by Sarah Reeves
Alex stared. “They can’t send her there,” she said in a voice that had gone hoarse. “They can’t. She won’t survive it.”
“That’s the general idea,” said Ronan, not unkindly. “They’re going to want to make her suffer for what the Unseen used her to do. Never before have they had someone who had been released from his possession. They’ll question her first, extensively. They’re going to want to know everything about him, and what his plans are for what comes next.”
“She doesn’t know that,” Alex whispered. “She won’t be able to say anything because she doesn’t know what his plans are. Are they going to torture her?” Ronan’s expression told her all she needed to know, and she swallowed hard to push back the knot of fear in her throat. “I thought the realms were supposed to be peaceful. Everybody treated the same.”
“They were, at one time.” Ronan’s face was sad. “But the Unseen made things personal for a lot of people. You included.”
Alex shoved up from the bed. “Yes, but I didn’t go after Adrien, because I know she’s not to blame! Don’t any of these people have common sense?”
“Not when their families are involved, no.” Ronan stood. “Come on. We need to get going, I have no doubt they’re going to start the trial soon.” He held out his hand. Alex took it, and the room swirled up in flames before disappearing entirely. The sensation was not unlike the feeling of passing through the portal to get to the fire realm. Warm, comforting, like a day in the summertime in between school years. And just like last time, the feeling was over before Alex could really relax into it.
“Holy shit,” breathed Alex.
“I know,” answered Ronan, gazing up at the structure in front of them.
The castle was a colossus. That’s all there was to it. It was made of a dark stone that jutted out of the ground, straight up until it ended in spires that stuck out at impossible angles. Each was tipped in flame, and the stone itself gave the appearance of fire climbing up the walls of the castle. Veins of red rock wound through it, glowing faintly. Alex felt simultaneously powerful and dwarfed beyond belief, just by looking at it. The front gate was another wall of fire, like the one at the Arena. Alex was reminded again just how fantastic her life was now. Six months ago, she wouldn’t have been able to dream up something like this, not even in her wildest imagination.
“The trial will be in the Courts. This way.” Ronan went through the flaming doorway, and Alex followed. The inside of the castle was no less grand than the outside. The floors were the same material as the walls, which were covered here and there by great tapestries that looked ancient, but well taken care of. Every fifteen feet or so, torches holding white fire burned. The hallway twisted and turned, and they descended a steep set of stairs into a deeper, darker area of the castle. The flames on the wall were green now, giving Alex a sense of foreboding. There were doors on either side of them now, but Ronan strode past them confidently. Alex wondered how he knew his way around so well.
Finally, Ronan opened a door on the right, and Alex followed him through. It led to a large, circular chamber, with ceilings almost higher than Alex could see. Stadium-like seating looked down on the floor of the room, where there was a chair. Adrien sat in that chair.
There were close to fifty people in the seats surrounding Alex’s mentor, all of them buzzing like a nest of angry hornets. Adrien, despite the atmosphere in the room, sat with her head held high, staring straight ahead. Alex respected her for that. She knew she couldn’t hold that calm demeanor with so much hate in the same room. Alex and Ronan had come into the room somewhere in the middle of those rows of chairs, but if Adrien saw them, she gave no indication of it.
“What do we do?” Alex hissed to Ronan.
“Nothing yet,” he replied. He guided her to a seat a few places down from the last person in the row. They were almost completely ignored, so focused was everyone else on Adrien. “They’ll call the place to order, start the trial, then ask for witnesses. That’s when you can present yourself. They’ll ask who you are, how you know the defendant, then grill you on Adrien and why you think she’s innocent. They’ll weigh the evidence, then make their decision. Once you give your piece, there’s nothing you can do to stop whatever decision they make, so you gotta make your testimony count. Okay?”
Alex nodded, already feeling her stomach start to churn. There were so many people. Her testimony might mean making these people see reason, or it could make them throw Adrien in the Realm of Nightmares that much faster. She linked her hands together, holding them tightly, and waited.
It took several minutes, but then a tall, pale, ugly looking man at the very middle stood up and held up his hands. The crowd fell immediately silent.
“This hearing will now begin.” He looked down his bulbous nose at Adrien, who looked back cooly. Ronan sat forward suddenly, frowning. Alex nearly asked him what was wrong, but the man started talking again, so Alex listened instead. “Adrien Makos, you stand accused of conspiracy with the mass murderer and terrorist known as the Unseen. You also are on trial for multiple counts of murder, and treason against the throne. For those crimes, and in repayment for the misery the Unseen has inflicted through you on the families of this realm, you are sentenced to exile, to the Realm of Nightmares.” He turned to the rest of the court with a smug and terrible smile. “All those in favor, say aye.” There was an immediate chorus of assent. Nearly everyone in the room was nodding, or just staring at Adrien with fierce expressions. “All those not in favor, say nay.”
There were four people who didn’t agree with the sentence, Ronan and Alex included. One of the other two Vin stood and spoke.
“I thought this would be a trial, not a hearing for sentencing,” she said. “At least one of these accusations does not make sense. Adrien Makos did not murder those people, she was simply used as a physical body by the Unseen. He killed those poor people, not the one whose face he decided to wear. This woman is clearly no longer under his influence, though you have not asked why, you have not allowed her nor anyone else to speak on her behalf, to explain.” During her speech, the buzzing started again, and she had to raise her voice to say what she said next. “How are we supposed to be a fair race, if we do not hold a fair trial? I say we allow Adrien and whomever presents as a witness for her defense speak, and we can decide from that whether or not she is guilty.”
The din was deafening. Shouts directed at the woman who spoke rang in Alex’s ears, and fingers pointed accusingly at her and at Adrien. Alex stood up, but with so many people already standing, it didn’t make any difference. There was so much noise, and the head of the court was doing nothing to mitigate it. Alex tried to shout over the cacophony, but of course that didn’t work either. Finally, unhurriedly, the main Undari held up his hands, and it was silent once more. Over half the people in the room now glared at the lady who had spoken.
“However this hearing goes, it will end the same. Someone who conspires with the Unseen does not deserve to walk free,” he said in a tone Alex was sure he thought was reasonable. “Maybe she was released from possession, but why was she released? And why would she deign to come here, to the realms? She has no reason to come here, being that she certainly wouldn’t be welcome, and the Unseen has a known hatred for the leaders of this realm and all the others.”
“She came here because of me.” The words were out of Alex’s mouth and she was on her feet, glaring at the man speaking. “We came here so she could train me.” Below, Adrien opened her mouth to speak, then shut it.
“And who are you?” The man clearly hadn’t liked to be interrupted, or proven wrong, because his face had soured and his beetled eyes were narrowed.
“My name is Alex Makos. Adrien is my mother, and my mentor.” Adrien’s eyes widened at this. “She is training me here, rather than in the human realm.” Alex’s heart beat a hard tattoo against her chest, but she held the little man’s gaze without flinching.
“The human realm? You’re Vin, why would you even be
associated with the human realm?”
The lady who’d spoken earlier cut in. “Perhaps you should tell us all exactly what’s going on, please.”
Alex met her eyes, and nodded. “My father was one of the Undari that captured the Unseen during his rise to power. His name was Travis Makos. When the Unseen broke out of the Realm of Nightmares, he went after the families that had taken him in, mine included.”
“All of his children were killed. She killed them,” someone random shouted, pointing at Adrien.
“She was possessed,” Alex shot back. “My family was on the run at the time, and expecting eight children. The Unseen’s minion possessed her while my father was out getting food, and made her destroy her eggs while she watched. She wasn’t able to stop him. My father came back as she was about to destroy my egg, and was able to stop her by knocking her unconscious. He fled to the human realm, taking me with him, where I was raised as human.”
At this, shocked murmurs rose from a now very attentive court. “Raised as a human girl?” said another judge. “How were your powers not apparent to humans?”
“They dissipated when I was roughly four years old through the use of medicine,” answered Alex. “I was able to go to school and pass as human. I didn’t know what I was, so I didn’t worry about the fact that my power was dormant. When I was ten, the Unseen found my dad, and killed him. My stepmother finished raising me and my half sister.” She took a deep breath. “A few months ago, my friends and I were looking for a present for my half sister’s birthday, and were spoken to by an old man. We didn’t know it, but my mother was nearby, still possessed by the Unseen’s servant. I was supposed to be dead, but I’m very clearly not, and the Unseen was furious when he found out. He ejected his servant from my mother’s body, and went after the old man. They killed him, too. My mother followed me and my family after that, intending to talk to me, and reveal who I truly am. My family was again on the run, because the Unseen had tracked us and marked our house. I’m sure you know the kind of mark I’m talking about.” A few of the court shuddered. “She found me a couple of weeks later, and saved me. I had found my father’s amulet, and touched it accidentally. I was in a state of constant flux, my body trying to Shift but not being able to due to lack of training and my power being dormant for so long.”
“She saved you by combining her power with the power from your father’s amulet.” It wasn’t a question, but Alex nodded anyway. “Fascinating.”
“She told me who she was, and what we are. I didn’t believe her at first, but then she helped me Shift for the first time. After that, I started training, but the Unseen found us again. He… he killed my best friend.” Alex paused to take a deep breath. She saw expressions of sympathy, of disbelief, and derision. She kept going. “It was then that we travelled here, so I could train. We had decided to come here a few days before he found us, but we left after the funeral we had for my friend. My family is still in hiding. I’m training not only to come into my full potential as one of the Undari, but to go after the Unseen, for killing my friend.” Alex had left a few parts out, but she fell silent. They didn’t need to know that she had more than one power, that she was potentially able to defeat the Unseen, once and for all.
“That’s a very nice story,” said the leader. “But how do we know it’s true? How do we know you’re really Travis Makos’s daughter? You don’t look like him, nor do you look like the accused. You could very well be a stranger from nowhere.”
“She’s their daughter.” Ronan stood, reaching into his pocket. “I have proof. When Alex arrived with Adrien, they declared who they were. I did some research, after recognizing Adrien’s name. I have it here.” The papers were passed from hand to hand, until it reached the leader. At Ronan’s interjection, the man’s face grew red and blotchy with anger. “Alex is truly the daughter of Travis and Adrien Makos. She isn’t lying.”
“So she’s not lying about that, what about everything else she’s said?” someone shouted.
“Yes,” said the leader, nodding once as if that had solved the case. “How do we know she didn’t come up with this story out of familial loyalty?”
“Because until today, I didn’t acknowledge that Adrien is my mother.” Alex fought hard to keep her voice under control as anger spiked. “I only called her my mentor, my teacher, because she is. I didn’t trust her at first. But I didn’t write her off as a criminal either, because she isn’t one. The Unseen did terrible things to a lot of families. He did the same to mine. Adrien has had to live with that every day for the past seventeen years, remembering what he made her do. Isn’t that torture enough? Why send her to the Realm of Nightmares for something she isn’t guilty of? She didn’t come here under his influence, or she would have attacked the throne already. It’s common sense.”
“Just because she’s acting normal doesn’t mean she is, child.” The leader spat, glaring at Alex. “Just because she’s your mother doesn’t mean she’s innocent. You mean to tell me that the Unseen let her go because he was angry? That’s ridiculous! Nobody with any sense will believe that cock and bull story, and neither do we. The verdict has already been passed down, and it will be carried out. Now.” He ignored Alex’s shout of protest, and raised a knobby hand, pointing it at a crack in the wall behind Adrien. A portal began to open.
This portal was completely the opposite of the one that Alex had come through. Screams echoed in the air, emanating from the rapidly expanding doorway. A bitter wind carried with it the scent of decay and illness, making Alex gag. The portal itself was the color of rotting flesh. Adrien was made to stand, and was pushed towards the portal. Hands, skeletal hands hung with ribbons of rotten flesh came through the portal, bony fingers reaching to take possession of Adrien. Alex was on her feet now, fighting through the crowd towards her mother as she was pulled backward into the portal. Hands grasped at Alex’s shoulder and yanked her back, but she beat at them, screaming Adrien’s name.
It was no use. The portal closed, taking Adrien with it. All that was left was the smell of the portal, and the lingering screams of the damned souls trapped within the Realm.
Alex slumped, staring at the empty chair that had held Adrien only moments before. Behind her, Ronan dropped his hands from her arms while the people around them sat back down to wait to be dismissed.
“Well, that’s done.” The leader was back to his smug, self satisfied expression as he turned to look at Alex. “Do you have any more lies to tell us? Anything at all you’d like to say for yourself?” When Alex said nothing, he nodded, pleased. “In that case, we can move on. Seize her,” he commanded. Alex was jerked to her feet amid protests of both members of the court and Ronan, who had leaped to his feet furiously. She struggled in the tight grip of the person holding her arms behind her back. “You are being held in the Cells until such a time that we can corroborate your story. Being the daughter of a convicted criminal,” he said with relish, “means that you are also under suspicion. If your story is true, you were raised as a human girl and are here simply to train and chase the pipe dream that is the destruction of the Unseen, then we will let you go. You will join one of the general classes, and you will behave, or else you will find yourself having afternoon tea with your mother, so long as you are still sane.” He smiled thinly. “Do not test us, Miss Makos. You already know we’re less than forgiving to those who break the law.”
Alex said nothing as she was hauled away by the guard. Ronan was nowhere to be seen, and the door shut with a thud. She was marched down the corridor, down some stairs, and along a hallway that was lined with jail cells. It was very dark here, nearly too dark to see. Some cells were empty, but Alex was able to see the shapes of Undari in others, who came to the bars to look at the newcomer as Alex passed by. She tried her best not to look back at them.
Her cell was towards the end of the hall, and she was unceremoniously shoved into it. She stumbled forward and fell, scraping her knee on the rough floor. She turned just in time to see the door s
lam shut. The guard left without a backward glance. Alex got to her feet and went to the door, yanking at it, but it was no use. She walked around the tiny interior of the cell, then sat on the hard mattress that was on the floor in the corner. There was a toilet on the opposite side, but it looked to be little more than a hole in the floor with a box over it.
Alex struggled not to let despair take over. She was only going to be there for a little while, she knew that. They would find out that she was innocent. Their treatment of Adrien made her rethink that. Adrien. The thought of her in the Realm of Nightmares, doomed to go insane, tore at Alex’s heart. There had to be a way to get her out, before it was too late. She didn’t know where to start, though. Helplessness surged in her. This wasn’t right. The court had let paranoia and fear take control. She wanted to throttle the leader, the pompous fuck. It was clear that he had taken pleasure in sending Adrien to her inevitable insanity. Remembering his face had the blood pounding in Alex’s ears. He wanted her gone. So had nearly everyone in the rest of the court. Was Alex next? She clenched her hands to stop the trembling. Were they going to send her into the Realm too?
Since she wasn’t going to be going anywhere for a while, Alex decided to try and sleep. The hours wouldn’t drag by as slowly if she did. She didn’t particularly care to be alone with her thoughts either, so sleep was all around the best option. There was no blanket, so Alex turned over, closed her eyes, and went to sleep.
Chapter Fourteen
Alex woke disoriented. Her back ached from the mattress, and for a moment she forgot where she was. The sight of the bars keeping her in the cell reminded her rather quickly of her current situation. The events from the night before rushed back to her, and she sat for a moment in fresh disbelief. She still couldn’t quite wrap her head around the fact that Adrien was gone. Adrien’s mind was strong, Alex knew that from watching the countless times she had kept herself under tight control. But Alex had also heard horrible things about what the Realm of Nightmares could do to one of the Undari. Even the strongest minds will break, she remembered.