No one seemed to hear her. “And to think he almost became a member of the council. Can you imagine how terrible that would be? Once he got on the council, nothing could stop him from doing exactly what he wanted. We’re all better off now that he’s out of the game.”
“Can we please stop talking about this?” Eden cried.
“Eden is right,” Eli interrupted. “We shouldn’t talk about this. We’re here to have a good time. My no-good brother isn’t here to bother us, and we shouldn’t let him. Let’s talk about something else.”
Eden loved Eli more than anything at that moment. He would help her. He would defend her. He would make sure she didn’t have to listen to any more of this wild talk.
She tugged his hand. “Come on, Eli. Let’s go dancing.”
His face brightened up, and he followed her into the crowd. She was never so relieved to get away from the very people she was supposed to be getting to know.
“Which band do you want to go to?” He caught her eye and pulled her against him. He murmured in her ear. “Do you want to get close and slow dance with me?”
Even as he spoke, he wrapped his arms around her. He crushed her against him and swayed to the faint trace of music coming through the sound screen.
She stiffened in his arms, but she let him hold her there for a moment. She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t really want to dance right now, only to get away from those people. She didn’t want to think about Damian while she held Eli’s hand and took shelter in his arms.
He drew away and smiled. “Come on. Let’s go.”
He pulled her toward the slow dancing area, but she broke away at the last second and ducked into the loud music section. Before he could protest, she dove into the thickest part of the crowd. She threw herself into wild thrashing movements so he couldn’t get near her.
The music thundered in her ears. It vibrated her bones, but she wormed her way to the very center of the audience, right up in front of the stage. She positioned herself as close to the pulsing speakers as she could get.
Eli cringed back and covered his ears. He made a face and motioned her to retreat with him. She pretended not to understand and kept dancing. She flailed her arms and legs. She whipped her hair around her head. She did everything to keep him away from her.
Sweaty bodies bumped her from all sides. The noise hurt her ears, but she refused to withdraw. This might be the only place in Arion where she would be safe from…from him. She didn’t mind being near anybody, but not Eli.
Now that she wasn’t holding his hand or standing so close to him, she realized she didn’t want to be with him at all. She wanted the attention, the social contact, the excitement. She didn’t want him.
How could she get out of here without dealing with him again? She couldn’t stay in this head-banging concert all night. She had to face him. She had to ride home with him and probably let him kiss her again.
Any and all of that would be better than listening to those callous people talk about Damian. She couldn’t stand that. The question was how to get out of here. She didn’t want to be here anymore, but she couldn’t tell Eli that. She couldn’t exactly come right out and say, “Sorry, Eli, I don’t want to be around you anymore. I’m leaving.”
She convulsed harder than ever. In her wild contortions, she bumped her head on someone’s elbow. She didn’t hit it hard enough to hurt herself. It hurt, though, and it gave her an idea. She danced this way and that. She plunged into the most crowded spot she could find. She hurled herself at huge NightShade guys three times her size.
Sure enough, as she suspected, she hit her head on someone else’s flying elbow. This time, she was ready. She collapsed to the floor and lay still.
No one could hear a thing over the noise, but she sensed people moving around her. A hand touched her forehead. Eli shouted in her ear, “Eden! Eden, can you hear me?”
She didn’t move. She kept her eyes closed and lay limp and unresponsive. The next thing she knew, powerful arms lifted her up and carried her beyond the sound barrier. The hubbub of conversation surrounded her. Then the blissful silence of the night outside blocked off all sound.
Voices swirled all around. Eli called above the others, “Make room! She’ll be all right. I’ll take her home. Get out of the way!”
He laid her on something soft. She squinted through one eyelid. She was lying in a hovercraft outside the Social Club. Eli pushed people aside to fight his way into the vehicle. He slammed the door and sat back with a sigh.
Eden moaned under her breath. She opened her eyes and cradled her head with her hand. “Ooohh. What happened?”
He eased closer to her on the seat. “You got knocked out in there. I never should have taken your suggestion we go dancing. I’m taking you home. Just lie still and we’ll be there soon.”
The hovercraft sailed into the air. It made a bee line for the central district. Eden relaxed in the seat. Eli took her hand and smiled at her. “I never knew you were such a heathen.”
She rubbed her neck. “Look, Eli. I had a really good time tonight, but…”
He closed his eyes. “Don’t say it. We can go out another time. There’s plenty of these things going on all the time. We can do it again when you’re feeling stronger.”
She didn’t say any more. Let him think she wanted to. She would find a way to get out of it when the time came. For now, the hovercraft landed outside her building. Eli opened the door, and Eden stepped out as good as new.
He stepped close to the door. “I’ll walk you up.”
She held out her hand. “I’d rather go by myself. Thanks for a nice time.”
He cocked his head. “Are you sure you don’t want me to walk you? I wouldn’t want you to fall over on the way. Your grandparents would have my hide.”
She turned away. “I’m sure.”
He tried to hold her back. He inched closer until his lips hovered before her eyes. “You’re a special person, Eden Black.”
She snorted. “Not special enough to avoid getting my head knocked in. Good night, Eli.”
65. Chapter 9
Thousands of people pushed and shoved to get inside the Elders’ council chamber to see Damian Powers tried for the murder of Ryder Law. Nothing like this had ever happened in Arion before. Hours before the hearing, people filled every seat and even stood in the aisles.
Schools closed so the children could watch the trial televised over the computer system. The whole population waited with bated breath to hear the outcome.
Damian sat in his room at home. He didn’t pace around, but he couldn’t stop rubbing his hands together. He dared not imagine what would happen down at the council chamber today. He only wanted this day to be over so he could stop dreading it.
A knock sounded on his door, and he heard his father’s voice. “Are you ready, son?”
Damian got to his feet and joined his father in the hall. Joshua Powers led the way to the front door, but instead of opening it, he pressed his thumb against the wall. Another sliding door whisked out of the way to reveal a tiny black closet. No lights or windows illuminated it. It was barely big enough for one person.
Joshua nodded toward the closet. “You go first, and I’ll follow you.”
“Where am I going?”
“I’m sending you to the bailiff’s room behind the council chamber. Constable Griffin will meet you there. He’ll wait with you to make sure nobody bothers you.”
Damian glared at his father. “Don’t you mean he’ll make sure I don’t try to escape?”
Joshua flinched. “I know you wouldn’t do anything like that, son, but there are other people who don’t know you like I do. There are a lot of people in this city who only want to get close to you, to see you and touch you because you’re the first person… you know.”
Damian’s chin fell on his chest. “I’m sorry about all this, Daddy. I’m sorry all this causes you so much distress.”
Joshua patted his arm. “I’m sorry, too, son. I wi
sh none of this ever happened, but now that it has happened, we just have to get through it. You go ahead. It will be over soon enough.”
Damian nodded. He would have liked to give his father a hug right then, but he couldn’t bring himself to do that. He couldn’t be vulnerable in front of this man. He couldn’t let anybody see how much this situation cost him in heartache and strain.
He stepped into the closet. The door shut him in complete darkness. He put out his hand and pressed his thumb against the wall. At his touch, the whole closet lit up shimmering blue and green and purple. A blinding light flashed over his head, and billions of iridescent sparks showered down all around him. They prickled his skin until he thought he couldn’t stand it.
He felt the familiar disintegration. Every part of him exploded apart at once, and the next instant, everything collapsed back together again. The lights faded to black, and a door panel opened in front of him on a different room somewhere else.
He stepped through the opening, and Constable Griffin approached to meet him. He nodded, but he didn’t give Damian the kind of assurance he got from his father. This man wasn’t sorry Damian had to go through this. He wasn’t sorry one bit.
Griffin waved his hand toward a couch across the room, and Damian sat down. He didn’t move from the spot, but he couldn’t help hearing the noise rising from the next room. It got louder and louder. More and more people flocked to see the spectacle of his destruction. This whole trial turned into something akin to the Roman Colosseum. Those people out there wanted to see someone thrown to the lions. They didn’t care if he was guilty or innocent.
Hours ticked by. The noise made Constable Griffin a lot more uncomfortable than it made Damian. The Constable paced around the room. He checked his pocket device every few seconds. He shrugged inside his jacket. He did everything but look at Damian. Damian didn’t exist for him. Damian was a specter, a non-entity.
When the noise couldn’t get any louder, a deafening crash rocked the council building. Damian knew the sound of Elder Hood’s gavel striking the lectern. A hush fell over the chamber. A few people fidgeted in their seats, but no one would never have known so many people packed the chamber if they hadn’t heard them a moment before.
Jeremiah Hood’s deep voice boom over the crowd. “This session of the Elders’ council will now come to order.”
More shuffling of chairs. Damian had seen enough sessions of the Elders’ council to know exactly what was going on. The Elders sat down on their dais. They pulled up the day’s docket on their computers and exchanged casual banter while he sat here on a knife edge.
The crowd seethed in anticipation. Everyone held their breath for the same thing. Elder Hood called out. “The council will now hear the case of the death of Ryder Law. Constable, bring in the accused.”
Constable Griffin came to get Damian, but he got up before the Constable reached him. He had to do this all by himself. He straightened his jacket and marched into the council chamber. He walked in and out of that chamber thousands of times, but never like this. He always marched straight through the front door. He never teleported to the back room, and a murmur never went over the place when he appeared.
He dared not look at the people in the stands all around him. He couldn’t bear to see anybody he knew out there. He kept his pace firm, but when he appeared on the dais where the council sat, he hesitated. He didn’t know where to go or where to sit.
His father rose to meet him and waved him toward a separate desk set up on the council’s platform. “Sit here, Damian. As you know, I will represent your case while Jeremiah Hood represents the Police case against you.”
“Yes, I know that, Daddy.”
Joshua took his place behind the desk. “Then sit down and we’ll begin.”
Damian took the chair his father indicated, and Joshua sat down next to him. Damian did his best to ignore Constable Griffin standing right behind him. Jeremiah traced his finger over his computer screen. “We’ll begin by hearing the Police case. Then we’ll hear the case for the accused. After that, we’ll consider our decision.”
Damian settled back in his seat. He heard the evidence so many times, he wouldn’t hear anything in this courtroom he hadn’t heard before. At least now the trial was starting. The crowd relaxed, too. More noises of moving around drifted over the stands, but they didn’t disturb the proceedings.
Jeremiah held up his tablet screen and read the Police statement. “This case concerns the untimely death of Ryder Law between the hours of twelve midnight and three o’clock in the morning on the night of August 17th. Damian Powers met the deceased in the late afternoon, along with his brother Eli Powers. The three men discussed council business related to the Emergent faction before parting for the night. This department believes Damian Powers later left his home to meet the deceased again, whereupon he killed Ryder Law with a blow to the head before escaping. This department believes Damian Powers then manipulated the central computer system to disguise his movements.”
The crowd murmured. Jeremiah glanced up. “This council will now here the statement for the accused.”
Joshua got to his feet and read off his own screen. “Damian Powers has never denied meeting Ryder Law on the afternoon of August 16th. Ryder was his friend, and their disagreement over council business never rose to the level of conflict. He claims he never left home the night of the murder, nor has the Police department ever discovered any evidence to substantiate the claim that he left home.”
“And how do you answer the accusation that Damian Powers tampered with the computer system?” Jeremiah asked.
Joshua set his tablet on the table. “Unfortunately, neither the accused nor the Police possesses any evidence that Damian carried out said tampering.”
“On the contrary, my dear colleague,” Jeremiah held up his computer. “This report states that the codes used to hack the system belonged to Damian. Every programmer uses unique codes to access the central programming core in order to alter and maintain the system. That is the primary reason the Police suspected Damian in the first place.”
The crowd erupted in wild talking. Damian and his father exchanged glances.
Jeremiah frowned. “Didn’t you know that? Didn’t the Police tell you that was the reason they believed Damian tampered with the system?”
“No, they didn’t,” Joshua replied. “We knew they accused Damian of tampering with it, but they never told us the tampering was done using his own codes. This is the first time we have ever heard of it.”
“Then how do you counter that accusation?”
Joshua opened his mouth and closed it again until Damian spoke up instead. “Someone else must have done it. Someone else must have stolen my codes.”
“How could they steal them?” Jeremiah asked. “Don’t you keep them secured?”
“Of course,” Damian replied. “I keep them encoded on my own computer at home. No one could have stolen them.”
“Then your retort holds no water. We have no choice but to disregard it.”
Damian collapsed back into his seat. This couldn’t be happening. He couldn’t imagine a worse disaster if he tried. Joshua sank into the chair at his side.
Jeremiah bent over his screen. He pursed his lips and furrowed his brow. He didn’t like this any better than anybody else. The whole thing disgusted and revolted him. He let out a heavy sigh. “We will now call witnesses to substantiate the question of the deceased’s earlier activities. Call up Eli Powers.”
Eli shouldered his way out of the crowd. Jeremiah motioned him forward. “Take your place up here on the dais, son. Yes, right there will do.”
Eli stood to one side of the Elders’ platform. He squared his shoulders at the council. He tugged his jacket down into position and adjusted his collar. Damian relaxed. At least he could rely on Eli to paint him a positive light.
Jeremiah studied his screen. “You stated in your testimony to the Police that Damian and Ryder never fought over the matter of the Emergent f
action, that they remained friends up until the day of Ryder’s death.”
“That’s right. That’s the statement I gave to the Police.”
“Tell us about your last meeting with Ryder. You claim you talked about the Emergent faction then, too.”
“We talked about it all the time. In fact, we talked of almost nothing else because it dominated the discussion in the council sessions. We talked about it all the time because Damian and Ryder argued about it all the time.”
Damian shot up in his seat. Did he hear that right? At the same moment, a startled cry ripped out of the upper balcony. Damian whipped around to look toward the sound, and he caught sight of Eden looking down on him. She listened to every word, and Eli’s statements shocked her as much as anybody.
Damian locked his eyes on her face, and she returned his gaze in all her wide-open intensity. A charge of tension passed between them.
Jeremiah spoke again, and when Damian turned around, he saw Eli staring up at Eden, too. His brother saw the depth of meaning passing between Damian and Eden.
“They argued?” Jeremiah asked. “How did they argue? Did they argue in a friendly, disagreeing way, or did they fight?”
“They had friendly disagreements up until that day,” Eli replied. “That last meeting between the three of us was the first time they fought about it.”
Damian gasped out loud. He couldn’t believe his ears. Eli couldn’t be lying about this in front of the council.
“This is different than the statement you gave to the Police, Eli,” Jeremiah growled. “You must make absolutely certain you say exactly what you mean.”
“I told the Police Damian and Ryder never fought about the Emergent faction, which was true,” Eli replied. “They never fought about it—until that day. They got in a fight after we left your house, Elder Hood. They came to blows for the first time. They would have killed each other if I hadn’t parted them.”
Bruins Peak Bears Box Set (Volume III) Page 42