Spirit Guide (Myth-Series Book 2)

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Spirit Guide (Myth-Series Book 2) Page 26

by Angela K. Crandall


  “Gavin, and the Gladiator. I don’t have any paperwork if that’s what your after.”

  I held my breath for a moment. “I wouldn’t expect you to. I’ll be calling them into question on the stand.”

  Sika glared at the jury. He looked down at his cuffed hands. “Minder also. She isn’t too good with dates. That’s why she hasn’t come forth.”

  Minder glared at Sika from her seat.

  “If this is true, then can you tell me the date she left? How long was it after the death of Du-Vance?”

  “February 20th. We had an argument over Cal. She’d wanted to see her folks. The kid was always complaining about that! I didn’t stop hearing it in all the years we’d kept her. It was right after we got messed up with that entity,” he answered.

  “My reasoning was you'd hired the creature to capture Cal and Starla. It was a trap wasn’t it?” Dan asked.

  “Grr...” Sika slammed his fists on an arm of the chair. Lance stood up ready to jolt to the front of the room.

  I nearly leapt out of my chair. I stopped, then looked at Jenson. He put his arm around my shoulders. I eased back into my seat and turned to observe the trial.

  “Did you?” asked Dan.

  Sika exposed his claws clenching them in and out. “Yes,” he snarled. I sank further into my seat. He could have easily ripped into Martin with them. Wouldn’t there have been evidence left, unless he ate him? I shuddered.

  “All right then. But you didn’t have anything to do with Du-Vance’s death?” Dan asked again.

  “No, and I’m not aware of who decided the boy had to go!” he shouted. In his anger, he dug into the chair.

  “Enough. Is that all Dan?” asked Cavin.

  “No.”

  “Proceed then,” he answered.

  “If the entity did not kill Du-Vance, who did?”

  “How should I know? All I’m aware of is that we wanted Starla and Cal’s powers. We got a hold of the entity to do that. But it never happened thanks to you!” He spat literally, right in my dad’s face.

  Lance hurtled out of his seat like a bullet out of a shotgun. Jones was faster stepping in front of Lance. He put his hand out stopping him.

  “Let me handle this I’ll cross-examine the bonehead! He doesn’t know what’s going to hit him!”

  Sika shifted his body in the chair. He took a deep breath, then exhaled out.

  What was he doing yoga? I thought. Gradually his claws retracted into his paws. My dad stepped back from Sika whispering something to Jones. Cavin nodded to them both while Nayla sat silent. Dan went to his seat, allowing Jones to take his place.

  “Okay, so we’re clear that you sought Starla and Cal’s powers. Once you had them what was the plan? Who created this monster for you? Did you hire someone?”

  Sika ground his teeth in irritation. He held on to the arm of the chair rocking back and forth. It looked like he was about to fly out of it.

  “Answer the question!”

  “I can’t,” he stuttered.

  “You can,” said Rascal, standing up from his stool. He marched to the front of the room joining Jones.

  “My son was killed. Mutilated! If you can identify someone, any of your sidekicks. We want to know. Either clear your names, or we’ll banish you,” Rascal threatened.

  I found it surprisingly odd that Sika had put away his claws. Was there something in the room, he couldn't attack? Sika tightened his grip on the chair. Suddenly he stopped rocking. I was hoping he wouldn’t pass out. I looked at Rascal, then Jones. The chicken bone in my throat rose. Outside the window, a few shadows lingered. No one else noticed. I wasn’t about to cause a scene when there was one currently taking place. Sweat dripped from Sika’s brow onto his face. He’d begun to perspire tremendously.

  “You say you saw nothing. Answer our question, or we’ll call someone else to the stand.” Jones paused, waiting for a response. “No problem, you can sweat it out while we grill Gladiator.”

  “All right, all right! We were going to take over your clan. Finally get rid of each and every one of you! Then go after the scientists. We screwed it up assuming Starla was a novice. We knew she’d come looking for her friend. We didn’t imagine you’d be tagging along,” he grumbled.

  Gavin stood up from the bench. He glowered at Sika, afterward turning to face Jones. “He’s lying, don’t believe a word he says! We were never going to attack you. We were going to use their powers to defeat the scientists!” he admitted.

  They what? Wanted to attack the scientists? This whole thing kept getting twisted around. I wasn't sure what was happening anymore. The trial for the bandits, the black wolf, shadows, and scientists. I couldn't wrap my mind around it all. Were the scientists after the Bandits too? Had they been bystanders in this all along? Even though, they were killers. After all, we couldn’t dismiss River Rogue.

  Jenson grabbed my hand. He squeezed it, reassuringly. Molly muttered to herself, “What the fudge is going on?” Owl sat in his seat with a look of disbelief.

  “Gavin! Shut up. I’m the boss. You and Gladiator will follow my orders,” he demanded.

  I jumped but managed to stay seated, trying not to panic. Megan held on to Mango. She was terrified, yet had not raced out of the room. I hadn’t heard a peep from my mother. Mango, however, held her views.

  “Well, well, this is interesting,” she bantered loudly to herself.

  Eva and Cal whispered amongst themselves, and a door slammed shut. Sensi rushed into the room, taking the nearest chair. I didn’t see Amer or Jun with her.

  Cavin banged his gavel on the desk. “Order, Order in the court!”

  Jones and Rascal stepped up to the desk to deliberate with Cavin. They waved my dad over to them. Quietly I got up to peer out a nearby window. I was so scared I couldn't breathe. Outside shadows hovered over our hut. I couldn't count them all. They'd almost completely covered it. I shivered and shook uncontrollably. What the hell were we going to do? I held the curtain open whirling back around to face my father almost unable to speak.

  “D.. da.. da... Dad? Something is happening. I don’t know what to do,” I whispered.

  “They’re here! I have to get out of here!” shouted Sika. Gladiator and Gavin stood up and ran over to huddle next to Sika.

  “You fools! I’m not going to protect you. You need to guard me!” he cried.

  I rolled my eyes, letting the curtain fall back into place. Sika floored me. He wouldn’t even protect his own. That was just sad. I let out a sigh, blowing hair out of my face and faltered towards the front of the room near the judge’s bench.

  No matter how frightened I was, this needed to end. I am the so-called guardian. I let the rush of adrenaline enter my body turning my fear into courage. “No-one's leaving until you tell us who killed Martin Du-Vance. Who did it! Why? If not out you go!”

  “Starla, this is my interrogation. What are you doing?” asked Dan.

  “Finding answers dad. Maybe if we threaten them with ‘The Shadows’, they’ll listen for once. I've had enough of these games. Haven’t you?”

  “The shadows did it,” answered Gavin in a calm voice.

  I laughed, “That’s hysterical, no way. The black wolf said they aren’t able to hurt us. He wouldn’t lie,” I exploded.

  I twisted round to find Sensi inches from me. Nayla trotted to where I stood. She didn’t even acknowledge Sensi.

  “Starla we don’t even know who this black wolf is.”

  “I know, but he knows Jones,” Dan interrupted.

  “What? How?” I asked, turning to my dad.

  “My dreams the wolf told me in my REM cycle. In a vision, he claimed Jones would know what to do.”

  Jones appeared troubled. He placed his hands on his forehead trembling. “He may know me, but I do not know him, directly at least.”

  “Ok, one thing at a time. Starla Araina. You’re right. No one is leaving here until someone comes forth admitting their guilt. Now we’ll just sit here until they do. I hope th
e Trinity pack is safe. They were supposed to be monitoring us,” said Cavin.

  “I... I saw them! Amer and Jun are with the Trinity. We put up a barrier block, but It won’t hold them for long. Once it dissipates I’m not sure what will happen,” Sensi stuttered.

  “All right, then. We’ll need to settle this quickly.”

  “Sika didn’t answer the question. Who created the entity? After that, I want to know about Du-Vance. No more question-dodging!” I stated.

  “Right on,” shouted Lance standing up. Shellena hit him on the back hard. He fell into his chair and swiveled around. Jenson tried not to laugh cupping his hands over his mouth.

  Cal got up from her seat looking around at all of us. She'd been a mouse all day. I watched her swallow, then take a few steps towards Sika.

  “I might know. I'm starting to remember more and more. Small details. The night I wanted to tell you about, the orders. The scientists consist of two women and three men. That’s what you said.” She pointed to The Bandits. “Why are you so scared of the shadows? I don’t get it?” she whispered, backing up into Star who had joined us.

  “We have no choice but to tell them. We need their help. Who else will protect us? Certainly not the scientists who are after Starla’s clan,” admitted Gladiator.

  Ah, he was the smart one. Would he tell us what was going on?” I pondered.

  Sika began to beat his head with his cuffed hands. “No, no, no this was never the plan! Have you not learned anything from me?” he asked.

  “Apparently not,” offered Gavin.

  Chapter 54

  (Dan)

  Minder managed to calm Sika down. We were all worried he might try to hurt her. Although with the clan there maybe he was afraid to be his evil self. Gladiator had taken the stand. Sika sat off to the side. Everyone gathered their seats around the witness stand. I stood ready to listen to what he had to say.

  “The shadows created the entity we hired. At the time we did not know they were developed by the same scientists whom we’d planned to eliminate. Now they have located your clan and are after us. I’m assuming they will observe your behaviors. Then try to find a way to enter Hunter’s Park. In order, to gain control of everyone here,” announced Gladiator shaking his head.

  “You're sure of this?” I asked him.

  “Yes. Sika isn’t lying about Du-Vance. We don’t know who murdered him. We did, however, want him dead. I won’t lie about that.”

  I scoffed, “Well, thanks for not lying. Cavin, have you gone over the evidence I gave to you?”

  “I have, the cloth had been dyed with what seems to be blood. It’s a much larger piece than those we took from the crime scene. If we had up to date equipment, we could process the evidence faster to find out who’s DNA is on it.”

  “So you presume this will establish who the killer is? I don’t believe it’s our best option to rely solely on this,” I pressed.

  “True, I had Mike send it over to be analyzed. They should have it to us by tomorrow. I had them put a rush on it. Don’t worry, under the radar,” Cavin admitted.

  “Who did you manage to get to do that?”

  Cavin put his paw to his lips to indicate he wasn’t going to voice the man or woman’s name.

  “Dad’s right. This cloth was left at our house last night. It could be anyone’s blood. If a shadow left it, the material could be something else entirely,” Starla interjected.

  “Do you suppose it has anything to do with the red streak I saw in the forest? Maybe it’s part of a cape. How do you know it’s blood?” asked Sensi.

  “We don’t know for sure. While we wait, I want to know the details on these Shadows. How much do you know about them? Is it true, do you believe they killed Du-Vance?”

  “Dad?”

  “What Starla! I’m attempting to figure this out.”

  “When I received the vision of Du-Vance’s death. There were shadows. How could I have forgotten? Maybe it’s because of Trigger.”

  “Who’s he?” I demanded.

  Crap, I wasn’t supposed to use his name! “The wolf-spirit who’s been visiting me, us. What if these Shadows can manipulate animals or people. What if, they killed him but used someone else to do it?” Starla asked.

  “What would bring you to that kind of conclusion,” challenged Star.

  “It seemed that the animal was being shadowed or was a shadow. Maybe that’s why I couldn’t make it out. If one of the bandits was controlled by it or another wolf, who do we blame?”

  “The one controlling it of course,” Nayla concluded.

  “Yes, I need Gavin to the stand immediately. He clearly stated the shadows killed Rascal’s son. How, why, and if he saw it happen, who were they controlling,” I responded.

  “Hey, I’m right here! I don’t even have to take the stand. I can answer you from here!” he exclaimed.

  Gladiator snickered into his paws. “Gavin isn’t going to tell you anything. He’s useless.”

  “Let me be the judge of that. Shellena, please bring him here.”

  Sika pushed Gavin into the circle. “Go ahead. You’ve already ruined the whole thing! And after all, we’ve been through.”

  Shellena, grabbed Gavin before he tumbled over on top of me.

  “Are you Okay?”

  “I ah, guess so,” I answered steadying myself.

  “I’ll just go sit down. I'm ready to answer your questions. If I do, though what do I get?” Gavin inquired.

  “Oh gosh,” mumbled Sika, rolling his eyes in Gavin’s direction. He seemed not to care what happened anymore. Would he not acknowledge it was coming to an end?

  Nayla trotted up to our suspect. She gave me the I got this look. Really? I was supposed to be interrogating them. She stood in front of him staring him in the eyes. “For once in your life you’ll be doing the right thing. Just as Gladiator has done thus far. You didn’t ask to be this. It is understandable you crave revenge. What happened to Du-Vance?”

  “Well, duh!” exclaimed Sika.

  Gladiator interlocked his hands still held in cuffs. He brought them down on Sika, who slumped deeper into his chair. “That ought to shut him up. Go ahead.”

  I turned to Gladiator startled by his actions. “Why are you helping us? Should I even ask?”

  “It’s out of control. The shadows came after us when we couldn’t provide them with the payment for the entity. Sika thinks we’re fools. Well then, how come he assumed we’d be able to deceive you? Now, it appears we have no choice but to raise the white flag.”

  “What else, are we gonna do?” asked Gavin.

  “Tell the truth. Then go from there. We’ll probably still be banished. River Rogue was not an accident. I don’t regret it. This fox clan has caused us nothing but trouble! Unfortunately, to preserve ourselves, we must comply with them.”

  Nayla jumped out in front of Gladiator, “Enough! Gavin, Dan will be questioning you. You’ll answer him. Then we’ll make a decision. Gladiator, sit down!”

  Whoa Okay, time to go into battle. I nodded to Cavin. Shellena and Lance escorted Gavin to the stand.

  “What happened in the forest the night you were hunting? Did you see anything unusual?” I prodded.

  “Sika led us on the hunt. He ah kept telling me to stay back. I’d scare away the prey. He always said things like that.” Gavin shook his head and went on. “Thinks I’ve got rocks in my noggin. But I know, what I know! He raced to the front of us spotting a kill. There was a deer up ahead on the path. Of course, he pushed me behind, told me that he was going to kill it. That’s when I saw it!”

  “What did you see? I want details.”

  Gavin looked over at Sika still cowering from the shadows outside. A sneer remained on his face. Even in his terror, he appeared pissed off, but what could he do? He was pretty much trapped. His clan was about to tell all.

  “I stopped while Sika moved in for the kill. A man rambled through the forest muttering to himself. I couldn’t make out the words. I sat there,
not sure what to do. I didn’t know where I was. Hell, didn’t think we were that far from home. Maybe he was?”

  Gavin gave me a questioning look. I turned to Cavin shrugging.

  “It’s Okay, just have him continue,” he responded.

  “All Right,” I answered peering at the audience. Those who sat in the jury seats remained silent. The door to dining hall swung open. Amer and Jun stepped into the room unannounced.

  “We got away! The shadows were right on our heels,” panted Jun. Amer stood next to him stunned unable to stop shivering.

  “I told you!” shouted Sika banging his hands on his knees.

  “Silence in the court! You both should take a seat unless you have anything to add pertaining to the case,” interrupted Cavin.

  Nervously they sat in the back. I turned to Gavin. “Please state for the court what you saw.”

  “I... It happened so fast. Out of the wooded lot to the left of me, a wolf shot out after a rabbit. It went to go grab it.”

  “Yes, and?”

  “It stopped sniffing the air. Then sat on its hind quarters. It seemed to be looking for something. A shadow moved on the ground slowly inching towards the wolf. The animal didn’t suspect a thing. It attached itself to it. The wolf went mad. It moved through the trees towards the man I’d seen talking to himself.”

  “Did you see anything that might identify who this wolf was, or is?” I asked.

  “It's ear had a chunk missing out of it. The markings it held were normal, grayish. After the attack occurred, it limped away confused. The wolf practically devoured the boy!”

  “Gavin, are you sure this is what you saw? It sounds far fetched to me,” I sighed, and shook my head in doubt.

  “No, it happened! I’m not lying.” He banged his cuffed hands on his head several times. Then let his hands fall into his lap.” Maybe Sika would lie, but I wouldn’t.”

  Sika let out a howl from his seat. Then hid behind Gladiator. He was acting pretty cowardly compared to earlier in the evening.

  Star clenched her jaw tight, then bit her bottom lip, letting her front incisors show. “It... it can’t be! Why? How? He's hardly ever around. Granted, he tried to chat up Spark. He has a thing for, that kid. I don’t understand it?”

 

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