by Maya DeLeina
“Is this is what was presented to Steffan?” a council member asked.
“Yes.”
“And Steffan came to see you prior to Eilian?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you mention that to Eilian?”
“Steffan told me not to.”
“Steffan. What do you have to say in response?”
“She showed me the some of this, not all. I didn’t see any of the wedding photos or the certificates. In fact, the only certificate she showed me was Anya’s name changes from Anya DeVera to Anya Somar. Other than that, all she shared with me were the notes, and they were only signed with A. I just assumed it for stood for Anise. And, I visited her after Eilian, not before.”
“Madeline?” the council member voiced.
“Here is a still shot of my security camera showing Steffan at my place.” Madeline clicked the presentation to advance to a fuzzy photo of Steffan walking up to the front door of the cabin with his red Ducati in the background. “And here is an angle of the camera that catches the interior of the house. It’s a little blurry, but you can see him going through a box. This is what I kept all Ryan and Anya’s belongings in.”
The crowd’s collective voices talking at once rose in the room.
What is this, Steffan? Where did she get this?
This was when I was seeing her. I can’t believe she had security cameras. I can’t believe she kept the security tapes from that long ago. The box, she was showing me fucking photos of a rogue attack up at the reservoir along with items Alex collected from the scene. It was nothing to do with you. She is unbelievable!
You’ve got to say something!
I will, when it is my turn.
“This is the picture that Steffan became obsessed with,” Madeline continued as she advanced the slide.
A publicity photo for Anya’s Heartstring organization displayed on the screen. Anya was sitting in her studio with a long white dress on that seemed to glow all around her. She was playing her cello.
“As with this one as well,” Madeline continued.
A photo of both Anya and Anise together from their college graduation faded on the screen. A cheesy animation command sent the two photos in movement on the screen.
Tears fell from Madeline’s eyes in a dramatic performance.
“This is when he told me to burn the evidence and fabricate the story of Ryan being the fiancé of Anise instead. See, I already informed him that Anise had passed away earlier. He wanted Anya for himself. He was obsessed with her. He ignored that she was Ryan’s wife.”
The crowd became unruly. Comments shot out left and right.
“How could you, Steffan?”
“You liar!"
“Family, please, settle down,” the council member ordered the crowd to regain composure so they could proceed.
“Madeline, what else did Steffan say to you that evening?”
Madeline sniffled and released a wave of tears as she spoke, “He told me if Eilian came around asking about Ryan that I was to give him the story of Ryan and Anise instead. He said if I didn’t do as he commanded, he would kill Lisa.”
The crowd became unruly once again as the sneers shot out instantaneously.
“Why, Steffan?
“Why did you do this?”
“Once again, family, please, settle down. Proceed.” The council member motioned to Madeleine as the crowd quieted.
“I later found out Ryan recalled Anya after his turning, but…”
“I never recalled anything, Madeline,” Ryan interrupted.
“You got hit by lightning, dear. There are a lot of things you don’t remember. Let me speak,” Madeline said as she rubbed his back. “I discovered that Steffan had the ability to enthrall vampires. He’s been hiding this from us, from day one that he stepped into Manitou. When Ryan recalled Anya after his turning, he enthralled Ryan, erasing all memories of Anya from him so he could claim her as his own.”
“This is a very strong accusation. Please disclose to this council and the family what evidence you’ve brought forth to substantiate this enthrallment claim.”
“As you know, I have the ability not only to detect mate matches between a human and vampire, but I also have telling abilities, to summon truth, even break through enthralls. This is why you elected me to be the family member in the law enforcement arena.” Madeline paused as she stood behind Alex and grasped his shoulders. “Ryan got hit with lightning, so he’s too far gone. I wouldn’t be able to summon the truth from him even if I wanted to. But I have Alex as my proof as well.”
“Proceed.”
“See, I told Steffan that Alex was slowly uncovering things, that I was either burying evidence on Ryan that we found or altering the transgression reports. Alex was growing more and more suspicious, and one day, he finally confronted me. I summoned Steffan. He was already down at the precinct. Steffan said he would take care of it, and he enthralled Alex to keep him quiet. It’ll take some doing, but I can summon the truth from Alex up until the time I think Steffan got a hold of him. After that, I don’t know what type of altered scenario he gave to Alex to break through. It’s like he can’t remember anything after that point.”
“What do you mean?”
“Let me show you.”
Madeleine moved with a great sense of urgency and kneeled in from of Alex. She closed her eyes and drew a deep breath in, appearing to employ her telling abilities—her own twisted form of truth serum.
“Alex, what did you see me do with Ryan’s reports?”
“You filed them.”
“Did you read them after they were filed?”
“Yes.”
“Were you upset with me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“When I examined the reports, they were altered. It wasn’t the information I’d collected or the story I pieced together from touching Anise’s remains.”
“When you confronted me about it, what did I say, what did I do?”
“You were crying. You were hysterical. You said Steffan made you do it. You said you had to protect Lisa.”
“What happened next?”
“I stormed out of the office. I was on my way to find Steffan, to confront him myself.”
“Where did you go after leaving my office?”
“To my office, to grab my coat.”
“But someone was already in your office, waiting for you. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes.”
“Who was it, Alex? Who was there?”
“Steffan.”
“What did he say to you?”
“He wanted to know what I saw, what I heard about Ryan.”
“Then what happened?”
“I screamed at him. I asked him why…why he was doing this. Then we scuffled for a bit, but Steffan was strong. I was no match for him.”
“Go on.”
“He picked me up, sat me in the chair. He sat on my desk, close to me. He told me I was doing a great job.”
“You were doing a great job?”
“He said to keep up the good work and to help you with whatever you needed.”
“And that is it?”
“Yes.”
“Alex. What were you for Halloween last year?”
Alex looked pained as he searched his mind. His brow scrunched together, and he closed his eyes tightly.
Steffan and Eilian looked at each other in confusion as did the members of the council.
“I–I…I can’t remember.”
“What is the meaning of this line of questioning, Madeleine? How does this have any bearing?” asked the female council member.
Madeline motioned her hand to the council. “Wait.”
“Alex, when did you find Steffan in your office? What month was it? Was it before any special date, event, anything?”
“It was October, just a few days before Halloween.”
“Thank you, Alex.”
Madeline got up and stood tall, addressi
ng the family and the council. “Now, we all know Alex hosted the biggest costume party in Manitou Springs last year, and he can’t remember any of it. Nothing. Look, we were all there at the party. I mean, we all came as vampires! It’s not hard to remember! Alex would never forget an event such as that. He prepared months in advance for it. He talked for weeks about it. The last thing I can summon out of Alex is when Steffan met with him in his office alone, and then he goes blank. I can’t seem to get past anything in his mind no matter how hard I try. It’s like he’s stuck, right before October thirty-first.” Madeline pointed angrily in Steffan’s direction. “It was all his doing. Steffan enthralled him! And what’s worse, I don’t know how to pull Alex out of this state that he is in. I don’t know how much of an enthrall Steffan subjected him to.”
“Steffan, what do you say to this?”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Steffan rose and spoke to the crowd.
“I don’t have the power to enthrall another vampire. Humans, yes. But not a vampire, never a vampire. I don’t know how to prove this, to show you something I do not possess inside of me. And since you’ve already set this as a formal proceeding, I have no way of investigating what happened to Alex on my own, to formulate a sound explanation for what’s going on here. All I know is I did not enthrall Alex, I did not mate abduct, and I certainly never forced or coerced Madeline to do what she has claimed.”
Steffan paused and searched the eyes of the council members. He saw it on their faces. They were riddled with skepticism and discontent. He knew the truth, and his family knew the truth. But the council had been taught to separate their personal feelings, assumptions, or partiality. They only knew to pass judgment based on what was being presented to them, no matter the age or reputation of the vampire, no matter the contributions the vampire provided for the family and certainly, no matter the position of power the vampire had in the family. They had been groomed and educated by Steffan, to focus on the evidence, base their verdict on even the smallest shred of confirmation.
It had always been this way. It had to be this way. The power, strength and influence a vampire could possess, the damage that just one deceitful vampire was capable of, was unspeakable. One was all it took to bring down a family, to expose their kind. Sacrifice one for the greater good of the family was the adage they lived by. The doctrines, creeds, and laws were designed the same among lairs, the punishments and consequences exact and executed equally. It wasn’t an impenetrable justice system by any means, but it served them constructively and had never been used to tip the favor into the hands of malevolence.
Until now.
As it stood, Madeline had the so-called evidence needed to back up her testimony—photos of Steffan at her home, trinkets, memories of the life Ryan and Anya shared, and most importantly, Alex. She’d played out her performance on a grand scale that Steffan wasn’t quite prepared for. He needed something, some sort of explanation of what was going on to try and sway the council members to give him time to search for evidence himself. Evidence was what he needed. No amount of pleas of innocence would suffice. Suddenly, a stinging thought resonated through his mind.
What did Anya truly believe?
“Only a few members of this family have knowledge of this.” Steffan paused and cleared his throat. “In the Nemesis, we store—”
“Steffan! This is uncalled for. You were not given proper authority to disclose this,” said a council member.
“But, this could very well be an explanation here. We’re missing some of the inventory.”
“What? How?”
“I’m not sure. Can I proceed?”
The council member scanned the faces of his colleagues and deliberated for a moment. “Yes, proceed.”
“Eilian and I have created Submission injections that are stored in the Nemesis. We provide this at no charge to other lairs’ councils as well. You were not told about these injections because of their power. When administered, it inhibits all of your abilities as a vampire. It was created for the sole purpose of subduing a vampire who was sentenced to punishment or death. Now, in our family, Eilian, Madeline, and I were the only members with access to the serum. I sent Eilian to verify our supply, and he has confirmed that we are missing injectors containing the serum. While I don’t have any proof right at this moment, I believe Madeline is in possession of these injections and has found a way to use them on Alex, to portray what she is claiming.”
“Eilian, are we missing the injections as Steffan said?” asked the council member.
“Yes. I verified this twice against our inventory log.”
“You memorize each entry? Can you confirm that this log has always been in your possession?”
“Well, no. I don’t memorize what we record. That’s why we maintain logs. And no, I cannot confirm that it was always been in my possession. The log is kept in Steffan’s personal study.”
“The two of you are the ones who maintain this inventory record solely. Eilian, can you confirm with me that there is no possibility whatsoever that the inventory log could somehow be altered by Steffan?”
“What? No! Steffan wouldn’t do that.”
“But is there a possibility? Can you attest to some sort of process or procedure you two implemented to assure that this couldn’t happen?”
“No, I can’t attest to that. I mean, there is a possibility. It’s not under dual control or anything like that. But Steffan wouldn’t do that.”
“Please examine Madeline’s office and residences for any evidence of the missing injections and report back immediately,” the council member spoke to two family members who immediately responded and retreated from the room.
“We will confer back on this issue once they return. Continue, Steffan,” said the council member.
Steffan’s voice carried steadily, in the room. “As far as my connection with Anya, it’s a true connection. I did nothing of the sort like mate abduction, as I am being accused of. I felt that connection. It was so strong. When Ryan couldn’t remember anyone from his human past, I turned to Madeline.” Steffan paused and pointed to Madeline in anger, his voice elevating slightly. “She didn’t share any of the information she’s brought forth when I conferred with her. If I had known there was any connection between Anya and Ryan to suggest they were man and wife, even if that marriage was irrevocably broken before we met, I would’ve never chosen to pursue Anya.”
I’m sorry, Anya. I searched my heart, and I don’t think I would’ve pursued our connection if I had known because of this very complication. I couldn’t lay eyes on something that I wasn’t sure was truly mine. It doesn’t change the fact that I still love you with all of my heart.
I understand, Steffan.
And when our eyes met that day in the studio, don’t you think for one second that I would have left if I’d found out the truth then. I could never let you go once I laid eyes on you.
“I believe Madeline withheld this information purposely. She was the only one who could sense my mate match to Anya before we even met. She was the only one who had the ability to withhold information on Ryan. In fact, she had told Eilian that Anise died in a car accident, not by burning in a well as she disclosed to Anya. We didn’t even know Anise was a vampire.”
“A vampire? No one in this family has come forth with a turning?” the council member asked.
“None to my knowledge.”
“Madeleine, you have the ability to sense mate matches between human and vampire. Did Steffan truly have a connection to Anya?”
Madeline’s eyes widened and she was less than polished in her response. “Y–Yes, they…um h–had, rather, have…a–a true and strong match.”
“Steffan, this still doesn’t explain the matter of the photos of you at Madeline’s home. This is not the manner in which you are supposed to hold your professional dealings. Are these doctored photos?”
“No. They are not doctored. That is me. I was at Madeline’s home.” Steffan paused and cleared hi
s throat. “I had a brief relationship with her. The box that I’m looking at contained evidence and photos of a rogue crime scene she was sharing with me.”
“Steffan, while it is not part of our laws or creeds, you know that from a professional standpoint, as the leader of this family, you needed to disclose with the council any personal relationships you had with other positions of authority in this family.”
“Yes. I realize this, and I apologize. It was a very brief relationship, and I was so caught up in trying to understand her mate-match abilities that it consumed me.”
“And what of this altering of information on Ryan? Surely the rest of her staff, most importantly Alex, would’ve never let her withhold information from you. This family has been loyal to you and would’ve alerted you in any case of treachery. And even if your theory holds true on the submission injections, from what you’re saying on the inventory logs and my knowledge on how long the serum can last in the bloodstream, we didn’t have enough serum on hand to have somehow affected Alex for this entire time, let alone, the staff.”
“I don’t know what happened there. I can’t explain that part either,” Steffan said with utter dejection. He didn’t know how to explain any of it and certainly did not have time to prepare a well-educated guess as a proposal.
“And to the matter of enthrallment, this is a very serious accusation, Steffan. It appears that Madeline could entice the truth out of Alex, but not after the timeframe that you met him privately in his office, to alter him. Do you also deny meeting Alex privately around that time frame?”
“No,” Steffan responded softly. “I was down at the station, seeing if Madeline was able to obtain anything else. I just happened to see Alex in his office, and I went. It was just the two of us. It was innocent really. I hadn’t seen him in awhile and we were just chatting…guy stuff, you know? All I know is that I do not have the ability to enthrall and would never subject another to that.”
At that moment, the two family members returned from searching Madeline’s personal areas for traces of the injection.
“Anything?” asked the council member.
“Nothing. We found nothing.”