“Stop wasting time,” he said. “The Council does not like to be kept waiting.”
“Where are my friends?” she asked, trying to hide the desperation of her voice. “They should be here with me.” A terrible thought occurred to her. What if they had already gone before the Council? What if they were already dead?
She shook the thought from her mind. They were still alive. They had to be. If she believed anything otherwise she wouldn’t be able to hold her composure before the Council. And she didn’t want to give them any more satisfaction in her death than she had to.
Alicia remained by her side, holding her hand. She gave Jerusa a reassuring smile, but whether that meant Jerusa would be all right or that her troubles would soon be over, it was hard to tell. Ralgar watched Jerusa with suspicious fascination, but didn’t question her strange actions.
The other vampires of the house gathered in the halls, poked their heads out of their rooms and gawked at Jerusa over the balconies. Normally she didn’t like being the center of attention. A lifetime of being an outsider had given her a certain craving for blending into the background. But now she marched down the halls with her shoulders back, her head held high. The scar on her chest burned hot, as though it too was proud to finally be displayed. The crowds of vampires pointed and whispered, but it no longer bothered her. The scar was part of her, as was the borrowed heart behind it. Without it, she would not be who she was today. Without it, she would not have Alicia.
They came to the place where the fancy carpets stopped and the hewn stone floors began. They were cold to the touch, as though incapable of being heated and Jerusa realized that she had left the room without any shoes. She and Alicia were quite the matched pair.
They descended down to the lower level, past the elevators. Jerusa stopped breathing, stopped feeling the cold stone beneath her bare feet. The silence of the hallway became a droning buzz in her ears. She could smell the ash and soot of the judgment room up ahead. Alicia squeezed her hand, but she couldn’t find the strength to squeeze back.
Jerusa kept her eyes forward, locked onto Ming’s back, but from her periphery she could see her new entourage of spirits following along. Heads and bodies popped out of the walls as they fought with one another for the position closest to Jerusa. The sight reminded her of a pod of dolphins, playfully leaping from the ocean, before the bow of a great ship. She laughed at the thought.
Ming stopped and looked at Jerusa, which only made her laugh the harder, but to be honest, Jerusa felt no humor at all. Ming started to speak, changed her mind, then turned and continued on. When she opened the door to the judgment room the laugh died in Jerusa’s throat. This brought a smile to Ming’s face.
They stepped inside the room and Ralgar closed the door behind them. The crowd of spirits passed through the walls and filled the room. The High Council sat upon the stage, motionless as stones. Near the bottom of the sloping room stood the rest of the Crimson Storm. Mikael and Quinn looked at her as though she smelled terrible. Celeste did her best to mask the pain on her face.
Jerusa wanted to ask Marjek if he had any other dogs attend his executions. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she choked them back. To admit she had been hiding beneath the stage yesterday, might lead to the question of how she had escaped. Celeste, Dot and even Sebastian had gone out of their way to help her. She couldn’t repay their kindness like that.
Ming led her to the bottom most level of the room. The scorched floor was still covered with the ashes of the poor condemned souls from yesterday, but at least the melted shackles had been removed.
Jerusa stared at the curtain surrounding the stage, at the small tear that she had peeked through and she wondered if there was someone under there right now, spying on her execution.
“Jerusa Phoenix,” Marjek said, stepping to the front of the stage. “You have been inspected and found unworthy of the vampire spirit.”
“Way to let me down easy,” she said.
He continued as though he had not heard her. “Vampires must be beautiful and while you still hold the treasures of youth—”
“Why don’t you just say that you hate my scar?”
“I’m sorry, but the one that made you must have known that we could not accept you.”
“The one the made me doesn’t abide by your rules,” Jerusa said, struggling to keep her composure. “What he did, he did to save my life.”
“And today you will lose that life,” said Heidi. She stepped forward and for a moment Jerusa thought she might spit on her. “His mercy was an act in futility.”
“No mercy is ever futile.”
A strange look of hurt and respect passed over Celeste’s face. She quickly squelched any sign of emotion, but Jerusa could still see it swimming just below the surface. She hated this more for Celeste than she did for herself. Jerusa never had many friends, but she thought, in another time and place, she and Celeste would have made a great pair. If only there was some way to break her free of the Hunters.
“Tell us of the one that made you,” said the vampire whose voice she recognized as Cot. “The Watchtower has had a bit of trouble locating him. Why is that? Does he still live?”
The last time Jerusa had seen Silvanus he had still been weak from the poisonous blood he had pulled from her veins. In six months, he hadn’t come back to see her. It hadn’t occurred to her until just now that maybe he couldn’t come back.
“He’s still alive,” she said.
“Then why can’t we track him?”
“Please, Cot,” Marjek said. “Is this really important? Let us make an end of this and be done with it.”
“No,” Heidi said. “I want to hear her answer.”
“The Watchtower cannot track him because—”
Suddenly the door burst open, cutting her off. Jerusa turned and almost cried out from joy when she saw Shufah standing in the doorway. She stepped forward, her dark eyes burning in anger. Taos entered the room behind her, followed by Thad. Dot hovered just outside the door like a lost shadow, hoping not to be noticed.
“What is the meaning of this?” Marjek asked.
“I should ask you the same thing, Marjek,” Shufah said. “Is Jerusa a criminal? Why does the Council presume to judge a member of my coven without my consent?”
Marjek didn’t answer her, but instead looked at poor Dot hovering in the shadows. “You, human,” he said harsh enough to make her flinch. “Why did you bring them here? Where are their guards?”
Dot stepped inside, her eyes pointed toward the floor. “I’m not sure where the guards are, sir. I received an order from the Watchtower to escort them here at this exact time.”
“The Watchtower?” Marjek’s voice echoed around the room. “Who gave the order? Was it the dwarf?”
Dot trembled so hard that Jerusa thought the old lady’s knees would give out. “I don’t know, sir,” she said, her voice hardly above a whisper. “I was sent a written message. It had a wax seal on it…the Watchtower crest.”
A demented and murderous fire burned in Marjek’s eyes. “It was the dwarf. I know that it was.” He turned his attention to Jerusa. “You put him up to this, didn’t you? Beguiled his twisted little heart.” Jerusa shook her head, but he didn’t give her a chance to answer. “Don’t think for one moment that you have made a friend in that little beast. He would stake you to the ground and leave you to the sun if it would slake his boredom for a few minutes.”
“What does it matter,” Heidi said. “The decision has been made. If her coven wishes to be witness to her death, so be it.”
“You will not harm her,” Shufah said. The power in her voice brought chills to Jerusa.
“You dare to command us?” Heidi asked with a mocking laugh.
Shufah ignored her, keeping her eyes fixed on Marjek. “If you kill Jerusa then you will have to kill me as well.”
“What?” Marjek and Jerusa said at the same time.
“If Jerusa dies by your hands, then
so do I.”
“No,” Marjek said. “That will not happen.”
But Heidi put a hand on his shoulder. The rest of the council stepped forward. “If she wishes to die with her fledgling, I say let her die.”
“I will not allow it.” Marjek pushed Heidi’s hand from his shoulder.
“Shufah has plagued our steps for thousands of years, challenging our rule, poisoning the minds of countless vampires. We have endured her, at your request, but I say no more.” Heidi turned to the other council members. “Shufah has betrayed us for the last time. We have her now in our grasp. If we allow her to leave, she will continue to sow insurrection. I say we kill them all.”
“No,” Marjek said again. “Shufah is a child of the ages, older than most on this council. By all rights she should be a Steward.”
“She mocks our ways,” Heidi said. “She seeks to dismantle our rule. We cannot allow her to live, not when she is so willing to lay down her life.”
“I forbid it.”
“It is not your decision alone, Marjek. The Council will put it to a vote. We know which way you are leaning. And I have made my choice clear.” She turned to the others. “What say you, High Council of the Stewards of Life? Does Shufah the Traitor live or die?”
“Die,” Cot said, without hesitation.
Jerusa’s pulse raced, throbbing in her ears. Her mouth went dry and a warm, heavy weight settled into her stomach.
“I vote for death,” said Othella.
This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be real. It was Jerusa that was supposed to die, not Shufah. Jerusa had already mapped it all out in her mind. The Stewards would execute her for nothing more than the scar on her chest and that would satisfy their lust for death and power. When Shufah heard of her death, she would leave with Taos and Thad. She had survived for thousands of years. She couldn’t die now, not like this, not for her.
“Shufah,” Jerusa said, but Shufah hushed her. Jerusa wouldn’t be silenced, though. “No, listen to me. Don’t do this. It’s all right. I’ll be all right.”
“Quiet child.”
“No, Shufah. Just go. Take Taos and Thad and leave.”
“They will never let that happen, child. You know that. If you die, we all die.” Her eyes were still upon Marjek. There wasn’t a bit of fear in her. She stood with her head held high, as did Taos and Thad.
How could they be so calm?
“What say you, Mathias?” Heidi asked. “Live or die?”
“Let the traitor die,” Mathias said. “Let them all die.”
The strength went out of Jerusa’s legs and she dropped to the ground. The soot and ash marred her gown, painting her legs and hands black. The room had gone strangely silent. Marjek’s mouth worked in quick, chopping movements as he raged against his own Council, yet she couldn’t hear a thing he said. Alicia stood close by and the room became crowded with the ghosts of vampires. The lingering dead jostled and pushed, fighting for a spot close to her, though they seemed afraid to step within Alicia’s reach. Shufah and Taos stood like stone soldiers, unmoved by the verdict, but Jerusa could smell the fear coming from Thad.
Sebastian’s words rang out in her mind. She wasn’t sure if it was just the strange deafness that had overtaken her or whether the dwarf was able to speak to her mind like a telepath, but she heard him the same, either way.
Tell them of your gifts. It is the only way to save yourself. And your friends.
“I can help you,” Jerusa called out. She wasn’t sure if she had shouted it or if it had squeaked out as a hoarse whisper, for it all sounded muffled to her own ears. “I can find him for you.”
The heated conversation between Marjek and the Council halted. Shufah, Taos and Thad looked down upon her in horror.
Jerusa stepped forward and looked up at the Council. “I wish to join the Hunters. If you spare my friends, I will help you find him.”
“What do you think you are doing?” Shufah asked. She took Jerusa by the arm and pulled her close, but Jerusa pulled away.
“I can help you, but only if you help me.”
Marjek watched her with silent distrust. Heidi, however, seemed fascinated.
“And whom would you help us find?” she asked.
“Suhail.” Jerusa could see from the corner of her eye the look of shock that passed over Shufah’s face.
“Suhail lives?” she asked. “That’s impossible.”
“I’m afraid not,” Heidi said. Though she didn’t come right out and say it, from the tone of her voice and the look on her face, it was clear she didn’t believe Shufah’s reaction.
“It can’t be. I severed his hand with a pair of shears. The blades were covered in savage blood.”
“So it was you that turned your brother,” Mathias said. His sharp, accusatory voice echoed off of the stone walls. “Do you know what you have done? It is trouble enough when a fledgling becomes a savage. Suhail was older than many of the Stewards. He held great physical strength and a formidable mind. Thanks to you, he has become a nightmare.”
“No,” Shufah said shaking her head. “I don’t accept this. Suhail would never allow the change to happen. He would have walked into the morning light rather than accept the change.”
Heidi laughed. “It seems you underestimated your brother, Shufah.”
“Never mind that right now,” Marjek said. He swatted at the air as if the conversation of Suhail was an annoying insect buzzing about his face. “Tell me how you know of Suhail. Did the dwarf tell you?”
Sebastian had told her of Suhail, as had Celeste and to a lesser degree Dot. Jerusa forced the truth deep down and wiped the emotion from her face. “No, Sebastian said nothing to me. I know because of my gift. A gift I will use to help you if you will spare my friends.”
“Jerusa,” Shufah said in a stern voice. “Do not do this. I beg you.”
“You wish to join the Hunters?” Heidi asked, ignoring Shufah’s pleading. “Are you an augur? Is that how you know of Suhail? Did you see him in a vision? You must be very powerful. Even the Watchtower hasn’t been able to locate him.”
“I’m not an augur.”
“Can you conjure fire? Are you a telekinetic?”
“No,” Jerusa said.
“Then what use would we have for you?” Othella asked. “Only the most skilled and powerful vampires are admitted into the Hunters. We have heard that you are an especially fast and strong fledgling, but that is not enough. What gifts could you possibly possess that would deem you worthy of the Hunters?”
Jerusa took a deep breath and let the air slide out of her mouth in a hiss. “I can see the spirits of the lingering dead.”
“You’re a blood witch?” Marjek said. He crossed his arms over his chest and gave a dismissive laugh. “You lie. That power is beyond the reach of a vampire.”
“I’m not lying,” Jerusa said. “I have always been able to see ghosts. First, it was the ghosts of humans, but now all I see are the spirits of vampires.” She turned to Shufah. “Tell them I’m not lying.”
But Shufah wouldn’t answer.
“Shufah knows better than anyone that the stories of the blood witch are mere myths,” Marjek said. “She and her brother both lost their gift of sight when they were given the vampire spirit. We cannot see ghosts for we are beyond death. And you cannot see the spirits of vampires because we have no souls to linger on.”
“You’re wrong and I can prove it to you.”
“How?” Heidi asked, her intrigue matching Marjek’s irritation.
“I can show them to you.” Jerusa approached the stage and raised her hand toward Heidi.
Heidi looked to her fellow Council members, a devious smile lighting upon her face. She leapt down from the stage, landing nimbly before Jerusa. She took Jerusa’s outstretched hand and a deep gasp of shock escaped her.
The crowd of vampire ghosts thronged the room, taking up every available spot. They jostled with one another for position in the room. Jerusa figured many of them had died a
t the command of Heidi and the other Council members and each wanted a chance for her to see their stricken face again. Heidi scanned the room, her eyes burning with a greedy awe that left Jerusa feeling uncomfortable and dirty. But when her sight fell upon Alicia, glowing with an unearthly light, a shadow of fear passed over her face and she snatched her hand away from Jerusa.
“She speaks the truth.” Heidi gave a dreamy glance at the room about her, then looked up at the Council. “She is a blood witch.”
Othella, Cot and Mathias were overtaken with delight. After all of their long years, they had finally found something new to entertain them. Marjek, however, just scowled. “Impossible,” he said under his breath.
“These spirits are the ones that told you of Suhail?” Heidi asked.
“Yes,” Jerusa lied.
“And they can lead you to him?”
“That is how we were able to find Kole after he had gone savage.”
“Was it your ghosts that turned Kole savage?” Marjek asked. “He was no young vampire. It must have taken great strength to rupture his heart. Do your ghosts possess such strength? And how did you kill him once he had become savage?”
“I killed Kole,” Taos said. “I burned him with my own fire. If you allow me to join the Hunters, then I will burn Suhail as well.”
Jerusa turned to ask Taos what he was thinking, but she recognized the stubborn look in his eyes.
“Fools,” Shufah said under her breath.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
A rumble of laughter rolled through the room like the distant thunder before a treacherous storm. Jerusa watched Taos, expecting any moment for the rage he had been storing up to finally come to a head. But Taos stood with his head held high, enduring their mockery with silent stone-faced strength.
Jerusa hated them. Taos deserved better than this. She didn’t understand his desire to join the Hunters, but she did understand wanting to belong, only to be cast aside for superficial reasons. It had been happening to her, her whole life.
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