by Gayla Twist
“Then why did you do it?” Whitright demanded. “Why did you go against your own son’s wishes?”
“Because she was too fragile,” Alice said, casting a contemptuous glance in my direction. “She kept dying. Or nearly dying. It was tearing my son apart. So, I did what he was unable to do; I turned her. When Daniel found out, he was furious. He had some terrible things to say.” Alice shook her head. “I told him he need not concern himself. But then, while Aurora was still weak after her transformation, I went to get her some sustenance. Daniel stole her from her recovery bed and flew to the woods near our home.” She inhaled deeply and blinked several times. “I don’t know the exact details of what happened after that. Jessie found out and went after them. My two sons fought…” She took a ragged breath. “Daniel fell against the broken branches of a tree. I don’t even think Jessie meant to stake him.”
“I’m so sorry,” Jessie whispered to his mother, tears staining his cheeks. “If I could take it all back, I would…”
“No,” Alice told him. “Daniel never… He would have never…”
“So, you’re saying that Daniel attempted to murder your progeny and his brother killed him,” the vampiress said, her voice so thin it was just a sliver.
Alice’s jaw looked as tight as a violin string. “Yes.”
“It’s still murder!” Whitright thundered. “There are still three dead vampires, all at Jessie Vanderlind’s hand.”
“That’s not true!” I shouted back at him.
“Aurora, stop!” Jessie said in a shouted whisper. “They’ve heard what we have to say.”
“But the judge wants you dead, no matter what?” My voice came out squeaky and pained.
“Whitright is no longer judging us,” Jessie said, quietly. He nodded toward the elderly vampiress. “It’s up to Madame Bishop, now.”
I tried to swallow down the big lump in my throat. None of what was happening made any sense. There was no swearing to tell the whole truth. There was no officially calling up witnesses. Lives hung in the balance, and it was all just some telenovela for the amusement for the undead in the balcony seats.
“I’m ready to make my ruling,” the vampiress announced in a whisper.
Hope sprung into my chest. She’d been fair with us all along. If she was ready to make her ruling so quickly, then perhaps we had a chance.
“Before you do,” a male voice called out from the gallery. “I would like to call upon the right of lex talionis.
Everyone turned to look at the man. His sandy blond hair was cut short and he was dressed in a charcoal gray suit. He looked familiar, but I didn’t know why.
“The law of talion?” the vampiress asked, wearily.
“What is that?” I whispered to Jessie.
“It’s the right of retaliation,” Jessie explained in a hushed tone. “An eye for an eye sort of thing. It’s the right of one vampire who has been harmed to demand that equal harm be done to the perpetrator.”
Madame Bishop squinted at the newcomer from her giant chair. “Please come closer,” she said.
Following Alice’s example, the man simply levitated across the room to land in front of the judge’s bench.
“Who are you, Sir?” the vampiress asked. “And what right do you have to ask for lex talionis? As I’m sure you are aware, there hasn’t been a ruling of this nature in five hundred years.”
The man paused for a moment to lock eyes with Jessie. “I am Armin Adami. I am Viktor Adami’s brother.”
The crowd erupted into conversation. My head throbbed. I had somehow thought that maybe Armin Adami was the man in the plum cloak who had been liberally tossing money and diamonds at the mortal guards that had captured me. But Vagnar had said that Armin was going to quickly run out of cash, so I realized that was a stupid assumption.
I tried to remember the conversation the cloaked vampires had while dragging me through the building. Something about how I was a pawn and that someone who was already rich wanted more money. How many members of the undead were willing to send Jessie to his death, just to try to get their hands on the Vanderlind fortune?
I scanned the heads in the balcony and was able to pick out a patch of steel-gray hair above some ice blue eyes. It was my plum-cloak wearing friend. He was probably attending to see what opportunities the trial made available.
The man realized that I had spotted him. Instead of looking ashamed and ducking his head, he met my gaze and smirked.
I didn’t blame Armin Adami for hating Jessie. He probably would have been happy to see my love turn to dust with a stake through his heart. But he wasn’t the one pulling the strings. He didn’t have the money or the power to pull the strings. But the vampire sitting behind the bench did. And he seemed to have packed the balcony with his accomplices. They all wanted Jessie to die. They wanted him to face the sun and, no matter what I did, I couldn’t stop them. Everything grew fuzzy and then I felt the room drop away from under my feet.
“Aurora!” Jessie shouted. And then I was in his arms. It was the only place in the world where I could feel so shattered and yet experience such bliss.
“What’s happening?” I asked.
“You fainted.”
“Oh…” I felt keenly embarrassed. “How very Victorian of me.”
“Are you alright?” he asked, his eyes tender with concern.
“I am,” I assured him, righting myself. “It’s just the action is very closely packed together, and I guess I haven’t eaten in a while.”
Whitright was leaning over the judge’s bench, glaring at me. “If we are done with the dramatics, then shall we proceed?” he sneered.
“I have been cleared of Viktor Adami’s death,” Jessie said. He addressed the senior Bishop. “I don’t believe we allow for a vampire to be tried twice for the same crime.”
“But there are extenuating circumstances,” Whitright insisted. I desperately wanted to slap the man. “Jessie Vanderlin has murdered three vampires. Three lives have been snuffed out because he cannot control his emotions when it comes to some little mortal that his mommy had to turn, just to keep her from getting anyone else killed. But that didn’t even work. Jessie had to commit fratricide before his bloodlust was sated. But how do we even know that he will be done with his killing spree now? What assurance do we have that he won’t kill again?”
“But she is one of us now,” Alice insisted. “I turned her so that there wouldn’t be any danger. She’s safe now.”
“But are we safe?” Whitright asked. “What if one of us accidentally slights Aurora Keys at a soiree and Jessie takes offense?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Alice sputtered. It was unlike her to not be collected.
“Armin Adami kidnapped me and had me stuffed in a coffin,” I shouted. “He hired thugs to pretend to be Bishop guards so that they could arrest Jessie, who was already in the coffin when they locked me in.”
“Liar!” Armin shouted. “She’ll say anything to save her own skin. And that of her lover’s.”
“She’s obviously lying,” Whitright added. “We all know that the Adamis don’t have enough money to finance such a scheme. Besides, if this were true, how did you end up in a Bishop prison?”
“Because Lord Vagnar counter-bribed the guards to make sure we were put in a Bishop jail,” I insisted.
“Oh, that’s right.” Whitright laughed, gleefully. “Is this the same Lord Vagnar that had your fiancé to be arrested at your own wedding? The one who ordered you off his property at sunrise, once he found out you were such a frigid prude?”
“Silence,” the vampiress breathed. She didn’t say it louder than a pin dropping, but the room immediately fell silent.
Madame Bishop sighed. She looked weary. I wondered if she’d been a judge the last time that lex talionis had been used. “I recognized Armin Adami’s right to demand retribution. I just don’t know if it’s something I want to set as a precedent in these times.” Armin began to speak, but she stopped him by holding a finger up
in the air. “Before I rule on anything, I must ruminate.”
The room fell immediately silent. The vampiress eased back into her oversized chair and closed her eyes. When she held completely still, she looked dead. In a way that made sense, seeing that her heart no longer beat in her chest.
I expected people to get to their feet and shuffle quietly out of the room, but that didn’t happen. Nobody moved. Nobody searched for their phones or rustled in their seats. Everyone just sat there, perfectly still.
I glanced at Jessie. If we were going to just stand there while the lady took a catnap, then that sounded like something he could do with his arms around me.
Jessie looked in my direction. Ever so slightly, he shook his head. Apparently, a Bishop taking a moment to ruminate was no time to cuddle. But I seriously wished we could, because I felt like I was going to jump out of my skin. Jessie and my whole life together hung in the balance. A thumbs-up from this ancient woman and eternity would be ours. But if she ruled against us, then I knew what I had to do.
Twenty-three minutes later and Madame Bishop opened her eyes. I expected her to be a bit hazy and befuddled, but she was obviously alert and as sharp as a tack. “I have come to a decision,” she said. “The responsibility of three deaths lies on the shoulders of Jessie Vanderlind. He did not hunt our kind down and kill us maliciously, but if he had not fallen so blindly in love with a mortal girl, then Count Viktor Adami and Daniel Vanderlind would still be with us today. I cannot speak for Albert Vanderlind; he had given way to his own special madness.”
She was going to rule against us; I could tell. It didn’t matter how many times Jessie had been cleared of killing Viktor and Daniel, the undead world had decided to rule against him. Maybe it was like Alice had said; the Vanderlinds had too much money.
The old lady lifted her hand, pointing at the floor and snapping her hand up to a flat palm. The bailiff understood the gesture. He banged his staff on the marble floor three times, the noise booming around the room. “Madame Bishop will now make her ruling.”
The vampiress started speaking and I heard it through the filter of a nightmare. “Jessie Vanderlind will face the sun in a ruling of lex talionis.”
“No!” I was screaming. “No! You can’t kill him!”
“Aurora!” Jessie tried to run to me, but two guards grabbed him by the arms.
I threw myself on the floor at the feet of the vampiress. “Please don’t kill him,” I begged. “Please! Or let me take his place. Let me face the sun.”
“Aurora, don’t!” Jessie shouted, but I ignored him. I couldn’t live without Jessie. I couldn’t be alone in the world without my love.
“Don’t you see?” I called to him from where I crouched on the floor. “I can’t survive without you. Not the way you survived without me. I don’t know how to live as a vampire. But you know that I’ll come back to you. You just have to survive until I can come back again.”
The old lady was looking at me, keenly. “Do you mean to claim the right of substitution?” she asked. When I gave her a confused look, she clarified. “Do you wish to take Jessie Vanderlind’s place? Are you willing to sacrifice yourself?”
“No!” Jessie shouted, fighting against the guards who were holding him.
“Yes,” I said in a quiet voice. “I will sacrifice my life in exchange for the life of Jessie Vanderlind. I will face the sun.”
“Do you understand that if I grant this request, there is no turning back? Jessie cannot refuse, and you cannot change your mind?” the vampiress asked.
My legs were trembling and I felt like I was going to throw up. “I understand.”
“Aurora, stop!” Jessie yelled. “Please just look at me. You don’t understand what you are doing.”
I wouldn’t look at him. I refused to turn my head and see his beautiful face.
“Are you aware that death by sunlight is the most excruciating torture that any member of the undead could ever feel?” the judge continued.
I’d felt the rays of the sun on my skin only briefly since being turned, but that was enough to let me know that my death would be horrible. But so would eternity without Jessie. If one of us had to die, then it was better that it was me. I would sacrifice myself, but in a way I was also being selfish. “Yes,” I said again. “I understand that I will suffer, and I still want to take his place.”
Madame Bishop stared at me for a long moment. As far as I could tell, she was simply taking me in. I was terrified of the next words that were going to come out of her mouth, but a small part of me couldn’t help but feel calmed by her serene expression.
“You are quite the extraordinary young woman,” she finally said. “Your request is granted.”
“No!” Jessie shouted, wrenching himself free from the grasp of the guards. And then he was at my side, wrapping his arms around me.
“Leave them be,” the judge commanded in a voice that would have been almost audible to mortals. “Let them have their last moments together.”
“Aurora…” Jessie sobbed. “You have to take it back. I can’t let you die.”
I shook my head. “I can’t take it back. And I wouldn’t, even if I could. There’s no way I can survive without you. Your mother hates me and I can’t go home again.” Tears were streaming down my cheeks and there was nothing I could do to stop them. “I know it will be horrible for you, but you have to live. You have to stay in Tiburon and keep on living. You have to stay alive so that you can find me again.”
Jessie cradled my face in his hands. “But what if you don’t come back? How long must I keep living? Every day without you will be torture.” His gray eyes were so dark, they were like clouds before a downpour. “And what if you can’t come back to me? What if being a vampire means that you never get another life? How will I know? How long must I wait before joining you?”
I buried my face into his chest, sobbing uncontrollably. “I don’t know.”
“Then we’ll die together,” Jessie said. “We’ll both face the sun.”
“No!” I shrieked. I’d only volunteered to sacrifice myself to save him.
“Don’t you see?” Jessie said, holding me fiercely. “It’s the only way. If we both die now, then we’ll find each other again.”
Someone started clapping. The whole room was dead silent except for the sound of the solo applause.
“Bravo,” a man said. “Bravissimo. This is all so very touching.” Lord Vagnar stood up in the crowd, “First he is going to die to save her. Then she is going to die to save him. Now they are going to die together.” He leveled us with a look. “How very Romeo and Juliette of you.”
“Lord Vagnar,” Madame Bishop said. “We are just finishing up here. Do you have something to add to the proceedings?”
“I do, indeed,” he said. Vagnar made his way to the balcony railing and leaped over the side, landing like a cat on the courtroom floor. “I was just sitting up there, watching this little melodrama unfold, when it occurred to me that I’ve never felt a love like these two feel for one another,” he said, cocking his head one side and contemplating us. “One would think that after a couple of hundred years that I would find someone who could touch my heart. But alas, I’ve never found her. Or him.” Mugging for the crowd he added, “After a few centuries, one has to broaden the playing field.”
“What is your point?” the vampiress said. “Just because you can live for an eternity doesn’t mean you should take an eternity to make it.”
“That’s exactly my point,” Vagnar told her. “I think I’ve been on this planet too long. All the zest has gone out of it for me. The thrill is gone.”
“I’m sorry if you have a case of the doldrums,” said Judge Bishop, “but I really don’t understand how that can have any bearing on these proceedings.”
“I’ll tell you why.” Vagnar straightened his spine and turned to face the crowd. “I, Lord Cornelius Vagnar, claim the right of substitution. I will face the sun in the place of Aurora Keys.”
C
hapter 16
“But…” I stammered. Lord Vagnar’s behavior was always confusing and unpredictable, but this left me speechless. “You can’t...”
Vagnar flashed me a dismissive look. “I most certainly can.”
“But…” My brain wasn’t processing his words. “Why would you?”
“Because I’m envious,” he said while flicking a bit of lint off his sleeve. “I want to be young and in love with a girl, who loves me so passionately that she would face the sun rather than face the pain of missing me. And I can’t have it. I can never have it. I have all the money in the world, but that’s something I cannot buy. The closest I can come is doing this for you.” He raised his eyes and looked directly into mine.
“For me?” I had no idea that he cared about me at all beyond seeing me as a temporary plaything.
“That’s right.” Lord Vagnar held my gaze. “I would die for you.” And then he chuckled. “Well, not for you, exactly, – don’t want you getting a swelled head – but let’s just say that I’m ready to die and I’m donating my death to a good cause.”
“Lord Vagnar, we don’t know what to say,” Jessie told him. “Your sacrifice is…”
“Completely selfish,” Vagnar said, cutting him off. “I’m bored with this world and everyone in it. I’ve done everything, and everyone that ever caught my eye. Well…” He winked at me. “Except for maybe one.”
“But your Lordship,” Whitright tried to interject.
Lord Vagnar waved him into silence with a dismissive hand. “Don’t try to talk me out of this, Whitright. I know you want your revenge for Albert, but you need to let it go. Albert was a horrible, nasty, spiteful bastard and, given half a chance, I would have staked him myself.”
“But…!” Whitright couldn’t stop himself from trying.
“Benjamin, please listen to me,” Lord Vagnar said, speaking to him in a quieter and more personal tone, rather than playing for the crowd. “Don’t spend the rest of your eternity being bitter. Let my death be the justice you crave. Don’t cheapen my sacrifice by clinging to your hopes for revenge. You need to focus on living.”