“Emma Fitch,” he started, and then he placed the envelope in my hand. “You have been served.” He seemed grateful, actually, but then he said he’d see us at the courthouse, room number three, and left.
“You okay, Em?” asked Jessie.
“I’m fine.” Though I will definitely not explain why I’m fine.
Mom placed her car keys in my hand.
“Drive safely, please. We’ll see you four there.”
I stared at her.
“Four? What?” I looked ‘round at Jessie and Thalia.
“Did you think we weren’t going to be there for you?” Jessie asked. “C’mon, Em, you know we would never abandon you on something this big.”
“It’s going to be really boring.”
Mom and Dad left. Clara must already be at Aunt Becca’s and Uncle Walt’s house, I realized.
“You aren’t gonna talk us out of going,” Thalia said, steering me around by my elbow, “so let’s go.”
I locked the front door behind us and we went to Mom’s car. Zach sat in front with me, while Jessie and Thalia were in the back. We were silent as I drove along the streets of Capitol City, arriving ten minutes later in front of an enormous, white building: the Capitol.
Everybody Loves a Scene
The steps of the Capitol building, which houses
the Supreme Court of e2, were covered with reporters. “Let’s go around back,” Jessie suggested quietly.
“There’s no way you two are getting through them
without being attacked.”
We nodded and snuck off quickly to the side
door. There were no reporters there, only more security.
He asked for identification, and when we gave it—me
insisting that Jessie and Thalia be allowed in, too—he
stepped aside and we went in. The hallway was empty. We followed the floor plan on the wall to
courtroom three. Keenan was waiting outside, arms
crossed, his foot tapping impatiently. He stopped when
he saw us.
“There you are.” He nodded at the guards, who
opened the double doors. “Thalia, Jessica, sit with James
and Rachel.” They nodded, saying ‘bye’ to us and going
in. Keenan looked at Zach and I. “I am handling this
case, so I will be asking you two the prosecution’s
questions. The defense, however. . . Adler’s lawyer will
not go easy on you two, which I am telling you as a
friend and not as anything else. So, just be prepared. All
right?”
We nodded. I doubted Keenan was going to be
our ‘friend’ if he thought I was defying him during
questioning.
“Sit in the first row. It should be starting in a few
minutes.”
We walked silently into the courtroom, sitting on
the short, vacant bench. My parents, Jessie, and Thalia were a few rows behind us, as a horde of politicians sat in the rows behind us. Keenan came and went through the short, swinging gates and sat with the man at the table in
front of us.
I looked over at the defense table. Lucas wasn’t
there, but his lawyer—the image of a stiff in a suit—was
sitting there, going over a pile of papers.
“You’ll be fine,” Zach whispered.
I looked over at him.
“I trust you. Him, no.” I looked back over at
Lucas’s lawyer.
“Don’t let him get to you. Everyone knows what
Adler has done; he probably threatened his lawyer to
defend him.”
I sighed.
“Probably.”
When the door on that side opened, the
courtroom went absolutely silent. Lucas was brought in
with three security guards, two holding his arms (his
hands were bound behind his back with that blue light)
and one behind him. His lawyer stood up as Lucas was
brought to the table. Before he sat down, he looked over
at Zach and me, his eyes narrowing slightly.
But then the bailiff cleared his throat.
“All rise.” We did. “The Honorable Judge
Christopher P. Wingrove presides.”
The judge walked in from a door on my right and
up the steps to his podium.
“You may sit.” We did. “Case of the People
versus Lucas Owen Adler.” He looked over at Lucas,
who was still standing with his lawyer. “Lucas Adler,
you are being tried for the following charges: murder in
the first and second degrees, attempted murder,
kidnapping, conning, attempting to take one’s Magic
away, and plotting against the lives of others. How do
you plead?”
“My client pleads not guilty, Your Honor,”
Lucas’s lawyer said blandly.
“Plea of ‘not guilty’ is accepted. You may sit
down.” He and his lawyer did. “Prosecution, do you have
your opening statement?”
“We do, Your Honor,” said Keenan. He stood up,
moving out from behind the table. “At the age of ten,
Lucas Adler began murdering the innocents,” started
Keenan. “His Magic has been over countless deaths, and
he has hired henchmen to kill those he thinks are too
unimportant for him to personally kill. He sneaks up on
his victims, and never gives them a chance to defend
themselves. He cons people out of their money, and out
of their lives. How could someone pay him back onemillion leons in one week?
“Mere days ago, Lucas Adler attacked Emma
Fitch. Miss Fitch had done nothing against him; she was
merely a student, but he wanted her Magic. When
Zachary Stone saved her, Adler went after him, as well.
Just over a week ago, he kidnapped them. They barely
escaped with their lives.
“You will hear from these two victims today.
They will provide to you, ladies and gentlemen of the
jury, the only survivor accounts of an attack from Lucas
Adler.
“Therefore, I implore you, ladies and gentlemen,
to listen to the facts, not the lies. And you should listen
to the truth, not to fear, and name Lucas Adler guilty.” Keenan went back to his seat.
“Defense, argument,” said Judge Wingrove. Lucas’s lawyer stood and walked to the front.
“My client, Lucas Adler, is the victim here.”
What!?
“Mr. Adler is an orphan, ladies and gentlemen.
His mother died when he was three years old, and his
father when he was just a young boy. He was never taught right from wrong, ladies and gentlemen, but he is innocent. He is innocent of all the charges brought up
against him by this court, and by those two right there.” He pointed at us.
“What the prosecution is missing, ladies and
gentlemen, is proof. They say they have proof, but it has
not been entered into evidence. Evidence, ladies and
gentlemen, is missing in this case.”
He walked near them, and placed his hands on the
barrier of their bleachers.
“Ladies and gentlemen, think not of the news,
and what you think you know, but of who is sitting right
there.” He pointed at Lucas. “He’s an orphan, ladies and
gentlemen. Do not put him away for crimes he is
innocent of.”
Let’s Kill All the Lawyers
I was growing increasingly irritated with the
lawyer.
“Prosecution, call your first witness.”
“The prosecution calls Zachary Stone to the
stand.”
Zach stood and went through the gates. He was sworn in.
“Mr. Stone,” Keenan started, once Zach had sat, “can you please recount what happened after you took your assessments at Capitol City Academy on Levin the tenth?”
“I started to head off campus, going through the front doors. There wasn’t anyone else in the main hall, but the wall right near the doors shook. I didn’t think it was the storm; it was only that one section of the school that shook. I didn’t think anything of it and went outside, but that’s when I saw Emma standing to the side, staring out into the rain.
“I said her name, which caused her to look at me, but the next second she was being hit by some jinx.”
“Objection!” shouted Lucas’s lawyer, jumping to his feet. “Let it be on record that it is unknown if it was indeed a jinx!”
“Your Honor,” Keenan cut in, “I put into evidence the hospital’s findings when Emma Fitch was brought in. It was, indeed, a disabler jinx that they managed to fully remove upon her arrival.”
The judge nodded.
“So noted. Sit down, Mr. Georgeson.”
Lucas’s lawyer sat down heavily.
“Please continue, Mr. Stone,” Keenan prompted.
“I pulled her out of the way, and when I saw Adler, I tried hitting him with jinxes of my own. He stopped trying to hit her, saying that Emma wasn’t worth fighting him for. Then he left, and Emma passed out not long after that.”
Keenan nodded.
“Is that the only time you have seen Mr. Adler?” he prompted.
Zach frowned.
“No, it’s not. He kidnapped me out of my DreamWorld and into Emma’s, and a week or so ago he ambushed us in the park. I woke up in his house.”
“Your Honor,” Keenan said, turning to face Wingrove, “I would like to add that charge to the list of Mr. Adler’s: Dream-World invasion and Dream-World kidnapping.”
Wingrove was silent for a moment, and I took the pause to see Lucas and his lawyer’s reactions. Lucas was glaring murderously at Zach, but his lawyer was on his feet.
“Your Honor, what the witness is saying may-ormay-not be true. We cannot add—”
“Georgeson,” Wingrove said exasperatedly, turning to him, “this is a trial to see whether or not your client has committed these crimes.” He paused as Georgeson sat down. “The charges are added. Continue, Mr. President.”
“I have no further questions, Your Honor.”
He went back to his seat.
“Defense, your witness,” Wingrove said.
Georgeson moved to stand in front of Zach.
“Mr. Stone, what is your relationship with Miss Fitch?”
I felt my face burn, but not in embarrassment—in irritation. I couldn’t believe that Lucas had the nerve to tell his lawyer his suspicions—and probably what Tess saw, too.
Zach seemed to think so, too.
“We’re friends,” he said coldly.
“But you, as you say, put your life at risk to protect her?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Zach retorted. “She’s my friend. I don’t know about you, but I’d do anything to protect my friends.”
“Even kill for them,” Georgeson mused.
Zach’s eyes flickered over to me briefly.
“If I had to, yeah. I’m not a murderer, and I don’t condone it, but if it was the only way I could protect Emma, I’d kill Adler.”
The room behind me buzzed with whispers (I could only imagine what my parents, Jessie, and Thalia were thinking). I, on the other hand. . . I heard everything Zach was implying. He had told me he’d do anything to protect me, because he cared about me, and now I know just how far he’d go.
“Mr. Stone, you’ve just admitted to attempted murder of my client,” Georgeson said smugly.
Keenan leapt to his feet.
Stay seated, Emma! he Pathed me, for I was indeed about to stand and knock that oaf lawyer off his feet.
“Objection!” Keenan shouted. “Your Honor, Mr. Stone is not the one on trial, here! Mr. Georgeson has no right to interrogate the witness in this way. Yes, Mr. Stone said he would kill Mr. Adler, should it be the only way to protect his friend, but if we’re going to charge people with attempting to murder the defendant, we’d be going on for the next century.”
“No, Mr. President, I do agree,” Wingrove said. “Georgeson, change your line of questioning. Mr. Stone is not the defendant here. He is a witness to the crimes your client may have committed.”
Georgeson seemed to deflate as he was knocked off his high horse.
“I have no further questions, Your Honor.”
He went back to his seat, and Keenan was asked if he would like to redirect.
“Yes, I would, Your Honor.” He went to stand near Zach again. “Mr. Stone, I only have one question for you: Have you attempted to murder Mr. Adler?”
“No.”
“Thank you. No further questions.”
Wingrove nodded.
“Mr. Stone, you may step down.”
Zach came back over and sat next to me.
You okay? I Pathed, looking at him.
He looked at me.
Yeah, fine. But if he goes after you like that, I may have to kill someone.
Don’t condone it, I said, stealing his words from before.
He smiled gently.
I told you I’d do anything to protect you, and I would.
Before I could reply, Wingrove asked Keenan to call his next witness.
“The prosecution calls Emma Fitch to the stand.”
Taking a breath to calm myself, I went and sat in the box after I was sworn in. The Faerie in me kept me sitting up straight.
“Miss Fitch, will you recount, for the jury, what happened prior to Mr. Stone’s appearance outside of your school?”
“I’d just finished my assessments and was waiting outside for my friends, watching the rain. There was this strange bolt of lightning, but it was too close to the ground and it kept getting closer. . . When I realized that it wasn’t lightning, I jumped out of the way and the curse hit the wall behind me.
“Another one came at me, but then I saw Adler. He said he didn’t care what Level I was on: I wasn’t stronger than him.” I frowned. “That I especially wouldn’t be after he took my Magic and left me for dead. I told him he wouldn’t get my Magic, and he said that no one ever fights him and wins. He tried hitting me with another curse, but I avoided it. Then Zach came.”
Keenan nodded.
“You must have thought it was the end for you.”
“No. I was determined to keep my Magic. Still am.”
My eyes flashed over at Lucas for a moment.
“So you became determined to fight him. Did he ever act out against you again?”
“He invaded my Dream-World, threatened everyone I care for. . . When we were in the park, after he had already knocked Jessica and Zach out, he appeared before me.” My mind was replaying the scene in painstakingly accurate detail. “He had his hand facing Zach and told me that if I didn’t come quietly, that if I fought him, he’d kill Zach.”
“What did you do?”
I looked over at Zach, remembering how it felt to think him close to death.
“I went quietly,” I answered, looking back at Keenan.
“So you, as well, risked your life to protect your friend.”
I nodded once, curtly. I couldn’t say that he wasn’t just my friend, that he would soon be my King, or that my heart wished him more.
“He saved my life; I couldn’t let him die.” I swallowed. “I owed him.”
Keenan nodded again.
“Why did Lucas Adler attack you?”
I didn’t speak, my entire conversation with the Council running over in my head. Keeper. Kahi. I was both. I was powerful. I was what kept everything alive; I was what could destroy an entire Galaxy with a flick of my fingers. Lucas A
dler wanted power. He would take hold of my precious Galaxies and destroy them. He would kill Zach, and my heart felt like it would shatter just at the thought of him being gone. The pain I felt in the park kindled in my chest again. If he—
“Miss Fitch?”
I blinked, realizing I had been staring at Zach. I looked back at Keenan.
“Umm—sorry,” I mumbled. “He wants my Magic, that’s why he attacked me.”
“Why your Magic?”
I bit my lip. Keenan looked at me expectantly.
“I’m on Level Twelve.”
Some people in the courtroom gasped.
“So Adler attacked you. Twelve Levels would be a hefty amount of Magic added to his already ten.”
I nodded once.
“Too much for a person like him to have.”
Keenan nodded.
“And why is your Level so high?”
I went cold. As Keenan was standing just to the side in front of Zach, I could see him. He was worried.
“I don’t—” I bit my lip; I couldn’t lie. I did know.
“Miss Fitch, if you know—”
“Your Honor,” Georgeson said, standing, “what is the relevance of knowing why her Level is that high?”
“The relevance,” Keenan said, turning around to face him, “is that it will reveal your client’s intentions more fully, Georgeson.”
“Allowed. Continue, Mr. President.”
Keenan turned back around to look at me.
“Miss Fitch, if you know, you must tell us.” I took a breath.
“Ableon,” I declared.
Zach looked relieved, Keenan cross.
“You cannot plead Ableon.”
“Yes, I can. It is a part of our constitution, set down by Queen Allu herself. Why my Level is what it is puts me in danger.”
“Queen Allu is not—”
“She founded Quan, Keenan. We’ve been going by her constitution for centuries.”
“You will be protected.”
“No,” I said, my panic levels rising, “I won’t be. I’m not telling you, Keenan, or anyone else.”
“Does Zachary Stone know?”
I stared at him. Zach looked like he was going to be sick. Lucas looked smug.
“What gives you that idea?” I asked bitterly.
“He jumped to your defense at your house when you said that I was not your superior.”
“Because he agrees with me.”
“Miss Fitch,” Keenan began, his voice shaking, “I will ask you one more time: Why is your Level so high?”
Starlight (The Lightning Strike Trilogy Book 1) Page 8