hellcat 05 - come hell or high water (22 page)

“You would try to roll the Master of a city?” he asked in a deadly calm tone.  The shock on her face, the realisation that her play had just gone horribly wrong, was almost comical.  “In that Master’s own territory?”  Not one of his men moved a muscle, but hers had become restless, twitchy.  “Do you know the punishment for an unofficial challenge to a Master’s authority?”  He watched the emotions flit across her features.

“But…but you’re not the Master.”  Panic stiffened her features as she began to back away from Alexander, her arms outstretched in front of her.  “You’re…they said you’re not strong enough.  How did you…” She broke off, agonised inevitability dulling her eyes.  Fergus was in front of Alexander before she’d finished pulling the dagger from her thigh.

The fight was quick and brutal.  As soon as the challengers realised Alexander was trying to keep them alive, they turned their weapons on themselves.  They’d never had any intention of coming out of this alive.

“Fuck,” Alexander growled in anger and frustration as they stood surveying the aftermath.  Untidy piles of clothing covered in a fine grey ash littered the beige carpeting.  There was little else to say.

“Find their bags, clear up,” Fergus ordered the others.  “Let’s get back to the cars, Sire.” He nudged Alexander. “Gabrielle will be worried.”

“Yes, of course,” he replied, turning to leave as the others set about making it look as though the group had left unexpectedly.  As he and Fergus left the suite and swept towards the stairs, he put a hand out to stop the Scotsman for a moment.

“Thank you,” he said simply, catching Fergus’s eyes. 

Fergus nodded once, and it was clear he understood everything those words encompassed.

********************

Kimberley was looking tired, or perhaps she was still a little shaken over Sally figuring out that she wasn’t Gabi.

“It’ll be fine,” Julius reassured her quietly as all six of them followed a different Court staff member towards the Princeps’ Hall.  He caught her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it, now aware that they needed to show more intimacy, but forced affection was harder than either of them had anticipated.  She gave him a
sidelong smile, but it was strained and showed nothing of Gabi’s cocky self-assurance.  Julius knew he needed to wrap this up as quickly as possible, before Kimberley faltered.

As Court protocol dictated, they, as the accused, stood to the left of the Princeps’ table, while a retinue of Santiago’s Clan stood to the right.  The accusers were a motley bunch of mostly young Vampires; they stirred nervously and one held a small, heavy-looking metal case.  Moments after Julius’s group arrived, the doors behind the ornate marble table opened and the Princeps’ personal guards filed inside, taking up positions behind each high-backed chair.  The Princeps themselves entered the hall soon after, Oleksandra in the lead and the rest in no particular order, though they each walked to their own assigned chair.  As in the trial the previous night, Dendara took up Helene’s old seat and Magnus filled Santiago’s.  It was an immense relief to Julius not to have to be faced with Helene in a judge’s seat again.  The female Vampire had possessed the ability to turn men into whimpering puppy dogs, ready to fulfil her every wish and desire.  She’d tried her wiles on Julius, and though he’d been able to resist her powerful call, it had made their encounters thoroughly uncomfortable for him. 

Julius kept a surreptitious eye on Benedict, hoping to gain at least a feel for the mood of the Princeps by Benedict’s attitude to the proceedings.  The youthful-looking Vampire appeared relaxed and unperturbed; his casual lack of formality as he slouched into the end seat and noisily chewed gum gave Julius hope.  They both carefully avoided eye contact.

The formalities began and Cassandra stood to read out the allegations: ‘unlawful killing of a Master Vampire’ in Gabi’s case, and ‘conspiracy to unlawfully kill another Master Vampire’ in Julius’s case.  She reminded them all that Faruq would be confirming that they spoke the truth; lies would not be tolerated.  Before allowing Santiago’s Clan the floor, Cassandra asked Julius if he would like to address the allegations.

“Yes, Princep,” Julius said, stepping forward.  “I put on record that I am unhappy with being detained to answer to these charges.  The lady at my side had absolutely nothing to do with the death of Santiago, nor was I in any way involved in this so-called conspiracy.  I am told they have some kind of evidence, which I strongly suspect has been planted to make my Consort look guilty, and I would like a guarantee that once disproved there will be no further blackening of our names by ex-members of Santiago’s Clan.  I also respectfully ask that these proceedings are concluded as quickly as possible, as I have urgent business to attend in my city.”  He kept his voice even, but it was heavily laden with disdain and annoyance. 

“He speaks true.” Faruq spoke up from his position to Oleksandra’s left.  Cassandra made a few notes on a sheet of parchment on the table before her.

“Thank you, Master Julius,” she said once she’d put the pen down.  “We will endeavour to settle this matter as expediently as possible.” 

Julius inclined his head respectfully and ran his gaze over the rest of the Princeps.  With the exception of Klara, Eliasz and Akshita, they were all looking some degree of pleased or relieved.  Apparently Gabi had been the prime suspect in everyone’s mind. 

When Cassandra called on the accusers to speak, a woman stepped forward.  Her hair was neatly pinned into a bun on top of her head, and she wore a demure, full-length dress.  Julius sensed she was
one of the few older Vampires in the group, but would have loved to know what Gabi’s Vamp ESP told her.  There was something about the woman…she kept her gaze respectfully on the floor, but, despite her modest appearance, there was nothing deferential about her bearing.  She must have been high up in the ranks of Santiago’s Clan, but he had never seen her before.

“My Princeps,” she said, her voice full and clear like that of a skilled orator, “there is no doubt in our minds who perpetrated the horrendous assassination of our revered Master.  Many of you were witness to this Consort’s aggression directed towards our Master at the ball just a few hours before his untimely death.  At first we, the Clan, were too dreadfully upset by his loss to think clearly, but once we came to our senses, we knew foul play had been at work.  It was then that we began looking for clues as to the identity of his murderer.”  The woman’s eyes slid sideways to stare at Kimberley, but what Julius saw was not what he’d expected to see.  It wasn’t the flame of vengeance or wrath, not anger or anticipation of retribution.  It was instead cold, hard and utterly emotionless.  A frisson of dread snaked up his spine.

“It took much searching,” she continued, “the murderer was extremely careful, but eventually we found a single hair.  One that clearly did not belong to anyone in the Clan.  We are utterly confident it belongs to Santiago’s murderer, and that his murderer is Master Julius’s Consort Gabrielle.”  The woman swung her arm wide to point at Kimberley.

“She speaks no lies,” Faruq interjected.

“Where exactly was this hair found?” Fianna asked; scepticism dripped from her Irish lilt.  “People lose hair all the time. I’m sure if you looked hard enough, you’d probably find one of my hairs in the kitchen, a place I have never set foot in.  A single hair near the scene of a death is hardly evidence of murder.”

“I think they’ve been watching too much
CSI
,” Benedict whispered loudly to Magnus behind his hand.  No one laughed, but a few facial muscles twitched as grins were suppressed. 

“The hair was in Sant—our Master’s
bedchamber,” the woman said sharply.  “It had been very recently cleaned. There was no reason for it to be there unless she’d been in the chamber.”

“Who cleaned it?” Fianna asked.

The woman opened her mouth to speak, but then her gaze settled on Faruq and she faltered. “It would have been the cleaners.  The ones who always clean the Master’s chambers.” 

Julius wondered what she’d been about to say before she knew it would be picked out as a lie.

“And have you thought that perhaps the cleaners had cleaned Master Julius’s chambers before they cleaned Santiago’s.  That the hair you are so concerned about travelled into the room with one of the cleaners?” Fianna pointed out. 

Benedict could no longer suppress his grin. 

“It’s hers,” the woman ground out from between clenched teeth.  “We know it’s hers and we know that she killed him.  We demand retribution.”  The rest of the Clan moved restlessly behind her.  She was going off course, and they knew it.  Their case was slipping away.  Another Clan member, the one holding the metal box, stepped forward, gripping the woman’s arm and tugging. 

“Our apologies, we mean no disrespect, Princeps,” he said, his head deeply bowed.  “You must understand the depth of our loss.  Would it be too much to ask that the Consort addresses the Court and tells us herself that it was not she who committed this atrocity?  Princep Faruq would be able to confirm her answer.”  He was almost pleading, but his expression gave away his eagerness.  They thought they had her trapped.

Benedict opened his mouth to speak, his earlier joviality vanished, but Kimberley stepped forward to Julius’s side.

“If it will put an end to this once and for all, I will answer the accusations,” she said simply, a note of hardness in her voice. 

“Agreed,” Oleksandra said sharply.  “If Lady Gabrielle denies involvement and Princep Faruq confirms her truth, that will be the end of this matter.  The Clan that was once Master Santiago’s will refrain from bringing further accusations against Master Julius, his Consort or any of his Clan.  If she is lying, a trial will be held.”  A murmur of agreement travelled through the Princeps, even Klara and Akshita.

Kimberley took another step forward, away from Julius and towards the Princeps’ table.

“I did not kill Princep Santiago,” she said, enunciating each word carefully and keeping her eyes trained on Oleksandra.  Julius was watching Faruq; he was unsure if the Princep had been advised to lie himself in the event of Gabi’s guilt, or if he was planning on condemning her.  Either way, he was unable to hide the flash of surprise on his face at her words.

“She is speaking the truth,” he said, his accent heavy in his shock. 

Julius’s gaze settled on Benedict, who was now staring intently at Kimberley with a look of dawning comprehension.

CHAPTER 13

They wasted no time readying to leave the Princep Court, though Julius sent Kimberley to his room to rest and recover for a few minutes while the others packed up.  There was little conversation, they all felt the urgency to be away from the castle before the lucky star they’d been sailing under fell, and their ruse was somehow uncovered.  He was expecting Benedict to arrive at any moment, but would leave without seeing the Princep if the Vampire didn’t turn up soon. 

He folded the formal letter he’d just finished penning and tucked it into an envelope, sealing it.  It explained that urgent matters in the City required his immediate return, and that he and Gabi would discuss the issue of the special task force with his advisors and the rest of his Clan and he would contact them soon with an answer. 

Then he used his powers to summon one of the Court staff.  When she arrived, he directed her to arrange immediate transport to the airport for all of them and entrusted the letter to her to deliver to Oleksandra.  He also ordered food to be packed ready in the car.  Kimberley was pale and exhausted; she needed food and rest, and to not shape-shift for at least several days. 

He was about to call Kimberley to be ready to go when there was a knock at the door.  He almost ignored it until he recognised the scent.  He opened the door to find Sally on the other side with a cooler bag over one shoulder.  She had a cheery smile on her face.

“I ’eard Lady Gabrielle was ’ungry, so I thought I’d bring ’er some food for the travels,” she said, holding out the bag.  “There’s a selection of tasties in ’ere, somefing should be to ’er fancy; there’s even a little special somefing for that blasted cat when she gets ’ome.  Just tell ’er goodbye from Sally and not to come rushin’ back.”  There was a glint of seriousness in her eye, as though she was trying to tell him something.

“Thank you, Sally,” Julius told her sincerely.  “I’ll pass your message along. We’ll be out of your hair very soon.” 

She gave him a nod and glanced behind him.

“He can come back any time, though. I’ll feed ’im up and take good care o’ ’im.” She cackled as Julius glanced over his shoulder to find Derek standing in the outer room, ready to go; he was surprised to see the Werewolf looking embarrassed.  The old woman beetled off with a wave, her chuckle still audible as Julius once again closed the door. 

With an appetite reminiscent of Gabi’s, Kimberley
tucked into a bowl of chicken soup and two
bread rolls along with a large glass of milk.  Lord only knew how Sally knew the right thing to send for a tired Shape-shifter, but as the woman wiped her mouth with a napkin, the effects were notable.  Everything was packed, the pilots were preparing for the flight, and the car was waiting. 

Julius was already reaching for the door when the next knock came.  Expecting a staff member informing him that his car was waiting, he opened the door without thinking.  Benedict was lounging against the door frame, sunglasses in place, his jaw muscles working on his chewing gum. 

“Figured you’d be outta here as soon as you could, so thought I’d stop by and bid you and Lady Gabrielle adieu,” he said with a smirk.

“Get inside,” Julius growled, stepping back to allow the Princep entry.  Kimberley had already
re-donned Gabi’s face and was repacking the leftover food into the cooler bag. 

Benedict slouched in and slammed the door shut, leaning back against it as he raised his glasses to his forehead and raked Kimberley up and down with dark, penetrating eyes. “Absolutely uncanny,” he said finally, with a shake of his head.  He dropped the sunglasses back into place.  “I didn’t even pick it up.  How are you doing it?” he directed the question at Julius, who just smiled; it wasn’t a warm smile.  If Benedict thought that Julius was somehow disguising whoever was acting as Gabi, it was safer to leave him under the misassumption.