Page 90 of Love Lives
"Ah shit," Aldrich muttered. "Don't tell me Klaus was that werewolf."
Right. There'd been a werewolf at our 'meeting' with Vlad. Aldrich had ordered him there. And then Vlad had killed the man. But was that really our fault?
"This is all a misunderstanding," I started to explain, but then the leader of the Keepers glared at me and I shut up automatically. This was not someone who was interested in hearing my explanations. Shit. I had to do something, anything, to change the outcome of my visions.
But what?
"Search them," Heartscales commanded the other two. "Everyone in the house. I want them searched and in one room. Then we will pass judgment."
"Pass judgment?" For some reason, this seemed to upset Caspar. "You can't--"
"I have that authority," Heartscales said, stepping up close to Caspar. "But keep speaking if you want me to do it sooner, witch." He spoke the last word almost like an insult.
Caspar drew back. His face had gone red and I could see that he wanted to spit an insult back at the other man, but he kept his mouth shut. He knew better than to lash out against an enemy he had little hope of defeating.
"I know your type," Heartscales spoke on. "Witches... you think you're better than us because you can walk among mortals without being detected, but in reality that only makes you soft. You don't hone your skills as much as you should. It'll be your undoing tonight."
No one said anything in response to that.
Heartscales gestured to the other Keepers again. One of them, the woman, approached Talon, Aldrich and Caspar, while the man with the feathers climbed up the stairs toward me.
"Is this going to be a full cavity search?" I heard Aldrich joke, but his voice lacked all humor.
I didn't feel like laughing either.
* * *
They put all of us in handcuffs and made us sit on the living room floor while they went through our possessions on the other side of the room. The only one of us who didn’t end up in chains was Nix. He sat in my brother’s lap, wailing.
At least the sound of his crying would make it harder for the Keepers to listen to our conversation, I thought to myself as I studied the handcuffs. They gave off a faint glow. I was willing to bet that they were magical in some way, though I couldn't say exactly what way. Caspar glared at his as if they were the worst offense he'd ever received, though.
"We did nothing wrong," he muttered, even though saying that hadn't helped the first ten times.
"Do you think they'll at least hear us out before they pass judgment?" Morgan asked in a hushed tone of voice.
"What does that even mean?" Luke asked. He was pulling at his handcuffs as if he could break them if he used just a little more force. "Do you think they know about the bomb?"
"You really shouldn't say anything you don't want them to hear," Aldrich interjected. "That woman? She's a fox, and I'm being literal when I say that. You can bet your ass the baby isn’t stopping her from listening."
Luke's face went one shade lighter. "But... "
"I'm pretty sure they know," Caspar said. "That bomb was what got the high council's attention in the first place. It's not what these guys are most concerned about, though. They think we killed their friend."
"They should take care of his actual killer." Aldrich raised his voice a little bit. "Instead of passing judgement on us."
"What does passing judgement look like?" I made myself ask, even though I had a feeling that I wouldn't like the answer very much. At least Nix was starting to quiet down. I glanced over at Collin, who was doing his best to console his son without the use of his hands.
What a crappy situation to be in. And if my dreams could be trusted, it was bound to get even crappier.
"It's not pretty," Morgan said. "They used to be called Peace Keepers, and there's a reason no one calls them that anymore. There's nothing peaceful about the way they act, you see." She stared down at her shoes. "Ever since it's been decided that they should have authority to make their own judgments instead of involving a third party. More efficient that way." She raised her gaze again, looking straight at me. "They can kill you on the spot and call it justice."
"That's..." My mouth fell open. Exactly how screwed up was the world of the paranormal? "That's not right."
Morgan lowered her gaze back down. "Maybe not," she said after a moment. "But it is how it is."
I swallowed, frantically searching my mind for a way to get out of this. If the Keepers thought we had killed their friend, and they weren't going to listen to reason... I inched back a little bit, closer to the couch where the Keepers were talking among themselves.
It wasn't us they were talking about now, though. Heartscales held the marble in his hand, turning it around while peering into its blackness.
