Page 42 of Forsworn By The Vampire
The coven stood in a semi-circle around a small fire, one end open for me to step through, then they would close it around me. I knew how this worked. I would be tried, judged, and convicted, and I deserved all of it. The only thing I didn't know was what my punishment would be. I guess I should be glad I didn't see a stake with logs piled up around it.
"Okay," I told Mike. "Let's go. And whatever happens"—I met his eyes—"don't cause a scene. We don't want to piss anyone off any more than they already are."
"So, they know," he said. "That's what you haven't been telling me. They know about your deal with the djinn."
I turned my head, staring at my coven. My family. "They do."
"Fuck."
But I shook my head. "No. I deserve whatever they're about to throw at me. And maybe they can help you. If I wasn't such a fucking coward..." I swallowed hard. "I should've just told them everything from the start, before I got in so deep." Reaching over, I took his hand. "They'll help you. You're innocent in all of this."
"I hope so."
It wasn't until I got out of the car that I noticed the others standing off to the side in the shadows. The warlock with the raven, his vampire mate, and two others, Luukas and Keira--the master vampire from Seattle and his powerful witch. I'd only met them that one time at The Purple Fang when they came down to help us save Alex and Kenya, after which I'd stayed far away, too afraid they would find out I'd helped the djinn escape. But I remembered the power that swept over me from the master vampire, even stronger than Killian's, and the dark magic from the warlock that crawled over my skin even when he just stood still, as he was doing now.
This is what I felt when I got out of the car, and how I knew they were there before I found them.
My blood turned to ice in my veins, and I started to tremble. This wasn't good. Closing my eyes, all I could think about was Jamal, my angry vampire. I wondered if he really had the death wish he claimed, or if he just talked smack. But I guess it didn't really matter. We were both doomed now.
I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
Jamal...
Somehow, I forced myself to take a step forward. And then another. And another. At the entrance to the circle, I paused, but just for a second, before I stepped into it. My breath left my lungs as I felt it close behind me. There was silence from the witches around me. The only sounds from the bugs and frogs in the swamp surrounding us, along with the occasional splash of water as something slithered into it.
"She had no choice."
I jumped when the words rang out loud and clear, whipping my head around toward the source. He stood outside the circle, peering in at me between Alice and Talin. I vaguely noticed that Alex was missing, but the thought didn't hold my attention for long. I had other things to worry about. "Mike, don't," I told him.
"No." He shook his head. "Fuck that. This is bullshit." He tried to break through the circle to get to me, but the force of the witch's combined magic held him at bay. "What's happening?" he asked me when he couldn't get through. "What's are they going to do?"
"Nothing more than I deserve." I dismissed my friend and looked straight at my aunt. The high priestess stared back at me with no emotion on her kind face. "So, you know."
"We know," she said, not unkindly. But the warmth she normally exuded wasn't there.
"I'd like to explain," I told her. "I know it won't change anything, but I'd still appreciate the chance to let you know what happened."
Aunt Judy glanced around the circle at everyone in turn. I was afraid to follow her gaze. I haven't always been the nicest person to many of them. More like that cousin nobody liked but everyone put up with just because they were family. But she must've gotten their approval, for she gave me a nod. "Go ahead. I'd like to hear it from your own lips. Hear how you could betray your family, your coven. How you could endanger us and our friends."
"Friends" was pushing it a bit. More than a bit. Until very recently, my aunt had tolerated the vampires in our city, and barely at that. The words were on the tip of my tongue, but for once I managed to keep my mouth shut.
"Well," she told me. "Go on. We're all very anxious to hear."
It took me a while. I had to stop and start a lot, my emotions getting the better of me at times. But eventually, I told her the entire story I'd told Lizzy, including how I helped the djinn get away from the warlock, Jesse.
The raven croaked at me, flapping her wings until Jesse soothed her with a few words and a hand over her pitch-black feathers. She settled but continued to click her beak every once in a while.
When I finished, I looked around at my coven. My family. All of the fear and anxiety I'd been living with all of this time overwhelmed me and I fell to my knees before them and begged their forgiveness, over and over, until I had no more words and I was just a trembling pile of flesh and bones kneeling in the dirt. My entire being longed for Jamal, cried out for him. Not that he would be able to save me. But maybe I'd get the chance to say goodbye and beg him to forgive me also.
"What is your decision, Judy?"
I looked up to find Jesse staring down at me. Unlike my aunt, there was nothing in his golden eyes but disgust.
When my aunt didn't answer, he offered one for her. "She deserves death."
"That's a harsh decision, warlock, and it's not up to us to make it," Luukas spoke up.
