.
George sat too, now, smiling smugly. And just like that, Thornton was off the hook.
Edemur did not look pleased as he scrunched the piece of paper up into a small ball and threw it on the floor. Before turning to look down at Jaycen. “So I suppose that just leaves one.”
Another man stepped forward then, his skin a sickly pale, almost yellow colour. His eyes such a light blue they could pass for white.
“Where were you, Miss Reece, on the morning of the tenth of October?” he asked plainly, no formalities, no introduction, nothing.
Jaycen eyed Benedict, who was still standing tall next to her, also watching this newcomer closely.
She counted in her head, trying to work out what day that would be when she felt Benedict lean down to her.
“It was Tuesday,” he said before straightening.
“Oh, I was in class from eight to three,” she said, smiling sweetly. “Double math, spiritual gym, and art.” Tuesday was her worst day at school, she hated Tuesdays.
“The school will also confirm that,” Benedict interjected smoothly.
Edemur clapped his hand once and stepped back, the other man following suit as a large image appeared in mid-air, almost like a hologram.
Slowly, Jaycen stood, trying to get a better view of the image that now floated just above her. Her stomach churned as the sight of the bloodied-up corpse that floated just inches away from her face in perfect colour.
“This murder also took place on Tuesday the tenth of October,” Edemur interjected, crossing his arms over his chest. “A note was left next to the body, a note giving credit to your father.”
“He’s not my father,” Jaycen shot back as she took a seat. “And it has nothing to do with me.”
There was a second of silence before Edemur clapped his hands and the image disappeared.
“It was also the day you had a dream, isn’t that right Jaycen? A dream where you lost control of your power?” Edemur mused, his features light but his eyes hard and watching her closely.
Jaycen’s body ran cold. “What?”
“A dream?” Benedict cut in sharply. “What the hell are you talking about, Edemur?”
Edemur’s cool demur vanished as his head snapped in Benedict’s direction. “I’m talking about this, Benedict.” Edemur stalked to a table just behind him and reached for a book, a book that Jaycen knew well.
“You stole my diary.” It wasn’t a question. It was now very clear what was happening as the shock started to wear off and to be replaced with anger.
“That is unacceptable,” Benedict seethed, at the same time Thornton said from his seat, “Anything you claim to get from that diary is useless and you know it.”
“Thornton, please let the court handle it,” his father shushed while shaking his head.
“If you were all for the court running its course you wouldn’t be settling Thornton’s case outside of it, would you?” Jaycen said, blankly staring at George Krull. She didn’t look at Thornton, knowing that the dig at his father was also a dig at him, even if she didn’t mean it to be.
“Justice comes in many forms. Miss Reece,” George told her, barely giving her a glance before turning his attention back to Edemur who was stood, still holding Jaycen’s diary.
Edemur smiled as he flicked through the pages, finally stopping at a pre-turned page. “Oh this is it.
You talk about seeing your father, Darius, and your brothers. They asked you to join them…”
“What has a dream got to do with anything? Jaycen could dream that she murdered an entire continent, but if it was just a dream, none of it matters,” Benedict said, almost sounding bored with the conversation. The expression on his face was one of tolerance, like he was tolerating Edemur and the sham of a court proceeding. Edemur saw this too, Jaycen saw it in the slight widening of his eyes and flare of his nostrils. She never understood why, but Benedict seemed to have an all-access pass when it came to The Cure. He wasn’t their leader, or even on the council, but he seemed to be able to do, and say whatever he liked, with no one being able to stop him. Some, like Edemur, clearly hated that his man with no formal power could overpower them with a single sentence. And she would have found that funny, if it wasn’t for the slow smile, almost knowing smile coming from Edemur.
“You’re right Benedict,” Edemur conceded, still smiling. “If all of this was simply in a dream, then yes, it wouldn’t matter. But that isn’t the case here, is it.” He closed the diary, putting it on the side. All of her thoughts were in that diary, everything about her mother’s death, her feeling of inadequacy. Without even thinking Jaycen reached out, making the book fly towards her, its force nudging Edemur’s arm and landed solely into Jaycen’s awaiting hand.
She could tell by his pause that he thought about challenging her, she knew the thought was dropped when he turned to look at Benedict.
“Jaycen has been showing signs of losing control of her powers for some time. In class, which, by the way, you didn’t report, and outside of class.”
They asked him to check up on her. A heavy feeling set in Jaycen’s heart; had he been reporting on her all this time?
“The council asked me to report on Jaycen’s progress, I said no,” Benedict cleared up, unknowingly giving Jaycen the ability to breathe again.
“Do you not think you should have reported a death spell? Or this?” Edemur clapped in hands once, another image appeared in the middle of the room.
This wasn’t just a picture, this was a clip of Jaycen as if someone had been filming her. Everyone watched silently as Jaycen paced, they probably couldn’t tell where she was, as the clip was zoomed in close, focusing solely on her, but she was at the school, and she knew what was coming. They watched Jaycen lose control, they watched her scream out the agony in her head and shoot out power until it hit the picnic table nearby, destroying it.
Goddamn it.
She caught Thornton watching her, he looked confused, hurt even. Oh god, oh god. She looked away, chewing the side of her cheek and daring to look up at Benedict. He didn’t look back, but anger rolled off him.
“I think you can all agree that Jaycen Reece is dangerous and capable of anything. The diary and the clips are just proof of that,” Edemur said, moving so he was closer to Jaycen. “She’s dangerous and should not be allowed to practice magic. In fact, I’m putting it forward to the court that her magic should not only be stripped, but she should be cast out of the magic community. Not just for her safety but for ours, too.”
Chapter 8
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
She had been asked that question a lot over the past few hours. And she still had no idea how to answer it. The first had been Benedict, just after he had taken her by the arm and pulled her out of the court hearing.
“What the hell happened just then?” he had hissed, pulling her into a nearby room. “How would you not have told me any of that?”
He was stressing, his face was getting red. Jaycen was getting the impression that he really didn’t want to hear what she had to say right now. So she had stayed silent.
Then, she had called Gemma and told her everything. Needing advice, but again got the question. Why didn’t you tell me? And again, she didn’t know.
Now Thornton sat in front of her, his elbows resting on his knees, his eyes staring straight at the floor. It had been hours since the court hearing, most of which she had spent in silence, watching Benedict and Azrael curse out every man at The Cure. She’d even smiled a little, seeing him so angry. Who knew that Benedict could even get that angry?
She thought about telling him the truth, she really did. The words were on the tip of her tongue, and she longed to spill them out. Until she saw the bags under his eyes as he ran his hands up and down his face. He looked so tired, so drained. And she knew there and then that she couldn’t lay all her mess on him, not now.
So, she lied. “I was getting it under control.”
He smiled a little without any humour. “It didn’t sound like you are. In fact, it sounded like it’s getting worse.”
“That’s because they only read certain parts of my diary,” she said so easily that for a moment she could see Thornton start to believe her. That didn’t last long.
“Why are you lying to me?” Thornton stood up very solely, his eyes not leaving hers.
“I’m not.” Jaycen tried again, this time laughing, trying to break the tension that suddenly felt so heavy around them.
Thornton moved towards her and bent down until their eyes were level, and Jaycen knew there and then that it really was useless trying to lie to him. He could see straight through her lies and into the very core of her. Gently he leaned forward, tucking a piece of loose hair behind her ear.
“How can I protect you when I don’t know what I’m protecting you from?” His voice sounded like how silk felt, and Jaycen wanted to wrap herself in it.
She smiled. “You know I don’t need protecting.”
“I know that. But it still doesn’t stop me from wanting to. That will never change, no matter how badass you are.”
Jaycen took his hand in hers and ran her thumb up and down his palm. “Even if it means protecting me from myself?”
Thornton’s body straightened; any easy humour vanished as he whispered. “What aren’t you telling me, Jaycen?”
Just then the door opened, and Thornton cursed but didn’t look up.
“Give us a minute,” he gritted out, somehow already knowing who was entering the room as his grip on Jaycen’s hand tightened.
“We have a lot of damage repair to do today Thornton, you know we don’t have time for this.” His father, George, and his mother Joanna, entered the room, his mother forcefully shutting the door behind them. She glanced at Jaycen, her face completely blank as it passed over her before settling on her son.
Now George Krull had always been nice to Jaycen, he’d been one of the very few people at The Cure that had openly talked to her. She was getting the impression that his kindness was not reciprocated in his wife.
“Hi George,” Jaycen put on her sweetest, sickliest voice, pulling his attention back to herself.
“Hello, Jaycen. You look well, especially after the show back there.” He pulled a face as he motioned behind him.
“And it’s Mr Krull if you don’t mind, Jaycen,” Thornton’s mother replied swiftly, not even looking at her as she spoke.
“Then it’s Miss Reece to you,” she corrected back with an arch of her eyebrow and glint in her eyes.
Thornton breathed out a laugh before turning to look at his father. “Not right now Mom, please.”
“Think of the election,” Joanna stressed, “People are already talking. We need to squash this before it becomes anything of importance. The perfect place would be the Sannar’s ball, and now you’re here people will expect you to be there.”
Ball? Jaycen straightened in her seat. How the hell had she not heard about a ball?
“Dad, for love of,” he cut himself off, getting his temper in control before he continued, “Your campaign hasn’t been hurt.”
“You’re very naive for thinking that, Thornton.” Joanna shook her head, disappointment dripping off every word.
Finally, Thornton stood. “Well then, has it ever occurred to you that maybe I just don’t care about your campaign? That I don’t actually believe that you’d
be a good ruler?”
Damn, that was harsh. Now Jaycen stood too, taking Thornton’s hand in her own. “Thorn…” She started, only to be cut off by his mother.
“I don’t care what you think. Thornton, I know we already have your vote. I care what they think. And believe it or not, I care what they think about you. Don’t you think I know your father won’t win this election? We’re not fighting to win, what we’re doing is setting solid foundations for you. So when you’re ready you can campaign and you can win. This is all for you.” She stopped talking but didn’t break eye contact with her son. “So, I’ll see you tonight at the Sannar’s ball.” She turned and left before Thornton could reply. His father just stood there, awkwardly.
“Your mother is just stressed,” he tried to reason, already backing out of the room. “So please come tonight? Make her happy? Or come to keep me sane?”
Thornton rubbed his face. “Maybe.”
“Good.” George smiled and headed out the door but stopped and turned back. “Oh and Jaycen, don’t worry about their threat to take your powers. It probably won’t come to anything.”
And then he left, passing Benedict as he entered the room, still looking mad as hell.
“The court’s been suspended for today,” he told her, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Great, let’s go out into New York and go for pizza.” Jaycen honestly couldn’t have thought of a better idea.
Benedict clearly didn’t agree or even crack a smile for that matter. “No, we still have a lot of work to do. And a lot of people to see if you want to stop them from taking your magic, come on.”
“Can they actually do that? Take my magic?” Jaycen wondered as she followed Benedict down the hall to the main, open area of The Cure with Thornton following.
“They can do whatever the hell they want, normally anyway. But you’ve got Benedict on your side and you’re crazy if you think he’d let them,” Thornton muttered somewhere behind her. She slowed her pace, letting Benedict storm off in front while letting Thornton catch up.
Cursed and Crazed Page 5
