The Beast Within (The Elite Series) - By Jonathan Yanez Page 0,47
would allow him to hold the fate of his children in his hands without any expectation of his being biased or partial. Connor had never seen such respect and he didn’t think he ever would again.
After a brief silence, Adolpho continued. His voice was strong and reverent. “Thank you for your trust and respect. I do not take it lightly.” Seating himself once again, the man to his left now stood up to speak.
He was the youngest Council member amongst the five and closely resembled his sister, Morrigan. Black hair fell halfway down his forehead and ferocious brown eyes deeply contrasted the rest of his appearance. He was clean-shaven with a politician’s smile. Connor imagined that within a brief conversation with this man, anyone would be won over.
“Representing Connor Moore, Larentia Abeldardus, and Lupus Abelardus will be Morrigan Hayes. Representing Faust Ulfric will be his cousin, Christof Ulfric. Christof, you may begin.”
Christof rose from his seat, his shiny black dress shoes reflecting the light. An expensive watch hung from his left wrist and an even more expensive suit was tailored to fit his body flawlessly.
As soon as he opened his mouth, Connor realized this was going to be a long trial. Christof spent the first fifteen minutes addressing the Council, brown-nosing their skills and quality. When he deemed them sufficiently warmed up, he turned to his client and invited Faust to stand as he paced back and forth between him and the Council.
“Mr. Ulfric, will you please explain to the Council and the room why you are wearing sunglasses inside?”
Faust responded in a melancholy tone, so different from the voice that preached wrath and war two nights before. “My eyes were taken from me.”
“Please be more specific. What do you mean by taken?”
“They—” he paused dramatically, “—they were ripped out of their sockets.”
A woman in the crowd gasped and more than one face held a look of disgust.
“I know this is hard,” Christof continued in his silky smooth manner. “but I need you to take off your glasses so the Council and the room can see the damage that was done.”
Faust complied, slowly removing the black sunglasses and turning in a full circle so everyone could see. Even Connor had to admit the sight was gruesome and he felt a slight twinge of guilt. The guilt was quickly banished from his thoughts, though, as he remembered what Faust had planned on doing to Laren and Lu.
The rest of the room, however, did not share his experience. Breaths were sucked in surprise, eyes were averted, and looks of disgust and disbelief were displayed freely.
Connor looked over to Laren, who sat beside him, and Lu, who was seated on the other side of her. Laren shook her head and rolled her eyes, Lu followed suit with a shrug of his own.
After Christof was satisfied the display had served its purpose, he said, “Thank you, Faust. You may replace your glasses. Will you please tell us who did this to you and describe the events of the night that led to this horrible action.”
“Connor Moore took my eyes. I, along with four members of my family, were supposed to meet Larentia and Lupus Abelardus in the Catskill Forest in upstate New York to discuss a land dispute. When we arrived, it was clear they did not come to talk. Within minutes they were aggressively shouting, and soon their harsh words turned into physical violence. Although we outnumbered them, we weren’t able to stop them, especially Lupus. He tore though us like a bulldozer. Before we had a chance to think twice or try to escape, Connor appeared. He killed one of our party and took my eyes. When it was all over, only Randolph and I were able to escape.”
There was a silence and Christof took the opportunity to ask what many in the room were already thinking. “Faust, how was it that Connor Moore, a half-blood, but nonetheless, still a human, was able to not only dispatch an Elite but also take your eyes?”
“I don’t know. He took us by surprise?”
“I would lay before the Council the idea that Larentia Abelardus turned Connor before the meeting in the woods, which I will soon support with evidence. Thank you, Faust.”
Faust took an awkward seat, overdramatically feeling for his chair.
“I would like to call before the Council Randolph Ulfric, who was also there that dreadful night, and who crossed paths with Larentia previous to the events that transpired in the Catskills.”