“Isn’t it more believable that you confessed what happened to you to a naïve, fledgling little succubus, not even a century old, full of dreams about the bonds of family” —he turns to give me a look of pity— “before you led Domnall MacAteer into a trap that allowed her to murder him?”
Julian’s lips part, but the mortifer demon curls his long fingers over the edge of the stand, leaning in as his voice lowers. “The thing is, intent to murder… That’s just a slap on the wrist, as I’m sure you know, Mr. Poe. Our society honors trickery, and manipulating a foolish young demon to do your bidding is an applaudable maneuver.”
Movement from the podium draws my attention. I glance up at the judges to find two of them nodding, their expressions bland. They look like they find Victor Hesse’s suggestion not only acceptable, but expected.
Beside me, Tobias sits still as a rock, his dark gaze fixed on Julian with an air of inevitability, and my gut clenches with trepidation.
“So, please, Mr. Poe” —Victor Hesse paces away from the stand and gestures grandly to the podium— “tell us what happened the last night you saw Domnall alive. Clear up who is responsible for Domnall’s permanent death, so we can stop wasting the judges’ time.”
As Julian takes a deep breath, his eyes meet mine, and I read a plea for understanding in their pink depths.
No. The denial rushes through me, leaving me light-headed. He can’t. He won’t betray me.
Shoulders squaring, Julian turns to the judges. “He’s right. Adeline Boo Pond was there at the storage facility.”
Everything in me stills at Julian’s words, and I have to force my next breath. I stare at him, willing him to look at me, but his eyes stay fixed on the judges.
“Domnall had found proof that the Hunters set up a base of operation at a storage facility on the edge of town,” Julian recounts, his words clipped as he lays out the facts. “With so many corrupted witches, Adie volunteered to come as well as backup. As a young demon, the Hunters had been targeting her, and she wanted to help. We ran into trouble once we arrived, though. The Hunters were expecting us and set up a booby trap. The explosion destroyed my corporeal form, and by the time I returned, Domnall and Adie were gone.”
Some of the tightness around my heart eases. While everything Julian says is true, he’s leaving out a lot of the story. Like that the three of us didn’t go alone. My demons of destruction had also been there with us.
“And that’s the last time you saw Domnall MacAteer?” Victor Hesse demands.
“No.” Julian brushes the white locks of hair from his face. “I relocated them the following day. They’d been trapped in a draining cage, and I helped them break out. After that, we located the rest of the Hunters and exterminated them.”
The mortifer demon folds his hands behind his back. “What happened after the Hunters were killed?”
“We located a unit they were using for black magic. Domnall wished to drain the energy from it.” Julian shrugs. “Since we weren’t needed anymore, Adie and I left. That’s the last time I saw Domnall.”
Victor Hesse pauses, his head turning to Julian with a click of vertebra. “Were you not needed to accept the magic Domnall MacAteer took from the defeated Hunters? Is that not why you and Ms. Pond were there?”
Leaning forward, Julian rests his elbows on the edge of the stand, his attention now fixed on the mortifer demon. “I was available for that, yes, but Adie and I were there to help kill Hunters. Domnall may be immune to their magic, but he doesn’t have hyper-speed or superhuman strength. It was always our method of hunting that I incapacitate the corrupt witches for him to drain. It’s the part he likes the best.”
A shudder rolls through me at the memory of Domnall sucking out the essence of a Hunter until all that remained was a shriveled husk. He’d loved the struggle, but he’d also let the Hunter play with me for a while before he stepped in.
“As for acting as Domnall’s vessel…” Julian leans back, his expression blank once more. “He liked to keep the magic for a while and let it fester inside of him. It made it that much more painful to receive when he eventually wanted to get rid of it.”