by K. N. Banet
“Kaliya, wait. They’re talking to—” Cassius tried to grab me as I drew close to the door.
“Don’t care,” I said, grabbing the door handle and yanking it open. They very rarely made doors that didn’t have necessary guards. I guess Cassius and his staff were special enough to warrant the liberty to come and go as they pleased for this.
At the far end of the room were the Tribunal members in attendance, sitting in a long line, perched high up like a row of judges, and in a semi-arc around an empty circular opening, was the floor where criminals normally sat to plead their case. Chairs lined the walls and looked over the pathway to that spot.
There were a few reasons the Tribunal would meet in full—public trials, showcases of Tribunal power, and the force they had, a chance to witness the all mighty rule they claimed to be in the supernatural world. Those were very rare. I could count on one hand how many had happened in the last century, and I had only been to one of them.
Private trials were done under the cloak of secrecy, or more usually, indifference. Standard cases of this or that criminal behavior and a verdict needing to be passed, so the Executioners could go off and do their jobs after the Investigators finished theirs. I went to those. I flew to the closest permanent door to the Tribunal Chambers and sat in while people rambled on until a verdict was passed—capture, kill on sight, or innocent.
Finally, there were meetings like this one. Semi-formal, there would be no judgment passed on one person this day, only a decision made about a troubling situation. They had to mediate different parties to a sound resolution that couldn’t be ignored. Judgment by the Tribunal was always final. It wasn’t always perfect or right, but it was always final.
Which meant I only had one real chance to make my argument heard without pulling out my trump card to win this fight. I had to make a good first impression.
“Executioner Sahni, I’m sorry, but we’re—” Isaiah, the male vampire of the Tribunal, began.
“Sorry, I was told I needed to make a report, so here it is,” I said, walking further into the room. There was a man standing in the center circle, and I licked my lips, playing with my lip ring. Everyone on the Tribunal knew what I was doing. They all made it a point to know as much as they could about every species that agreed to their rule. Standing there was a fae, well dressed and somewhat older looking.
“Are you the CEO of Mygi Pharmaceuticals?” I asked, standing next to him.
“I am. You must be the nagini—”
“Good. You need to contact Mistress Imani of the Phoenix vampire nest some time tonight. Reparations are owed in the death of Carter Wilkenson, vampire of her nest and dear friend of mine. I’ll be doing so as well since his death also comes back on me.”
“Excuse me, do you know—”
“On a scale of one to ten of how important you think you are, I don’t give a fuck if you’re an eleven,” I snapped. “Your incompetence and the incompetence of your company has led to the death of a promising young vampire.”
“I and Mygi had nothing to do with—”
“A board member of your company went rogue and hired a vampire who went by the name of Sinclair. Notoriously dangerous, he stood in front of this Tribunal multiple times and was able to get away with several crimes, including murder. Now, you can bring the board member in front of the Tribunal, and he can answer, or you can just take a small hit to your finances and reputation.”
“Executioner Sahni, must you be like this every time you come into these chambers?” a woman asked, not sounding angry, more exasperated and unsurprised.
I looked up to smile at Alvina.
“How’s my favorite Tribunal member?” I asked sweetly.
“I’ve seen better days. Less busy days. Kaliya, we wrapped up a Trial less than a week ago. How have you found so much trouble in so little time?”
“I’m good at these things,” I said, shrugging nonchalantly.
“Can we get back to—” The Mygi CEO tried to cut in.
“Can someone tell him I’m more important than him?” I asked loudly, waiting for any of the Tribunal to step in.
“Brother,” Alvina purred. “This is Kaliya Sahni, Tribunal Executioner, nagini, and one of the two leaders of her species. When she comes onto the floor, we give her the respect she is due.”
“You like her,” the fae King muttered. I met the gaze of Cassius’s uncle. Alvina was his aunt, but she was nice, and I didn’t judge Cassius for that relation. This one, however… “The same can’t be said of all of us.”
“Oisin,” I greeted coolly.
“Where is our nephew, and why hasn’t he come in to put you on your leash yet?” he asked.
“I left him standing outside the door. Maybe he knows I don’t like leashes.” I smiled wickedly. “Actually, I know he does. I made sure to tell him that when we were fuck—”
“Again, you come into these Chambers and disrespect—” Oisin was officially pissed, in record time, too.
“Silence,” someone ordered quietly. There was enough quiet power behind the words, I stopped talking. Oisin turned slowly toward the right end of the table, his left. I followed his gaze and found Hasan sitting at the end. “I’m gone for only a century, and the Tribunal is getting into petty arguments with an Executioner. What in the world has happened?” He sighed heavily. “I grew tired of this years ago, so let’s please stay on topic. We were hearing from Lord Ardghal about Mygi’s interpretation of events and what he believes should be done about one Mister Raphael Dominic Alvarez. As far as I can tell, he thinks we need to hand the unknown supernatural over to him, and he has good reasons, as he has the science available to continue trying to discover what Mister Alvarez is.” Hasan stared down at me, looking annoyed and bored. “I take it you have different opinions. This is your chance to share them.”
“Raphael escaped from Mygi five years ago for a reason. He was experimented on against his will. I’ve seen the scars on his body from those experiments and the numerous times he escaped from attacks Mygi committed on him in private in the name of recapturing him.” I spoke directly to Hasan. He seemed bored, but I had a feeling he was anything but. His keen eyes didn’t match his lazy body language. “Over the last few days, I’ve noticed several…anomalies that don’t match up with how a respectable organization should behave, concerning any new supernatural of any species. Raphael had no education. He knew of species already out to the public, but he was never told that supernaturals were holding him. He was purposefully left ignorant.”
“Ardghal, can you explain this?” Callahan demanded. I knew the werewolves would have issue with it, possibly the vampires and Hasan as well. All of them were species who required education of Changed or turned humans. It was vital.
“No,” he snapped in answer.
“Continue, Executioner,” Hasan said, waving a hand.
“Also, it was relayed to me by Investigator Cassius that Mygi told you the story that Raphael was dangerous and uncontrollable. That he would expose us through his actions as a whole to the humans. I can tell you if he’s made it five years without humans figuring out what’s going on, they won’t. He’s done well to hide from both supernaturals and humans after him. The unfortunate incident when he…became what he is now is just that. An unfortunate incident. There have been no signs of it coming to pass again—”
“You’ve only known him for a few short days,” the fae beside me cut in.
“Does that matter? In a few short days, his entire world has opened up as I and later, Cassius, have educated him as best we can—”
“He’s a danger to everyone here. You don’t have the facilities or the expertise to control him if he goes into another rage and kills several people. You know it. I know it. The Tribunal should know it. Don’t pretend that because he hasn’t done it yet means he’ll never do it—”
“We can say the same for every single supernatural in this fucking room, asswipe,” I hissed back. “A werecat rolled over an entire werewolf pack i
n Dallas only a few weeks ago. We sent her home with a slap on the wrist, if that. Vampires lose control and need to be put down when they get blood high. Werewolves fall to the Last Change.” I glanced at Hasan. “So do werecats, I believe?” He nodded. When I turned back to Ardghal, I made my point. “Would you lock up every supernatural just for the possibility of it? Because every supernatural has a line that needs to be drawn, or we’re animals that need to be put down.”
“It’s safer for him to come back to Mygi.”
“So you can chop his hand off and see if it’ll heal back on without any help again?” I asked. “Because I’ve seen that scar.”
“You have no right—”
“I think I have every right—”
“Stop arguing at once!” Isaiah screamed from his seat. “You are both behaving like children arguing over a toy. The Tribunal will reconvene in one hour. Both of you have valid, important points about the situation and good positions for your stance. Be ready to make final arguments when we return, please.”
I was left stunned as the entire Tribunal stood up. It was part of protocol. If one of them called a break, no one argued. The member obviously needed a moment to think.
But it left me pissed this time. Ardghal was smiling at me, already plotting.
I wasn’t letting anyone take Raphael from me. They would know that soon enough.
30
Chapter Thirty
I stormed out of the Tribunal Chambers and found myself back in Cassius’s hallway. He was still standing there.
“You could have come in to back me up,” I snapped.
“I don’t make a habit of storming into the Tribunal Chambers uninvited. We were to wait until they were ready to speak to us.” He looked over my face. “What’s changed?”
“One-hour recess, then final arguments,” I grumbled, walking around him. I was still holding my coffee, but it was cold now. I headed into the kitchen and handed the cup back to an expectant Leith. “Sorry. I need another one.”
“Don’t give her another one until she’s explained to me what she’s talking about,” Cassius said, storming in after me. “What do you mean they expect final arguments in an hour?”
“Me and Ardghal, that fucking uncle of yours, got into it about whether Mygi gets Raphael back. Needless to say, it was a mess. I didn’t even get to properly report on how the last few days have gone. Hasan asked for my stance, and I gave it to him, but that piece of shit fae kept interrupting me. Isaiah called a recess.”
“Who all spoke?” Cassius asked. “I need everything, Kaliya, if I’m going to be any help.”
“The witches were dead silent through it all, as they tend to be. They keep their opinions private until there’s a vote. Callahan was somewhat unsettled by the fact Mygi made no efforts to educate Raphael while he was there. Alvina still loves me, and your uncle fucking hates me.”
“If Callahan was upset, Corissa will have strong words about it, even if she’s in the minority. They generally work together. Pack mentality,” Cassius pondered, nodding. “And there’s Hasan. Werecats have strict social protocol for the creation of more of their kind.”
“Yeah, new werecats become like pseudo-children to the werecat that Changed them, and it’s really weird,” I agreed. “He looked fairly…bored through the entire thing, though. I don’t know him, but I could have sworn he was interested but didn’t want the others to know.”
“Hasan doesn’t like when the other Tribunal members think they can play him, so he’s always been a bit distant,” Cassius explained. “He’s there because someone has to represent the species most hurt by the actions of the larger groups. I’m certain he would have left the Tribunal permanently ages ago if he could get away with it and know the werecats would be safe.”
“Would he be an ally? Should I work to play to his vote and see who falls in line?”
Cassius shrugged. “That’s up to you.”
“Come on, Cassius. You know I’m generally just told to point and kill something. You’ve always been a lot better at this than me, which is why I normally hand this part over to you.”
“You’re the one who just woke up and decided to barge in there, guns blazing,” he reminded her. “But I’ll be in there with you for final arguments. I’m not letting you go in alone for that.”
“Should I go? It’s about me,” Raphael finally spoke up. I turned to him and nodded.
“Yeah. They should see that you have some control over yourself, and we’re not trying to hide you. Maybe one of them will recognize what you are, even if they didn’t remember based on a description of you and your powers.”
“They should allow you a moment to speak as well, even if these are final arguments. I don’t think they’ll be against hearing a few more people. I’ll try to get a word in before the end. Kaliya, you should consider that thing we talked about.”
“Only as the last resort. There’s not much to consider. If all else fails, I’ll pull out the trump card, and none of them will be willing to fight me about that.”
“You could stop all this right now—”
“What?” Raphael stood up, looking between them. “What does he mean you can stop this?”
“Naga Law and none of your business. It’s a dangerous move, something Cassius and I were about to go talk about.” I was even more against it now than I was when I told Cassius that Raphael was eligible. I had seen the look in Ardghal’s eyes. He wasn’t the type of man to give up.
“We’ll take this to my office then,” Cassius said, waving me to follow him.
“Wait, I really think I should know—”
I turned on Raphael and put my hand on his chest, stopping him from coming any closer.
“It’s naga business, of which I am one of the de facto rulers. You can know if I want you to know, and it’s very possible it wouldn’t work, which is why it’s my last resort. I have just under an hour to figure out other options. You’ll give me that,” I said evenly, trying to ignore the furious ache in my fangs. Being healed must have over-activated my venom glands because they felt full and tight like I needed to milk them again. Touching Raphael, though, feeling the broad, hard planes of his chest, feeling the insanely warm natural body temperature he was…I wanted to bite him now more than I had before, even with the thousand questions swirling around him.
I pulled my hand away before my mind could wander too much.
“We’ll be right back,” I promised. “This is just something I don’t share with outsiders. I’m sorry.”
“What would it entail? This protection thing you might be able to do?”
“Everything,” I said softly, turning away. I walked out, letting Cassius follow me. Once we were in his office, he locked the door, and I fell into my favorite chair.
“Why, Kaliya? Why won’t you do it now?”
“Mygi wants him back so badly that they’re willing to kill for it. They’re willing to justify to the Tribunal the torture they put him through for years. They have enough political sway, I know I won’t be able to get them completely shut down. We’ll be lucky if they walk away with a slap on the wrist.”
“I understand all those things, which makes naga protection over him even more im—”
“Dangerous. It makes it more dangerous,” I said, looking up at him as he passed me. “Cassius…what do you think Mygi will do when they find out some unknown supernatural species can breed with nagas? That’s groundbreaking. My own people might even be okay with him going into that lab again, to find out if we can make more of him to…”
“Oh, Kaliya,” Cassius whispered, sitting down slowly. “You’re being paranoid—”
“I know Adhar. He’s not a bad man, but he’s a desperate one. He’ll want Raphael picked apart and studied because maybe it’ll find him the mate he’s never had. As far as we’ve always known, nagas can breed with other nagas or humans. Humans are harder to have children with than a pure naga pairing. What would that mean for Raphael? He presents human, smel
ls human, looks human…until he isn’t. This rocks the foundation of my species to the core, and I can’t trust my own kind with him.” I looked away, feeling the weight of rule on my shoulders, a rare problem, one I avoided with a passion. This was my call to make, and I was going to do the best I could with it, even if it meant setting back the nagas by potentially decades. “I have to keep this from them, so I have the chance to find answers without outside help I disagree with. I have to do this on my own.”
“Not on your own. If we can find a way to protect him, I’ll lead a formal investigation into what he is. I’ll feed you information to do with what you will, even if it means fighting battles you shouldn’t.”
“You just said I was being paranoid. Now, you’re deciding to help.”
“I told you I would support whatever decision you made, and I’m doing that. You don’t trust Mygi, the Tribunal, or the other nagas with Raphael. That means he’s going to stay with you or me because I know you trust me.”
“I do.”
“Then we’re going to work this out. Let’s look through the Laws and see if we can find some protection for him.”
“Mygi is trying to make it sound like what they did to him doesn’t matter,” I said softly as Cassius floated a book to me. I flipped it open and sighed. “There’s going to be nothing in here to protect him. Without knowing his species, we don’t have any laws that would cover him from their activities. He’s not dead, therefore, they didn’t really do anything wrong. It’s so fucked up.”
“I know,” Cassius agreed.
“And because he is an unknown supernatural, going to Mygi will seem like the safest option. They can study him and try to give him answers. The Tribunal will probably be watching them closely, so the fucked-up experiments would probably stop, but…I can’t send him back there.”
I kept flipping through the pages, not really looking at them. My mind wandered.
Naga protection might be all I have. Declare him a compatible mate and tell them to shove it. Take him home and kill anyone who tries to come on my property, the way every naga does it. Seven hundred years as a Tribunal species has given us certain allowances, since we only joined and accepted the Tribunal authority to have those protections granted. They granted the demands because we were one of the first to join who wasn’t one of the founding species.
