Fire Bound Dragon

by Elizabeth Rain

  Jerry shot me a look I couldn’t read. “Sirris is a big girl. She’s responsible for her own decisions, Sadie. Stop taking all the credit.”

  My mouth snapped shut. I wasn’t sure what to say.

  “Have you heard anything about the vampires? How is Elise doing?” Sirris asked.

  I found it strange that she would ask. She wasn’t exactly a fan of them.

  Jerry shrugged, running a hand over his whiskered chin. “Bout the same. They all look pale. It’s hard to offer vamps a healthy meal in a jail cell.

  The Council won’t wait on the trial, not any longer than they have to. This is a capital case though, so they must at least wait until the judge from the Cascades Mountains can make it down. He’s got more clout. And he’s used to dealing with cases involving vamps. That will take up to a week.”

  “Cascades?” I wondered aloud.

  “Sure. Remember, we aren’t the only cell of Magicals that exist. All over the world. We’re small potatoes here in Drae Hallow.”

  I remembered having that conversation in a room just down the hall on the same day I received my invitation to attend Rule 9. I wondered if Lucas Seul was regretting his impulsive decision to invite me, especially given that I’d dragged his only son down the rabbit hole with me. Carol Shamon was probably doing some merry dance somewhere wearing a hat that said, ‘take that bitches!’

  “You’ve been around a lot longer than I have. What do you think will happen to them?” I’d been told before what they faced. Maybe I wanted a different opinion, another outcome.

  Before he could answer, Sirris did. “Death Sadie. Capital crime; capital punishment.”

  “But nobody died.” I protested.

  “You’re forgetting Shane Tuttle, the dead captive? Emotion and fear is running high and no one wants to hear that he might not have been one of their victims. He’s dead and that’s enough for them. And the others aren’t all out of the woods yet. Every single one of them sunk into a coma afterwards. They are just now starting to wake up. They could have died. Sirris is right. It doesn’t look good.”

  “What about Elise? The baby... surely they...” I worried, the words barely making it past the enormous lump in my throat. I was going to be sick.

  “She wasn’t involved in the attacks, but she was part of the crime just the same. She won’t get the same punishment. They’ll wait til the baby is born, adopt him or her out, and then Sirris will serve whatever time is required or she’ll be banished to Borro Island.”

  “Where? What’s that?” This was a new one I hadn’t heard of.

  Sirris frowned. “I forget you weren’t born to magic, Sadie. Borro Island is where those that need to serve time go. It has the basics needed for survival and Magical inmates are dropped off there. They wear a special bracelet impossible to remove, marked with their release date. They enchant the bracelet. It counts down. When the time is up, it comes off and prisoners can leave the island, but not before.

  But I had more pressing things to worry about rather than an entire Island prison for criminals. I thought of Elise, brash and predatory. Still, I knew that taking her baby and killing her mate would destroy her. Killing her would have been a kindness.

  “They aren’t here by choice. They are as much victims of this as the Demon wolves are. It all comes back to Will Bennett. Why isn’t anyone looking into that?”

  Jerry looked uncomfortable. “Maybe because the squeaky wheel and all that. The citizens of Bitterroot are screaming loud and clear about what happened. But nobody has the burden of proof on what Will Bennett is up to or how the Demon wolves or vampires ended up here. That part is speculation.”

  “Until it isn’t.” Nick stated.

  I jumped. I hadn’t heard him come up behind me. His breath fanned the top of my head and I felt the warmth of it curl around me. I shivered.

  He spoke up, livid. “I don’t much care how they got here or why. But, like my father, I’m worried about the safety of Drae Hallow and everyone in it. If what the vamps and the Demon wolves have hinted at is right, Will Bennett is amassing an army in Wyndoor. We know the vampires came in through a portal inside Bane forest. Somebody should be worried about when he brings that army through and starts a war right here in this Valley. Most of the Magicals of Bitterroot aren’t soldiers. They are families. A town full of civilians with minimal magic and little or no ability to fight back. What then?”

  I’d been wrong. Nick was bitter, but it wasn’t at me. I should have been relieved, but I was too busy imagining the possibilities his words conjured; none of them good.

  Jerry nodded, looking grim. “I attended the Drae Council meeting last night. I mentioned some of that. Lucas Seul agrees with me and thinks we can’t afford to waste any opportunity to find out more about the threat that Will Bennett may be bringing. Carol Shamon sided with us as well. But most of the rest of the council members are more worried about what they can see. Prejudice against vampires runs deep in the valley. We haven’t allowed them in in the past, even though they coexist in other cities just fine.

  The council wants blood, no pun intended. The fact is, what we have is speculation and the word of criminals. They brought up the point, and it is valid, that the vampires and Demon wolves may well be concocting the story about Will coming back with an army to shift the blame away from their own crimes.”

  “I don’t believe that!” I ground out, the sound bouncing off the walls. I lowered my voice. “That’s their ignorance talking. They don’t want to believe it because then they don’t have to deal with it.” I hissed, incensed. We all lapsed into a heavy silence.

  Nick changed the subject. “Have you heard from my dad? He hasn’t been by...” His face shifted to look away as he spoke, but not before I noticed the hurt there.

  Jerry’s voice was kind. “Young Nick, your father wanted to come, but he had an important meeting to attend. He told me to let you know that everything would work out and not to worry. He and Wendy are working on getting all of you out and hopefully, keeping you from being expelled.”

  I didn’t hold much hope on the last one, but looking at the grim faces of my friends, I suspected I didn’t need to tell them what they already knew.

  Jerry’s eyes moved over my face. “Sadie. When I checked on the vampires, they said nothing much. “Well, other than inviting me to lunch. I wasn’t too keen on accepting the invite. But the older vampire... he kept grabbing at his throat like it hurt. Vamps heal quick normally. This hadn’t. I caught enough of a glimpse to recognize a rather good burn and a nasty bite. I asked him how he got it. He said I should ask you?”

  I paled. I had avoided thinking about what had happened right before the Guard arrived. It had made no sense to me then and I didn’t want to remember it now. He looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to answer.

  “I... I don’t know what happened. He had me down, pinned. I was really scared. I had no weapons; I couldn’t move at all and the only thing I could see was his throat...” my voice faded.

  “... and...” Jerry encouraged.

  But I could see the knowledge there. If he knew, why did he need me to say it? I thought, irritated. “I bit him is all. I bit him.” I blurted.

  Jerry’s eyed me with speculation. “You burned him, Sadie.” Was all he said. I could feel Nick and Sirris’ eyes on me. They were used to me using fire as a weapon, but not like this. I knew they were curious. Well, tough. I didn’t want to talk about it.

  “How long before you think we can get out of here?” I changed the subject away from my vampiric tendencies.

  “Maybe a week, more. I don’t know.”

  “Great, a week of missed classes.” Something else worried me more, though. If we were in here for a week, the trial for the vamps could well be over and done before we’d get out of here to help. I sighed and plopped back down on the cot with Nick, giving Sirris some privacy with her father.

  The next time we got out of here, they could be dead.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN />
  The day of the trial we paced our cell like caged tigers. I wanted—no needed—to be there.

  It had been four days since they had locked us up. The council met that night to decide our own fate, but it wasn’t us I worried for. Not this time. Lives hung in the balance and I was powerless to do anything about it.

  When Lucas Seul entered at a quarter past eleven in the morning, we all stood up in surprise. I didn’t miss the way his eyes moved over his son, stoic and tall behind us. Nick had said little. I couldn’t blame him. His was an entire world of betrayal and disappointment none of us could match.

  His eyes moved over us all, expression inscrutable in the gloomy room. “The trial starts in fifteen. I had to do some fast talking, but the Council has agreed to allow you to be part of the spectator crowd in the back. You can’t say anything. Not one word or they’ll remove you. Zero tolerance and that by a unanimous decision by the Council and reluctant agreement by Judge Layton.

  Sirris and Nick both nodded and looked at me. I sighed and closed my eyes in irritation. “Why do you all look at me? I’ll keep my mouth shut.” They continued to stare at me. “I promise!” I ground out between gritted teeth.

  I was sure they didn’t believe me.

  Without another word, Lucas waved a hand, unlocked the door and we followed him out.

  We’d never been in the courtroom before. I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting, but the huge domed room paneled in light maple was neither cold nor forbidding as we took our seats in the back. We weren’t the only ones there and we counted ourselves lucky to be able to find a space where we could sit together. Lucas left us to join the council in the first row. Ab’et, Elise and Jorta were on the left side of the room, sitting with their lawyer, who looked like it was his first year and he’d drawn the short straw. Elise glanced at us when we entered. I’d never seen a vampire frightened before. It was a disenchanting experience I didn’t want to repeat. The helplessness was a bitter pill to swallow and I wondered if we’d have been better off in our cells and ignorant. We didn’t have much time to consider things though. The judge entered and we all stood out of respect. I blinked, my senses jangling.

  Old. Ancient in fact was my first impression. Tall and gaunt and exceedingly pale, he came in from the back, nodded without expression to us all, and took a seat. His pale eyes pinned me where I sat and found me wanting. I watched those rheumy eyes slither front and land on the three vamps and pause without expression. There was no mercy there.

  I snatched Sirris hand in mine and clutched her icy fingers tight. I was suddenly as sure as I’d ever been of anything that the judge was a vampire.

  “Do you see it?” I whispered in Sirris ear. From my other side, Nicholas reached over and pinched me and I jumped, sliding him an evil glare. His blue eyes stared into mine and there was a message there I couldn’t miss.

  I sat back with a scowl. Fine.

  Another group of people sat up front and to the side. I counted twelve. The jurors were local to Bitterroot and I wondered just how impartial they could be. Already I had a good sense for how this would go.

  If I expected this to be an impartial trial, I was destined for disappointment. Over the course of the next hour, I watched four unfamiliar people take the stand. Victims, still weak and pale but recovering, to tell the sordid tale to an eager crowd. I couldn’t discount what they’d gone through. The vampires weren’t innocent of wrongdoing here. I knew that part of the story was the truth.

  But there was the other that was never mentioned. The part where they weren’t here of their own free will. They had done what they did to survive, not out of avarice. But there was no evidence to point the gong of justice where it belonged—on one Will Bennett. Towards the end, the vampires were each allowed a moment to speak on the stand.

  Jorta had little to say. He tried to explain the best he could, dread swallowing his voice and making it difficult to hear him. Only I knew it wasn’t himself he feared for. His eyes were for his mate, heavy with his child.

  Elise took the stand as a shadow of herself, fingers trembling over the weaving mound of her stomach as she spoke. “I’m sorry. I was desperate. My baby, she was dying. Nothing helped, though. The food supply... it wasn’t what we were used to... poison. We just want to return home.” Her voice faded to a whisper. Gone was the bravado of a strong, self-assured vamp. In its place, I at least, saw a mother, broken and desperate.

  But it was Ab’et that made me gasp before I could stop myself, my hand flying to cover my mouth. Nick grabbed my other hand, and for once I didn’t snatch it back.

  “I needed to feed my family. There is nothing I can say that will sway your minds. What we did was wrong, regardless of the reasoning behind it, nor the desperate need to survive. But Jorta and Elise are innocent of the crimes against the villagers. I was the one that stalked the joggers and rendered them unconscious. I took them back to our lair.”

  “Father—” Jorta protested. His Ab’et’s eyes blazed blood red and he snarled in his direction. “Silence!” he thundered. He turned back to the jury.

  “If Jorta and Elise were guilty of anything, it was of feeding when the plate was placed before them. Look at her. She’s nine months pregnant and her child was dying. Would any of you have done any different to save the life you carried?”

  I knew my mouth was agape. He was serving himself up in their stead. Taking the blame to spare his son and mate and unborn grandchild. How could any of them fault that? And he had swayed them, though they didn’t want to admit it. Eyes shifted away in confusion, their conscience at war with the facts as they knew them. I was yet sure that someone was dying today, but it might not be all of them.

  The court took a recess for the jurors to discuss a verdict. The room emptied temporarily for the visitors to use the facilities and take a brief break. Some ate a quick lunch, but I wasn’t hungry, settling for a coke in the lobby and a bucketful of nerves. I wanted to take a seat, but when I did I got up to pace. Then wondered that my feet might not support the burden of ineptitude I placed on myself. I should have done more.

  Not near enough time had passed before they were calling us back in, the jurors filing in to retake their seats as well. I looked at every face as they entered, hoping for some sign as to what they’d decided. But whatever the verdict, they kept it to themselves.

  I expected the judge to call order and for there to be last-minute statements. There were, though I wasn’t sure why they bothered. The lawyer hired by the citizens of Bitterroot to represent its victims was seasoned and proficient. The vamp’s lawyer appeared a bumbling pup in comparison.

  When the lead juror stood to read the verdict, I grabbed Nick and Sirris’ hands on each side of me and held my breath.

  She cleared her throat, reaching a hand up to brush at a lock of hair that had fallen down and tucking it behind her ear. She was young, I realized, not that much older than I.

  “In the female's case vampire, Elise. We find her guilty of one count. With Jorta? Two counts. Ab’et we find you guilty of four counts of attempted homicide. Judge, we leave the sentencing to you.”

  I let out a gasp of a breath. What did that mean? What did four counts get you? Or One?

  The judge nodded. “Thank you for your input, Maureen and the rest of the jury as well. But as you know, based on the wide diversity of races and clans in the Magical community, each has its own set of laws that come into play. The vampire community is no exception. I will apologize in advance if what I am to tell you appears harsh or unreasonable, but our race had fought long and hard over the centuries to move away from the animalistic savagery of our ancestors. We have laws in place that leave little room for sympathy or exception. The laws are clear, the taking of and subsequent draining of non-consensual victims is a capital offense.” He directed his gaze to the vamps, eyes cold and clear and without remorse or pity.

  “Please stand.” Ab’et and Jorta stood, lifting Elise to her feet between them where she trembled, eyes bleak w
ith knowledge.

  “Ab’et, for your crimes I sentence you to death by decapitation. Jorta, I sentence you to death by decapitation.” I could hear a chorus of gasps throughout the courtroom. The jurors sat in horror; breath held as the final verdict was read.

  “And you Elise, I remand you to lock-up until such a time as you give birth. Vampire offspring are too rare to waste. On her birth, the child will be given up for adoption to a suitable vampire couple who are looking for a baby. You too, will be put to death by decapitation at that time. Thank you. That is all.”

  Even as the judge stood to exit, pandemonium broke out. Ab’et leapt over the table and lunged for the judge. Jorta held onto Elise as she wailed and screamed and struggled in panic. But the guards, brought in specially by the judge himself, were also vampires. Unlike their prisoners, they were healthy. Neither Jorta nor Ab’et stood a chance. They were all systematically cuffed with special manacles and removed from the courtroom. I sat frozen beside Sirris and Nick, my head spinning in disbelief.

  A farce, that’s what it had been. They’d never stood a chance of a fair trial. Their verdict had been decided before the judge even arrived. Numb, I followed Lucas Seul back to our cell. I never said a word when he opened the door; none of us did. We sat on the cot, all three of us. Lucas paused at the door and cleared his throat. “I’ll let you know as soon as the meeting is over tonight what’s been decided.” He offered.

  I lifted my face and gave him my best, ‘I don’t give a damn’, stare. “That. What just happened? It was wrong. You know it. The only thing they’re guilty of is surviving. How can you punish that? The baby won’t survive, you know. It’ll starve in our dimension with nothing suitable to feed on.” Lucas leaned forward and lay his forehead against the coolness of the bars and closed his eyes. “I know. I didn’t plan that, any of it. But I have no control over what goes on in the vampire community. They have long lived by a harsher set of rules than most of the rest of us. I know it seems overdone...”