Rebirth of the Seer (2 page)

The
Verdict

“
Oh, Momma, I’ve been years on the lam
And had a high price on my head.
Lawman said, ‘Get him dead or alive,’
Now it’s for sure he’ll see me dead.
”

“Renegade” – Styx

“Don’t do this, Richard!” she yelled. Her voice reverberated from the walls of the meeting hall,
seemingly preventing
the elders from issuing a response. I sensed frustration overwhelming her and frowned. Now was not the time for Monica to become indignant.

“Get the devil out of there, woman,” I muttered from where I stood, outside the abandoned church whose sanctuary was being used as a place of reckoning. The perfect guise for a covert orga
nization, if I had to be honest. T
he grounds were surrounded by an ivy-choked wrought iron fence, the area poorly lit to discourage passersby from trespassing. I felt an undercurrent running through the very earth itself, as though spirits could pass through dirt and mark an area sacred. Incantations, no doubt. It made me the sole irreverent creature digging my feet into hallowed ground.

Indulging in a deep, steadying breath, I stopped myself from projecting the thought of
caution
to my watcher. Instead, I shut my eyes. M
y powers
skipped
between us, linking
my mind to hers
and mak
ing her eyes
available
to witness that which my vampire hearing was already eavesdropping on. A Council of the Supernatural Order sat before her, six elders who had already
made their ruling
.

“
It is the decision of this Council that you be arrested and stripped of your abilities. We further rule that the vampire named Flynn, formerly known as Peter Dawes, is to be turned in to the Order and executed. We make this decision in accordance with our solemn oaths, and for the protection of the human race.

“
May The Fates have mercy on his soul
.”

Such is why I wished her to flee to safety. She had been cordial, if a bit flustered, up to this point, but now it seemed she had been incited past courtesy. I could almost see her green eyes blazing fury, a deliberate stare settling on each narrow-minded man and woman seated before her while her gloved hands balled into fists.
Petite – nearly to the point of emaciation – and yet weak from being drained of blood a few days prior, the girl dressed in black possessed enough attitude to make her a force with which to be reckoned.

Put another way, she was a rather pissed off sorceress.

“When I came to this Council four years ago,” she said, her
attention fixed
on the middle-aged man who
had
issued my condemnation, “I concealed my inte
ntions for exactly this reason.
The minute I came clean about what I’ve been doing, I’ve encountered nothing but resistance and I’m beginning to think Flynn’s past has nothing to do with this.”

Richard scowled, his gaze that of a schoolmaster beholding a recalcitrant student. “It has everything to do with his past. Watch your tongue with me
, Miss Alexander. Y
ou’ve lost sight of your place
and
we’re
not
going to tolerate it, regardless of who your parents are.”

“Bullshit. I’ve told you this all happened for a reason, Richard. I told you that while it was a gross oversight of this Council to allow a seer to slip through the cracks in the first place, we can’t pretend it didn’t happen. You told me if I could prove The Fates intended for a vampire-seer to go on living, you’d hear me out.”

“So far, we’ve yet to hear any such proof,” one of the female elders said. Monica’s eyes darted to the speaker – Beverly – entering the discussion again.

Monica laughed. “You were the one that told me the day we got Peter Dawes back would be the day hell froze over.

“And as far as we’re concerned, that has yet to happen.” Beverly raised an eyebrow. “All we have is an unstable vampire
on the loose
and this time, he’s a supernaturally-gifted one, thanks to you.”

Monica shook her head. I heard the response she wished to administer clamoring in her mind, but she bridled her tongue. “Lydia said he has other duties to fulfill.”

“Duties?” asked another elder – a blonde-haired man who looked to be Richard’s junior by several years. “What’s this about Lydia?”

Her attention shifted to the new speaker. Reading her thoughts, I could just imagine the smirk Monica forced herself to suppress straining at the corners of her mouth. As such, I grinned for her sake while raising my cigarette to my
lips
. I drew deeply, exhaling a puff of smoke through my nose as I mused on the card she had yet to play, a final plea I knew might be our last hand in reasoning with these daft creatures. I interrupted this time,
sending a message through the
telepathic channel we shared.

‘
If this does not work, get the bloody hell out of there. I do not give a shit what we discussed last night.
’

I sensed her brush aside my wor
ds. Last night’s admonition lay
implied between the lines, provoking me to frown.

Her focus returned to the man. “Lewis, a few nights ago Flynn received a communication from The Fates through Lydia. She said he has more trials ahead of him.” Monica sigh
ed
, her next words grave. “You can’t forget the fact his powers were identified before he even realized them.
Consider Lydia’s warning on top of
it and
your decision leaves us with a
huge paradox. Everything has a balance. If there’s a seer like Flynn, then there’s something just as formidable out there waiting for him.”

I perked an eyebrow, wondering what she meant by that, but seemed to be the only one intrigued by her statement. Everyone else gaze
d back at her in a stoic manner. Not wanting the silence to linger, Monica moved to continue. “
And with a little official
training, he’ll be ready for –”

Richard
cut her off. “Are you finished yet
?”

I could nearly feel the weight depositing itself upon her shoulders. “You haven
’t been listening to a word–
”

“If the guards could please escort Miss Alexander to the holding room? I think we’ve had enough.”

Monica gasped. Her voice rushed into my head, panic-stricken. ‘
Get away from here, Flynn!
’
The sound of a door opening produced an eerie echo inside the hall and Monica forced me from her perceptions as though shoving me away.

I scowled. ‘
Oh no
,
’ I said. ‘
No, no, we shall not be having this. Not so long as I can do something about it, witch.
’ I blinked twice, adjusting to using my own sight once more, and flicked my cigarette away. My
thoughts spiraled, trying
to form a coherent plan in the midst of so much chaos. I peered at the converted church before me and one notion finally broke through,
an
idea which presented the best impromptu plan I could conjure.

“And to think
I used to
pride myself on this sort of thing
,” I muttered, running my fingers through my hair. “Fucking humans, forcing my hand.” Indulging in a steadying breath, I paused to clear my mind. A distinct portion of me knew I deserved the Council’s pronouncement; indeed, heaven itself would have crushed me under the weight of my sins if I tried to deny it. The truth of things became apparent to me, however, as I surveyed the building I was about to vandalize.

I was not merely being condemned for my transgressions. The Supernatural Order
despised
me most because I was a vampire, plain and simple. I could have ascertained as such from a quick scan of their thoughts, but their arguments spoke v
olumes in their own right. I
t was not that I had been a murderous bastard, or that I had done the bidding of a power-hungry vampiress, both accusations toward which I would have to plead guilty. They despised that an immortal possessed their coveted secrets. Wore the
mantle
of
a
seer. Had used his talents to slay mortals for the sake of sating his bloodlust before repenting of his actions. Everything said in my defense fell on deaf ears, just as Monica had feared.

I was not about to continue forward without the one being on this mortal coil I could call a friend.

My eyes narrowed, sight
fixed on a stained glass window. Images of serpents in the Garden of Eden stared back at me, not issuing a
ny
protest. I nodded, resolute, and tighten
ed
the katana fastened at my side while putting distance between me and the church. With a final adjustment to the dark sunglasses protecting my sensitive vision, I crouched low. “Here goes nothing,” I said to myself. The night fell to a hush for a split second before I launched forward, dashing for my target.

Reckless abandon marked e
very
extension of my legs, each pump of my arms until I leaped into the air.
With
my vampire strength
behind the follow-through
, I ki
cked the window with such force
it exploded into a thousand colorful and crystalline pieces. They descended with me in a glorious baptism of glass
that landed
on
the jacket of my black suit when my feet hit the floor. Dusting the shards from my shoulders in apathetic manner, I glanced upward at the panel of mortals I had previously beheld through borrowed eyes.

They
all stared back. Loathe emanated
from their eyes once they realized who I was. I detected a hint of fear as well, which curled the corner of my mouth into a wicked grin. ‘
Good
,
’ I thought. ‘
Let them be uneasy at seeing the condemned present before them.
’
Strolling forward
, I stole a moment to admire the polished wood floor and lingered on the ornate remnants of the church this
had been
before turning my attention back to them.

‘
Little more than scared humans. Which hardly makes you so high above me.
’

“My apologies
for the sudden entrance,” I said
, well aware they might have been reading my thoughts and caring little if they did, “I hardly thought it fitting for there to be a trial without the defendant, though. If I have breached some form of etiquette, I trust you shall inform me.”

“Damn it, Flynn, I told you to get away from here.”

My gaze drifted toward Monica, spying two men standing behind her and blocking the closest exit. While they did not have her in their clutches, I could tell I entered just before she had been manhandled. “Now, my dear –” I paused
halfway through the room
to smile at her, despite the figurative flames of wr
ath shooting from her eyes. “– Surely i
t is bad luck to damn the damned. Besides, I am certain they wished me here inevitably, do you not agree?”

Monica had no chance to respond. I turned to regard the others before she could so much as open her mouth.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I understand I have vexed you all in some manner or another.”

Richard straightened in his chair, his posture turning rigid. “The Vampire Flynn,” he said. His voice took on an authoritative tone. “I must say, I’m surprised. I figured you’d be far away from here by now.”

“I am certain cowards such as you think the rest of the world acts in kind, but
such
is not the case.”
Advancing
again
, I closed the distance between me and the elders
, stopping
a few yards away from where they sat. I adjusted my tailored suit jacket
, prompting some of the lingering glass shards to fall to the ground,
and allowe
d my hands to drop to my sides.
“A person wi
ser and fairer than me
cautioned me to avoid
these proceedings. I fear
I have disappointed her.”

My e
yes found Monica once more
.
Time seemed to halt
for half a second,
long enough
for me to remember our conv
ersation from the night before.
“
If they threaten action against us
,” she had said, “
I want you to get as far away from here as possible, with whatever you can carry on your back. Don’t come for me, just go
.”

“My apologies,” I said with a frown, “But I could not have them condemn you in my stead. If I am to fulfill my destiny, I shall not do so without your oversight.”

She
mirrored
my frown, but did not answer. My attention shifted back to Richard while I squared my shoulders and stared intently at the Council elder. “So tell me, Richard, why is it that a death warrant has been issued against me? I wish to know what limited imagination you humans possess.”