by Jeff Hale
“Yeah, good thinking,” I replied.
Close to a half hour later she showed up with the diary, but by that point I was so stressed that fatigue had set in and I was already half asleep. I put the diary in the drawer of the nightstand and told myself I’d read it tomorrow if I lived through the verdict.
I held no illusion about tomorrow; I figured Darien would sentence me to an execution of some sort just to be rid of me and get me out of Kat’s life.
I awoke to two fae guards rousting me out of bed. They gave me just enough time to shower and dress, then led me to the court room and up the aisle to a podium that had been erected in front of the Adjudicator’s stand.
Darien, Alex, and Kat were all behind the stand as Kat stood to look down at me. I gave her a shocked look of disbelief that she would be the one giving the verdict. Maybe having her go after Serena had been too much. She looked down at some papers, chewing her lip nervously. It wasn’t a good sign.
“The Adjudicating Pack has reached a verdict in the matter of this trial against the Sentinel, Aerick Kerensky. In the matter of murder in the first degree, murder in the second degree, and assault with deadly Aetheric powers against the shifter known as Guy Alejandro, we find Aerick Kerensky… guilty,” she said, her eyes sad as she looked at me. She then continued with the pronouncement. “The sentence is… death.”
I slumped and almost dropped to my knees. So that’s it. I’m going to die. I’m going to die and I will never get to see Serena again.
“However, in light of this trial,” Kat went on, catching my attention, “and in line with certain authorities and responsibilities bestowed upon adjudicators, we have considered Henry Ragingbear’s own criminal activities in regards to these circumstances. In the matter of perjury, treason and assault on mortals, as well as dealing with entities of an evil, cruel, and dangerous bent, we find Henry Ragingbear guilty. Due to the nature of the activity involving Baba Yaga, Queen Cynthia requested that she be allowed to pass sentence on Henry and his pack and we have allowed this. Queen Cynthia has sentenced Henry Ragingbear and the remains of his pack to death as well.”
Kat took a deep, shaky breath. “We have also taken into consideration the threats made upon the person of Celeste Ivory Lynn. It is our belief, most especially due to Henry’s pack’s ties with Baba Yaga, that Celeste’s life was still in danger, and that the threat to her be considered a pre-meditated intent to murder. It is also our belief that Aerick Kerensky was acting on his own belief of this, and that his act of violence on Guy Alejandro was intended as a precautionary measure for her safety. Therefore, we commute Aerick’s sentence to that of grievous injury against a shifter, Henry Ragingbear, punishable by shifter tradition: a fight to the death. This sentence will be carried out in two hours.” Kat gave me a tearful nod as I stared up at her in shock.
What the hell just happened?
Darien stepped down from the stand and walked over to me. He took me by the arm and led me back to my room. Once there I shook him loose and turned to level a glare in his direction.
“Don’t ever touch me again,” I said in an even voice.
“Whoa. We just did you a favor, no need to be hostile. I’m not your enemy,” Darien said, holding his hands up in a show of being harmless. Yeah, that’ll be the day.
“Why? Why did you do this?” I asked, genuinely curious as to his motives.
“Because we can’t have shifters like Henry making the humans out there nervous. That happens and we all end up dead. You know that. Besides, Queen Cynthia made it quite clear that anyone working for Baba Yaga is a threat and would be wiped out by members of her court. Henry’s dead either way,” he said.
I could see that there was something else. I had seen it in his eyes the day before, and again when Kat had announced the sentence. He didn’t like Henry.
“That’s not all of it. It’s personal for you somehow,” I guessed.
“Should be personal for you, too,” he replied.
“It is. Only reason he isn’t already dead is because he got away,” I pointed out.
“Right. Celeste. She really is a sweet, innocent little thing, isn’t she? I understand she’s some reincarnated girlfriend of yours.”
“Not reincarnated. Celeste is Serena. I have no doubt of that now. Not after last night.”
“I thought your Serena died?” Darien arched a dark brow.
“She did. I don’t know how she’s back, but she is.”
“You’re a lucky man. Not everyone has that chance. Some of us have to deal with just knowing that a person’s soul was once the love of our life.”
“Kat?” I asked, remembering what Alex had told me.
“Yes. She carries the reincarnated soul of my dead wife, Sasha.”
Wife? Holy shit.
“What? I mean, Alex mentioned that Kat’s soul once belonged to someone you loved, but he didn’t say anything about that person being your wife. I guess I can understand. I know how I’d feel if Serena were with someone else.”
“You’d eviscerate them,” he said with a dark smile.
“No doubt in my mind,” I replied, nodding.
“Alex is lucky to have survived then.” Darien laughed. “Poor bastard keeps getting mixed up with the wrong women it seems.”
“He has a way of talking his way out of things. Besides I think it was mainly her, doing it to hurt me.”
“Well, she’s been through a lot recently, between your verbal abuse of her, and her boyfriend’s physical abuse,” Darien leaned against the wall.
“What do you mean? I mean, I suspected the abuse, but had no proof,” I said, giving him a shrewd look.
“I saw the bruises myself. She came over to our apartment after a frat party. He had beaten her for being nice to Matt and myself. This Travis boy deserves to be in the hospital. Probably the only decent thing Henry’s pack did in that attack.” Darien snorted and shook his head. “To the point at hand,” he said, suddenly serious, “I want you to know that Henry almost killed Kat once. Possibly planned to rape her, not sure. It never got to that point, but he messed her up pretty badly.”
“Why are you telling me this?” It was news to me and I wondered why she had never said anything.
“Because I want you to know that not only did he hurt your Serena, but he hurt Kat as well.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said grimly.
“See that you do,” he said, turning to leave, “Oh and one last thing. Were I you, I would never pass up a chance to be with Sasha again. Ever. Just some advice, enjoy whatever time you’ve been given with Serena again.”
I nodded as he closed the door. Damn wolf wasn’t half bad after all, maybe I had completely misjudged him. I sat and thought about what he had told me. If I managed to find Serena, I would be with her. No doubt in my mind now. Darien’s words had made the decision so much easier. He was right. If Serena was alive again somehow, I shouldn’t take it for granted. I should take advantage of it. Granted he might have just told me that bit of advice to keep me with Serena and away from Kat, but knowing what I did now, I couldn’t blame him.
When the time came for my fight with Henry, I opened the door right as a fae guard was reaching for the knob. I followed the fae down to the basement, which had been cleared out for the bloody business of a death match. Everyone from the trial stood in a circle around an upraised stage in the very center of the room, including Lucien as my advocate, and Phil as Henry’s.
Henry was already there, waiting, wearing only a pair of loose denim jeans. He grinned at me as I entered the room, obviously looking forward to his fight with me. He honestly thought he would beat me. He obviously had a short memory.
I walked onto the stage, and stood there, waiting. Darien motioned and I heard a chime. Henry immediately went into his Aspect form and charged me. I augmented my body with Aetheric energy and jumped into a flip over his head, conjuring my blades as I did so.
He spun, stood, and swatted at me. I swiped at his paw with m
y fire blade, catching him across the back of it. He pulled that paw back and yowled in pain before catching me mid-air in his mouth. He bit down and shook me and I could hear gasps coming from the crowd. I felt my ribs crunch, and give way, and I felt like I was being sheared in two. I brought my ice blade into his snout and he let go, allowing me to drop onto the floor. Some of the wounds started to heal as I pulled Aetheric energy into myself.
I stood, barely able to find the energy to do so, and he rushed at me again. This time he reared and I barely moved as he clipped my shoulder with his paw. The explosion of pain and force sent me flying through the room, cratering the concrete wall on the far end. The fucker had barely even touched me and managed to get that much force into a single blow. It was a staggering display of power on his part, and I was beginning to actually wonder if I might not win this.
I stood shakily, still using Aetheric energy to heal my wounds, but I was reaching my absolute limit. I needed to finish this. Now. Then a thought struck me. I rushed him, and again jumped, going into another flip.
He turned quickly, exactly as I suspected he would, and started to come up with the upwards double swipe, like he had in our first fight. Predictable. Using the heat in the room, I veered my landing so that I came down on his left, avoiding his uppercut swipe and bringing both blades into the top of his skull as I landed. He roared in pain, and I stepped to the right and pulled his head with me, then I started to twist his head to the opposite side. I heard a crunch, and then the chime sounded again. Darien was holding his hand up. I stopped. Henry tried to fight back but I just held him in place.
“Where the head goes, the body goes,” I warned, pulling on one of the blades again. I glanced towards Darien and saw him give Queen Cynthia a questioning look.
“Do what you feel you need to, Adjudicator,” she told him quietly. “I will abide by your choice.”
“As a reward for his victory over Henry, Aerick will walk free this day, and his past crimes against Henry’s pack will never be brought forth again!” Darien called out.
“He isn’t dead, Darien,” I said through clenched teeth, not willing to believe he’d let Henry live.
Darien stared at Henry and I could see some sort of internal battle going on in his eyes. He wanted Henry dead as much as I did, but something was staying his hand. “Are you so bloodthirsty? Do you see his death as a necessary thing?” Darien asked as I clenched the handles of my blades tighter, trying to keep Henry under control as he fought against me.
“Yes! I have no guarantee he won’t come after me again! Or Celeste! Or you! You have no idea what Baba Yaga may use him for!” I yelled. “Besides, I thought you wanted him dead? I thought Queen Cynthia wanted him dead?”
Darien swallowed hard before answering. “I do. But sometimes there’s a better way. I talked to Queen Cynthia just before you came in and she has agreed to my decision. You have my guarantee for your safety, and Celeste’s,” he said. “Kat, if you would?” He held out a hand towards Kat. She turned and grabbed two items from a table in the back of the room; a silver knife and a chalice.
Darien approached Henry, who had given up struggling. When he saw Darien with the two items he began to struggle again and took human form, even with my blades still in his head. They weren’t deep, but I couldn’t imagine what kind of pain he must be in. I had to admit, he was one tough son of a bitch. I held him still. Darien made a small cut in his hand and held it out over the chalice. I heard each drop of blood hit another liquid already in the chalice. I didn’t know what was going on, but Henry seemed fully aware.
“Don’t make me do this, Darien! Please!” Henry pleaded wildly.
“You will do this, or Aerick will get my go ahead to kill you!”
“I don’t care! Let him! You don’t know what she’ll do to me! To Wally and Jill! This will leave them packless, defenseless! Please, don’t do this!” Henry pleaded with him.
“And you think Wally and Jill will be safe from Aerick once he walks out of here? Or from Queen Cynthia? Remember, they were sentenced to death with you.” Darien shook his head.
“What gives you the right to do this to me?” Henry demanded, his fear fading into anger.
Darien indicated the left side of his chest, something that Henry obviously understood. “This. This is your only choice, Henry. You will be property now, Henry, my property. You will have no status.” He looked over at Wally and Jill, who were still awaiting their fate.
“Will you take them as yours?” Henry asked, and I felt the pull on my blades as he tried to turn his head.
“No. It’s bad enough I’ve made the decision to pollute my pack with you. Besides, I denied Queen Cynthia her sentencing of you, I will not deny her the rest. They are hers to do with as she sees fit,” Darien decreed.
“But, she’s my mate,” Henry protested, lifting a hand towards Jill.
“Do you really want to die, Henry?” Darien asked him gravely. “I’ll give you this choice. Die with them, or take your chances with me.”
Henry’s body shook, vibrating my blades, and he looked from Darien to Jill, staring at her for several moments before looking back at Darien again. “I’ll take my chances with you,” he said through clenched teeth.
“Henry!” Jill cried out in shock.
Henry didn’t bother to look at her, keeping his eyes on the floor. Cynthia motioned to her two guards, who each took hold of Jill and Wally, then there was a pull of power and all four disappeared. Henry made a protesting noise, and then a few seconds later, he howled in agony that wasn’t from my blades still in his flesh.
Darien gave Henry a look that was partly sympathetic. “Do you, Henry Ragingbear, vow to adhere to my commands as Alpha of this pack, to do no harm to your fellow pack members or the avowed mates of your fellow pack members, to do no harm to any under your Alpha’s protection, under pain of death?”
He was silent and Darien nodded at me. I wrenched both blades to one side, causing him to cry out in physical pain. “I do so vow,” he groaned out, and took a drink from the cup, his shaking hands almost spilling it.
I heard Darien, Alex, Kat, and Phil all say, “Witnessed” at the same time.
“I, Darien Torre, take you into my pack, under my command, to do with as I see fit. Your life is mine. With my blood, I declare it so,” he said, almost chanting. “Now, you will let him walk out of here, alive,” he told me.
“You still have no guarantee that he won’t come after me or Serena,” I reminded him, still unwilling to let Henry go.
“I hereby state that Aerick and Celeste, also known as Serena, are under my protection. If any shifter should try to harm them, they will answer to me and my pack,” Darien announced, and I felt something, almost imperceptible, like a trace of a breath across my forehead. “There, that will Mark you and your friend to any and all shifters. They will immediately know that you are under my protection.”
I wasn’t sure I liked the whole Marking idea, and it made me think back to when Raven had done something similar. Were fae and shifters somehow related? Maybe I’d have to ask Raven sometime. I pushed the thought away and motioned with my chin to the back of Henry’s neck. “What about that?”
“Yeah. I can… feel it. The malevolence. Something isn’t happy that I just did that,” Darien admitted.
“Baba Yaga. You just made an enemy of her. Like it or not, we’re in the same boat, and I’m your best defense,” I said.
“Probably. How do we get rid of that? I don’t like the idea of her using our pack bond against us somehow,” Darien asked.
I looked over at Queen Cynthia, who walked over and put her hand over the tattoo. There was a bright glow from under her palm, but after a moment, she withdrew her hand, crying out in pain in a delicate voice.
“My magic is not powerful enough. Sentinel, do you have a way of contacting Mer…” she began, when suddenly a popping noise told us that someone had just teleported into the room. I looked over and saw a younger man, maybe in his mid-thirti
es, with shoulder length, dark-brown hair and wearing a suit and trench coat.
“Ah, Cynthia, were you just asking for me?” the man asked in a jovial voice.
“I was, old friend. I do believe that Adjudicator Torre here has made a grave mistake in pack bonding with this filthy excuse for a human, let alone shifter, and connected himself with Baba Yaga. Since he has certain… connections that you may not want the Iron Hag to have, I figured you might want to remove it,” Cynthia replied pleasantly.
“Ah, yes. I see what you mean. Ah, young Aerick, I see you have gotten yourself into and out of yet another predicament. Good, maybe my training is beginning to take hold after all. You still need to rid yourself of those nasty prejudices though. Anyway, I have another that will be coming to visit, an old friend of yours. She has been trained in the finer arts of Aether-wielding, but she is sorely lacking in combat training. The two of you should be able to teach each other what you know,” he said as he walked over, smiled at me, put his hand on the back of Henry’s neck and made a motion like he was wiping it off, and then the tattoo was gone.
“Her hold is no more.” He looked over his shoulder and saw Lucien. “Old friend! How are you?”
“I am well. I see that you are doing much better now that the Barrier is gone,” Lucien remarked.
“I am indeed. I am indeed. I see that you have taken our young knight here under your… ahem, wing as it were,” Merlin said, chuckling to himself.
“I have. He has proven to be a good friend, and a stalwart companion.” Lucien gave me a smile. I nodded at him and felt a wave of dizziness pass over me.
“You can release the poor bear, Aerick,” Merlin said.
I nodded and dismissed my blades, then took a step back and nearly collapsed. Henry gave me a scathing glare and then lowered his eyes in defeat. He knew that I would have easily killed him in the position I had him in. Not that he hadn’t nearly had me as it was.
