“For the excellence of nature, for the peace of all living, and for the good of the universe, we join together,” Tor, the Wraith of Earth said in a raspy voice. A hint of cinnamon drifted into the air as he spoke. He changed scents every so often, but cinnamon was one of his favorites. I hated all the scents; cinnamon pissed me off the most.
Tor met each of our eyes, giving a nod in greeting, then paused on Genevieve. She in turn raised her slender hands toward the fountain and the water from the spout turned blue, matching that in the pool.
The meeting began.
Edan, Wraith of Fire, spoke first. He was explosive, quick-tempered, and rumored to burn a human when they did something that pissed him off—the burns, of course, were mild, more like a bothersome mosquito bite. “He drank vampire blood then fucked off for two years. This shit should’ve been finished years ago. He should be put in Rest or dead.”
I fiddled with my candy dispenser in my right coat pocket. The thought of any Scar put to Rest pissed me off. Edan pissed me off. Rest was for the disloyal, the dangerous, and the few Scars who turned corrupt. Reliving your worst memories in a coma-like state was described as hell. But it was worse than that. It was a constant movie of your vilest thoughts being replayed until your sentence in Rest was over.
Tarek, Delara’s ex-maite, deserved such a fate. Balen did not.
I had run out of options though. I’d fought the Deaconry over leaving Balen’s fate in the hands of the Scars. But the law had been written by the Wraiths and Scars. Balen drank vampire blood and was guilty. There was nothing more I could do, except try to coerce the others to give a lesser sentence.
Tor said, “We discuss the issue of Balen, a Scar Tracker of the Talde in Toronto.” He glared at Edan and I suspected it was for speaking before the issue had been announced. Edan shrugged then leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “He drank the blood of Ryszard, a vampire. He betrayed Anstice, his blood sister and Healer. His fate is in the embrace of the Deaconry. Speak, Waleron, on behalf of your Scar.”
I felt the uneasiness in the room—anger, sorrow, and uncertainty. Balen had betrayed his oath, but he’d also saved a human from slavery to a vampire.
Regardless, this wasn’t going to be easy to convince them to be lenient. “Balen drank the blood of a vampire. That alone is cause for death. He invited Ryszard into the house of Trinity, witch of the coven in Toronto where our Healer, Anstice, was being hidden. But Balen did what no other has achieved. He drove the tainted vampire blood from inside him.”
Urtzi, Wraith of Air, spoke, “Did he return by his own free will?” Urtzi’s voice fluctuated according to his moods. When he was angry, his voice replicated a fingernail on a chalkboard and when he was in a good mood it was calm and soft like it was today.
I gave a curt nod. “Yes.”
“And he fought the blood without harming humans?” Urtzi asked.
I nodded again. “As far as we are aware.”
“Then we must take that into consideration.” His blue-and-white streaked hair ruffled as he spoke and the air in the room shifted. “He also saved a human, a woman—Danielle—a friend of Anstice, and an innocent to the circumstances.”
A fist slammed on the table and I didn’t have to look to know it was Edan. Genevieve’s breath hitched and her shoulders tensed.
“He broke the law,” Edan shouted.
“Voice,” Tor warned.
Edan glared at him, but lowered his tone. “It’s simple. He broke his oath to protect his kind. You want to be lenient for protecting the girl, then Rest—two hundred years.”
“The human, Danielle, would’ve become a slave if it wasn’t for Balen,” Zurina objected. Her golden hair was like a mane of an Andalusian horse, thick waves reaching the small of her back. She met Edan’s scowl and smiled then winked at him. This was why she’d been chosen to sit on the Deaconry with me. She had a majestic strength that was respected by all.
“He also betrayed the witches by inviting Ryszard into their house,” Mariana said.
The Scars and the Witches were on good terms as long as neither got in the others’ way. On occasion, they assisted one another; however, some kind of payment was usually involved.
I had to do some smoothing over with Trinity. Jesus, I’d slept with her for a week for her visions in order to help find Balen and Danielle. It may have saved them, but what it had done to Delara . . . My grip tightened on my dispenser. I never regretted, damn it. I’d done what I had to do to save a Scar and a human. It was my oath. I had no choice.
“None were harmed,” Zurina said. “Nor was Anstice or any of the Scars.”
Tor was short, broad, muscular, and rarely smiled, which explained his void expression. “We all know what he has done. We’ve been over this a thousand times.” He paused. “It has come to our attention that he has seen this Danielle. Has he revealed us to her?”
“No,” I said. “He hasn’t.”
“I sense a connection between them,” Tor continued. “He protects her.”
“Yes.” I’d hoped they hadn’t been paying attention to Danni because a Scar becoming involved with a human would really piss them off.
I felt Genevieve shift in her high-backed chair and my eyes shot to her. She quickly looked away, lowering her gaze. What was that? “It’s the law for Scars to protect humans,” I reminded them.
Edan scoffed. “Fuck that, Waleron. You know damn well he protects this woman because he wants to fuck her.”