by Linda Palmer
“On Wednesday.” I gave him the approximate time and explained the situation. Norris took notes.
When we finished, his attention shifted to Erik. “Though Levi didn’t know for sure, I’m assuming you want to remain lupine because of Bronte?”
“That’s ninety-nine percent of the reason, yes.”
“And the other one percent?”
“I like it.”
Norris nodded as if Erik’s declaration made perfect sense. At least he was taking us seriously. I’d have been bummed if he’d treated me like a child after all I’d been through.
DeLuca checked his watched. “Any minute now. They’re always on time.”
The words had just left his mouth when the television suddenly flickered into life. I saw a long table made of dark wood intricately carved with symbols that had no meaning for me. Behind it were seated five men, all of them dressed in black robes. I noticed that the chairs in which they sat looked a little like thrones with high backs that had thick, pointy spindles. They didn’t have on white wigs or anything, but were wearing odd-shaped hats with gold trim on them. Behind them were white marble columns that gave the place an antique look.
When Crane, who was handling things from a laptop, zoomed in a little on the judges, my heart dropped straight into my stomach. These guys weren’t just old. They were ancient. I actually wondered if they might be immortals or something. Pale with wrinkles as deep as crevices and skin that hung loosely from their faces, they looked downright creepy.
And the weirdest thing of all was seeing them on a television screen that meant someone on their end had to have a setup similar to ours. Clearly it wasn’t one of the judges. At least I didn’t see a laptop in front of anyone. I did see a wooden gavel and some fancy gold name plates that I read from left to right: Counselor Vladislav, Counselor Theudebald, Counselor Ainsworth, Counselor Mart��nez-Botella, and Counselor Zhong Kang.
A global sample of preter authority from the look of things.
DeLuca stood to speak. “Honored Counselors, thank you for hearing our case. I have werewolf Bronte Hannigan with me today, along with her legal representative, Lucas Norris.” He introduced Crane as Norris’s assistant and Erik as “Miss Hannigan’s progeny.” “We’re ready to hear the accusation.” He sat.
Counselor Ainsworth solemnly nodded. “Miss Hannigan, you are hereby accused of knowingly breaking Rule 871 of the 1792 Codex to Eliminate the Propagation of Dangerous Species.”
I couldn’t believe that so young a voice was coming from a guy with wispy long hair the color of cotton and a beard long enough to disappear behind the table top.
“How do you plead?” he asked.
Panicked, I looked to Norris for guidance. Was I supposed to say something here? If so, he should’ve warned me. Before I could ask him, he stood. “Miss Hannigan pleads not guilty.”
Counselor Ainsworth frowned and tapped his fingers on the table. “May I remind you that we’ve heard her recorded confession?”
“If you’ve heard it, then you know she was unaware of the Codex at the time she bit Mr. Thorne. She is pleading not guilty to ‘knowingly’ breaking the aforementioned rule.”
“Very well. Her plea is noted. Please describe the details of the event.”
“In order to properly do that, I’ll have to go back to the night of Miss Hannigan’s abduction, just over eighteen months ago.” Referring to his notes, Norris told the judges about not only my capture and release, but what had happened when the three Weres broke into Erik’s cabin. Since he knew every detail of my kidnapping and The Bite, I knew DeLuca and Crane had done a great job of filling him in.
“In conclusion, Miss Hannigan had no mentor at the time of her own brutal turning and was therefore oblivious to the consequences of deliberately creating a werewolf. She acted out of desperation and a need for self-preservation when she bit and turned Mr. Thorne.”
Counselor Zhong Kang took the floor. “As you well know, Representative Norris, it is the responsibility of every supernatural being to familiarize themselves with the laws of the preternatural world. Therefore, ignorance of them is not an acceptable excuse for breaking a rule, especially one as critical as this one.”
Though Norris clearly didn’t like that answer, Erik jumped to his feet before any objections were voiced. “Whoa, whoa, whoa.”
DeLuca frantically waved his hands to get my guy’s attention and then tried motioning for him to sit down and shut up.
Didn’t work.
“Are you implying that all victims of preternatural crimes that result in supernatural changes automatically get a how-to-act book in the mail?” Erik asked. “Because Bronte didn’t get hers.”
“No such document exists,” said Counselor Vladislav, speaking with a thick Russian accent.
“Then maybe you need to print one up. Because without it, innocent victims like Bronte don’t have a clue what they’re supposed to do.”
“Mr. Thorne, please let me handle this,” said Norris.
I grabbed Erik’s hand and yanked on it, making him sit even though I appreciated his coming to my defense.
“This is bullshit,” he said, loud enough to everyone to hear.
Crane quickly shushed him.
Norris cleared his throat. “Excuse Mr. Thorne for speaking out of turn, but he does have a point. Steven Yarbrough bit Miss Hannigan in anger and then left her to work through the trauma that resulted. She was neither the first nor the last he abandoned in this way.”
“We’re well aware of Yarbrough’s crimes,” said Counselor Mart��nez Botella. He sounded a little bored. “That’s why he’s now in prison.”
Norris nodded. “Exactly. It is our opinion that Miss Hannigan’s unwittingly breaking a rule of the Codex is a direct result of Yarbrough’s reckless behavior. It is also our opinion that the right person is already paying for the crime, which means she should be absolved of it.”
“No!” Counselor Theudebald yelled, slapping his hand on the table. “This is outrageous. Werewolves are a dangerous species with no regard for human or preter life. We cannot allow their creation under any circumstances. Miss Hannigan must be punished for her sins.”
So much for fair judges. Clearly this dude had prejudices that went way way back.
Lucas Norris’s face turned a bright shade of red. He opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off by Counselor Ainsworth. “That will be enough, Counselor Theudebald.” Ainsworth directed his gaze toward us. “Excuse that outburst. The Counselor doesn’t speak for all of us. For the most part, we are aware of past fallacies regarding werewolves as a species.”
Sounding better.
“However, having said that, I must agree that Miss Hannigan should face the consequences of her actions, whether they were done in innocence or not. That’s true in the human legal system, isn’t it? Aren’t drivers still ticketed for speeding even if they’re unaware of the legal limit?”
“You’re comparing this to a speeding ticket?” Erik blurted.
“By no means. I’m simply saying that if we allow this incident to slip by without taking a stand, we’ll be setting a dangerous precedent. Where will it end? As for you, Mr. Thorne, your crudity and disrespect for these proceedings leads me to believe that you’ve already assumed all the negative traits of the werewolf species and would, therefore, benefit from the cure.”
I gasped. Erik jumped to his feet again.
The conference room door burst open, slamming loudly against the wall.
Chapter Fifteen
A ravishing woman with flame-colored curls and flashing green eyes joined us. All the males at the table instantly riveted their gazes to her. I didn’t blame them. I was just as stunned.
Dressed in a forest green jacket with satin trim and a short tight skirt split to the hip, she sashayed to the front of the room on five-inch heels and flashed a smile that could easily have brought a world of men to their knees, much less the ones in the room. I realized her eyes exactly matched her outfit,
and glanced at Erik to see if he was drooling yet. He wasn’t drooling. Actually���he wasn’t even breathing.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” said DeLuca, half rising from his chair. “This room is reserved.”
“I know.” She smiled a little wider. Her porcelain skin almost had a glow to it. As for those crimson lips—I’d never have believed someone with that color hair would look that good in any shade of red.
Walking straight to the camera filming our table, she pivoted to face it. “Hello, boys. Look who’s here.”
The five judges each responded differently, but all reactions were violent and startling. To the one, they began sputtering. It was Counselor Ainsworth who found his tongue first. “Goddess Danu. We are honored by your visit.”
I nearly fainted. Oh. My. God. He had to be mistaken. Just had to.
Erik grabbed my hand so tightly my fingers instantly went numb. DeLuca and Crane exchanged shocked glances. Norris simply looked baffled.
“Cut the crap, Broderick. Do I understand correctly that’s you’ve charged a Tuatha de Dannan with a crime of some sort?”
“Well, she, um, broke one of our, um, laws. Rule 871 of the 1792 Codex to Eliminate the Propagation of Dangerous Species, to be exact.”
“That old thing is still around? Get with the times, guys. You should’ve shredded that tome centuries ago.” She sighed. “But that’s just me. Now why wasn’t I informed of this proceeding���?”
The Counselors exchanged uneasy looks. “We know how busy you are and—”
Danu’s raised hand stopped them. “I’m always available when it comes to my children. As for Rule 871, I hope you’re not still harping about Bronte’s wolf status. It’s not her fault she was bitten.”
She knew my name!
“I think you’re all aware that my descendants are often shifters,” Danu continued. “And though Sidhe is the usual form they take, they certainly aren’t limited to that. She was able to shift without the bite. She simply didn’t know it yet.”
“But we’re not talking about abilities Miss Hannigan inherited from you,” ventured Counselor Theudebald.
I decided he was either brave or stupid. I was going with stupid.
“Her shifting is still acceptable, Merov. I assume three forms, myself. And since when have my descendants been under your jurisdiction, anyway? I’m quite sure the Olympian Assembly will be interested to learn you’ve put a Tuatha on trial and without so much as an e-mail to tell us. Why, if Bronte hadn’t summoned me last night, I might not have found out what was going down.”
Holy freakin’ crap! She’d heard me begging for help. I looked at Erik in astonishment. He was obviously just as surprised.
“She’s not on trial for shifting. She’s on trial because she created a werewolf. Since he isn’t under your protection, we believed we had just cause to—”
Danu waved her hand once through the air to shut him up and glance over at us. “This young man?” She pointed to Erik.
“Yes,” said Counselor Theudebald.
“Hm. Do what you have to do with the wolf and leave my child out of it.”
I gasped and leapt to my feet. “But he’s my life mate!”
Danu arched an eyebrow at me. “Really?” Her gaze shifted to Erik, who’d flushed as red as her lipstick. “Is this true?”
Keeping my back to her, I mouthed the word “lie.”
Erik got it. “Yeah. I mean, yes, ma’am.” He watched me drop into my seat again. “Well, we’ve talked about the possibility, anyway. Neither of us were sure there could be such a thing.”
I glared at him. Of all times to be honest���
One of the Counselors snorted, a rather undignified sound. “A lie of convenience. He obviously doesn���t know what he’s talking about.”
Danu walked over to us and touched my cheek, which suddenly tingled where her skin brushed mine. Then she touched Erik’s. I saw it glow briefly and wondered if mine had, too. “Actually, he does.”
Huh?
“They’re mates, though not in the strictest sense. They haven’t consummated.”
Had she really just told the room that we hadn’t had sex yet? And who cared anyway? Our connection was real! I’m sure my smile lit up the place. As for Erik, he seemed a little dazed. Did that mean he’d only been okay with the idea when it was nothing more than a fairy tale?
“You’re interfering, Goddess, and you know it,” snarled Counselor Vladislav.
“Oh, get over yourself, Razvan.”
“He has a point,” said the unflappable Counselor Mart��nez-Botella. “We have authority over beings who possibly threaten our existence. Erik Thorne falls into that category, life mate or not.”
Danu got very still and then turned on her heel and strode back to the camera. “Are you saying that I now have a say in the sentencing of beings that are a threat to Tuatha?”
The judges leaned toward one another. I heard frantic whispering.
“We’ve tried not to micromanage, but fair is fair,” said Danu. When the judges continued their hushed consultation, she clicked her perfectly manicured, blood red nails together a couple of times and slowly smiled. “I’m taking that as a yes. Therefore, you will execute Steven Yarbrough immediately. He attacked and bit Bronte, which means he is more than just a threat to my descendants. He has inflicted bodily harm that will forever impact her existence. We can’t risk any more of that, now can we?”
Counselor Ainsworth began to stammer. “B-but we’re in the p-process of extracting valuable information from him about le bras du loup.”
“Oh my gods. You haven’t eliminated those outlaws yet? What is taking so long?” She rolled her gorgeous eyes. “Honestly, boys. You should consult with Goddess Justitia. She’s over your division, isn’t she? In fact, why don’t I do that for you?” Danu pulled a dainty emerald cell phone from her jacket pocket.
I could tell none of the Counselors like that idea one bit. Since I didn’t know who Justitia was, I wasn’t sure why.
“Oh very well. You take care of your business, and we’ll take care of ours.” Counselor Ainsworth picked up his fancy wooden gavel and banged it solidly on the sound block. “The case against Bronte Hannigan is henceforth dismissed.” He banged it again. “The case against Erik Thorne is, as well.”
The television screen immediately went to black, but the audio remained.
“That Danu is nothing thing but trouble,” muttered one of the Counselors. Vladislav, maybe?
“Yes,” answered another. “But you have to admit she has style.”
Danu smiled to no one. “Why thank you, Broderick.”
Static blasted over the mic, followed by silence. Naturally we all burst out laughing. I jumped up and rushed over to Danu, grabbing her hands in mine. “Thank you soooo much.”
“It was my pleasure. I haven’t had this much fun in ages.”
“Are you the reason I survived the truck crash?”
“I might’ve had a little something to do with that, though not nearly as much as you think. You���re a very special descendant, Bronte—a rare jewel. You have untapped magic within. Don’t be afraid to draw on the power of nature. We’re of the earth, you know—goddesses of the land, the sky, and the water.”
Goddesses plural? Was she including me? An unformed, bothersome question lurked, waiting to be asked. Too awed by Danu to put it into words, I asked an easier one. “Did you send Erik to me?”
“That was actually someone else, though I did approve it.” With a mysterious laugh, she turned to the three men who were now cautiously approaching. “You’ve done a great job helping Bronte today. I won’t forget it.”
They all nodded. Captivated by her smile as they were, I sincerely doubted they could actually speak.
Danu left us to walk over to Erik, who stood next to the door and seemed very anxious to get out of there. She kept her voice low, but I still heard her. “Stop worrying, okay? What you feel is real.”
His eyes wide
ned.
“And Erik? Be good to our daughter.”
“Right. Of course. Always.” He started to say something else, but seemed to decide against it.
“Go ahead and speak your mind,” said Danu. “You may never have another chance.”
Erik nodded. “I was just wondering���if they’d made me take the cure, would I still be Bronte’s life mate?”
“Yes. You two are truly fated. So sentencing her to a dungeon and you to the witch’s cure would’ve been a travesty, indeed, since the two of you could never again have loved as completely as you can and will now.” She cupped his chin briefly. “Since you seem a little anxious about this, I feel I should warn you that the mates of my children are privileged and fall into a very special category all their own. So don’t be surprised if you find you can do some things you didn’t know you could do, and I’m not talking about shifting.” Danu slipped past Erik only to turn and catch my eye. “Oh, and Bronte, I almost forgot��� Erin sends her love. And just so you know, she was the one who influenced your mate’s walk through the woods. Now I know why.” With that, she gave us a pageant wave and left.
“Who’s Erin?” asked Erik.
“My mom.” I think I would’ve fallen if Lucas Norris hadn’t taken me by the arm and led me to a chair. Erik quickly joined me, squatting to ask, “Are you okay?”
“Never better. Just a little���shell shocked, I guess.”
Norris picked up his briefcase from the floor and began stuffing papers in it. Crane snapped his laptop shut, tucking it under his arm. He and DeLuca approached us.
“Congratulations,” said DeLuca offering us a handshake. Crane did the same.
“Thanks for everything,” I told them.
They left moments later. Norris then walked over. “Did I hear you asking Danu about the mating for life quandary?”
Erik told him what his question had been.
Norris perked up. “And how did she answer?”
Erik told him that too.
The lawyer laughed. “I told Cassandra that Brody wasn’t going to go away. He’s a distraction for our daughter Cass, who used to run our estate for us while we traveled. Guess we’d better give up and hire ourselves a manager.” I heard him chuckle softly as he walked out the door. “It’s a good thing we like that boy.”