Page 75 of Little Wing
“Hey,” Silas whispered, nudging me with our entwined hands. “You ready?”
I looked up toward the concrete steps, knowing that whatever decision would be made today, there was no going back. We could only move forward, no matter what the potential consequences may be.
Before I could say anything, I felt two more hands gently touch my exposed shoulder. My true anchors were all with me. Silas, Kait, and Reina were all present for a day I thought would never come. Their gentle touch kept me grounded. Whatever happened in there, I wouldn’t be alone.
After a few short breaths, I took the first step toward the stairs. Once we were inside, the stench of bleach enveloped my nostrils rather violently. I didn’t want to think about how much blood had been cleaned off the surface in years past. Beyond the stench, Silas and I could hear the distant wails and growls piercing the walls. Sounds that Reina and Kait surely could not hear. He confirmed with a quick squeeze of my hand as we approached the front desk before a security checkpoint.
An officer dressed in a black uniform slid a clipboard across the surface and asked for all of us to sign in without even asking why we had arrived. After we filled out the necessary paperwork, we all went through security and were brought to a waiting room where a tall man dressed in black waited for us. I didn’t need to do a double-take to see that it was Detective Morello. He looked more official with his blazer. His tattoos peeked out of his clothes, but I noticed that his hair wasn’t cut as short as it was the last time I had seen him at the precinct. There was nervous energy about him, but I didn’t feel it settling on me, but on the people behind me. Somehow, I knew Reina was scowling ferociously.
“Detective,” I greeted him.
“Ms. Everett,” he smiled, holding out his hand. “How are you feeling?” He quickly bowed his head toward Silas and my friends.
“Nervous.”
I’m sure every vampire in the building could smell it. The anxiety cloaked my entire being.
“That’s understandable.” He cleared his throat and looked over his shoulder before checking the time on his watch. “I’m glad you got here earlier. I wanted to let you know ahead of time, but I just got the final confirmation this morning that the Vampiric Council is in attendance. They will be the ones to carry out the sentencing tonight.”
My breath caught, a lump in my throat that Silas sensed quickly before squeezing my hand tighter—as if to say, “I’m here. You’re not alone.”
If the Vampiric Council was going to be here, then that had to be good news, right? After all these years, it was always the vampire side of things that refused to give up and get their hands on my brother while the humans decided to mark the case as unsolved. But if Luca was going to be punished by vampires, then did that mean I could be too? For killing Wesley? The sudden panic made my ears ring.
“Ms. Everett?” I heard the muffled voice that I soon realized belonged to the detective. “Ms. Everett, are you ready to go in now?” He was now standing beside the door that would no doubt lead us to the courtroom. The room where this chapter of my life would find its conclusion.
“Detective,” I rasped, pulling out of Silas’s hold on me. I crossed my arms and approached him slowly, finally asking the question that lingered on the tip of my tongue. “Will he be there?”
The detective stuck one hand in his pocket of his black slacks before bringing the other to his jaw. Could he sense the dread radiating off me? Did he understand how the next few hours would likely unravel me into a mess of conflicted emotions? I needed to know the answer because I had trouble imagining how I would feel being in the same room as my brother again. I didn’t know how I would react, let alone how he would.
“Right," he exhaled. “The short answer is yes, but wait—” He held out his hands when I instinctively moved back against Silas. “The first portion of this will be introductions from the VCN.” He glanced behind us at Kait and Reina to clarify. “That’s the Vampiric Council Nation for short.” As he turned back to me, he continued. “They will go over the details of Mr. Everett’s sentencing without him inthe room. Eventually, he will be brought in. He will be restrained and will sit behind plexiglass of some sort. You will not be in any danger. I promise.”
“And you’re certain of that?” Silas stepped forward; his fists clenched. “Because that lunatic starved a young vampire and just recently assaulted her in her own home. I’m not above laying my hands on a criminal.”
Even as my nerves rattled and Silas continued to question Detective Morello about our safety, I believed his assurances. I was certain this wasn’t the first case that Detective Morello was involved with. I believed if it was anything other than what he described, he would have let us know.
“Okay,” I finally said, earning simultaneous glances from everyone in the waiting room. “It’s time… let us go in.”
There was no reason to stall anymore. I had to be ready for whatever would happen beyond those doors.
Inside the courtroom, the stench of bleach was left behind. It was replaced with a slightly musky aroma, but that was more bearable than the stinging in my nostrils that had me wiggling my nose like I was allergic. The room itself was quite small with maroon carpet and benches made from light-colored timber. Separating the benches reserved for the public was a rail that had a plexiglass barrier up to the ceiling. At least the detective didn’t lie about that. There were already people on one side of the benches who I did not recognize. They smelled human.
Among that cluster of people sat a woman with emerald hair. Beside her sat a little girl with hair so blonde it almost looked white. While I did not recognize them, I couldn’t look away, even as Silas led me to the benches on the other side of the room. Something continued to invite my gaze toward them.
Kait and Reina followed us, taking their seats on the bench behind us before leaning forward to whisper.
“Do you know them?” Reina asked.
“I don’t know,” I replied, allowing my eyes to take in the details of the room from where we sat.
A uniformed man with slicked back hair adjusted his belt beside the door on the other side of the plexiglass and cleared his throat. “Please rise for the Honorable Lady Pauline and the Vampiric Council Nation.”
Everyone stood to watch the doors open. A middle-aged-looking woman with dark blonde hair stepped in, wearing black and red embroidered robes that communicated very clearly that she was indeed a high-standing vampire in our community. An honorable lady? If I recalled—it was like a human judge. Soon after her, five more vampires dressed in similar robes walked in. Their robes were black and gold, differentiating them from the woman who walked up to the judge’s bench.
Lady Pauline stood at the seat of her bench and smiled peacefully. “Good evening, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. I understand the circumstances are not of a happy matter. However, I do hope that the result of today’s session will bring you some semblance of comfort.” She smoothed her robes and sat down, motioning for us to do the same. The other robed vampires also sat down.
Lady Pauline shuffled papers around her bench and nodded before looking out into the spectator seating. Her eyes scanned each row settling on the two women across from us and then on me before she spoke clearly:
“In this room today, we have two parties who have been victimized by the accused—Luca Everett. For decades, his crime has remained a cold case and was ignored by human forces. We vampires never forgot the devastation that this crime brought upon our people. Even then, we valued human lives. To be seated in the room today with the descendants of Ophelia Wells and Naomi Wells—we extend our deepest regrets for how long it took us to get heretoday.”
