Compounding Traumas (Artemis University #6) - Erin R Flynn Page 0,57

and will stand before our council to be judged.”

“And what crimes would those be?” I purred. “Slander?” I handed over a flyer to Councilman Thane. “Tell me what on this is untrue and slanderous. Did you not rule that they did in fact drug, rape, and brutalize a freshman vampire and then punish them for it? Did you not rule that she was in the wrong for smearing their reputations and making such an issue over all of this?”

“There are confidentiality rules,” one of the guys who had been involved and had confronted me with Blake bitched. “You’re going against them.”

“I’m not actually,” I drawled, rolling my eyes at him. “You’re a convicted sex offender. You’re on the national registry, as you should be.”

“What?” several people gasped or exclaimed.

I blinked at them, playing up my surprise how they could be shocked at that. “You all live too much in your bubbles that are like dangerous cults. It’s considered a public service to inform humans when a registered sex offender moves to the area. That’s exactly what I’m doing. A few have been allowed to come back to campus. It is standard for women to warn each other and the freshmen.

“It’s also standard for the schools to hand out rape alarms and warn people how to protect themselves instead of demeaning victims as your council did. I’m not breaking a single council law or school rule. This was a public council ruling that you made public to set the example against women speaking out on such matters. And you denied my request to testify against them, even as it was done as an attack on me.

“But now you want to pull me in to face charges on this matter for no crime committed?” I stared down the whole group. “You better have one of the gods on your side to drag me there by force, because you will need it. I’m here for the sole purpose to protect people—your people, all of the people, when you only protect the elite men.

“And you want to shut that down? Shut me up and slap me with fake charges that break your own laws? I have read your laws, and you are only allowed to take me into custody if you witness me committing a crime by chance, and then you are to immediately hand me over to my council, or their proxy, to face judgment. You are not here by chance, and you have been informed Geiger is my council’s proxy.”

“The councils were also informed that any issues with Ms. Vale needed to be discussed with our families as she is also under our protection,” Mrs. Vogel added from behind me. “I’m very certain that no matter how sexist your council is, you still acknowledge speaking with my husband, yes?”

“What are you handing out?” one of her aides asked me.

I blinked at her a moment and hurried to give over a stack of flyers and pulled out a bag of the rape alarms. She nodded and passed them on to several other helpers, and that was when I saw a few more of the dragon queens had arrived.

Awesome.

“I believe all you big, strong men were about to apologize for confronting and trying to not only corner, but illegally drag off a young woman without even allowing her to contact her attorney?” Mrs. Diaz said as she moved next to me.

Councilman Thane let out a long sigh. “You are making a mistake siding with her when she is upsetting so many and starting so much trouble.”

“We don’t think we are as taking this stand is long overdue,” another female voice declared. Shock rocked me as I saw Mrs. Von Thann step out from among the others. “This isn’t even about Ms. Vale, but the fact that a council made such a ruling that allowed what happened to one of their own to stand, simply because it was done to a woman.

“We say we’re better than the humans, and yet we are at least a century behind them in many ways, how we treat women in our society being the main one. It’s enough, and many agree that this is a stand we would take even without her after finding out that rapists, men who drugged and brutalized one of our daughters, were allowed back at our best school while she is shamed and shunned.

“It is disgusting, and my council agrees with me, incredibly upset such predators are allowed among the female bear shifters who