David said nothing.
"ANSWER ME DAMN IT!"
"Why should I care?"
Larry seethed. "I picked you. I picked you to be my replacement. You have the brains and the technological savvy that I never had. I gave you the best warrior that would allow you to find a way to lead us out of this abyss. And what have you done? You've spat on your calling and you've spat on me. You've acted like a spoiled little punk wondering what was in it for you. Do you want to know what's in it for you? Do you?"
David tried to answer, but Larry slammed him against the wall again.
"You had a chance to be a better person and to give to others. The chance to give them a world without darkness and a chance for hope. And," he said as tears welled in his eyes, "You had a chance at a great friend. Chris would do anything for you and you betrayed him. More importantly, you betrayed me."
As the tears crept down his cheeks, Larry released his grip. He stepped away. He slammed his fist on the open button and he waited. He didn't even glance back at David as he stepped out of the elevator. He wiped his eyes as he approached the guard. Stunned, David straightened his shirt as he stepped out of the elevator. He approached the guard.
"After you," he said calmly.
The guard turned and led them down a hallway. They approached a set of double doors. A guard stood in front of either door. When they saw the guard approaching, they stepped aside. The guard placed his hand on the thumbprint scanner. There was an audible click and the doors parted. The guard stepped inside. Nervously, Larry and David followed.
The first impression of the room, for David, was that it was something out of Star Trek. The room was all-white including the tables and chairs. The only color in the room was the Council of the Light crest. The crest was a hand holding a torch. It was an exact replica of the torch that the Statue of Liberty held aloft. Having seen the crest for the first time, David wondered if the Statue of Liberty was a symbol of the council. Five men dressed in white robes sat behind an elevated, large white bench. David immediately felt as if he had walked into his very own version of the Nuremburg Trials.
Two small, white tables sat in front of the bench. David swallowed hard. A woman, also dressed in a white robe, sat at the table to their right. Her table was adorned with a large stack of folders and a computer screen. The other table, which David assumed was where he and Larry would sit, was empty. So much for innocent until proven guilty, he thought. Apparently, those rules do not apply to the council.
"Sit," a bearded, elderly man said.
"So much for social graces," Larry mumbled as he pulled out his chair.
"Did you have something to say, Professor?" the man asked.
"Yes, Cardinal, I do," Larry said as he addressed the bearded man.
Cardinal Callari stared at Larry who returned his icy glare. Larry did not waver. He folded his arms across his chest and he refused to sit.
"Is there a problem?" Cardinal Callari asked.
Larry continued to stare. "I would like to be asked instead of commanded," he said coldly.
A dark-skinned African man smiled. His bright white smile was welcomed in a very tense situation.
"Please, Gentlemen," the accented Muslim leader said, "Sit and join us."
Larry smiled. "Thank you, Imam," he said.
David slowly sat down. He did not recognize any of these people. However, Larry appeared to be extremely familiar with each individual. He sat up straight and he stared ahead. He didn't want to make eye contact with anyone. Despite knowing in his heart that he had done nothing wrong, he could not feel at ease in this setting. The room seemed heartless.
"Gentlemen," a dark-haired man with a German accent stated, "You have been brought before the council leadership to discuss the recent events in the very cathedral above us. I am Bishop Herbolsheimer. Cardinal Callari is to my immediate right and Imam Owusu-Antwi is to my left. Next to Cardinal Callari is Cardinal Debutts and next to Imam Owusu-Antwi is Bishop Trauernicht."
All members of the council leadership nodded and placed their hands together.
Bishop Herbolsheimer continued. "Representing the council is Pastor Pam Marks," he said as the woman, in her mid-fifties, sitting across from David, rose from her seat.
She nodded to David and Larry, "Gentlemen," she said firmly.
"Mr. Spires, you have been brought before the council to face the charge of treason. How do you plead?" Bishop Trauernicht asked.
"Before we precede, Bishop, could you please inform us of all the charges?" Larry asked.
"The charge is treason," Pastor Marks stated.
"On what grounds?" Larry asked as David sat quietly.
"I have a long list of offenses perpetrated against the council by Mr. Spires," Pastor Marks stated.
David stirred. Larry placed his hand on David's thigh. David shot him an inquisitive glance. The touch did its purpose as David calmed. Larry held up a finger and David nodded. Larry was expressionless but David knew that his friend wasn't angry at him. He was focused. David had to be patient. If he had one of his outbursts, especially a profanity laced tirade in front of the council leaders, he wouldn't help his cause.
Larry turned back to their leaders. "May we hear the list of charges so we can understand why he is being charged with treason?" he asked politely.
"The evidence in on record…" Pastor Marks stated before Imam Owusu-Antwi held up his hand.
"Professor Efron is correct. In a court of law, the defendant would be aware of his charges. Pastor Marks please read the charges against Mr. Spires," the soft-spoken man stated.
Pastor Marks was angry, but she kept calm. "I don't see the necessity, Imam. You have witnessed the evidence…"
"But I have not," David said calmly. "As Imam has stated, if this was a regular court of law, the defense would be allowed to view the evidence. How would you feel if you were in my place…"
"I'd never be in your place," she said angrily as she interrupted him.
"Pastor Marks," Imam Owusu-Antwi stated calmly, "You are excused."
She blinked several times. "But…"
"Not negotiable, Pastor Marks," Imam Owusu-Antwi said firmly.
She immediately turned on her heels. She started to walk towards the door but she stopped next to David. She looked at him coldly.
"Burn in hell," she growled under her breath before stomping her way to door.
The doors opened. The guards parted as she passed through the doors. The doors waited for her to be clear before they closed. David and Larry were thankful that their biggest opponent was out of the equation. Imam Owusu-Antwi opened the laptop computer that rested on the bench in front of him.
"Please turn to your left," he requested.
Larry and David turned. A section of the wall slid open and a large video screen appeared. The laptop's desktop appeared on the screen. Imam Owusu-Antwi could be seen opening a file and a word processing document appeared. The case file named 'David J. Spires' opened and all of David's personal data appeared on the screen. His jaw immediately dropped. Larry was dumbfounded. Everything, since Larry had begun his recruitment of David and Myles, was contained in the file.
Cardinal Debutts cleared his throat. All eyes turned to him. "Gentlemen," the French Cardinal said, "As my colleague loads your most recent activities, I will review the events of three days ago."
"We were there," David said, "I know exactly what happened. I did not betray anyone."
Imam Owusu-Antwi loaded a video from David's file. "Unfortunately, the video does not lie," he said.
The video, which impressed David with its high-definition picture and clarity, replayed the battle in the cathedral. Everyone in the room, especially Larry cringed, when she drove his face into the pillar. Cardinal Callari blessed himself when Bishop Wallace was thrown through the stained glass window into the street. Tears streaked David's cheeks when he stepped from the shadows. He had trained the crossbow on the queen's head. The next section of the video was completely unfami
liar to him. He watched as he pulled the trigger on the crossbow and he shot Chris in the shoulder. He was thankful that his aim wasn't very good and he hit Chris in the upper back. The bolt had missed his heart and his lungs and lodged itself just below the top of his shoulder.
His tears turned to complete embarrassment as he watched the queen approach him. He saw her place her hands on his body and kiss him. He remembered her touch and how good it felt. His body was alive. He hadn't felt anything so wonderful only to be followed by a completely debilitating sensation of guilt. He saw Chris was flat on the floor with the bolt from his crossbow protruding from his body. It was the most painful thing that he felt before blackness consumed his world. As the video closed, he wept softly.
"As you can see," Imam Owusu-Antwi stated, "The video does not lie."
Larry raised his hand. "May I speak?" he asked.
"Of course," Cardinal Debutts said.
Larry stood and approached the screen. "Can you rewind the video to just before I stepped out from behind the pillar?"
"Of course," Imam Owusu-Antwi stated.
The video restarted and Imam Owusu-Antwi selected the portion of the video that Larry had requested. Despite being just recently viewed, there was uneasiness in the room as they watched Larry slamming into the pillar. He watched the video without flinching. He waited until his blood was streaking down the pillar before speaking.
"Can you replay it but pause it just after I fired the crossbow?" he asked.
The video replayed. The video stopped as Larry dropped the crossbow and reached for his throat.
"Notice anything?" he asked.
"You appear to be in some distress," Cardinal Debutts stated.
Larry nodded. "Actually, Cardinal, it felt if something was squeezing every fiber in my body. The pain was so intense that I couldn't do anything. I could feel myself launch towards the pillar but I couldn't stop or protect myself. The pillar flying at my face was the last thing that I saw before I woke up with a broken nose."
"That is very apparent on the video," Cardinal Callari said.
"I had absolutely no control over what I was doing. I believe my colleague would like to speak on his behalf."
David rose. "Thank you, Larry," he said calmly.
"Are you claiming that you were not in control of your own body?" Bishop Trauernicht asked.
"Yes, sir," he said.
"Please explain."
David cleared his throat. "Her power is incredible. Her control over him absolutely stunned us. When the bishop charged into the battle, Chris saw his opening. While they were battling, I watched and waited. Chris feared that he wouldn't be able to defeat her. I retrieved Larry's crossbow and my job was to take the shot when I had the chance. As you saw in the video, I never had a clear shot. When he grabbed her, I expected him to turn her around so her back was exposed, but he never did."
"And you shot him instead," Bishop Trauernicht stated.
"As the video shows, yes, but I have no recollection of that moment. When she started talking, my mind went blank. I remember taking aim when Chris grabbed her and the next thing I remember is her kiss. Everything shown on the video I don't remember."
"Interesting story," Cardinal Callari stated.
"It isn't a story!" David exclaimed as he slammed his fist onto the desk. "It is the truth."
"Calm yourself, young man," Callari warned.
"I will not calm myself!"
"David," Larry stated.
"Sorry Larry, but I cannot put up with this crap any longer. I am brought before this court, if you call it that, to defend myself. I do and I am not believed. Hell, I don't even think that this is a trial. I think that I was proven guilty when I walked through the damn door!"
"YOUNG MAN!" Callari screamed as he rose.
"OH SHUT UP!" David said.
"HOW DARE YOU?" Callari exclaimed.
"HOW DARE YOU?" David screamed. "I wasn't asked to be involved in this. I was handpicked to quote Larry. In doing so, my best friend was murdered and I discovered that my other best friend is the same creature that I have been bred to hate. I get flown from country to country at a drop of a hat without asking why. I get beat up and then we do it all over again. And what thanks do I get? I get told that I am a traitor. Well, guess what! I am not the traitor. You are the traitor. You throw your warriors into a war that you no idea of how to win."
"MR. SPIRES!" Callari exclaimed.
"FUCK YOU!" David said.
The Cardinal stared coldly at David. "How dare you speak to me in that tone? I am…"
"An asshole," David said firmly. "An asshole, who treats those who are willing to die for him like second class citizens. Well, guess what? You are not better than me but I am better than this."
David started to walk towards the door. Larry stood and began to follow him.
"If you leave this place…" Callari said.
David ran to the bench and looked up at Cardinal Callari. "You'll do what?" he asked coldly.
"We'll have you thrown in prison, we have friends," he warned.
"So do I and my friends know how to use that laptop in front of you. Ever hear of a little thing called the internet? They will find your archives and they will post what really happened here on the internet. How would you like the world to see that vampires burned this city and not the vandals or terrorists as you claim? How would they like to know that trillions of tax payer dollars are funding a secret war? Reporters would be pounding on those big front doors to find out what else that you have been hiding from them," David said coldly.
Callari sat down slowly. "Maybe we can…"
"We can do nothing. My ass and his old ass are going to walk out of here and you are going to leave us the fuck alone," David replied.
He turned quickly and marched to the doors. The doors parted and David marched through them as the guards let him pass. Larry bowed to the bench before he followed. Both men disappeared from sight. The doors closed. All five men looked at each other.
"Interesting," Imam Owusu-Antwi said.
Everyone, even Callari, nodded.
* * *
Ca-Click! Ca-Click! Ca-Click!
The sound had played repeatedly for the last several hours. Chris shifted against his shackles. He stared into the darkness and prayed. His shoulder had healed, but the emotional scars ran deep into his tortured soul. He listened to the train rattle and click along to its unknown destination. He continued to stare ahead and he tried to pray away his pain, but nothing had worked.
Ca-Click! Ca-Click! Ca-Click!
He sighed. For the last three days, he replayed the battle in his mind. They had meticulously planned their attack on their flight from Halifax. He knew that the queen was after the tome and he knew exactly where to look since he had placed a tome in England just prior to the American Revolutionary War. He argued then that it should be destroyed but again the council didn't agree with him. They wanted to keep it for study and they actually tried to get him to translate its pages for them. He refused. He knew that knowledge was power and now the queen had nearly completed her collection because their meticulously planned attack had failed.
They had planned for Chris to confront her as soon as possible. He knew that he might not be as powerful as her, he knew that he was still very strong and a capable warrior. He had refused to drink holy water for the entire trip. His blood rage grew and he embraced more of his vampire side. He even told Larry and David that if the ensuing battle brought him too close to completely becoming a vampire that they were instructed to shoot him. The battle had progressed better than he had hoped until he underestimated the queen.
Ca-Click! Ca-Click! Ca-Click!
The train clicked along as he silently cursed. The queen was more powerful than any vampire that he had ever faced in the past. She had the ability to control minds and the physical abilities of her enemies. He was not prepared to battle a foe that could strike without placing herself in physical harm. Their plan immediately went ou
t the window when Larry fired and she caught the crossbow bolt. Before David or Chris could think, she controlled Larry like a puppet. The attacking bishop gave Chris his chance when she was distracted. He had the battle in hand and David as his back-up in case something went wrong. Then it went terribly wrong: He paused.
Ca-Click! Ca-Click! Ca-Click!
He had allowed her to distract him. He didn't know if it was her beauty but he paused. He should have grabbed her and killed her without thinking as he had done with a countless number of vampires in the past. However, brutally killing went against his calling. Part of him wanted to redeem her soul like he had been trying to accomplish for centuries with his own soul. That brief moment allowed her to talk and her speech, disguised with sexual references, gave her the one opportunity that she needed. She made David her puppet and he fired.
Blood Reign Page 51