by Sean Stone
I shook my head. “It’s fine, go see the rooms. I’m in no danger here,” I said and headed off for the restaurant. I didn't fully trust Clara, but I didn’t think she’d try to harm me.
Clara was sitting at a table near the edge of the room waiting for me. She was wearing her usual dark blue suit and had her long blond hair up in a back-beehive style. When she saw me her lips twitched into the smallest of smiles. I approached casually and then dropped into the chair opposite her.
“Clara,” I sighed.
“Eddie,” she replied. “You’re looking very smart.” She pointed at my suit.
“Ashley’s funeral this morning. Didn’t see you there,” I said, not masking my displeasure.
She held her own and didn’t look away from my cold glare. “I thought my presence in Maidstone would have caused problems. There are so many people living there now who would rather not encounter me. And of course, let us not forget that I am banished from your town. By decree of the king.” She added the last with a little mirth. I allowed a little smirk to appear on my face.
“Good point.”
The waiter appeared then to take our orders. I ordered a rum and coke and the beef wellington. She had a white wine and a fillet of lamb. We waited for the waiter to leave before picking up our conversation.
“I do mourn Ashley. I want you to know that. She was a sweet girl. A good person. You were better for having her in your life,” Clara said kindly.
“I know I was.” I had to look away before Clara noticed the emotion on my face.
“I only hope that you carry a piece of her with you to remind you of your potential for good.”
“Is that a fancy way of saying you’re worried I’ll go back to my old ways?”
“Dean texted me. He told me about your trial today,” she said disapprovingly.
“They murdered Ashley.” I could not believe that she was being judgemental over this. The punishment fit the crime.
“Ashley’s death was an accident.”
“An accident they caused,” I growled, leaning forwards over the table. My raised tone caught a few looks from the surrounding diners and I relaxed back into my chair. I didn’t want to make a scene. “What does it matter anyway. It’s done now.”
“Indeed. I asked you here to discuss Laura Pelling. The warlock you captured. It seems that her former master has been drawing in warlocks from all over the country. They are gathering, I would imagine, to challenge me and the AOC. I’m sure you can understand why this troubles me. Nobody I’ve spoken to knows who this warlock is. Nobody in Aldric’s organisation knows. It seems that Sebastian was the only person to ever deal with him.”
“If this warlock is living in the shadows then he’s obviously scared,” I suggested.
“But why? We know he is more powerful than I am,” she said. The drinks arrived and we had to wait for the waiter to leave us in private once again.
“He’s more powerful than you, but not more powerful than your whole alliance. He needs more support before he can step into the open,” I said. I took a big gulp of my drink. It was some nasty tasting kind of rum they’d given me, not the Captain Morgan’s I was used to. Funny isn’t it? I used to hate drinking and now I’ve got a preferred brand of rum.
“That might be the case. I hope to stop him before he gets the support he needs. I’m going to offer Laura amnesty in exchange for her complete co-operation.”
“You think that will work?” I asked doubtfully.
“Yes. Your presence will ensure it,” she said confidently.
“I don’t know how you figure that. I already tried getting her to talk. She isn’t scared of me.” Despite it’s appalling taste I finished off my drink and then indicated to the waiter that I wanted another.
“I have a very strong feeling that this time will be different,” Clara said. This time her confidence bugged me. She was more confident than she should have been, and it made me suspicious. She had something up her sleeve and somehow it involved me. I did not like that.
“I really wouldn’t count on it,” I replied. Our lunches arrived then and we both tucked in in silence.
Chapter Five
The next morning, I got a call from the concierge desk informing me that Dean was here to escort me to my appointment. I had a quick shower and threw on some clothes. I wasn’t relishing the idea of wearing the same suit I’d worn to Ashley’s funeral but thankfully I didn’t have to. Somebody, probably Gabe, had sneaked into my room and laid out a brand-new suit. It was charcoal grey with a light grey shirt and a black tie. I’m not really a suit wearer but Gabe obviously thought that this hearing was a formal occasion. Had I chosen my own attire I would not have chosen a suit, I would have gone in my usual casual appearance. Jeans and a t-shirt most probably. Nonetheless I pulled on the suit and had to admit I looked good in it, if a little bit smarmy. I neglected to wear the tie. I didn’t want to make too much of an effort for Clara.
I left my room and found Gabe waiting patiently in the hallway. He was wearing a navy suit and had combed his blonde hair neatly to the side. I hadn’t even bothered to check my own hair, it usually just did its own thing anyway.
“You didn’t like the tie?” he asked after giving me a once over.
“Not that formal a guy,” I explained as I headed for the lift. He’d been around me long enough to know that.
“How was your afternoon and evening?” he asked.
“Dull.” I stayed in my room and watched telly for almost the entire time. I didn’t feel like doing anything else. “Yours?” I added, not wanting to be rude.
“Quite good. I explored the town. It’s not a bad place. Despite being full of vampires, werewolves and sorcerers, they all keep to themselves and don’t cause trouble. I met a vampire in a nightclub who said a few years ago you couldn’t go anywhere around here without running into trouble. It’s impressive how much it’s changed,” he said in admiration. If I wasn’t careful he’d defect to Clara. We stepped into the lift and hit the button for the ground floor.
“Yeah. That’s exactly what Clara wants us to think,” I murmured.
“I’m sorry?” he said in confusion.
“That’s why she got us here so early. So, we’d have time to explore the town and see how well she rules. She thinks that if I see what a good job she’s done here, I’ll hand over Maidstone.” It was never going to happen.
“Oh,” he replied, lost for words. He looked away awkwardly as if he’d done something wrong.
“You’ll pick up on her tricks once you’ve been around people like her for a while. I’m sure you’ll see some today.”
The doors slid open with a ding and we stepped into the posh lobby of the hotel. I’ve never been one for poshness, so I don’t know why Clara put me up here of all places.
“Do you think I’ll be allowed into the hearing?”
“Well I’m not going in without you,” I said matter-of-factly. He couldn’t exactly guard me from outside.
I saw Dean loitering by the doors and headed over to him. He acknowledged us with a slight raise of his chin and then nodded for us to follow him outside. In his faded leather jacket and messy hair he looked as out of place in the hotel as I felt.
It was a clear sunny day outside and I wondered how hot Dean was in his heavy leather jacket. I’d never seen him without it. “Is that jacket surgically attached?” I asked him.
He raised an eyebrow and hit me with a bored expression. “Get in the car.” He opened the rear door of his flashy Mercedes.
“New car?” I asked as I ducked inside.
“One of the perks of working with Clara,” he said. I wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be his idea of trying to tempt me over. I can’t drive so it was a wasted effort.
“Is there a generous pension plan too?”
He slid into the driver’s seat. “I’m still not convinced I’ll make it to retirement,” he said. He was only partially joking.
“Yeah. I know that feeling.” I f
orced thoughts of Annabelle’s prophecy out of my mind.
“You know they’re not going to let a vampire into the AOC headquarters, right?” he said, glancing at Gabe as the vampire slipped into the seat next to me.
“They’re going to have to if they want me in there,” I said, making it clear that it was non-negotiable.
Dean sent a quick text and within seconds he got a reply. “Alright, she says it’s fine. They’ll have to adjust the security when we get there.
“Marvellous.”
The town was fairly quiet and we moved through it with ease. Dean drove slowly, no doubt to show off how peaceful it was in glorious old Cedarstone. I shook my head and enjoyed the view.
“So, I’ll run you through how it works. These hearings. Clara runs them. There are too many covens in the alliance to have all the dynasts on the panel these days so for each hearing six dynasts are randomly selected. The names were drawn a few days ago. Anyone on the panel can question the subject of the hearing. At the end of the hearing Clara will put forward a ruling and the panel will vote for or against it. If there’s a tie, Clara breaks it,” he explained.
“How many of these hearings have there been?” I asked, trying to digest the information he’d thrown at me.
“Uhm…. A lot. We’re definitely into triple figures.”
“And how many times has Clara been voted against?”
“None.”
I let out a dry chuckle. Exactly as I thought. It wasn’t a true democracy. I’d seen Clara’s plans to install herself as supreme dynast a long time ago. The deck would be rigged in her favour.
“Clara isn’t the dictator you seem to think she is. She handles things fairly. Nobody is forced to side with her, her rulings are always what everyone thinks is best,” Dean said. It was clear that he believed what he was saying, but I was not convinced.
“May I ask a question?” Gabe asked, looking at me for permission. He usually stayed silent as was the job of a bodyguard. I’d never actually told him he couldn’t speak though, and I didn’t have a problem with it.
“Go ahead.” I shrugged.
“What kind of a defence does the subject of the hearing get?” he said, his brow furrowed thoughtfully.
“They defend themselves,” Dean admitted after a pause. There was something he didn’t agree with about Clara’s process. I sat back and smiled smugly.
“Seems fair,” I muttered.
The AOC headquarters was a new build and it was ugly. It was a five-storey glass dome that reflected the sun in a dazzling display of hideousness. I shielded my eyes as I looked at the crystal monstrosity. There was no sign indicating what the building was. That made sense, they couldn’t advertise a headquarters for a bunch of witches when they were trying to maintain secrecy.
“What do you think?” Dean asked.
“Well…” I tried to think of a polite way to phrase my thoughts on the building.
“It’s fucking ugly,” Dean said, finding the perfect words to fit my sentiments.
We walked down the white paved pathway that was framed by vibrant green grass. Waiting by the entrance was a gangly woman with dark hair pulled back in a pony tail. She was wearing black trousers and a yellow blouse. Her name badge said she was Gwen, Security Operative.
“Hey, Gwen,” Dean said as we reached her.
“Dean.” She nodded respectfully. “You’re Mister Lancaster?” she said turning to me.
“Eddie’s fine.” I said. I hate being called Mister Lancaster. Far too formal.
“And you are the vampire I’ve come to sort.” She spoke to him as though he were a farm animal. Gabe blinked and looked down at his shoes as if he was embarrassed. I noticed then that he’d removed his tie. Obviously trying to match my appearance. His loyalty only made me angrier at her rudeness.
“His name is Gabe and you’ll speak to him with a bit more respect. You’re just a security operative whereas he is my head of security,” I said in my best stern voice. She blushed and looked at me apologetically. Dean looked amused.
“I meant no offence,” Gwen said quickly. “I just need a blood sample so I can adjust the security defences.”
“Huh?” I made no attempt to hide my confusion.
Dean stepped in to explain. “The building is protected by a massive spell. It draws power from all the covens. Non-sorcerers can’t enter the building. Gwen will use Gabe’s blood to adjust the spell so he can enter.”
“Got it.” I watched as Gabe bit into his hand and then squeezed his blood into a plastic container for Gwen. It would have looked awfully strange to any passers-by. Luckily the building was out of the way. Nothing but clear green fields were nearby. The location was obviously a strategic one. Clara couldn’t have humans accidentally glimpsing what went on here.
Gwen popped inside and after a minute or two returned saying the spell had been updated. She made it sound like a bit of computer code.
“Seems odd that it doesn’t bar warlocks,” I said to Dean as he led us inside.
“Doesn’t need to,” he replied.
As soon as I passed through the doorway I realised why. A strange sensation passed over me. It felt like I’d walked through a curtain of electricity. My entire body tingled with static as it moved over me and once it was gone I was left feeling empty. Weak. I’d felt like this only once before and I had not cared for it then either. I looked at Dean, my expression was murderous.
“Anyone not part of the alliance is stripped of their magic when they come in. Don’t worry it’ll come back as soon as you leave.”
I looked over at the door. I was tempted to leave at once. Then I saw Gabe was there by my side. Despite the fact that Clara and her minions would undoubtedly be able to take him on with no trouble at all it still gave me comfort to have him with me. Besides, Clara had not gone to all this trouble just to lure me into a trap. She was trying to woo me, not attack me.
“Let’s get on with this then,” I growled.
The court room was in the very centre of the ground floor. Like the rest of the rooms in the building the walls were made entirely of glass, only this room’s glass was black and opaque.
“Here’s where I leave you,” said Dean. “Enjoy the show.”
Once he was gone Gwen pushed open the door and led us inside. The circular room was vast. The ceiling clearly stretched up a storey or two and I noticed there were balconies on the upper floors where people were watching. The edges of the room held raked seating which was filled with more observers. There was quite an audience today and every pair of eyes was on me. In the centre of the room was a raised platform on which stood a wooden box for the subject to stand in, just like in any other courtroom. At the head of the room was a long desk which stood several feet above the rest of the room. There sat the panel. Six sorcerers looked down on the room, on me. They were three either side of an even higher desk. A tall leather chair sat empty behind it. I shook my head at the hubris of it all.
“May I present Mister Edward Lancaster. Honorary guest and enforcer of the panel,” a chubby man called out to the room. There were murmurs from the audience and the dynasts began whispering to one another. The chubby man who I assumed was some sort of bailiff nodded to Gwen who then led Gabe and me over to the other side of the room. An extra chair and been added to the end of the panel desk. Only one I noticed. Gabe was shown over to the raked seating. He sat as close to me as he could. He would easily be able to jump to my defence from where he was, but I doubted that would be necessary.
I sat down next to a tall elderly lady. She looked about seventy and had curly, light brown hair. Definitely dyed. She was wearing a lilac jacket with a tulip brooch on the lapel.
“Good morning, Eddie,” she said politely. There was something incredibly stern to her voice even though there was happiness mingled within.
“Uhm, morning. Do I know you?” I asked.
“No,” she said with an amused smile. “I’m Shirley Demelza. Dynast for the Medway coven.”
> “Nice to meet you,” I replied. I’d heard of Shirley Demelza. She was supposed to be a pretty formidable sorcerer. Not one that you wanted to get on the wrong side of. “How is being a sorcerer in Medway since the vampires moved in?”
“We live in the villages not far from Rochester. Small villages don’t interest vampires very much. They can’t hide well when the population is so low. We have an agreement with the Syndicate. We don’t go in their territory after sunset and they stay out of ours. We arranged it when Sebastian was in charge and Aldric renewed the terms when he took over. Maybe one day we’ll be able to send them packing for good but for now we have to play nice.” There was a glint of danger in her eye when she said that and despite the frailness of her old appearance I had no trouble imagining her going toe-to-toe with a vampire.
“I like you,” I said, smiling to myself.
“I don’t recall asking for an assessment,” she said, pursing her lips and moving her gaze around the room.
Beneath the arrogantly high desk at which I was sitting there was a small door which now opened. I watched as another bailiff, this one a short balding man, led out the subject. Laura Pelling. She looked fairly healthy considering she’d been a prisoner for several weeks. I’d expected Clara to neglect her but instead she was dressed smartly in a nice black suit and her red hair was brushed neatly and tied in a plait. She kept her head down as she was taken to the box in the centre of the room and nudged inside it. The bailiff remained at her side.
“Looks like it’s starting,” Shirley whispered to me. She was smiling again. “I’ve sat on the panel for about ten of these hearings and after a while they all get a bit dull. This one will be different because you’re here.”
“How so?” I asked. I was here simply to observe and nothing more.
“Oh, Eddie. We’ve all heard of you. We know how you spice things up when you get involved even when you don’t mean to and believe me this tedium needs spicing up,” she said excitedly.
“Well I hate to disappoint you but I’m not here to spice anything up. I’m just here to watch.”
