On the Edge of Destiny (Book 3) (A Vampire SEAL Novel) (20 page)

That day with my anger hyped, I’d turned water into ice balls, which hit Blake like bullets.

“I’m not sure,” he responded. “But what I am sure of is the boy was dead.”

A round of gasps filled the room, and with it, more whispers.

“In your opinion, Mr. Banks, did Jo Mason kill Blake Turner?” Maddox picked up a pen.

“Objection. Speculation,” Mr. Rose intervened.

The elders gave her a pointed look, then Raddison said, “Maddox, stay on topic.”

“Mr. Banks, isn’t it true that Ms. Mason not only attacked Blake Turner the day before, but also attacked Ms. Weston?”

“Yes. She punched her.”

I couldn’t argue with his answer, at least, not entirely. Blake had attacked Zea and was draining the blood out of her. I tried to stop him, but Ms. Weston had gotten in the way. I did apologize to her, although she hadn’t accepted my apology. Actually, if I remembered correctly, she politely dismissed me with a comment about penance.

“He’s all yours, Gary.” Maddox tucked a few strands of her blond hair behind her ear, seemingly proud of herself.

“I only have one,” Mr. Rose said, not moving from his chair. “On the first day, did Blake sink his fangs into Ms. Yangstrom, my client’s friend? Which was why Ms. Mason was trying to stop him?”

Mr. Banks addressed Mr. Rose. “Yes, according to the students I questioned, Blake did attack Ms. Yangstrom. But Ms. Mason wasn’t the one to stop him. Her brother subdued Blake.”

Sam had been holding Blake back when I let loose with my fists.

“Nothing further.” Mr. Rose scribbled a question on his pad before sliding it over to me. It read, “Is it true?”

I wrote, “Yes.” I wasn’t sure why he was asking for confirmation.

Mr. Banks stepped down and then out through the door the guardian had entered from earlier.

“Ms. Tinsley, continue with your next witness,” Dyson said.

“Zea Yangstrom,” Maddox announced.

The pen fell out of my hand as I almost lost my breakfast. I leaned in to Mr. Rose. “Why is she testifying for them? Shouldn’t she be on our side? She’s my only witness.”

She was the only one who could save me. At least, in my mind she was. After all, she too had been attacked.

“Calm down,” Mr. Rose whispered. “Normal procedure.”

Normal for whom? Nothing about this trial seemed normal. I’d been defending myself and trying to help a friend. Why was I worried? She was my
friend
. Wasn’t she? Certainly she would tell the truth.

Dressed in a black-and-white polka dot sundress, Zea slowly made her way to the stand, clenching her fists at her sides. My nerves jumped as she eased down into the witness box. She glanced my way, giving me a sad I’m-sorry smile before the guardian stalked to her and swore her in before resuming his position at the side door.

I bounced my knee.

“Zea.” Maddox’s black high heels clicked against the floor as she made her way to Zea. “Take the court through your recollection of the events the day you were attacked in the girls’ bathroom.”

Zea adjusted her white headband. “Jo had gone to the bathroom between classes. And when the bell rang at the start of class, she didn’t return. So I’d gone to check on her. When I entered, a woman came out of nowhere with a dagger. After that, the only thing I remember was Jo strangling Blake.”

I choked on air. If the audience had said anything, I couldn’t hear it. The only thing I could hear was the obscenities Dad screamed in my head.

I jumped out of my chair. Tripp latched onto my arm.

“You’re lying!” I snarled at Zea.

My body shook with rage, along with the table.

“I have an enormous amount of healing power, Jo,” Tripp whispered. “But I’m not sure I can tame the wild side of your telekinesis. Remember you can’t use your powers in this building. I want you to breathe.”

Laws and rules didn’t enter into my psyche. Frankly, I didn’t care.

“Okay, everyone. Quiet down,” one of the elders said.

Zea looked down at her hands or something in her lap.

“She’s lying,” I insisted.

Tripp pulled me down into my chair. The nameplates on the elder’s bench slid back and forth, one dropping to the floor.

“Mr. Rose, may I remind you that powers are restricted in this building. If you don’t want your client removed, I suggest you make her understand our laws,” Hollings stated.

“Jo,” Tripp whispered. “You don’t want to be taken away. They’ll inject you with a sedative if you continue to use your powers.”

Pumpkin, you need to listen to Tripp.
Dad’s voice was calm.

“Why aren’t you objecting?” I glared daggers at Mr. Rose.

He was supposed to be the best of the best. Right?

The crowd tittered. Some of them said, “I knew she was guilty.”

“Order,” Dyson commanded.

A high-pitched noise punctured my eardrums. Wincing, I covered my ears. “What is that?”

The only one who seemed to be unaffected was my human attorney.

“The elders have a button underneath their bench that sends out a very high-pitched alarm that only vampires can hear. That’s their way of quieting vampires,” Mr. Rose said.

“What are we, dogs?” I asked sarcastically.

“It worked, didn’t it?” he pointed out.

The room had fallen silent, and so did my telekinesis.

“Now, Ms. Tinsley, please continue.” Dyson jotted on a pad.

“Nothing further.” Maddox strutted to her seat as if she were the queen of the courtroom.

If I had liked her when I first met her, that emotion was history now.

“Mr. Rose, your witness,” Radisson said.

He stood, buttoning his suit jacket. “Ms. Yangstrom, isn’t it true you ran out of the girls’ bathroom?”

“I did.” She nodded slightly.

“Isn’t it also true Blake was still alive when you ran out?” Mr. Rose walked over to her.

“I don’t remember.” Her voice wavered.

“Why did you run out, Ms. Yangstrom?” Mr. Rose asked.

She glanced out into the crowd. “I ran for help.”

At the time, I’d assumed that was why she’d run out, but…

“Then why did the guardians find you curled up in the boys’ bathroom?”

That.

“I don’t remember.” Her cheeks flushed pink, as though she were embarrassed.

I grasped the arms of the chair tightly, trying to restrain myself from strangling Zea. I didn’t understand why she wasn’t telling the truth. Did the school coerce her into lying? She was under oath!

“Do you hate the taste of blood?” Mr. Rose’s tone was gentle.

She searched the crowd again, and the man who resembled her nodded. My guess was he was her father.

“Answer the question,” Radisson said.

“Yes,” she responded softly.

“Please tell the court what happens when you drink blood,” Mr. Rose urged.

“I get dizzy.” Zea glanced down at her lap.

“Isn’t it also true you lose track of your surroundings? And they become distorted?”

What? I knew she hated the taste of blood. But how could blood have that effect on a vampire? We needed the sticky red stuff to survive.

“It depends on how much I drink,” she responded.

“You took a lot from Jewel, the human you bit that day, didn’t you?” Mr. Rose prodded.

“I don’t remember,” she said.

I cocked my head to one side as I stared at her. Didn’t she remember the dagger at her throat?

“Zea, may I remind you, you’re under oath,” Mr. Rose said.

Maddox came to her rescue. “If she doesn’t remember, she doesn’t.”

Hollings held up his hand at Maddox before turning to Zea. “Ms. Yangstrom, we’re not here to judge you and your dislike for the taste of blood. I want you think hard about your answer. Did you take a lot of blood from Jewel?”

Zea’s eyes watered as she stared at the man in the audience. “I did. I got sick and ran out.”

The elders wrote in their notepads.

“Nothing further.” Mr. Rose returned to the table.

“That’s it? You’re not going to ask her why she’s lying?” I tried to keep my voice low.

He wrote something down, ignoring me. At any moment, I was debating whether to strangle my attorney instead of Zea.

“Ms. Tinsley, call your next witness,” Dyson ordered.

Zea strolled past with her eyes downcast.

Who throws a friend in front of an oncoming train? Oh, wait. She does.

“Elders, no more witnesses. The prosecution rests.”

In my mind she didn’t need anyone else. Zea was her key to finding me guilty.

The time allotted for a break was short. Dad, Sam, and Tripp scurried off to check on the sentinels. Mr. Rose and I returned to the private room we were in before the hearing started. I wasn’t supposed to mingle with anyone other than family and my attorney, since the trial wasn’t over with yet. My muscles twitched. I wanted to seek out Zea and ask her what the hell she had been smoking.

“Why did she lie?” I was still shocked as I dropped into one of the leather chairs.

Across the table, Mr. Rose read through a file, preparing for his first witness.

He peered over the piece of paper in his hand. “She probably was told to say some of those things.”

“But isn’t that perjury?”

“Sure, if we could prove it. I’m not sure how well you know your friend, Jo. But she has an intolerance to blood. She gets disoriented for a period of time after she drinks. My goal in questioning her was to prove to the elders she’s not a credible witness.”

I would never grasp the concept of Zea—or any vampire, for that matter—not liking blood, much less being intolerant of it.

I had to move past Zea—for now, anyway. I also had to trust Mr. Rose did show her testimony wasn’t credible. “Are you putting me up on the stand?”

“More than likely,” he mumbled as he continued to peruse through his file.

My phone chirped. Looking at it, I smiled, and the events of the past few hours faded. After tapping the message icon, I read through the text.

We’re getting ready to hop on our second leg of the trip. I wanted to say hi and check on the trial.

My fingers flew over the letters on the screen.
It’s going okay. We’re on a break.

I know. Your dad just called. I might not be able to message you once we land. Be strong and listen to Tripp. I love you.

Those three meaningful words seemed foreign to me. I never imagined in all my life I would find someone, vampire or human, who loved me. Still, my heart expanded, and I got goose bumps along my arms.

I love you, too. Be safe.

I was about to pocket my phone when it buzzed again. I looked at the screen. I had another text from an unknown number. It read,
I’ll see you soon
, followed by a heart-shaped emoticon and the name
Ben
.

I read it again. Was the text really from Ben? I glanced at Mr. Rose, who was still buried in his file. I looked past him and out the window. Rain still fell, and the city skyline wasn’t as visible as it was earlier.

As I tapped my foot, I debated whether to respond. Dad had said no contact with Ben, but my curiosity was killing me. Where was he?

Before my decision was made, another text came through.
You looked pretty that night I held you on the street near the fundraiser. I can’t wait to see you.

“Jo, it’s time,” Mr. Rose said.

I lifted my gaze. Mr. Rose was standing with his briefcase in hand.

“Is there something wrong?” he asked.

I shook my head. I probably should tell Dad. But what could he do about the text? Besides, I had a trial to focus on. Ben couldn’t get to me. I had Dad, Sam, and Tripp with me. Pocketing my phone, I bit my lip as I pushed to my feet and met Mr. Rose at the door. I’d tell Dad after the trial was over.

Everyone filed back into the courtroom. We went through the same protocol as we did earlier, rising and sitting when the elders entered.

“Mr. Rose, please call your first witness,” Radisson said.

“The defense calls Dr. Damon Vieira.”

Dr. Vieira took the stand and was sworn in.

“Dr. Vieira, please take us through this autopsy report,” Mr. Rose instructed as he walked over to the bench and handed a copy of the report to the elders.

“First, Blake Turner did not carry any vampire DNA. He was a pure human. Second, as the report outlines, Blake had the beginning of a third helix structure, but nothing that matched our DNA patterns.” His gaze held steady at Mr. Rose. “Third, when a natural-born vampire changes from human to vampire, our heart muscle shrinks in size. Not Blake’s. His grew even larger than a human’s.”

Whispers created a hum. Even the elders spoke low to one another. Whatever Blake had been injected with, I prayed it wasn’t the same solution as the one Ben had been given. Otherwise, Ben might turn into a carbon copy of Blake.

“In addition, I found other oddities,” Dr. Vieira said. “In our species, we have a lot of internal changes. But the one organ that doesn’t grow, shrink, or change within us is our brain. It will stay the same as any human’s.” He rubbed his chin. “Blake’s brain was shrinking.”

More whispers ensued.

“Based on your results, what have you concluded?” Mr. Rose asked.

“One, Blake’s system couldn’t get enough blood to keep his organs functioning. Also, I would guess he couldn’t keep his hunger for blood sated, which might be why he attacked Ms. Yangstrom. Therefore, it is my conclusion he died because of all the changes to his body.”

Mr. Rose ambled back to the table. A feather dropping to the floor could have probably been heard at the moment.

Talk about drama to the
n
th degree. Wow! Way to keep the room on the edge of their seat.

“Anything else you would like to add?” Mr. Rose queried.

“Yes. The two teenagers we rescued from Edmund Rain’s mansion have the same autopsy results as Blake Turner.”

“Dear Lord,” a woman blurted out. Hollings flipped through the report. Dyson was writing.

“Why haven’t we heard about these other two boys?” Elder Radisson arched his bushy eyebrows at Dr. Vieira.

“I apologize,” he said, glancing up at Raddison. “I was preparing for this trial and haven’t had time to submit it.”

Raddison jotted something down on his notepad.

“Are you finished with your questioning?” Dyson asked.

“Yes, sir.” Mr. Rose lowered his body into his chair.