Chapter 235
Malick laughed again and all eyes turned to him in surprise. Eileifr half rose from his chair. "Malick, is this true?"
He made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "What do you think?"
Celandine looked from Jorick to his Master. "That is not an answer."
Malick stood and turned to face the unsettled High Council. "Am I beholden to you? Am I beneath you that you would question me?"
"The councils were created for a reason," Celandine argued. "You do not have supreme rule."
"And who will follow those words with action?" Malick turned to face the rest of his captivated audience. "Is there one among you who can overpower me?" He turned back to the council members. "One of you perhaps? Eileifr? Obi? Heng?" Nobody moved. "As I thought, there is no one."
He resumed his seat and looked back to Jorick. "You and your human may be innocent of those charges, but not of the others. Do you deny the theft of Guild property?"
Jorick snorted contemptuously. "If you mean the car, then I do. It was already stolen when it was given to me."
"Was it? Perhaps it was a stroke of luck that you took it. Without its tracking device, we would not have been sure where you'd gone." Malick smiled as Jorick's eyes narrowed. "You were right, my son. It was bad luck."
He leaned back in the chair. "And what of the murder of my Executioners? In the last month we have come to replace three, thanks to you and yours, and a fourth may yet be needed. Do you not find that number excessive?"
"They were killed in self-defense."
"According to a statement made by the lone survivor of the last fracas, the attack was unprovoked, except that they expressed suspicion towards your human. Would an entire coven fight for her?" He pointed to Katelina and all eyes followed. Her cheeks turned scarlet at the sudden attention and hostility. "Is she so exceptional? Or was she merely an excuse for more ambitious plans?"
"It had nothing to do with her."
"Then explain this to me. Why were Dismas and Zuri murdered so mercilessly?"
"Zuri is still alive. Or was."
"Regardless, why were you and your fledgling so eager to attack?"
Jorick's mouth snapped shut and he looked away.
"You have no answer?" He stood. "I have reached a conclusion." He waited for the clamor to die down. "On the nine counts of murder I find Jorick and his marked human innocent. She does not possess the disposition for such acts, whether ordered to do so or no. But," he paused and a slow smile spread over his face. "I find Jorick guilty of assisting in the unprovoked murder of one Executioner and the kidnapping and imprisonment of another."
Though Jorick didn't flinch, Katelina had to cover her mouth. Her terrified eyes darted around the room in search of a miracle. If Verchiel was going to appear, now was the time, though God only knew what difference he could make.
"I will now pass sentence. Jorick, you believe you have the right to take the lives of those you deem unworthy. Perhaps when next you meet one of our agents, you will not be so quick to pass your own sentence on them, for you will make recompense for what you have taken away. As you are directly responsible for the death of at least one Executioner, you will take his place."
The Hall burst into shouts of outrage and surprise. The smug expression slipped from Senya's face and she howled, "He's a criminal! He shouldn't be rewarded!"
"You can't be serious?" Eileifr demanded.
Jorick shouted over the noise, "No! You can replace them with one of the greater guards! That's why they exist!"
Eileifr stood and a precarious silence descended. "He speaks true. We have many able bodied guards who could fill the post."
"Bah!" The word echoed from the walls, as if the room vibrated with Malick's disdain. "How many masters are there? How old is the eldest guard? Three hundred? Jorick is older by at least two centuries! That is why he can kill them at a whim! Where are our powerful vampires? Where are our ancients? They are gone! They are dust, and we are left with these excuses for valor and power!" He made a sweeping motion to indicate the room's occupants. "The time has come to gather our strengths together, to rid ourselves of the weak and the powerless, to purge the vampire bloodlines!"
The room erupted in a chorus of angry disapproval. Katelina stared with horrified eyes. Malick was insane!
Obi shook his head. "What you speak is-"
"The truth." Malick smiled with self importance. "I have made my decree and, unless any can challenge me, it will stand." He swept up his robes and descended from the platform. Without a glance at Jorick's furious face and shaking hands, he marched towards the chamber doors and called back, "Greneth, show the human to her new quarters. Jorick, to me!"
No one moved. Then the Executioners split up. Jamie and Beldren took Jorick's arms and tried to haul him after their master. He growled and shook them off. His dark eyes cut across the room and met Katelina's. Their depths burned with a scorching fury she'd never seen before.
Greneth grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. Jorick bounded towards them. She was barely upright before he slammed Greneth to the floor. The room full of vampires shouted and clamored. Obi and Eileifr quickly dismissed the council and ordered everyone out.
Greneth leapt to his feet, his fists ready and Jorick snarled, "Keep your hands off her or they'll be short another Executioner!"
Greneth snorted in contempt. "I'm not afraid of you."
They crashed into one another and grappled furiously. The surrounding clamor grew less and less as the bystanders scurried away. When Celandine shouted, her words echoed, "How can you make him an Executioner? You can't even control him!"
"Of course I can." Malick nodded once at Senya. She moved quickly and grabbed Katelina, one arm around her neck and the other around her middle. Katelina was torn between terror and fury, then settled on the latter. One day she was going to kill Senya herself!
Jorick threw Greneth to the floor and Malick shouted, "Stop!"
Jorick looked up to see Katelina's captivity and his face twisted. He growled; a long, low sound that reminded Katelina of a cornered animal. His white knuckled fists clenched and unclenched. "Let her go, Senya."
"And so she shall, once you have done as you're told." Malick snapped his fingers and pointed to the space next to him. "To me!"
Indecision was chased across Jorick's face by rage. "Let her go," he commanded, then, he strode to his master.
Malick's smile was smug as he turned to the shocked council members. "You see? He is controlled easily enough." He turned to the others. "Jamie, take her to her room. I believe something on the fifth floor will suffice until Dismas's quarters can be cleaned out. Greneth, Senya, Beldren, Griselda, with me."
Senya half threw Katelina to Jamie. He caught her with a single hand and held her up while she caught her balance. She looked to Jorick but he refused to meet her eyes as he followed Malick out of the room.
Jamie tried to smile. "Come. We'll find you a room."
She hesitated as he started for the door, her eyes on the Masters.
"This is outrageous!" Celandine cried. "This cannot be allowed!"
Heng shook his head. "It is as it is. None of us can challenge him."
"But to employ a promotion as punishment?" Celandine insisted. "How long can he use the human as a means of control? It is a mistake!"
Eileifr nodded. "Yes, it is, but it is his mistake, and it will be his undoing." He turned his head and gazed into Katelina's startled eyes. "Go. Your escort waits."
Without question, she hurried after Jamie, her heart racing in her chest.
