by Lelana Croft
I laid on the couch and pondered my situation. I had no idea what the Council would do to me. I’d been behaving pretty well, up until this guy.
Sure, my father had had to bail me out of a few things in the past. I was sure he’d figure out something now. He’d never been there for me as a kid and he’d felt guilty about that, so I made sure to utilize that as much as I could to continue fighting these evil people and supers.
Even though most of the human population knew we all existed, we still tried to keep a low profile. There were a few that used their powers to put on shows to keep the humans entertained and zombified, so they wouldn’t see what was really going on. But that’s true for most governments. Keep the attention on one side while doing something completely different elsewhere. It was just the way of things.
Our society was no different. Only, we really did just want to exist peacefully without interference.
As a half angel, I just wanted to fix the wrongs that I knew about. Our purpose as angels was to watch over and protect those who were trying to do good. If there were bad influences, our job was to be the good influence and let the human decide by using their free will. Some chose the good path, some didn’t. It wasn’t for us to choose, but to help show them the good options.
Unfortunately for me, being half human made it harder. I chose to live by the rules of The High Council, but the rules weren’t always what was best. I decided to make those choices and had to live with those decisions. Most of the time, my father could keep me from getting into too much trouble.
I was pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of whispers down the hallway. Quietly, I made my way to the door and strained to listen. It sounded like a woman and my father.
“Adimus, you can’t keep covering for her. She knows the rules and she is choosing to break them. If you keep bailing her out, she’ll just keep doing what she wants and not follow the rules in place. This could disrupt a very delicate balance for us.”
“I understand what she’s done. It’s the human side of her that longs to right the wrongs. But she’s not a threat. I’ll talk to her. I’ll make her understand,” I heard my father respond.
“You don’t have a say in it this time, Adimus. The Council has already made their decision. Please bring her into the courtroom,” the female voice said.
I backed away from the door and over to the bar to pour myself a glass of water. I heard the latch click and the door open. My father stood there with a half-smile, but his eyes told me what I already knew.
“It’s time,” he said as he motioned for me to follow him.
I put down the glass and walked over to him. Before passing him into the hallway, I stopped and laid my hand on his forearm. I could feel his sadness.
“I’ll be okay. Whatever happens, it will be okay,” I said, trying to reassure him, but not knowing exactly what I was reassuring him for. I knew that whatever the punishment was, it would be something I could deal with. Plus, these were angels. It’s not like they could send me to hell. They didn’t have that kind of power.
I knew that being the daughter of one of The High Council members would afford me some leniency. So I wasn’t too worried about what was coming. I just had to get through the grilling that was coming and take whatever they gave me, and at least pretend like I was sorry.
We made our way into the courtroom. I had never been in here before. In the past, I’d just been taken into chambers with a few of the council members and chastised, promising to behave myself, and being let go with a slap on the wrist.
A certain amount of foreboding came over me when we walked into the room.
There was a single chair, surrounded by a circle of lights in the middle of the room. It was dark all along the outside and I couldn’t make out anyone familiar.
“Take a seat, Scarlett,” my father said, pointing to the chair in the middle of the room. I went and sat down. A strange sensation moved across me as I saw the lights turn to a shade of purple. I leaned to reach out to the light and felt electricity nip at the tips of my fingers as I got closer. I decided it was best not to get any closer and pulled my hand back.
Crap, I was in a cage. I guess if you’ve offended this badly, they’d want to make sure you couldn’t use your powers on them.
The brightness of the light didn’t allow me to see who was in the shadows around me.
“Scarlett Steele, you are here today to answer for the deaths of Ben Nichols and Hugo Sharp. What say you?”
Wow. This is almost formal.
“What say me? Here’s what I say. Ben Nichols was a vampire who glamoured people to doing his bidding. And that bidding was to purchase innocent girls and sell them into prostitution or some other horror. I don’t care if he was a Senator. He was doing bad things, even by the laws of humans. And no one would listen to me when I tried to tell everyone what was going on. You all just told me to mind my own business, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t let another elitist politician get away with pedophilia. Unfortunately, Hugo was a decent person. I didn’t know him for long, but he was also trying to do the right thing by helping me. I’m sorry I couldn’t heal him fast enough to save his life. Did you know those poor girls were only fourteen? And there were fifteen of them that got saved that day. So what I say, is that I killed one bad person for the lives of fifteen good ones. Hugo just happened to be taken out in the process and for that, I am sorry. But I’m not sorry for killing Ben Nichols!”
I found myself standing up and yelling before my little speech was done, breathless and passionate with trying to keep my emotions in check. I’d seen what the routine was with Ben. I had seen what he was doing to those girls before they were even sold off. How many had he already abused and humiliated before I’d gotten there? Hundreds probably.
I plopped down into the chair and folded my arms defiantly across my chest. Surely, they would see the error of their ways and just free me and tell me to go out and keep doing what I was doing.
There was a soft whisper out of the dark. I didn’t know how many council members were even there. That pissed me off even more.
“Isn’t there a rule about me being able to face my accusers? Why are you hiding in the dark? Are you afraid I might come after you or something?” I yelled.
The room was silent for several long seconds. Then the room began to lighten and I could see that I was surrounded by a huge circular table. The only opening was where I’d entered the room. Around the table sat every member of The High Council, including my father who was looking down and picking at his fingers.
There were twenty members that sat in judgement of me. I looked at each of them carefully, so I would know them again if I saw them.
The woman that sat in the middle began to speak. I recognized her voice from the hallway earlier when she had been talking with my father. Her voice was soft and kind, not what you’d expect from someone getting ready to decide your fate.
“Scarlett, we can appreciate what you are trying to do, but you are not following the laws that have been set in place. The laws are there for a reason. They aren’t there just for show. These laws have been put in place ages ago, to allow peace to exist as long as it has. When one of us decides to ignore the laws, it puts all of us in danger, in ways you may not be aware of.”
I listened to what she had to say. It made sense, but I also knew that I wasn’t going to stand by and let something bad happen if I could find a way to stop it.
She continued,
“It is for this reason that the council has decided for a one-year ban from the city, to take effect immediately. You’ll be escorted to a special place that has already been set up for you to spend the next year. Hopefully in that time, you can reflect on your actions and decide if you want to obey the laws.”
I sat there stunned. Banned? From the city? For a year? But, how is that possible? I mean, even if they could ban me, it’s not like I couldn’t find my way back in a week if I needed to.
“In addition, you’ll be tagged
with a special anklet that will track your movement and your powers. You are not allowed to use them in any way. If you are found using your powers to assist another supernatural, the ban will be extended. Do you understand?” she added.
I nodded my head. I understood, but that didn’t mean it was going to stop me. I just had to play the game until I got there, and then high-tail it back into the city. Should be easy enough.
“Very well. You’ll be released into the custody of the handler. He’ll instruct you on the rules, and how this works. If you have any questions, he’ll be able to answer them for you. You are dismissed.”
With that, she and the rest of the council stood up and left the room, my father following with his head down as if he was ashamed of me. I hated that part of this for him. I didn’t want to be a bad daughter and I truly thought that I was trying to make the world a better place. I wished he’d understood that.
The purple light of the beams turned back to white and I sensed the electricity dissipate. A handsome, but very large man came towards me and helped me off the platform I was on.
“I’m Tony. Follow me,” he said in a commanding tone.
I decided to just keep my mouth shut and follow him. Rocking the boat at this moment might not go so well.
He led me back to a different room this time. One that was not as hospitable. In fact, it was more like a jail cell. It was cold, with a thin mattress for a bed and not much else. There was a little room that had a small bathroom. At least that was private.
Tony opened up the cell door and smiled.
“Here ya go. Can I get you anything before I leave?” he said.
I stood outside the cell and crossed my arms.
“I’m not going in there. I’ll sleep in the room I was in before I went into the courtroom, thank you very much!” I tried to not make it snarky, but I couldn’t help it.
Tony took me by the arm and pushed me into the cell, closing the door behind me.
“Hey! Stop pushing me!” I yelled and tried to get back out before the door closed with a clank.
“I asked you if you needed anything and I get snark. I don’t like snark. In fact, most young girls who get snarky…?” he trailed off, deciding not to finish his sentence.
“What? You gonna belt me or something? Is that how it works? I’ll bet you like beating up poor helpless girls, don’t ya, Tony?”
Tony looked back at me, without his charming smile this time.
“I’ve never laid a hand on a girl and would never. That kinda stuff isn’t right. But there is a saying from above that comes to mind. ‘Spare the rod, spoil the child’. Perhaps a good old-fashioned spanking would do you some good. Make you behave, instead of putting us all at risk.”
“You wouldn’t dare!” I yelled.
Tony gave me “the look”. You know the one. That look that your parents get when they mean business.
“Try me,” he said, his tone gruff.
Frustration was beginning to set in. I wasn’t sure about this Tony guy, but I didn’t want to deal with him any longer than I had to.
“When am I getting out of here?” I asked.
He turned to leave the room.
“We’ll be leaving first thing in the morning.”
“But what about my stuff?” I yelled as the door closed behind him.
Crap. I really got myself into a pickle this time. That brute Tony wasn’t about to boss me around. I was an adult and not about to be treated this way.
I looked back at the cold mattress and plopped down on it. At least, it didn’t smell like a prison. The pillow was clean and so was the blanket. I didnt see any bugs either.
An hour later, I heard the exterior door open. As I sat upright, I saw my father enter with a tray of food that smelled heavenly. He slid it through the food slot to me, then pulled up a chair that was outside the cell.
“Well, I really did it this time, didn’t I?” I said with a sigh. “I’m sorry. I really didn’t think things would get so out of hand. I was truly trying to do the right thing.”
My father smiled softly. “I know you think you know what’s best, but you’re still young and inexperienced. Sometimes, we can’t see what we do and the repercussions they can have. And I can’t always protect you from the outcome of your actions.”
“I know. I guess I have a tendency to push the limits a little,” I responded.
“A little?” he laughed.
There was a long awkward pause as I fingered the food.
“Thanks for bringing me dinner. And can you get rid of Tony? He is a royal pain in the ass,” I said.
My father laughed out loud.
“What’s so funny?” I asked, popping a chicken nugget into my mouth.
“That’s exactly what he said about you.”
“Figures, but the big oaf actually threatened to spank me. Can you believe it?”
My father raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t push Tony. He has the authority to do whatever is necessary to make sure you get to where you’re going, and that you stay there. That’s his job. And he does it quite well.”
I stopped mid-chew, trying to decide if he was being serious or just toying with me. His expression told me all I needed to know. He was dead serious.
“Well, at least I know where I stand then,” I said, confident that it wouldn’t be an issue. I wasn’t about to grovel just to get my way. As soon as I got to wherever I was going, I’d plan a way to get back. I just needed to bide my time.
“Don’t make any plans on trying to come back to the city. You won’t be able to get in. Just thought I tell you that, since I’m sure you’re planning on disobeying the orders,” he said.
My mouth dropped open. Was he reading my thoughts? Could he even do that?
Chapter 3
I must have dozed off during the drive down. Tony wasn’t much of a conversationalist it seemed, and that was fine by me. He was an ass anyway, and I didn’t want to deal with his silly threats. I wasn’t a child. I could probably take him if I wanted to, but I just didn’t feel like bothering.
I woke up when we began to turn down a short gravel road towards a large log house surrounded by mature trees. I could tell I was in the country for sure. Cabins like this don’t get built in the city.
As we pulled up I began to look around. I couldn’t see any other houses from where we were.
“Where are we?” I asked groggily as I straightened myself up.
“Your new home,” Tony replied.
“This old place? Am I out in the middle of nowhere?”
“Not really. Just a half mile that way, right over the hill is town. So, you aren’t totally away from civilization. Plus, this place has cable TV and internet, so you won’t be without entertainment.”
Looking around, I didn’t see any additional vehicles.
“Transportation?” I asked, praying to God that I wouldn’t be walking everywhere. Not that I minded it in the city because I did a lot of walking there, but I knew the city. Out here, who knew what I’d run into walking at night?
“There is a scooter in the garage that will get you where you need to go,” Tony said with a grin.
“A scooter? Like for old people who can’t walk?”
I thought walking was gonna be bad. This was way worse.
“No, silly. It’s like a mini motorcycle. It can’t go faster than thirty-five, but it’s perfect for around here. It’s cheap on gas and has a basket on the back to carry groceries. Plus, you can park on the sidewalks.”
I rolled my eyes. There was no way I was riding around town on some scooter.
Tony shook his head and laughed.
“What? You worried about some kind of image you’re trying to put out? Around here, you’ll be the coolest gal around riding that orange scooter,” Tony chuckled. He was enjoying torturing me.
“Orange? You can’t be serious! Please tell me you’re joking?”
My pride would definitely take a hit, riding around on an orange scoot
er if I was wearing my leathers. A Harley would’ve been more suitable. I needed to call my father and see what he could do.
“Not joking. You can see it for yourself,” he said as we came around the curve to the front of the house.
“Please tell me this isn’t where I’m going to be forced to live for the next year.”
Tony chuckled.
“You’re so spoiled. You have no idea how lucky you are to even be here,” he said, as he put the car in park and popped the trunk.
I opened the door and slowly stood up, looking at the weathered wood that resembled a living space in front of me. Was I supposed to live out here for a year? This place didn’t look like it even had electricity.
“Lucky? You call this lucky?” I growled.
Tony looked over at me and shook his head. He pulled my bags out of the trunk and headed towards the front porch.
There were a few sturdy stairs as he made it up and dropped the bags on the porch, then tossed me a set of keys.
“Before you judge, why don’t you take a look inside. You might be surprised.”
I smirked at him. He was such an ass.
Taking the keys, I made my way up to the porch. It was a lot larger once I got up there. On the one side, there was actually a porch swing which made me feel like there should be some iced lemonade around somewhere. It looked like there was quite a bit of overgrowth around the sides of the house and it needed a good pruning but overall, the structure seemed sound.
The screened door creaked as it opened and I laughed at the sound effect. Would have been creepier in the dark.
There was a heavy front door with leaded glass in the top half. I slid the key into the lock and forced it around.
Pushing open the door, I stood there for a moment listening to make sure there wasn’t anything or anyone inside, just in case. That went back to hunting for creatures in the night. You can never be too sure.
