Death Bringer (Soul Justice) (20 page)

“Naturally.”

“Would he kill for her?” He glanced down at his notes. “Is it true that he threatened to annihilate his entire family if Adam was allowed to complete his task and steal Ms. Walsh’s face?”

Rossa’s smile disappeared. “Adam went back on our agreement, so technically Death Bringer is in the right if he wishes to claim vengeance. But I don’t see him carrying out his threat yet, do you?”

“That’s because he’s been restrained since he got here.”

“I suspect he’s just allowing you to restrain him until he gets what he wants.”

“Which is?”

“His mate’s safety.”

“Which brings us back to the point of this trial, the deaths of other family members who stood in his way, Nia and Ciaran.” Spencer paused. “So if, as you state, Death Bringer is prepared to execute his entire family to defend his mate, killing off a couple more of them wouldn’t be a big deal to him, would it? Thank you, Rossa.”

Rossa gave Ella a slight apologetic shrug as he walked past, and she glared at him. It was no wonder there hadn’t been anyone pursuing her. Rossa had been spying for everyone. She’d been merrily entertaining her keeper all by herself. She glanced impatiently over at Spencer. Were they going to call her as a witness, or was she just supposed to sit around and watch them annihilate Vadim? It was hardly fair.

“The court calls Adam.”

“What the hell?” Ella blurted out.

She sat up as her least favorite person in the world appeared in front of the judge. A hand clamped down on her shoulder and she glared up at the guard.

“Adam, I believe you have evidence that is relevant to this trial.”

“I do, sir. I am also confident that anything that is revealed within these walls will stay here.”

“As we agreed.” Spencer smiled. “Then please continue. Why were you hunting trophies in the human world?”

“It’s nothing new. We’ve been hunting there for centuries.”

“But why did you involve my grandson?” the old queen asked.

“Because of the nature of the request.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I was required to find three faces.”

“You were specifically requested not to take the face of Death Bringer’s mate.”

“That is what I was originally told, yes.” Adam hesitated. “I must admit, I was surprised at the change in plans. When I met with Death Bringer at the hospital, I realized it had been a mistake after all.”

“You refused to carry out a direct order from Fae royalty. Doesn’t that make you as much a traitor as my grandson?”

“Not when he was the one to retract the demand.”

Vadim looked up for the first time, and Ella evaded her guard and shot to her feet. “That’s ridiculous!” She stared at Spencer. “Why are you even listening to this crap? This idiot stole my face! Make him give it back!”

“Please be quiet, Ms. Walsh. You will have your opportunity to speak later. Adam is not on trial here.” Spencer pointed at her seat. “If you can’t sit down, you will have to leave the courtroom.”

The queen raised her hand. “I will ask the same question, then. Why would my son allow you to steal the face of his mate?”

Adam waited until everyone was quiet again. “Because he wanted an excuse to return to Otherworld and complete his destruction of his own bloodline.”

Spencer stared at Adam. “Why on earth should we believe you?”

“He was using her to get back here.” Adam said patiently. “Doesn’t it make a perfect kind of sense? Look at my face and look at his mate’s. Whom do we resemble?”

“Nia and Ciaran.” The king’s expression darkened. “Are you suggesting that Death Bringer chose those faces
deliberately?
Isn’t that the decision of the sect?”

“Not in this case.” Adam looked faintly regretful. “We were ‘persuaded’ to help Death Bringer. I assume he intended to make a point.”

“By making us look upon the face of his murdered victims, his sister and his brother?” The Fae king slammed his fist into the table. “Why are we even holding this trial? Isn’t it obvious that we are dealing with a monster who cares for nothing and even taunts us with his pathetic victories?”

Ella’s gaze fell on Vadim, who was watching his father, his expression inscrutable.

He’d killed his sister and brother? She felt as if she’d been punched in the stomach. Something was very wrong here. From his sadness, she’d guessed Vadim was hiding something from her, but not that.

She sat back and tried to make sense of the incredible pile of crap Adam had just spouted. Like hell, they’d allowed Vadim to persuade them to work for him. She’d seen them in action, and they were way too powerful and arrogant to play nice with anyone, especially a rival of Vadim’s magnitude. If the sect liked tidy sets of three, then why hadn’t Ms. Phelps and Brad been made to look like Vadim’s siblings, and not her? If Adam were correct and Vadim was gunning for a third victim, presumably his father, wouldn’t she be wearing
his
face? He was blond. He would’ve been the perfect third victim for Adam, so how had she ended up getting involved?

Unless... Her gaze traveled from Adam to Vadim, and then back to the Fae king.

Adam was still talking. “I
assume
that Death Bringer realized he had to allow me to take his mate’s face so that he had an excuse to descend on Otherworld in all his righteous wrath. You would all be afraid of the repercussions of not carrying out his wishes, and he would have a perfect excuse to execute every one of you.”

“By God, he’s right!” shouted the Fae king. He pointed at Vadim. “I want to hear him defend himself against these inarguable truths.”

The silver bars around Vadim thinned until they resembled silken strands of silk. Ella focused all her empath ability on her mate and the cage as the Fae king stalked toward him.

“Do you deny that you murdered both your brother and your sister in cold blood?”

“Aye.”

Vadim sounded far too composed for Ella’s liking.

“You came back to finish what you started, didn’t you? This whole elaborate charade was simply to get yourself back into a position of power. Thank God Adam revealed your perfidy in time.”

“I didn’t set out to kill my siblings.”

“You were seen!” He threw a pile of parchments onto the table. “We have witnesses.”

“I was defending myself!”

“You are the strongest power in Otherworld. Why would you have to defend yourself against those who are weaker than you?”

Vadim’s chest heaved as if he’d sucked in a much-needed breath. “When they are my
siblings!
They wanted my power, Father. They were prepared to kill me for it. Should I have let them? Should I have let my love for them make me weak?”

“Why not? Perhaps they would’ve used your power more wisely.”

“I have a unique set of gifts. You taught me how to use them. Doesn’t the blame lie with you too?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” The king picked up a handful of the pages. “All these witnesses saw you raise your hand and murder your brother. He died instantly. Your sister wasn’t so lucky and died raving and out of her mind, grieving for her lost twin.”

A muscle twitched in Vadim’s face, and for the first time Ella got a sense of the immense control he was exerting on himself. With the barriers thinned, could he sense her too?

“As I said, I didn’t intend to kill him. He gave me no choice.”

“So you admit it, then?”

“He died at my hand but only after extreme provocation. His magic was corrupt, Father. He and Nia were—”

The Fae king turned his back on his son and walked over to the high table. “I’ve heard these excuses before. You deliberately took my favorite son away from me out of spite and malice.”

Vadim briefly closed his eyes. “I did what your training taught me. I found a source of evil and destroyed it. That was my function. That was what you ordered me to do. Why should the fact that it was your son make a difference? Are you not able to see his flaws? Should those of Royal blood be above the law?”

Ella saw the answer in the Fae king’s face and held her breath as he slowly turned back to face Vadim.

“You are the only person who considers himself above the law, Death Bringer.”

“Which is why I left Otherworld. Can’t you see that?”

“Leaving death and disaster behind you? You can’t escape your destiny.”

“Why now, Father?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why force a trial now? The deaths happened many years ago, when I was only just coming into awareness of my full powers.”

“Because your foul scheme to come back to Otherworld has to be stopped. You are mated now. You might believe your powers are enhanced by your association with the Soul Sucker.”

Holy cow.
She hoped no one took him up on that. Ella met Vadim’s gaze and raised her eyebrows, but he didn’t respond.

“All you’ve done, Father, is exploit my desire to protect my mate. You’ve used her against me to force my return.”

“See how he shifts the blame so easily.” The Fae king shook his head. “Why would I want this monster back? It’s quite extraordinary.”

“If I am supposedly in league with Adam, why hasn’t he given Ella her face back? He had the opportunity when we were both at his castle. Why were we both imprisoned rather than treated as honored and welcomed allies?”

“I have no knowledge of this.”

“But you were there, Father.” Vadim insisted. “Ella has your mark on her.”

Spencer beckoned at the guard. “Bring Ms. Walsh here, will you?”

“He doesn’t need to bring me anywhere. I’m quite capable of walking by myself, you know.” Ella stalked over to the high table and shrugged out of her jacket. She unbuttoned her shirt sufficiently for the Fae to see the glowing wound on her shoulder.

“You did mark her.” The Fae queen glared at her husband. “Remove it
immediately.
”

“But he’s using it to keep Morosov in line.” Ella ignored the Fae king’s frown. “It’s the only reason my mate allowed himself to be captured.”

“Remove it, Fergal.”

“With respect, dear wife, I’ll remove it when she leaves Otherworld. It isn’t safe to let her wander around by herself.” He glared at Spencer. “Isn’t it time for you to make a decision about this matter? It’s fairly straightforward. Death Bringer admits he killed his brother, and by extension his twin sister. Now you must pass sentence.”

“If I might make a suggestion?”

Adam stepped up beside Ella. She gave him her best death glare.

“Of course,” Spencer said.

“If this court is unable to ascertain the guilt of the accused, there is another way he can be tested.”

“And how is that?”

“In a battle to the death with me.”

Silence greeted his calm statement. Spencer was the first to recover. “I don’t understand.”

“Death Bringer came back to Otherworld not to face his accusers in this court but to fight me for stealing his mate’s face. If you hadn’t interfered, that’s where he would be right now.”

“Are you suggesting your petty conflict with my son is more important than the deaths of his siblings?” the Fae king demanded.

“No, my king. I’m saying that death by combat would be a fitting end for a creature that considers itself the strongest power in Otherworld. Wouldn’t you like to see that, sire? Your son finally overthrown, his power stripped from him and his life ended?”

The king hesitated, his gaze going between Adam and Vadim. “It isn’t my decision. It is up to the court.”

“But would you be willing to consider it?” Adam turned to the others at the table.

“I would enjoy seeing a fight to the death.” Not surprisingly, the Dark Lord’s representative looked suitably excited by the prospect of blood and mayhem. “If the court permits.”

Spencer turned to the two Fae queens, who were quietly conferring. The older woman looked up.

“We have no objection to this fight, as long as it is clear that if Death Bringer wins, all charges against him, including those regarding Nia and Ciaran, are dropped completely.”

“Hold on.” Ella said. “What about what I think? He’s my mate. Don’t I get a say in anything?”

Spencer looked down his nose at her. “I hardly think you have anything of interest to add, Ms. Walsh. This is an Otherworld matter.”

“What about Vadim? He might not want to face Adam.”

“I am more than willing to face him, Soul Sucker.” Vadim’s voice carried clearly across the room to her. “I would only ask that if I lose, your face is returned to you, and you are allowed to leave this world unharmed.”

Adam nodded. “That is agreeable to me.”

“And you speak for the whole sect?”

“I do.”

“Like you think they’ll keep their word.” Ella scowled at the lot of them. “You’re all a bunch of idiots.”

Spencer gathered up his papers. “Then there is no need for any further deliberation on my part. If all parties are content with Death Bringer being held to account in a battle to the death, so am I. This case is adjourned.”

Even while he was speaking, Ella took the opportunity to edge as close to Vadim as she dared.

“
Can you hear me?
” His cool blue gaze flicked over her. “
Do you want me to break you out of there?
”

“
Why would you want to do that?
”

“
Because there’s something fishy going on here
,
and I need to talk it through with you.
”

There were sounds of movement behind her, but she didn’t dare look back. “
Didn’t you get that bit about our combined powers?
I
bet we can do anything we want.
” She held out her hand. “
Are you game?
”

“
Of course I am
,
Soul Sucker.
”

She focused her thoughts and reached through the thin web of power to take his waiting hand. Shouts echoed behind her, but they meant nothing, because as her power met Vadim’s, they were suddenly and impossibly free.

* * *

“That’s ridiculous.”

Vadim paced back and forth in front of his mate, who was regarding him with a somewhat aggrieved expression.

“No, it makes perfect sense. Adam steals my face, you come back in a rage, threatening to wipe out your entire family—either way he wins.”