by Bailey Dark
“What did you go back there for? That’s suicide, Gwen.” He looked angry, which threw me off.
“There wasn’t a choice. We needed to get something that was in the Sacred Library and then we arrived, the Chancellor was there. He was beaten badly and left for us,” I took a deep breath, not wanting to say the next words.
Just saying them brought back the vivid images of what we saw that night. It was something I never wanted to think about again, but I wanted to tell Tristan. He had worked alongside me with the Chancellor during the trials and if he was to be believed, he wasn’t truly with the council and maybe he did care about the Chancellor.
“I watched as the man shot him in the head.”
Tristan gasped. “No.”
I nodded as emotion built. I tried to squash down the tears that threatened to spill over, but it was no use. They streamed down my cheeks in a river of anguish. Tristan came to the bars and reached through to wipe away the torrent.
“I’m so sorry you had to see that, Gwen,” he said tormented. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that alone.”
“She wasn’t alone,” Lance’s hard voice said from behind me.
I turned slowly to see his stern gaze, staring daggers at Tristan.
“Lance,” Tristan said looking a bit wary. “I should’ve known you wouldn’t be far behind. You always did look out for Gwen.”
“Gwen,” Lance directed at me, completely ignoring Tristan. “What are you doing down here?”
I bit my lip, I should’ve known he’d be coming after me. There’s no way I could’ve stayed gone for as long as I had without him questioning. Especially after everything that’s happened recently. It warmed my heart to know he looked out for me.
“I came to get some answers,” I said honestly.
“And did you get the answers you were looking for?” he asked bitterly.
I winced at his tone, knowing he was probably hurt because I hadn’t confided in him that this was where I was going. He probably was thinking the worst right now. He probably thought that I had gone out of some need to be near Tristan—that I still wanted him.
That wasn’t the true reason for my visit. I wasn’t there because of my feelings for him. I was in that dungeon because I needed to know whether we could trust him or not. I needed to see for myself if Tristan was behind all of this, and I could honestly say, I didn’t think he was.
After seeing him here, I think he did what he needed to do to protect himself and his mother, just like he said. The only part that stung, was that I wasn’t important enough to him. He hadn’t come to me, to be honest, and to enlist my help. He decided to do it on his own like he always had. Yes, I got my answers. We could trust him and Evie, but Tristan and I as we had been at Avalon, was over.
I turned fully to face Lance giving him a broad smile. “I did. I believe we can trust them and that they’re not working with the council,” I stated. “I just informed Tristan of the Chancellors death and he seemed genuinely surprised and adequately horrified,” I explained, and Lance’s brow rose. “I came to see for myself, without the pressure of the coven…or you. I needed to be unbiased and fair.”
Lance nodded, not saying anything more.
“Let’s go,” I said to Lance and started to walk away.
“Gwen, wait,” Tristan called out. I turned back to face him. “You’re just going to leave me here? And what? You two are together now?” he said gesturing between Lance and me.
“That’s none of your fucking business,” Lance grated, taking a menacing step toward the cell. “You lost any right to ask those questions when you all but deserted her.”
I was done with this. There wasn’t going to be some pissing match over me. Not now. We had more important things to do and big decisions needed to be made. Stepping between the two men, I lifted my hands to halt any further words from either of them.
“I’m going to go plead your case to the coven and give them my opinion that you can be let out of here. Sit tight, I’m sure we will have a verdict soon,” I directed. “As for what I do and whom I’m with, that’s none of your business and will not be discussed.”
Without another word, I turned grabbing Lance’s hand and walked out of the dungeon.
Chapter Thirteen
Back in the ballroom, I have over a dozen sets of eyes drilling into me. Wondering why I had called them all together. I had been discreet in visiting Tristan, and I didn’t think that Clara or Lance would’ve told anyone. We had needed privacy and we had it—until Lance showed up.
The coven would’ve wanted me supervised, as they all knew about my relationship with
Tristan. Even if it was over—and it was—I’m sure each of them would’ve questioned whether I could be easily persuaded by him. If I’m being honest, I wouldn’t have blamed them. I’d fallen victim to his sultry smile and cerulean eyes before.
“I called you all together so we could discuss Tristan and Evie.” My words were met
with silence. Every witch present wore the same curious look, so I forged on. “I took the liberty of going to the dungeon today. I wanted a chance to interrogate Tristan myself.” Murmurs began and curiosity gave way to looks of apprehension and suspicion. I was expecting that much. “I know it’s no secret that I had a relationship with Tristan, but after everything that has happened, including his betrayal with the council, that has ended. There were still so many questions that I had, mostly surrounding the death of Chancellor Andrews.”
“How did you find your way to the dungeons?” A witch, whose name I couldn’t remember, asked distrustfully.
I wasn’t about to give up Clara. She had been kind in giving me the time that I needed. No witch here would dare question her authority, but at this time, we needed unity. What we didn’t need was a witch’s quarrel.
“This place is big, but not that big. I found it myself,” I fibbed, hoping that I was convincing. When nobody called me out, I internally relaxed.
“Go on,” Clara urged.
“After everything that’s happened, I need a sense of purpose. I need to look out for myself and those I know I can trust, and Tristan is not one of those people anymore. It was important that I questioned him as I know him. I know his tells and when he’s being untruthful. My first instinct is to doubt anything he says, and because of that I thought I was the right person to talk to him.”
I looked to Clara to see if she wanted to interject, and she shook her head alerting me to go on. “I truly feel that based on numerous questions that I asked, Tristan is no longer involved with the council.”
“How can you be so sure?” one of the coven members yelled from the back.
“You all saw Evie’s state when they arrived,” I said, drawing their memories back to the way she looked when Tristan brought her here. “You did your own spell to ensure it wasn’t a glamour, and you yourselves found it was not.”
Many heads nodded, giving me encouragement to go on. “I’m coming to all of you with my suggestion to work with Tristan and Evie. We need all of the support that we can get, and even if Evie is on the outs with the council now, who knows the influence she could still have within. She may potentially have friendships that are strong enough within the council that could give us an edge. Or maybe she has information that we need. We’ll never know if we throw them to the mercy of the council.”
At this, Clara stood and walked towards the front to stand next to me. “I agree with Gwen. I too, trust that Evie, specifically, is trustworthy. However, coven rules state that it should come to a coven vote. So, we’ll do what needs to be done and bring Evie and Tristan up against the coven counsel. All in agreement, raise thy wand,” she called, and all hands—sans actual wands—rose. “It’s settled. Let’s get our guests prepared for a coven interrogation.”
I had to admit, I felt sorry for Evie as she endured over an hour of interrogation from the coven. They left no stone unturned and Evie went through a range of emotions. Her face had turned apple red in mom
ents of anger and tears rained down her cheeks at other points. I thought they were finally done when Clara turned to me.
“Do you have any questions that you would like to ask, Gwen?” I shook my head not wanting to put Evie through anymore. It didn’t seem necessary. “I think you’ve covered them all.”
She nodded. “Bring in Tristan,” she yelled to the two witches standing guard at the door.
As the door opened, two more witches walked in flanking a bound Tristan. Evie hasn’t been tied up, which led me to believe this trial of sorts was more about Tristan than Evie. They weren’t sure that they believed he wasn’t still with the council.
Evie stood at the sight of her son and ran into his arms, crying loudly as she embraced him. She placed a kiss to his forehead, and then to his cheek, running her hands over his hair. “Are you okay?” she croaked in concern.
He smiled down warmly at his mother and nodded. “I’m fine, mom.”
“He’s innocent,” Evie said, pleading to Clara for mercy that’s not yet needed. “He’d never hurt anyone. He’s only done what he needed to do to protect me. Please, don’t punish him for my sins.”
“Evie, nobody has condemned the boy yet. We simply have questions that need to be answered, the same as you just did. Allow us to get started or we’ll be here all night,” Clara said, sounding reassuring if not a bit peeved by the display. “Tristan, why did you leave Gwen and the others after the dream walk? Did you go to the council?”
“No,” he said firmly. “I learned some things through the dream walk—”
“Just tell them everything,” Evie pressed. “They need to hear it all.”
Tristan took a deep breath. “I learned that my mom was there the night of the Knight’s death and that she had taken Excalibur. I needed answers from her before I could tell the others that it was her. It was my job to uncover the cloaked woman’s identity and when I found out it was her, everything changed.” His eyes met mine.
I chose my mom. That’s what his gaze told me. I understood, but it didn’t hurt any less.
“I left to find my mother before the council arrived. I knew once they had the information, they’d go after her and kill her. I had to protect her.”
“So, you left us in the hands of the council,” Lance spit. “You abandoned your friends to save a traitor to your people. The people you were working for.”
“I wasn’t working with the council,” Tristan barked, leveling Lance with a murderous glare. “I did as little as I could to remain in their graces. The more information I had, the better I could protect Gwen.”
“Don’t even speak her name,” Lance warned, taking a step toward Tristan as though he was going to attack him. “You left her to the council when you deserted us at Avalon.”
“They weren’t going to kill Gwen. They knew she had the sight ability. I made sure of it so that they wouldn’t kill her. She was too valuable to them to kill. My mother, on the other hand, was dispensable,” his eyes met mine. “I had to save her.”
I didn’t blame him for wanting to protect his mother. If what he said was true and the council knew of my abilities, then he knew I was safe for the time being. Safe from being murdered, but what other torture would I have endured at their hands when I refused to play their games?
“As soon as I found her, we headed back to Avalon to work with Chancellor Andrews. I hoped that I could explain my role and that he would help me in hiding my mom.”
“Why would you go back to Avalon? The place was surrounded by the council,” Mallory questioned and I was happy for it. I too wondered why he’d have gone back there.
He shook his head. “At that time, they still didn’t know that my mother was involved. One of her close friends in the council told her that they had abandoned Avalon because Gwen was gone. We rushed back because I hoped that Chancellor Andrews would be able to tell me where she was.”
“When we got back to Avalon, we came clean to the Chancellor,” Evie piped in. “I told him about the council’s plan to use the student’s abilities and he felt like the students were no longer safe. I helped him to get the students out of Avalon and moved to various locations where their family could pick them up,” she sighed. “Of course, the ramifications were that the council was notified, and knew that something was going on,” she looked at Triston and a tear slid down her cheeks.
They had saved all of the students for a little while, but what would happen to them now without the protection of Avalon and the Chancellor? Had she simply put them in more danger? I wanted to bring this up but thought better of it. They had done what they could at the moment. Hopefully, their families could keep them safe from the council’s grasp.
“About two hours before the school was stormed by the council, I got a call from Martha Craft. She told me everything because she still didn’t know my involvement,” she turned towards Tristan. “I knew they were coming, and I had to save him. I lied and told him you were being hidden at Saint Bernard church,” she directed this last part at me.
“You sent him on a wild goose chase?” Holly asked and Evie nodded.
“I had to get him out of there. He thought I was safe, so the only thing that could persuade him to leave was to send him to Gwen. It had always been his plan to go back for her. He cares,” she said looking right into my eyes.
“So you were not there when the council arrived?” Clara asked Tristan.
“No, ma’am. I was at Saint Bernard. The priest could attest to that. He tried to have me arrested when I started tearing the place apart to find Gwen.”
Seemingly uninterested about Tristan’s whereabouts, Clara turns back to Evie.
“Continue,” she requested.
“We had just gotten the last bus out of Avalon when the council showed up. There was no hiding and when Martha realized I had betrayed her, she had Galahad Watt extract my memories. All I had done was revealed to them,” a sob caught in her throat. “As I was dragged out of Avalon, two men I didn’t recognize were beating Chancellor Andrews,” she said through hiccups. “I pleaded with Martha to stop it, but it was no use,” a river of tears slid down her cheeks.
For several minutes we all remained quiet allowing Evie to sob into Tristan’s side. He whispered comforting words to her as she expelled every last tear. When she was ready, she continued.
“The line has been drawn and she and I were on opposite sides. I thought I was going to die in the dungeons under the council headquarters, but Tristan managed to break in and get me out.”
Clara’s eyes fell on Tristan, accusingly. “How did you know where she was and how did you manage to get her out without being caught?”
The coven started whispering amongst themselves, clearly wondering the same thing.
How had he managed such a feat on his own? It all seemed a bit suspect.
“I went back to Avalon after realizing my mother had lied. She was being stuffed into the back of a council van and I followed them to the headquarters. The council doesn’t have magic,” he reminded us. “They only have Galahad and Garrett under their thumbs at the moment.”
Those two idiots only do well when instructed. It’s no wonder that Tristan was able to manage a rescue op if that’s who the council has guarding them. For as smart as the council is, their actions of late seem rash and lazy. Were they that sure of themselves? Could they really believe they were invincible even being powerless? The ego of the members would be their downfall if that was the case. And thank God for that.
“They were playing cards with a couple of the other guards, and I was able to use my magic to locate my mom and get her out. The council is seriously compromised without their abilities. They rely heavily on the students, which is why they’re desperate to get their hands on Gwen and anyone else who has abilities like hers.”
Clara walked to the front looking out upon her coven. “We’ve heard the testimonies From Evie and Tristan Locke and we will pass down our judgment now.”
I sat up straight in my ch
air, suddenly feeling queasy. This whole process had been conducted in such a rush, but what was I expecting? A full-on trial? We didn’t have time for that.
“We’ll begin with Evangeline Locke. All those in favor of finding her guilty, raise your right hand,” she called out.
All hands remained firmly in the laps of the witches. Evie let out a sigh of relief at the unanimous vote of not guilty. Clara nodded in agreement. “Evie, you are free to go if you wish.”
I jerked back in surprise. Why on earth would we allow her to go? Even if she was not guilty, she had to have answers that we needed. What was Clara doing?
“Wait,” I yelled. “No. She can’t go. We need to know what she knows.”
Clara turned to me; lip upturned. What was she up to?
Evie looked at Clara sternly. “I want to help. What the council is doing is not okay. We all need to band together,” she said in a strong, confident voice. “I can help.”
Clara nodded, smiling widely. “I had no doubt that’s what you’d say. I had to know for myself whether you’d offer to help or not. If you had chosen to leave, I would’ve locked you away myself, no matter the coven’s finding.”
It was a test. Of course, it was. Clara wasn’t a fool. I relax back into my seat. But my nerves were not settled. It was now Tristan’s turn. I felt pretty confident about how Clara felt where Evie was concerned, but I wasn’t so sure about Tristan. He had done so much, and he wasn’t an ally of the coven’s, even if his mother was.
“All those in favor of finding Tristan guilty, raise thy right hand,” she called out.
A few hands raised, but the consensus was not guilty.
Evie fell to her knees crying. “Thank you,” she wept.
“Tristan Locke, you’re not guilty and are free to leave,” Clara said.
“I’m staying as well,” he said.
“So now what?” Holly asked.
“We need to find the spellbook of the Souveign Coven in order to gain their alliance,” Clara said, massaging her head as though working out a headache.