by HDA Roberts
I felt the power of the Archons gather. I would have ducked, but I was already sliding to the ground, semiconscious. The two guards flew back horribly fast, yanked off their feet by Hopkins' power. Palmyra was at my side a second later, helping me to stand.
"Ouch," I managed, seeing three of her.
"You have a bad habit of getting yourself hurt," she said, waving her hand over me.
"I maintain that I was winning."
"Yes, I'm sure you had them right where you wanted them from your spot on the floor," she replied, casting something which fixed the bleeding rent in my head and the concussion underneath it.
"I was doing fine before they played past the whistle."
She snorted before patting my shoulder and getting me back into position. She pulled the manacles up and back onto my wrists, but they were completely broken.
"They were symbolic anyway," she said with a shrug, leaving me to hold them in place.
"Thanks," I said, "for the healing."
"Easier than watching you try to fumble your way through some Flesh Magic," she said with a smirk.
"That's low," I said as she walked back to her seat.
There was a heavy silence as Kron stood, her anger on display for everyone to see. I actually flinched. Kron was even scarier than Lord Death when she was in a mood (and that is really saying something).
"This is a place of civilisation. We do not ambush prisoners, we do not break agreements, and we do not engage in physical violence!" she said, her voice cutting, I looked down in real shame (for a change).
She glared at everyone before settling on Thorne, "You have acted poorly, Sir. My sister can place a call this moment, and find Agent Knowles. Does she have to? Or will you attempt to salvage your honour?"
Thorne glared, but he nodded and left the hall. Brick and Tyrone carried Cranium out and didn't come back, which I appreciated. Then silence reigned; it was disconcerting. People started talking eventually and I was starting to wish I'd brought a book... or a lawyer.
Thorne came back about half an hour later with an irritated Agent Knowles in tow. She stood next to my podium.
"How's it going, Matty?" she whispered.
"Not bad, only been assaulted twice so far, how're you?" I replied, which made her grin.
"Is the interrogator ready?" Thorne asked.
"I am," Knowles replied, turning to face me.
"The prisoner will place his hand on the truth stone," Thorne said. I did as I was told, placing my hand on top of a little white pebble, after which there was a low hum and the handrail turned white. You kept telling the truth, it stayed white, lie and it turned black, simple as that.
"Sorcerer Graves, are you a practitioner of Black Magic?" Thorne asked.
"Nope," I said. White.
"But you have used the Black in the past?"
"I've never cast a Black Magic spell," I said truthfully; it was a grey area.
"But you have made preparations to cast a Black Magic spell?" he continued, his eyes narrowed as he sensed an opening.
"Yes."
"Then you know Black Magic?"
"I do."
"Provide details of that spell now," he ordered.
"No."
"That wasn't a request," he said, his grin widening.
"That wasn't an issue," I replied, "I will not share details of magic that could be used to hurt others."
"Interrogator, as is your mandate, and as the accused has declared himself uncooperative, you will now extract that knowledge from his mind," Thorne said, gleefully, if you asked me.
Knowles focussed, she'd seen where that knowledge was in my head. That was part of the interrogation, to get the subject to reveal where in his memory certain facts were stored.
"I can't," she said, surprised, "It's under a block!"
"Move it!" Thorne ordered.
Knowles focussed, trying to push past the wall in my memory, but it was rather thoroughly in there. An impermanent spell, but a powerful one.
"I can't get past it, Sir," she said, grinning slightly.
"This is a farce, this woman is obviously in league with the accused!" said a familiar voice.
I looked around. Arianna-bloody-Hellstrom!
Knowles looked like she was ready to throttle the bitch. I'd help.
"I am a professional, honoured member," she said coldly, "whatever my feelings for an accused, I will do my duty."
"She should be interrogated, too, ensure that she's acting in our best interest," Hellstrom said.
"You are being offensive, Ma'am," Knowles said, "and it is unwise to insult an officer of the S.C.A. in front of witnesses."
"Don't, Vanessa," I hissed, "It's what she wants!"
Either she didn't hear me, or she didn't choose to.
"Oh yes?" Hellstrom said, "And just what do you intend to do about it? You are obviously biased, everyone here can see it. It's only insulting if it's a lie. Who knows what would happen if we were to delve into your secrets, Agent Knowles. What would that reveal of the relationship between you and this Shadowborn? Did he recruit you? Did he do other things to you? Or with you, perhaps? We're all adults here; nobody can deny the attraction of the darkness to some among us."
"And if anyone would know, it would be a Hellstrom," I said loudly before Knowles could say something to get her fired.
"What's that supposed to mean, Shadowborn?" she spat, standing up. She was in the dignitaries' gallery, close to me and above to my right.
"Mean? Nothing, aside from the fact that every time I've met a Hellstrom, they've attacked me without provocation. One with shadows, one with words and you with ice and wind. Or have you forgotten our meeting already, Duchess?"
I could see her shaking with rage. It was only too late that I realised what she was up to. A revelation that came when I looked in her eyes and saw not rage, but perfect, controlled calm. She was playing a part, laying a trap, which I had just shoved my stupid face right into.
"You have slandered my family! I lay the challenge! Defend your words with proof or defend your life with steel!"
Those words sounded awfully... ritualised.
"What?" I asked, a little baffled.
"Offer proof or face her in personal combat," Knowles whispered, fear in her voice.
"You know I don't have proof beyond my own word, and what use is that in here?" I said a little bitterly, "Although I'd point out that the wretched podium is white as a sheet."
"Enough of this!" Kron said, her voice slightly worried, "We're in the middle of an enquiry!"
"Quite right, honoured Chair," Thorne said, "you may have an opportunity to retract your words at the end, Shadowborn."
"No! I demand that he retract his words now!" Hellstrom said.
Why was she harping this hard?
"Alright," I said, opening my mouth, eager to get this over with, "I-"
"Retract it and that's perjury in Conclave! You're admitting to a false statement!" Knowles hissed, my mouth shut again.
Oh, why couldn't somebody have told me the rules ahead of time?
"Well, Graves?" Thorne asked, his face split by a look of triumph.
"I don't retract it," I said with a sigh.
"Duchess Hellstrom?" Thorne said.
"I demand the right to defend my family name, I call for a blood price! And I challenge this unworthy creature to a duel!"
Oh rats...
There was muttering, an undertone of excitement. This was not good. I'd tasted her power and skill, she was not a slouch. She might well win, the duelling code prevents the use of High Magic, which meant no shadows for me. That was like fighting with one hand tied behind my back, and I doubted that this would be the sort of duel where you get to cry 'Uncle' when you've had enough...
"If you say no, it's the same thing as a retraction," Knowles whispered.
Well, I'd been thoroughly backed into a corner by my own stupidity.
"Oh, alright then," I said reluctantly.
She grinned b
roadly, and was about to say something else when Thorne spoke up.
"You may deal with your own squabbles when this inquest is concluded," he said, "but for now, this body has further questions."
"Oh joy," I said, turning back to Thorne.
Knowles slipped back into my head.
"You recently travelled into the Seelie Realm?" Thorne asked next.
"Yes."
"While there, you engaged a fellow Magician in a Magical fight?"
"Yes."
"And afterwards you allowed him to be taken by the Unseelie Queen?"
"I didn't let anyone do anything. It wasn't my right to give any orders in that realm."
"So you admit that you did nothing to prevent a Magician falling into enemy hands?" he said, his voice loud and triumphant.
"After what he did, he was lucky I didn't leave him skinned alive and nailed inside a salt silo," I said a little acidly.
"The accused will be silent!" Thorne commanded.
"You asked a question, I was only trying to answer thoroughly!"
"Did you, or did you not, let him be taken into custody by the Unseelie?" Thorne asked.
"Where did you get this information? There were four people there aside from myself and that means tha-"
"Answer the question!"
"Yes!" I shouted, "I could have stopped her and I didn't. Nor would I have. There's nothing waiting for him here that could come close to what that murdering bastard deserved! He was taken by people who will teach him the error of torturing innocent creatures! I allowed it, I even made it possible and I am not sorry!"
"So you admit it!"
"I also admit to doing it an entire world outside your jurisdiction," I said coldly, "So, with the greatest respect, get stuffed."
"Mister Graves!" Kron said, turning her icy gaze on me, "You will speak to the honourable Councillor with the respect that is his due!"
"Again, with respect, Ma'am, I thought I rather exceeded the respect that was his due."
Knowles was concealing a grin behind her hand; Palmyra was doing much the same thing. Killian was grinning openly.
"You dare treat this body with such disregard?" Thorne rasped.
"Oh, don't let's go through that again; she already manoeuvred me into the duel, you don't need to put a hat on a hat."
Thorne twitched in near-apoplexy.
"Very well, Mister Graves. While you are right, and we can't prosecute you for actions in Seelie, we can condemn you for what you did to a fellow Magician. Further, by your actions, you have demonstrated a contempt for your own kind-"
I stopped him by virtue of casting an illusion.
I showed them everything, all the pain, the mutilations, the torture; the horror endured by the creatures who'd been taken by the monster Thorne was now lamenting. I showed them Mercucio, lying on filthy straw, a bloody stump growing gangrenous, the Pixies with their scarred backs, Bayano and his stitches; all the others. I concealed their faces, but the message was clear.
"Look," I said softly, glaring around me, "Look at what the man you're defending did. These are Seelie creatures. They were and are harmless. He did this to them, it was meticulous and it was vicious. I found this, I stopped him, and I handed him over for justice. I challenge anyone to say that they would see this sort of suffering and do anything else."
Nobody would meet my eyes, not even Thorne.
"I said that I wasn't sorry not out of pride, or arrogance, but because I did what was just, what was right. It wasn't necessarily a good thing, but it was the right thing. These creatures were the tip of a very large and ugly iceberg. He killed goodness knows how many of them, tearing them apart to produce Black Magic. He chose to go there, he chose to kidnap innocents for his own ends. His fate is his own, he chose it. What happens to him now is on his own head, and after seeing that, you tell me that you hope it doesn't hurt."
I looked around again. They couldn't look at my projections. I released them and they flickered out.
"Anyone?" I asked.
There was some muttering, but nobody spoke.
After that, it was all done bar the shouting. I really was innocent, you see. They couldn't do anything to me once that had been established. They covered the telepathic battle at Thorne's party, I just told them the truth, there. The same for the most recent battle, which Hopkins testified about; that sped the process along greatly.
All in all, I was only there about three hours, which was lightning-fast by Conclave standards. Thorne and the rest of his cronies looked increasing pissed off as time went on. I rather thought they expected me to fail my various tests and reveal my dreadful, dark purpose. In the end, it came down to a blind vote, where everyone pressed a small rune on their seat and thought their decision. The question was whether I should be referred to a Tribunal, sixty-nine percent voted 'no' and that was that.
"And now the matter of Duchess Hellstrom's challenge," Thorne said, a little of his old confidence creeping back into his tone.
And bugger. I'd forgotten all about that.
"I demand an immediate resolution," Hellstrom barked.
"Fine," I said with a sigh, already planning ahead, "Let's get this done."
"I'll act as your second, if you like?" Knowles offered.
"That's nice of you."
"Least I can do, really, come on, I'll show you to the Proving Ground."
Everybody else was filing out too, many of them to watch me die horribly, no doubt.
"The what?" I asked.
"The Proving Ground is where the muckety-mucks fight their duels. It's equipped for safety gear, but most of the time it's just a shield for the audience. Your kind of duel doesn't really have safety involved."
"Graves," said a deep voice from behind me. I swallowed hard and turned.
"Visited by Death before a duel, should I be worried?" I asked Killian.
He actually laughed, "I like you, kid. Try not to die, I have a bet with Thorne, and I would be very displeased if I lost."
"So would I," I replied.
He laughed again and smacked me on the shoulder.
"Just remember, the worst she can do is kill you," he said.
"If that was meant to be reassuring, you've fallen far short of the bleedin' mark!" I complained.
He grinned widely, "Better that than what that Princess of yours has planned. She's here, you know. And her mother."
"I figured. One of them had to provide Thorne with all that information."
"Hey, don't look behind the curtain! Archon wisdom is not for you to poke holes in, Graves!"
I smiled back, I liked Lord Death, we shared a certain sick sense of humour.
"And don't hang about, either, we're already into lunch," he said, walking off to join Kron as she followed the crowd.
"Wow!" Knowles said.
"What?"
"He spoke to you!" she said, "Lord Death himself! And he's funny!"
"Vanessa?" I said as she stared after him.
"Yeah?"
"You've got a little brown something on your nose," I said deadpan.
"I begin to sympathise with all the people that want you dead," she said, punching my shoulder and leading me on. I smiled and followed.
She led me out of the chamber to a dimly lit corridor, and then to a set of stairs that led deep underground. We must have descended more than a hundred metres before we arrived at a level with a small atrium in front of a pair of tall bronze doors, standing open. Beyond the doors was a circular space, the floor was simple grey stone and the walls were black marble. There was a viewing gallery above, with six rows of seats, completely full of spectators. There was an identical pair of doors set in the wall opposite me.
"Rules are simple. The Chair asks if you're both ready, you both say yes, Lady Time says 'Duel' and you fight until one party can't anymore, for whatever reason. Hellstrom's... she's good, Matty. She wins quickly, so make her work for it and you'll have her," she said this last with a great deal of confidence, but the look in he
r eye told me that she was extremely worried.
"Okay," I said, faking some nonchalance, "Um, Vanessa, if something bad should happen to me... would you tell my girlfriend Cathy Campbell that I'm sorry, and that... that I love her?"
"Don't start thinking like that, Graves! Positive Mental Attitude, you're not thinking about losing, got me?"
"Sure," I said, feeling a little queasy now.
The door opened.
"Go get her," she said, squeezing my shoulder. I nodded and walked out.
The room was silent, the gaze of the crowd piercing. There was a cross in the ground in front of me, and I stood on it; it made sense.
Hellstrom did the same at the other end, looking confident and serene. I thought at the time that she was rather under the impression that she was going to kill me. As someone who'd been on the receiving end of her Magic before, I couldn't fault her confidence.
I took a moment to breathe, calming myself. I brought my shield constructs to the forefront of my mind, ready to go.
"Duchess Hellstrom, cannot you be reconciled?" Kron asked, her voice booming through the chamber. I saw her standing in the gallery to my right with the other Archons.
"Only with his debasement," Hellstrom sneered.
"Sorcerer Graves, will you apologise?"
"No," I said, committing myself.
"Graves, are you ready?" Kron asked.
"Yes," I replied quietly.
"Duchess Hellstrom, are you ready?"
"Of course," Hellstrom said, her voice dripping with contempt.
"Begin!" Kron shouted.
We both started with Will. I raised a shield; she sent an attack. There were sparks, and then my real shields were up, and I was already reinforcing them as shards of ice, sharper than hypodermic needles, smashed into my outer layers. I added an additional shield regenerator spell and started gathering force while she focussed on an all-out attack. My shields took massive volleys of ice and force blades, buckling and draining me, barely holding.
I cast Mage Sight, which let me see her start to pull in chemical energy, light and heat. She was readying a multi-energy attack (otherwise known as Chaos-Magic, because there's a lot of unpredictability when mixing so many disparate energy types together), which were not pleasant, and harder to protect against. I made sure that my regeneration spells were working and cast a couple of power-drawing enchantments of my own before starting on my Dispel-Cannon.
