to Xun Guan. “I demand a full, formal trial. I’ll speak to you later, Ian. Now, please, go.”
He gave me a frustrated look, then gave another, even more frustrated one down at himself, as if silently cursing the state he was in that prevented him from teleporting us out of here.
Then, for the second time in the past hour, Ian left when he didn’t want to.
Chapter 44
Ian didn’t head toward the lodge to retrieve the priceless diamond we’d left lying on the floor. He walked deeper into the woods. I watched him until the thickening line of evergreens blocked him from my view. Then, I turned back to the council.
Haldam was staring in the direction Ian had gone while stroking his long beard. “Perhaps we shouldn’t let him leave so easily. He should stand trial, too.”
I gave the highest official in the council a look that made him take a step backward. “You don’t want to do that.”
“Veritas is the only one in violation of our laws,” Hekima said, stepping in front of Haldam so she blocked the lethal glare I gave him. “We have no need to question her husband,” she went on. “For all we know, he was here because he was trying to stop her.”
I stifled my snort. I’d always liked Hekima, and she was helping as much as she could under the circumstances. I wouldn’t disrespect that by pointing out that Ian had zero respect for the law, and even less for people who zealously followed it.
“Your wisdom is appreciated, Hekima,” I replied.
“The prisoner will not speak again!” Haldam thundered at me. To everyone else, he said, “Does anyone have a mobile? We need to arrange transportation out of here, as well as contact the other council members and convene a full trial immediately.”
He certainly seemed in a hurry to execute me. Could he be the person Ian sensed Dagon’s power coming from?
Then again, Haldam and I had never been close. Now, he had all the reasons he needed to despise me. Out of all the council members, he’d been the most vocal opponent of mixed-species people and magic practitioners. It took a special kind of coldness to sentence a child to death, yet Haldam had done it to Cat’s daughter without even feigning the same hesitation that other council members voting for her death had.
Maybe I’d let Haldam see what it was like to be on the receiving end of a summary execution decision. It would be so easy to reach inside him and yank out his soul . . .
I gave myself a quick shake, as if trying to physically dislodge the thought. This was the danger of merging the half of myself I’d long denied with the rest of me. That half might not be evil, but it contained the same borderline-sociopathic logic that allowed my father to transport people to the pits of the Netherworld without a hint of remorse. Now, it was fully a part of me, so to say that it could affect my sense of right and wrong was an understatement.
Haldam might indeed deserve to die because of his merciless actions, but that didn’t mean I should appoint myself as his executioner. If I meted out death to everyone I and I alone deemed worthy of it, I would soon become more monstrous than the council at their very worst.
I’d also be proving the council’s fears about people like me, even though I hardly represented all mixed-species people, let alone all people who practiced magic. And inevitably, I’d end up harming those who didn’t deserve it. No one was above being wrong, least of all me.
“Put the web spell on her, Xun Guan,” Haldam ordered, as if somehow sensing me struggle over my new desire to execute him. “She’s far too . . . unconfined as she is.”
Xun Guan’s mouth turned down, but she pulled a magic-infused gem from her belt. Long ago, I’d told her never to be without one. She’d heeded the advice. Then, in the original language of the spell, she spoke the words that resulted in layer upon layer of sticky, unbreakable substance wrapping around me as if giant spiders were cocooning me in webs.
Despite everything, I was proud. I’d taught her that spell several centuries ago, when I was training her, as all Law Guardians needed to know defensive magic. Most of the other Law Guardians had been unable to master such a complex spell, but Xun Guan did. Now, she executed it perfectly.