Reuben’s eyes took on a faraway, dreamy look. “Yeah, Gabriela. My wife.” He breathed in deeply and closed his eyes. “My wife. I love that I can say that now. We had to hide our relationship for so long.”
Reuben radiated the happiness and peace that Ember and Reid had the night before. I didn’t know how I felt about Reuben’s decision to marry a civilian, but I knew that his love for her was real. I could respect that.
“Tell us about her,” I said.
Reuben gazed into the distance for a long moment, then held out his hands, palms-up. A wispy, black, shadowy substance materialized and swirled into the miniature shape of a curvy woman standing in the center of his cupped hands.
He lifted her to his lips and kissed her head with breathtaking tenderness, then sighed in contentment.
“Gabriela Mendez is the most incredible woman I’ve ever met,” he said softly.
For the next thirty minutes Reuben told us of his meeting and courtship of the civilian who held his heart.
While he talked, my sorrow over Benjamin’s anger turned to resentment. Reuben was a far better husband than Benjamin was a boyfriend at the moment. Reuben was facing severe punishment for his marriage, but Benjamin couldn’t even show his face when his girlfriend—heck, his whole team—was about to testify about events that he’d been a part of. He hadn’t received a summons, but the very least he could do was show up.
The clanging of the cowbells interrupted Reuben’s retelling of their tiny church wedding, in which only the priest and two of Gabriela’s friends had been in attendance.
Reid patted his brother’s back. “It’s time. Remember, I’m your brother, and I support you.”
“So do I, if that means anything,” I said. I’d never forget how lovingly he’d kissed his little Gabriela figure.
“Me too,” Marco said. “I like you.”
Reuben nodded and stared at the post and fire in the distance. He swallowed hard.
I put my hand on his cheek, the intimate gesture already feeling natural. “Don’t think about it. There’s no guarantee.”
“Reuben Fischer and Peter St. James, come forward for judgment,” Elder St. James ordered, his voice carrying across the meadow loud and clear. He pointed to us. “And you three, also.”
Reuben and Peter walked forward until they stood in front of the elders, who hadn’t taken their seats.
Marco, Reid, and I joined them, though I was unsure of what was going on. Why were we involved in this? And now that I thought about it, why was the judgment private if the trial had been public?
Something about this situation was off.
Elder St. James pulled a small vial of clear liquid out of his pocket. It was no bigger than my thumbnail. Four tiny pins stuck out of its cap.
“Reuben, do you know what this is?”
“No, Elder.”
“This is a gift from the Bell family. They’ve long contracted with our people, since the days of Christina St. James. The Bells work hard to make sure that our needs are met. They provide you with all your medical supplies, for example.”
I knew the name. Before everything had happened with Patrick, my team and I had taken a minute to ponder why supervillains were attacking Bell Enterprises’ buildings. Benjamin and his brother were robbing the Bell Enterprises Industrial Complex when we’d had our almost-fatal encounter.
I hadn’t given the mystery any thought since that day, though. Running away from my team and taking over as leader had completely diverted my attention.
“What is it?” Reuben asked casually. But his eyes were locked on the vial.
Elder toyed with the vial, though he took care to not touch the pins. “This is called JM-104. It’s a special compound made solely for the use of the elders,” he said calmly. “We order it before tribunals in case we hear testimony like yours, but we haven’t had to use it in years. I’m beginning to think we should use it more as a warning.”
I didn’t trust what was in that thing.
Elder St. James continued to turn the vial over in his fingers, his expression turning sly.
Elder Lloyd looked away, while Patrick’s father crossed his arms, his face blank.
“Roll up your sleeve and hold out your arm, Reuben.” Elder St. James’s voice had become hard. A shiver raced up my spine.
Reuben hesitated, then rolled up his sleeve to the elbow before holding it out. Elder St. James placed the vial’s needles on the underside of Reuben’s wrist, on the blue vein.
There was a click and a hiss.
Reuben screamed and fell to his knees, clutching his wrist. He looked up at Elder St. James with tears streaming down his face. “What… What is this?”
His whole body quaked and he doubled over, his face nearly touching the ground.
“That is a three-month dose. Reuben Fischer, the elders find you guilty of attempted desertion, public disobedience of your rightful commander, and unlawful contraction of marriage. Your punishment is to be given a three-month dose of JM-104, flogged, branded as a deserter, and removed to another team. If you speak with, or otherwise contact, the civilian woman again, you will be killed.”
Reuben tried to lunge at Elder St. James, holding out his hands in an odd way—like he was holding a sword, maybe. He froze, staring at his hands, then at Elder St. James. “What happened to my powers?”
Elder St. James smiled. “Three months.”
They made us watch Reuben’s punishments.
Reid kept his composure when his brother, cuffed to the pillory, endured lashing after lashing from Peter.
However, when the small red-glowing D—for Deserter—touched Reuben’s cheek and he screamed in agony, Reid fell to his knees and vomited.
11
Peter led Reuben away after the branding. Reuben was barely able to walk, sometimes having to lean on Peter.
Reid watched them leave, his face white. Marco kept rubbing his eyes.
When Reuben and Peter had disappeared from view, the elders took their seats again. The sun was high overhead.
He picked at a piece of lint on his sleeve. “Jillian Johnson, come forward.”
I took a few steps closer. “I’m here, Elder.”
“All of you are here to testify about the defection and disappearance of Patrick Campbell as well as your…assumption of leadership.”
“But… but Ember isn’t here.” I looked around for her.
“My niece is needed on the hunting team,” Elder Campbell replied smoothly. “I trust that her testimony wouldn’t be any different from yours, considering that you serve together.”
“I think you’ll find that her testimony is the most important, once you know exactly what your son did.” My words were almost a growl. I steadied my breathing. Keep it together, Jill.
Instead of replying with a nasty remark, Elder Campbell looked away, thinking about something. “Be that as it may be, we will proceed without her. If we determine that her testimony is necessary, she’ll be called.”
“Start at the beginning,” Elder St. James said.
I began the ugly tale of how Patrick had abused his teammates from the moment we’d begun serving in Saint Catherine. I didn’t have to change any details about his behavior as I recounted my first six months of service. When I described the beatings he’d given me—tossing me around the room, pulling my hair out of my scalp, punching my stomach—Elder Campbell winced.
I brought the story to June of that year, when I’d met Benjamin.
At that point in my testimony, I began to fudge a little bit, removing any hints of the Trents. Benjamin was merely a superpowered civilian whom I’d happened to meet one day. We’d struck up a friendship, he’d healed my battle injuries, and then he’d proven his good nature by saving Ember. I never mentioned the warehouse.
I did, however, tell them that I’d made a poor judgment call during a fight because I was intoxicated by painkillers—painkillers I took to stifle the pain in my head from Patrick’s bottle.
“El
ders, on my honor, I was too afraid of Patrick to tell him that I couldn’t patrol that night. I would’ve rather patrolled while high and face death on the streets than tell my leader that he’d injured me. And that night, during a fight, I decided to chase after a criminal instead of stay with Marco like I should’ve.” I put my right hand over my heart. “I know that was a bad decision, but I swear, I wouldn’t have made it if my judgment hadn’t been compromised by those pills.”
Elder Campbell nodded. “I understand, Jillian. Please continue.”
I described how I’d finally snapped when Patrick had moved to hit me for leaving Marco, then how I’d run off and decided to be a superhero on my own, which wasn’t allowed.
“I didn’t know if I was allowed to come home, and I swore to protect the city. I couldn’t just leave. It would’ve been against the principles.”
The elders exchanged little side glances among themselves.
I wrapped up the tale with a slightly altered version of events that didn’t include Benjamin’s family: Benjamin and I fought Patrick, who fell into the floodwaters and drowned.
Elder Campbell hid his face for many seconds as I described his only child’s death.
When he’d composed himself, I gestured to Reid and Marco. “But before you make any judgments, you need to hear what happened while I was gone from base camp.”
Elder St. James nodded toward Reid. “Reid, we only need your testimony. Speak.”
The smell of Reuben’s burning skin still lingered in the air. Reid took a labored breath. “When Patrick discovered that Marco and Jillian had saved the hostages, he confronted Ember and demanded that she tell him where they were hiding. Ember heard in his thoughts that he planned to ambush and kill them. When she refused…”
Reid pressed his fist to his mouth, and I knew he was reliving the memory.
“Go on,” Elder Lloyd said.
Reid dropped his hand. “When Ember refused, Patrick attempted to rape her, to terrorize her into talking. He would have succeeded if I hadn’t pulled him off her.” Reid’s hands clenched and unclenched. “Ember told me later that Patrick had often used the threat of rape to keep her in line. Elders, I don’t care how much my teammates, male or female, disobey their leader. Patrick had no right to prey on her that way. It’s a violation of everything we stand for as superheroes.”
“I completely agree,” Elder Campbell said, his voice heavy with grief.
I did a double take. Since when was he reasonable? Everything I’d heard about him had added up to a despicable man.
Elder Campbell turned to the other elders. “Gentlemen, there are two issues at hand. The first issue, which is the defection and death of my son, primarily concerns my son and niece, so I will issue judgment.”
Elder Campbell stood up while the others remained seated. He took in our faces: my open mouth, Reid’s hard eyes, Marco’s suspicious squint.
“Before everything, I must apologize for my son’s actions. He was cruel and angry from childhood. He never should have been released into service, much less leadership. When I sent him to Saint Catherine, I believed that responsibility and hard work would cure him of his problems. I was mistaken, and for that I am deeply sorry.”
Too little, too late. My bitter thought echoed around my head.
“I sent my niece with him for the same reason, I believe, Elder St. James sent Marco with you, Jillian. I understand that you two are close and find comfort in each other’s company. I knew that my son was fond of Ember… or so it seemed to me. I see now that his feelings for her were not pure, and that I sent Ember into a dangerous situation. For that, also, I am deeply sorry.
“Because of my severe lack of judgment, my son was able to abuse the four of you, and I do not blame you for leaving by any means necessary. I expect that you thought I would insist on punishment for my son’s death, but I officially release you from blame or guilt.”
He sat down.
The three of us were frozen, too stunned to speak. Elder Campbell wasn’t angry. We were not going to be punished for defying our leader.
That was a gift so unexpected, I didn’t know how to process it.
But as Elder Campbell had said, there were two issues at hand. The second issue, that of my leadership, still had to be addressed.
However, I no longer felt the keen sting of fear. Though Reuben had been dealt with harshly, we’d been shown incredible lenience by Elder Campbell. I dared to hope that the elders would show lenience again. After all, if they could condone the team’s actions as a whole, surely they could support my position as a leader.
But Elder St. James looked at Elder Lloyd, who nodded, his face grim.
Elder Lloyd slowly stood and faced Reid. “We’ve spent several weeks discussing what we are going to do about your inaction.”
My eyes flickered to Reid. What the hell?
Reid blinked rapidly. “I don’t understand.”
Elder Lloyd pointed to me. “That young woman felt she had to take up the mantle of leadership. As you know, women are not permitted to lead. We had to ask ourselves why you, the oldest fully-trained male superhero, didn’t take responsibility when you should have.”
Reid’s eyes darted back and forth between Elder Lloyd and me. My heart began to pound.
Elder St. James removed a newspaper clipping from his pocket. “This is an article from The New York Times about how Battlecry has made history by being the first female leader in half a century. They anticipate many more to follow.” His mouth puckered as if he’d just eaten something sour. “Because of your inexcusable inaction, Mr. Fischer, Americans now have expectations of us that we cannot meet. You’ve placed a burden on Jillian that she thinks she has to carry, and what’s worse, Ember and Marco believe she has to carry it, too.”
I held up a hand. “No, that’s not what—”
“Be quiet!” Elder St. James’s order made me freeze.
Reid was shaking. “I… I couldn’t… It wasn’t right for me to…”
Elder St. James looked at Reid with disgust. “We agreed on your punishment a long time ago. All of you, including Mr. Corsaro, will be sent to different teams to serve under proper leaders. Before you’re sent to your new assignment, you, Mr. Fischer, will receive fifty lashes for dereliction of duty.”
His words coursed through me like a bolt of lightning.
The worst had happened.
I’d been so wrong.
My team was going to be broken up, and the pieces sent around the country. Reid was going to be whipped because I had declared myself the leader of my team. They were going to strip him to his waist and torture him because of me.
“No!” I jumped up and grabbed the front of Elder St. James’s shirt. “This isn’t his fault!”
He tried to brush me off. “Calm yourself, woman.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down!” I shoved Elder St. James back and turned on Elder Campbell. “You,” I spat, jabbing a finger at him. “You said you were sorry for what your son did to Ember. If you were so sorry, you’d keep her in Saint Catherine, with the people who’ve proven that they’ll protect her. You don’t give a crap about Ember or the rest of us, do you? You probably just want the whole business swept under the rug so nobody will have to think about how terrible of a father you are!”
My words rang around the meadow.
I pointed at Elder Lloyd, who stepped back. “And you! You’re just going to stand there while these guys mutilate two of your own? Is that what leadership is to you? Punishment and judgment? How about standing up for them for once? How about acting like the father you said you’d be to them when your own son died? Did you ever think about that?”
He winced.
As quickly as my fury had flared up, it died down. I’d appealed to their sense of justice; now I needed to appeal to their sense of mercy.
“Don’t hurt him, please. Please. It’s not his fault. I—I made them follow me.” I didn’t care how pathetic I looked or sounded. I pointed to the p
illory. “If you want to whip someone, whip me instead. Please. Please. Keep my team together. Don’t hurt them. I was the one who actually did something wrong. I convinced Reid that I was the best choice. I… I… I listened to civilian music and read novels. They filled my head with ideas that were confusing and exciting and… and then I talked them all into it. I’m the bad influence.”
My babbling barely made sense, even to me. I didn’t believe what I was saying, but I would’ve sworn on my honor that I’d walked on the moon if it meant sparing Reid and keeping my team together.
The three elders stared at me. “We…are going to go discuss this,” Elder St. James said slowly. “You three stay here.”
They hurried off into the woods.
When they’d gone out of earshot again, Reid grasped my shoulders and shook me. “Why did you do that?” He sounded so angry, I half expected him to backhand me.
Tears dripped down my face, and I wiped my nose. “I swore to Ember that I wouldn’t let them hurt you.”
“I will not watch you get my punishment! I stood by for over a year while Patrick beat up all of us! Like hell I’m going to stand by while you get the whipping I deserve!”
“You don’t deserve it! That’s the point! You don’t deserve it! I’m your leader and I’m supposed to protect you!”
I collapsed completely, my forehead in the grass. Terror, raw and real, clawed at me. I’d begged for Reid’s punishment, but I didn’t want to feel the lash tearing away my skin. I didn’t want the humiliation and pain. I didn’t want any of it. I just wanted to go home. I just wanted to lay on the couch, my head in Benjamin’s lap. Where is Benjamin? Why isn’t he here? Is he really that mad?
Reid’s hands fell to his sides, limp. He looked up at the sky, making his tears appear as raindrops on his cheeks. “Oh my God,” he groaned. “What’s going to happen to us?”
Marco spun around. “Where the hell is Benjamin? Why isn’t he here?”
I sobbed harder. “He hates the camp. I told him to stay away from me.”
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