Death Bringer (Soul Justice) (19 page)

“Don’t fight them, and I’ll keep her alive to watch you stand trial.”

His last sight was of his father standing tall in the clearing, his predatory smiling gaze fixed firmly on an immobile Ella.

Chapter Thirteen

“Where’s Morosov?” The moment the spell lifted, Ella started speaking.

“He’s quite safe.” The Fae king looked up from the scroll he was reading. “You will see him presently.”

She was sitting in a chair in what appeared to be an old library. Her backpack had disappeared again. She tried to get up but was unable to move.

“I’m starting to hate this place.”

Just to make a point, she focused down, found the spell and blew it away. Standing up, she stretched and headed toward Vadim’s father. Her ankle felt fine, although her shoulder still throbbed.

“Very clever, Soul Sucker. It seems as if you are developing some magical talents of your own.” He turned toward her. “But there is no point in running away or seeking trouble. Your evidence will be required very shortly.”

“Evidence for what?”

“Death Bringer’s trial for murder.”

“Oh, that.” She frowned. “But what about the sect? Don’t they have priority?”

“Over a trial for the wanton spilling of Royal blood? I don’t think so. They will be content to wait for our verdict.”

“So Morosov will get off, then, and live to fight another day?”

The Fae king smiled. “You are so amusing, my child. Just remember that if you want your mate to live long enough to stand trial, you must behave yourself.”

A bell began to toll and he stood. “The trial will be starting very shortly. Come with me.”

Unfortunately, she couldn’t think of anything to do but follow him. Four Fae guards fell in behind her as they marched along a series of hallways and down the wide stairs. As soon as her feet hit the ground floor, the guards closed around her and she could see nothing but their broad shoulders and armor. They continued to move forward and eventually came into a less crowded space, which smelled of old books, ink and dust.

Above her head there was an ancient hammer-beam ceiling, the beams darkened with smoke. The floor was wooden planks and scratched and dulled with age. It reminded her of photos of the thousand-year-old Westminster Hall in London, where the English parliament used to sit.

“Sit here.”

She did what she was told, aware that Vadim’s life was currently in her hands. Was that what they were hoping? That she’d accidentally lose it and give the court the excuse they needed to execute her mate?
Could
they execute him?

While she waited, she surveyed the scene. Slightly raised on a platform, a long oak table with five chairs dominated the end of the room. In front of the table was a stand, and on either side of the stand were two smaller tables, just like a regular courtroom. Behind her were several rows of benches, currently unoccupied. She looked around for the Fae king, but there was no sign of him.

“Hey, you.” She nudged the nearest guard. “Is this trial open to the public?”

He looked down at her from his considerable height. “No, Soul Sucker. It is a matter for the blood Royal to determine alone.”

She winked at him. “Thanks, handsome.”

He tried to look stern but failed and had to look away from her. Somewhere trumpets blared. The guard slid a hand under her elbow, bringing her to her feet.

“All rise.”

A door opened to the right of the long table and several figures emerged. Ella recognized Vadim’s grandmother, mother and father, but not the last guy.

“Who’s the dude with the white hair?” she whispered to the long-suffering guard.

“That is a representative from the Dark Court.”

The two males took the seats on the left, and the females sat on the right. The door opened again, and someone Ella unfortunately recognized all too well came out.

“Oh, crap.”

“Did you speak, Soul Sucker?”

“Not to you.” She focused her gaze on the smiling face of the man she knew as Drew Spencer, the head of the SBLE in North America and possibly the rest of the known universe. She hadn’t liked him the first time she met him. He hadn’t really taken to her either.

“Why is Drew Spencer here?” she said loudly.

The Fae king looked over at her. “He is knowledgeable about both our world and the SBLE. Therefore he was acceptable to all present as an impartial judge.”

“I bet you didn’t consult Morosov about that.”

The Fae king ignored her and turned his attention back to Drew Spencer, who waited patiently by the dais.

“You may proceed.”

Spencer bowed, took his place at the center of the table and addressed the four occupants. He wore a long white robe that made him look vaguely clerical and completely judgmental.

“I will call each witness and allow you the opportunity to ask as many questions as you wish. Then, if necessary, we will hear from the defendant. After all the evidence has been presented, I will retire to consider my verdict and then present it to the court.”

The older queen nodded and clasped her hands together in front of her on the table, her head bowed. None of them appeared to have noticed Ella’s presence, although she was certain they were all aware of her. She glanced around the otherwise-deserted courtroom. Was she the only witness?

“Bring in the accused.”

A flash of light and Vadim was there, enclosed in a silver cage of pulsing energy. She attempted to touch the power source with her mind, but it seemed determined to rebuff her. If she needed to get to him, how the hell was she going to get through something she couldn’t analyze and defeat?

She stared at her mate, who was doing his best imitation of a faultless hero going to the guillotine, his face immovable and his mouth stern. Was she going to rescue him? Had that ever been in doubt?

There was a gentle cough beside her, and she turned to see Feehan and Liz sliding into the seats next to hers.

“Guys!” she whispered. “Am I glad to see you!”

“Is that Vadim?” Feehan said in her ear. “He looks...different.”

She couldn’t help snorting. “He certainly is.”

The guard cleared his throat warningly, and Ella stopped talking.

Spencer looked down at the parchment he held in his hand. “Death Bringer, you are accused of the worst crime a subject can commit in Otherworld, the spilling of Royal blood. Your
own
blood. Do you wish to enter a plea?”

“What’s the point?”

Spencer sighed and looked beyond Vadim at the guard beside Ella.

“Please escort Mr. Feehan to the stand.”

Feehan went forward, smoothing his brown spotted tie over his rounded stomach as he passed Vadim. The Fae king stood up and bowed.

“Mr. Feehan, I understand that you are an employee of the SBLE.”

“That’s correct.”

“I also understand that the accused came to work for you this summer.”

“Yes, he did, but not looking like that.”

“How did he present himself to you?”

“As a member of a Russian SBLE team who was an expert on empaths and serial killers.”

“So he lied to you.”

Feehan shrugged. “Not really.”

“What do you mean?”

“My team is a secretive lot. They’ve had to deal with a lot of prejudice in our world. I don’t blame them if they wish to hide their pasts and their talents.”

For the first time since she’d met him, Ella wanted to give Feehan a big fat kiss.

“When did you begin to suspect that the accused was not being completely honest with you?”

“As I said, he never tried to hide his Otherworld abilities, so he was hardly being dishonest. When they were needed, like when he saved Ella from the Siren, he used them. When I asked him to take on certain tasks in the current investigation, he volunteered the information that he had contacts here in Otherworld who could help us out. So I knew he had powers.”

“But didn’t you begin to suspect he was lying to you?”

Feehan fiddled with his tiepin. “When we saw the first clear image of the killer and he looked just like Vadim, we did get a bit worried, but we cleared that up.”

“You mean he managed to deceive you as to his true purpose?”

Feehan turned to Drew Spencer. “I thought I was here as a character witness for Vadim, not to incriminate him. He isn’t on trial for anything he’s done while in my employ, is he?”

Spencer nodded. “You are correct, Mr. Feehan. I believe your questioner was trying to establish that Death Bringer is untrustworthy in all aspects of his life.”

“Which Mr. Feehan didn’t actually say.” The interruption came from Vadim’s grandmother, who smiled at a blushing Feehan. “In truth, I gather my grandson was an excellent and valued employee of yours.”

“Yes, he was...I mean, he is.” Feehan risked a glance over at Vadim. “Despite him turning into...that.”

“Thank you, Mr. Feehan.”

“You’re welcome.”

Spencer glanced at the other occupants of the table. “Does anyone have any more questions for this witness?”

No one replied, and he inclined his head toward Feehan.

“Thank you for your input. You may leave now.”

He turned sharply on his heel and was escorted out after giving Ella a wink and a thumbs-up.

“Please call Ms. Liz Goddard.”

“Wish me luck!” Liz whispered.

Vadim’s father stood and nodded at Liz.

“Ms. Goddard, you are the Fae-Web liaison in the SBLE special team?”

“Yes, I am.”

And what percentage Fae are you, roughly?”

“About thirty-five percent.”

“Can you tell us about Death Bringer and his suspicious involvement in your last case?”

Liz raised her eyebrows. “That’s hardly an unbiased question, is it? Who are you, exactly?”

“I’m his father.”

“Oh, right.” Liz blushed and looked at Spencer. “Are you okay with me sharing classified SBLE information here?”

“Please go ahead.”

“Whenever I attempted to connect up the evidence for the latest case,
Vadim
showed up in my Fae-Web. I was uneasy that he seemed so central to the issues and shared those concerns with my team.” She glanced over at Ella. “Well, initially with everyone except Ella. She was firmly on his side, and that’s understandable.”

“Are you suggesting that Soul Sucker was aware of the accused’s actions in this case and was helping him conceal his true motive?”

“That’s stretching it a bit. I knew Ella wasn’t quite being her normal self because of how she felt about Vadim.”

“Did you at any point confront the accused?”

“Sure, but there wasn’t a problem. When I asked him publicly what was going on, he was more than willing to help. He offered to get us any information we needed from his contacts in Otherworld.”

The Fae queen spoke up for the first time. “So, in fact he offered to help you with the investigation, not hinder you?”

Liz turned gratefully toward the queen. “Yes, that’s exactly it.”

“But Ms. Goddard,” the king interrupted. “Are you saying your Fae-Web was wrong? I didn’t believe that was possible.”

“My Fae-Web reached a series of conclusions that are always open to interpretation. Once I was assured that Vadim intended to help us chase down the face stealer, I knew the issues would be resolved.”

“And were they?”

Liz hesitated. “To a certain degree.”

The Fae king bowed. “Your loyalty to your team and its members does you credit, Ms. Goddard, but even you aren’t prepared to lie for him completely. The accused’s offer to help you might have allayed some of your fears, but I bet it brought up a hundred new ones.”

He turned to address Spencer. “Let me recap. In essence Ms. Goddard is saying that despite her desire to believe that ‘Vadim’ meant well, her Fae-Web chose not to trust him, and placed him squarely in the center of the case.”

“
She
said she believed him. Does that count for nothing?” the Fae queen said quietly. “Fae-Webs can be wrong. And what does this current SBLE case have to do with the charges laid against my son today?”

It was the question that was bothering Ella too. She looked at Vadim, but he appeared lost in a trance, his brow furrowed, his gaze inward. This was one crazy trial process, when the prosecutors could ask loaded questions and the overall judge was a man who’d shown open dislike for Vadim when they last met. What chance did he have for a fair hearing?

“Thank you, Ms. Goddard.”

Liz waved as she passed Ella but didn’t get to stop and chat.

The Fae king continued to stand and stare at his wife. “As to your question, my queen, all will be answered in good time.”

“Yeah, right,” Ella muttered.

“Call Rossa.”

The blond Fae appeared in front of Ella, blew her a hasty kiss and strolled over to the stand, where he bowed to the assembled line of Royal Fae.

This time it was the older Fae queen who started the questioning.

“Rossa, you have been my appointed guardian for my grandson since he left Otherworld.”

“I have.”

“Do you believe he sought this latest conflict with Adam and the sect?”

He considered her. “No, actually, I don’t think he did. In fact, he was absolutely furious about it.”

“And why was that?”

“Because his life had changed. He was mated, and able to live in the world of the humans for as long as he liked.”

“So you don’t believe this was an elaborate plot to return to Otherworld to avenge his wrongs?”

“Not at all. He only came back to stop them getting his mate.” His gaze scanned the table. “You all know that. I told you.”

“Yes, you did, with your usual ability to play both sides.” The king looked across at his mother-in-law. “He was working for me, too.”

“I knew that. He is also in the pay of the Dark Lord.”

The white-haired man nodded. “The dark king likes to keep an eye on his progeny, as well. After the rift developed with his family here, the king was rather disappointed that Death Bringer didn’t bring his outstanding talents straight to him.” He looked over at Vadim. “The offer still stands, my boy.”

“Over my dead body.” The Fae king snapped. “I’ve spent my entire existence keeping him out of your foul realm.”

Spencer held up his hands. “Can we resume? I have a question for Rossa myself, if I may.”

“Of course.” Rossa was all smiles again.

“You believe Death Bringer will do anything necessary to safeguard his mate?”