by Gayla Twist
“Liar!” Whitright bellowed.
“And I can prove it!”
The elderly woman sighed, leaning back in her chair for a moment before saying, “And just how can you prove it?”
“Some of the guards that Whitright hired to murder me and make it look like an escape attempt are in this very room,” I told her. “Have their captain take off his protective helmet and then put him under your influence. He will tell you the truth. He’ll tell you what happened.”
“That’s ridiculous!” Whitright sputtered. He gestured at the anonymous guards, all dressed in black with their faces covered. “You can’t tell one guard from another in their uniforms.”
“I can,” I said. Walking over to the captain of the guards with the still lingering bit of chalk on his uniform. “This man was there. You directly ordered him to kill me like I was attempting to escape, even though I was just sitting in a chair.” I turned to the elderly vampiress. “He can tell you everything.”
“Is this true?” she asked him. “Can you tell us?”
The guard took a step back, as if flinching from my word. “I’d rather not… if that’s okay with you,” he said, turning toward the old woman.
“There is no reason to be afraid,” the lady assured him.
“There is every reason to be afraid,” the guard insisted. “I was hired for my loyalty and discretion. I believe the Bishops have been pleased with my services. But if I give testimony under influence, then… I’m pretty sure I know what will happen to me afterward.”
“You’ve never entered this building without your face covered,” the senior citizen vampiress pointed out. “Your pay is electronically transferred into an anonymous account. Just how will you be in danger?”
“Begging your pardon, but if I remove my helmet in this room, I will very much be in danger,” the guard replied.
The lady thought it over. “What if Judge Whitright gives you his assurance that he will not harm you?”
The guard looked at his feet for a moment before saying, “Judge Whitright is not the only vampire in the room.”
“Oh, for pity sake,” the woman said. She was losing her patience. “You there.” She snapped her fingers, drawing the attention of the bailiff. “Move those screens to form a circle around me.” She meant some burgundy screens that concealed the wall behind the judge’s bench. “Everyone else needs to help and then get out of the way.”
Vampires who would not normally consider lifting a finger for anything beyond their own pleasure began to scurry about. After a few moments of arranging things, the senior vampiress was concealed behind the screens. Then she made all of the undead that were near her move to the far end of the room.
“What about the balcony?” I pointed out. I needed the guard’s testimony, but I really didn’t want to get him killed.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” the elderly lady grumbled.
“I can clear it, if you like,” the bailiff offered.
“No need.” She waved him off. “Does anybody have an umbrella?”
After a bit of searching, a pale blue parasol was passed to the front of the room. “There, now,” said the old woman. “You may come forward and give your testimony,” she called, obviously meaning the captain of the guards.
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” he said, still reluctant. “I just don’t think I’ll be able to return to this job if you force me to do this. And I have a family to support.”
I found it interesting that this guard was willing to murder me, but he was obviously terrified of bringing down the wrath of Judge Whitright, or any other vampire. Suddenly his family was so very important, but he hadn’t really given any thought to me or my family. With that said, the undead could be pretty terrifying. I didn’t blame him for being afraid.
“Young man,” the lady snapped. “Come over here right now and give your testimony. I will see to it that you are justly compensated.” When the guard continued to act reluctant, she added, “Do as I tell you and you will be supplied with enough money that you’ll never have to work again.”
After weighing his options, the guard made his way around the wall of screens. There was the sound of a parasol being opened and then some more scuffling, which I assumed was the man removing his protective helmet.
“Now,” said the vampiress in her papery voice, “did you just try to kill… Oh, dear… What is her name? Did you recently try to kill a member of the undead? A young woman, by all appearances.”
“Yes,” the guard said.
“And were you ordered to do so?”
“Yes,” he said again.
There was a sigh. The old lady was getting impatient with the monosyllabic answers. “Did Judge Whitright hire you to kill a woman? The young woman you saw in the courtroom? And if you reply with just a one-word answer, I shall be very displeased.”
“The judge told us there was going to be an attempted escape of one of the prisoners. He said if she tried to escape, then we should use as much force as possible to subdue her.”
“Hmm…” the senior Bishop said. “Well, that doesn’t sound too terrible.”
I couldn’t just stay silent and let Whitright get away with attempted murder. “But when I didn’t try to escape, he ordered the guards to kill me anyway,” I called out. “Ask him about that.”
Shocked whispers rippled throughout the audience.
“Is this true?” the vampiress asked in a very strained voice.
“Yes,” the guard told her. “He ordered me to stake the girl anyway, even though she was just sitting in a chair.”
This brought even louder comments from the crowd.
“I think I’ve heard enough,” said the lady. “You may replace your helmet and return to your post.”
“Thank you,” said the guard. A moment later, he came out from behind the screen, his face erased by matted black. He returned to stand with the other guards, but he must have still been a little dazed because he had the parasol open and resting on his shoulder.
“Remove these screens,” the vampiress said to no one in particular. Numerous members of the undead leapt to their feet to accomplish the task.
“Judge Whitright, what do you have to say for yourself?” she asked, once the room was back in order.
The adolescent vampire shrugged his slim shoulders. “I did what I did.”
This response did not please the vampiress. “Yes, we are all well aware of that. The question is, why did you do it?”
Whitright swung around to glare at me. “Because that girl is a menace to vampires everywhere!” He jabbed an accusatory finger in my direction. “It’s her fault that Albert Vanderlind is dead! And Daniel Vanderlind! And a third vampire on top of that. Jessie Vanderlind has lost his sanity, all because he fell in love with some putrid little mortal. He killed his own brother for her. He killed his grandfather. Who knows who he will kill next for that stupid trollop!”
“He did not!” I wasn’t just going to let this pathetic excuse for a judge throw accusations around the room.
“Aurora,” Jessie hissed between clenched teeth. “Be quiet.”
“But…” I stammered.
“No.” Jessie was firm.
“What do you have to say for yourself, Jessie Vanderlind?” Whitright demanded. “Not that you even deserve to have that name.”
The trial was insane. I couldn’t tell if Benjamin Whitright was still in charge of the proceedings. I had no idea if there was even a jury. No one seemed to be under oath. None of it made sense. It seemed more like bickering and accusations, than a legal proceeding.
Jessie dragged his fingers through his hair, which was as black as a raven’s wing. Then, after straightening his shoulders, he said in a clear voice, “I’ve already been absolved of Viktor Adami’s death. I will not be tried again for that tragedy.” The room was fairly silent, so he continued. “As for my grandfather, AlbertVanderlind…”
I drew breath, ready to confess. I needed to tell the whole world that I was the
one who had killed Mr. Vanderlind. I’d staked him, and I would do it again. But Jessie gave me such a sharp look, that I stopped, the words freezing on my tongue.
“After being missing for many decades, my grandfather reappeared,” Jessie said. “He had always been a cruel man, but the things he had endured while he was lost at sea had left him completely unhinged. He’d started snatching young mortals off the streets of the small town where my family lives. He was drawing the attention of mortal law enforcement and the United States government. If I had not staked him, he would have continued his killing spree and put the very existence of the undead in danger of being revealed to mortals. I loved my grandfather…”
“Ha!” Whitright exclaimed.
“I loved him, and he was my maker,” Jessie said, ignoring the snide expletive. “But I also hated him. He’d always been vicious and controlling to his family. If you believe that I could have staked my grandfather for no justifiable reason,” he turned toward the gallery who were listening with baited breath, “then imagine how difficult it would be for one of you to stake your maker.”
His words created a buzz, as vampires considered the act.
“But I did what was right,” Jessie continued, “for the mortal world and for our own.”
“You still killed him!” Whitright thundered. “You staked a respected member of our community. You staked your maker. What kind of fiend could stake his own maker? It defies the imagination.”
The crowd grew even more excited by these comments. Killing one’s maker was the worst crime that any of them could imagine. I could hear their whispered thoughts ricocheting around the room. The undead did very little to conceal their scorn. “What kind of monster could do such a thing?” one man hissed. “The Vanderlinds must be worse than I thought,” muttered another. “Maybe it is true,” a lady said in an aside. “If you ask me, the Vanderlinds need to be snuffed out.”
“You see!” Whitright said, his eyes glowing with victory. “No one can believe such treachery to one’s own maker. Jessie Vanderlind is the worst kind of demon!”
Their words filled me with a kind of madness. I couldn’t let Jessie die. I just couldn’t. “Stop!” I shouted. “Jessie didn’t kill AlbertVanderlind! I did it! I killed him!”
Chapter 14
The courtroom went so quiet, you could have heard a pin drop. Every vampire in the room was staring at me like I was a madman wielding a silver ax. “Aurora…” Jessie uttered, my name creaking out of his mouth like a door opening on a rusty hinge.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered back, tears streaming down my cheeks. “I love you more than my own life.”
“But what’s the point in both of us dying?”
I shook my head. “What’s the point of living without you?”
Jessie looked at the floor, his face contorted with sorrow. “That was the question I asked myself every day for the last seventy years.”
“That’s enough,” the vampiress said in her wispy voice. The room fell immediately silent.
The lady looked at me. “Girl, stepped forward. Let me look at you.”
Jessie nodded, so I did as I was told.
“Were you still a mortal when you staked Albert Vanderlind?”
I nodded my head.
She leaned forward in her chair to get a better view of me. “He was a very powerful vampire. How were you able to accomplish such a formidable feat?”
“He was kidnapping my friends and slowly draining them of their lives. He said he wanted to terrorize our town like vampire lords used to do back in medieval times,” I explained. “I offered him my life in exchange for leaving everyone in my town alone. But he said that he was going to kill all of my loved ones anyway. My mom, my friends…” My voice broke off into a jagged breath. I angrily wiped at the tears on my cheek.
“I understand,” the vampiress said. “Believe it or not, we’d already heard rumors that Albert was on a rampage somewhere in Ohio.”
“You had?” I asked in surprise.
“Yes. We keep track of any missing person’s report,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone. “If too many people disappear in one area – especially a small town – there’s always a chance that one of our kind has become unhinged.” She shook her head and made a tsking sound. “That’s never good for our society. We were on the verge of sending investigators, but then Mr. Vanderlind reported on poor Albert’s untimely death.” With a hint of a smirk, she added, “Or would that be timely?”
“So…” I couldn’t believe my ears. “I’m not going to be punished?”
“Not for that matter,” she said, firmly. “In fact, you save us rather a lot of paperwork.” She leaned forward and lowered her voice, “Just imagine, as a mortal, you were able to take down Albert Vanderlind; think what you could do now that you’re a member of the undead.” Her eyes sparkled with the idea of it. She leaned back in her chair and primly folded her hands. “Be sure to contact me if you ever decide you’d like a career in law enforcement.”
“I will,” I told her. “Thank you.” I had no idea who the vampiress was or how to contact her. The idea of becoming an undead police officer didn’t sound like my first choice in a career path, but I appreciated the compliment.
Whitright was seething. The trial was not at all going the way he intended. “Oh, just let them off scot-free. Kill a royal; no problem. Kill your own grandfather; no problem. But what about Daniel Vanderlind?” He turned the full blaze of his eyes upon Jessie. “You killed your own brother! How can you explain that?”
Jessie refused to be riled by the accusation. He said in a calm voice, “He was murdering my fiancée. And he had previously killed her great, great aunt. He was doing it out of spite… Or envy… Or some kind of misplaced family pride. But whatever the reason, he was doing harm to the woman I love.” He dragged his fingers through his hair several times to keep it from flopping onto his forehead. “I had been suffering for decades because he killed my darling Colette. And then, through a miracle that I still don’t quite understand, I finally find my love again. Is my brother happy for me? Is he pleased that my years of agony have ended? No! He tries to kill her again, out of some twisted desire to see me suffer for eternity.”
“So, you admit it!” Whitright exclaimed, his words gleeful. “You admit that you killed a vampire – your own brother – for the sake of one puny, little mortal?”
“I staked him in defense of the love of my life,” Jessie insisted. “Of all of my lives.” To clarify his statement, he added, “I can’t explain to you how Aurora and I are connected, – I don’t even understand it myself – but I do know that our love has stayed strong through more than one lifetime. And if you end the life I have now, our love will continue into the next one.”
“That’s all very pretty,” Whitright said, his voice derisive, “but it doesn’t change the fact that you prioritized a mortal over a member of the undead. Nothing will.”
“Except that he didn’t!” a voice rang out from the balcony.
Everyone turned to look.
A woman concealed underneath a dark gray, hooded cape stood up. In the mortal world, a woman concealing herself under a cape while sitting in a courtroom would have appeared odd. But in the undead realm, I guess no one had a problem with it.
“Who are you, madam?” Whitright demanded. “Why are you interrupting these proceedings?”
“I have evidence,” she said in a grave voice. “I am here to testify.”
“Reveal yourself, if the evidence you have is so important.”
Alice lowered her hood.
“Mother,” Jessie said in a loud whisper.
Chapter 15
“Come down here, Ms. Vanderlind,” the senior vampiress said with her quiet command of the room. “Let us hear what you have to say about all of this.”
The balcony was packed, so Alice simply levitated out of her seat, floated over to the judge’s bench, and then landed gently on the courtroom floor.
“Why didn’t you ma
ke your presence known earlier?” the vampiress asked.
“I should have,” Alice said, removing her cloak and laying it across a chair. “But I have been hounded by mercenaries and was unsure that I wasn’t going to be immediately set upon by the hired guns of Count Adami’s brother. Or perhaps they are financed by someone a little higher up in the judicial food chain.” She said so in a calm voice, with no accusatory glance in Whitright’s direction, but we all knew who she was referring to.
“And why have you stepped forward now?” the vampiress asked.
“Because there seems to be some confusion that I can clarify,” Alice told her. “Benjamin Whitright would have you believe that my younger son killed my elder son in the defense of a mortal. That is untrue.”
Murmurs ran around the room. The elderly vampiress leaned forward slightly. “Are you saying this is not a case of fratricide?”
“No.” Alice’s face looked strained. “I wish it weren’t true, but my son Jessie did kill his brother in defense of Aurora Keys. Daniel was trying to murder her, as he had done before, seventy years ago, when she was named Colette.”
“Yes, we all know that.” Whitright was impatient to get on with the conviction. “Reincarnation and true love. Blah, blah, blah… Please spare us the details of the melodrama that is their romance.”
Alice blinked at him several times and I could tell she was holding her tongue. “But you are accusing Jessie of staking a fellow vampire for the sake of a mortal,” she said in a voice that was calmer than I would have been able to utter. “That part is not true. Aurora had already become one of our world before Daniel tried to kill her.”
“That’s nonsense!” Whitright shouted. “Jessie Vanderlind himself would have told us if that was the case.”
“He didn’t know,” Alice said, firmly. “And he would have tried to stop me if he’d known. My son didn’t want me to turn the girl into a vampire. He would have tried to prevent me, so I didn’t tell him when I became her maker.”
Jessie shifted his body, staring daggers at his mother. She was lying, of course, but he was doing his part to make her confession look real.