Taunt (23 page)

“
Jesus, Eddie,” I snapped, pulling away from him.

He held his hands
out in front of me, placating me. “Please. It’s wild you look. We
need you innocent, helpless. Are you still wearing the
cross?”

I instinctively
threw my hand up to my chest. I nodded, staying silent as the
reality set in.

“
Let
them see it. Let them see you aren’t so dark that the light burns
you, Ava.”

I had no idea
what he was talking about. He was jumpier than usual and muttering
half to himself, but I let the cross dangle in clear sight. I
looked around, seeing no one I recognised. The flames lit, trapping
me.

After a few
minutes, Aiden, giving me a brief, curt nod, led the rest of the
consultants in. That set up a loud rumbling in the crowd, and I
looked around in a panic, wondering what was happening. They were
merely discussing things amongst themselves, but it felt like they
were accusing me of something.

The Council
members themselves entered the room slowly, speaking to a number of
people on the way in. Gabe avoided my eyes, and I knew I was
doomed. I hadn’t even gotten proof of the formula; there was
nothing left for me to do but face my punishment.

Gideon once again
made a grand entrance, followed by some of his coven. He was so
smug, it would almost have been worth it to step up and smack him
one. Daimhín followed a few minutes later, with some of her coven
members gathering around her. She had been ordered to attend, or so
Eddie informed me. The child vampire stared at me with dark, blank
eyes. Her empty expression told me nothing.

“
Poor
kid,” I muttered. Maybe she already knew the outcome.

Eddie shushed me
as Fionnuala stood to speak. “As usual, there will be no violence
in this court. Speak in turn, or speak not at all.”

The way she said
it made me think there was real meaning behind the words. A putrid
scent filled the air, but then it suddenly changed to a fresher
smell, like daisies and grass.

“
We
will begin,” she said and sat on the ground. The room stilled,
everyone quieting so they could hear each word. Many of them
plonked themselves on the ground randomly, and I spotted Carl with
my grandmother clinging to his arm.

Gideon rose from
his seat. “Our first charge is the death of our coven leader,
Maximus.”

Eddie leapt to
his feet. “Ordered by Daimhín who had seniority over
Maximus.”

“
Truth?” asked Erossi, sounding bored.

Daimhín looked
long and hard at me then nodded. “Truth.”

“
First
charge dropped,” Koda announced. “Daimhín and her coven must reduce
their blood quota for a month and face the wrath of their
seniors.”

Daimhín bowed her
head, but she didn’t look too worried. I wondered who her seniors
were and what they could do to her. Lowering the blood quota would
only affect the youngest vampires, I realised, feeling furious at
the idea.

Gideon stood once
again. “Our second charge is the same as the first. She may have
been requested, but she had no right to act on behalf of a vampire
against another vampire.”

“
Poor
judgement,” Koda conceded. He looked at me. “Your
reason?”

Gideon laughed.
“Surely no reason exists that would clear her?”

“
We’ll
be the judge of that.” Fionnuala narrowed her eyes at Gideon,
staring him down.

Eddie stood to
speak, but Koda waved him away. “I’d like to hear from the
accused.”

I looked at
Eddie, who nodded. I took a deep breath, trying to think straight.
“Maximus wanted to use me to take down Daimhín,” I began, purposely
avoiding how he planned on doing that.

“
Lies.” Gideon sounded sure of himself. I had to ignore
that.

“
Daimhín wanted to kill me. I was just trying to help Carl,” I
pointed at him. “I didn’t want to get involved in any of this mess.
But Maximus kidnapped my grandmother, so I had to go to him and
trade places with her.” I exhaled loudly, remembering. “Maximus and
his coven tortured me until Daimhín arrived and offered me a job.
If I accepted, then I would go free. When I healed, his death was
my first job. I’m glad he’s gone because he was a
monster.”

The Council
muttered together, as did the rest of the room.

“
Can
the humans approach?” Koda asked.

Carl led my
grandmother to the front of the room.

“
What
say you?” Fionnuala sounded stern.

They exchanged
glances, and my grandmother spoke first. “It’s true, all true. They
would have murdered us. Ava saved me.”

“
And
me,” Carl added.

“
That
particular vampire was well within his quota limits. Besides,
didn’t the accused enslave you?” Gideon asked Carl, refusing to
meet his eyes, as if he wasn’t good enough to converse with
properly.

“
Yes,
but she saved me first!” Carl insisted, almost shouting.

“
She
saved you in order to make you her slave? Interesting. And isn’t it
true that even this old woman, this
grandmother
, isn’t it
true that she herself raised this half-breed as a demon? That she
was afraid of… it? Maybe now she’s still scared, scared of telling
the truth.,” Gideon said, his face as smug as ever.

“
That’s ridiculous,” Nancy snapped, her cheeks burning red with
anger. “I’m not scared of my granddaughter. Of vampires like you,
maybe!”

“
Oh,
really? May we introduce a witness?” he requested, looking up at
Fionnuala and smiling sweetly.

Koda shook his
head, but Fionnuala said yes. I glanced at Eddie in confusion,
unsure of what was going on. The door burst open, and two vampires
walked in. They held an old woman by the arms. Her eyes were wide
with fright, and in an instant I knew her. Helena, the one person
my grandmother had told about me. The woman who had told us part of
the reason I should be kept a secret—because no vampire had managed
to turn a human in over a century.

My heart sank as
I realised Gideon’s game. My grandmother must have had the same
realisation because she made a gasping sound. How had he found
her?

“
Tell
them what you told us,” Gideon said, pushing Helena
forward.

She kept her eyes
low. “The old woman was terrified of her granddaughter. She wanted
me to cleanse her of the evil demon inside her. I could
not.”

She lifted her
eyes and looked straight at me. “That’s all I know.”

I gave her a
small smile letting her know it was okay. She hadn’t told them
anything else. Koda looked at Fionnuala expectantly. She nodded.
“Truth.”

“
I’ll
say I’m guilty to that charge, if the Council guarantees Helena
goes free and unharmed. The vampires can’t touch her again,” I said
loudly, my voice steady.

Helena thanked me
with her eyes, but my grandmother seethed with anger. I shrugged,
not knowing what else to do.

“
Agreed,” Fionnuala said, and nodded at the
Guardians.

They started to
lead Helena back outside. “I could not cleanse the demon because
there was none!” she shouted over her shoulder.

“
Next
charge,” Fionnuala demanded briskly as though Helena had not
spoken. Two Guardians led my grandmother and Carl away from the
Council.

“
We
accuse this creature of instigating a civil war between vampires,”
Gideon said, lazier than before, as if he had already
won.

“
Counter?” Koda said.

“
I
don’t know anything about vampire politics,” I said before Eddie
could speak. “I’ve been avoiding the supernatural world my whole
life.”

“
Still, she had to know what her actions would achieve,” Gideon
said.

Erossi shook his
head. “She’s not clever enough for that. This charge shall be
forgotten.”

“
Fine.” Gideon ground his teeth. “Murder again, for the lone
vampire she attacked. In front of humans, no less.”

“
Explain,” Fionnuala demanded.

“
They
kept following me around, trying to scare me. Even had humans
stalking me. One told me Gideon was coming for me. One attacked me,
sort of, kept trying to antagonise me or something. After we
fought, somebody shot me. Obviously another vampire.”

“
Lies,” Gideon hissed.

“
Oh,
shut up,” I said. “We all know this is part of your big, stupid
plan. Give it a rest already. I know Spanish vampires are turning
humans, I know you’re buying the formula, and I know you’re testing
it on humans, too. So, stop with the holier-than-thou attitude,
alright?”

“
Proof?” Fionnuala said, but the colour drained from her
cheeks.

I shrugged.
“Nothing that your Guardians don’t already know.”

“
This
is ridiculous,” Erossi said. “We don’t have time for this nonsense.
Either Gideon proves the half-breed acted with intent, or the
half-breed proves Gideon is playing a bigger game. No more
accusations that cannot be backed up.” His voice rose until the
hairs stood up on the back of my neck.

Eddie held up his
hand. “I should point out that she requested assistance and
official protection from Daimhín. Yet none was received,
obviously.”

Koda made a noise
and addressed Daimhín, “You did not come to us regarding the girl.
Why not?”

Daimhín glared at
him, her rage barely contained. “It must have slipped my mind. I
hardly expected such a fuss to be made over her
actions.”

“
This
child is new to our world and has probably made some bad choices,
but most of them were accidental,” Eddie said, sending a pointed
look in Daimhín’s direction. “There are others with more cunning
who have used her to meet their own ends.”

“
That’s amusing coming from you, Brogan,” Erossi sneered, his
haughty face looking prim.

The anger rolled
off Eddie in hot waves. I feared he would ruin both our chances of
survival. Before he could react, the murmuring rose to excited
chatter. Peter stalked in, pulling Becca along beside him. Esther
and an astonishingly beautiful brunette followed him.

“
What
is this?” Erossi snapped.

Esther ran ahead
of Peter. I risked a glance at Gideon and covered my smile at his
agitation. He jumped up with one final accusation before Esther
could speak. “Our last accusation is that the half-breed is a
danger to our world. A danger to all of us. She is a daywalker, an
unnatural being who upsets the balance. This must be dealt with!”
he shouted, the words spilling out so fast that they joined
together.

Eddie groaned and
whispered, “Now it is spoken, it can’t be undone. Even if Peter
proves something against him, it’s too late; they’ll have to judge
you on your heritage.”

My heart beat
louder as the room buzzed with the new turn that had been taken.
Some of the observers cried out for judgement. Danger sparked in
the air; one wrong move could lead to disaster.

Esther had to
shout to be heard. “Council members! After a tip-off—”

“
What
tip-off?” Gideon sounded scornful, but there was fear in his
eyes.

Esther stared him
down like he was dirt under her shoe. “The humans you surround
yourself with have been happy to fill in the blanks, vampire.” She
turned back to the Council. “After a tip-off, one of my circle,
Illeana, discovered that Gideon and his coven have been sending
large transactions of money to the Spanish vampires.”

“
How
large?” Koda enquired.

“
Numbers ranging in the millions of euros,” Esther
replied.

Daimhin jumped to
her feet, surprise obvious on her face. “That is clearly against
the strictest of rules.” She pointed at Gideon. “This will be dealt
with by our own.” Her words carried weight; Gideon bowed his head
and trembled under her gaze.

“
This
involves us, too,” Esther insisted. “It’s an external matter
now.”

“
Carry
on, Esther,” Fionnuala said, massaging her temples.

“
Peter
Brannigan and I apprehended the delivery of a new formula. A
foreign vampire gained illegal entry into this country and passed
it on to one of Gideon’s volunteers. This formula is said to aid
the transformation of humans into vampires. The Spanish have
allegedly already succeeded.”

“
This
is not good,” Koda said.

“
Proof, Koda,” Fionnuala chided.

“
Here’s your proof,” Peter said, pushing Becca forward. She was
deteriorating rapidly. Her skin was pale and clammy, her heart
barely beating. Her eyes had turned scarlet, and she appeared
dazed. She’d had her dose of the formula, for all the good it would
do her.

“
What
is this?” Erossi wrinkled his nose in disgust.

“
Absolute proof. This used to be the pet of Maximus. He began
injecting that formula into her on a regular basis. When he died,
Gideon took over, increasing the injections. She drinks blood and
is… well, she isn’t doing well. Look at her. She’s agreed to tell
us everything she knows about Gideon’s reprehensible actions. A
Spanish vampire is currently being contained in the cells, ready
for questioning. He delivered the formula and entered the country
without a pass. With this woman’s testimony, I believe we have a
solid case against Gideon and his contacts in Spain.”