Mirror Sky. Part 1 - Blissful Nemesis

24 - The Verdict

"All of it doesn't change the fact that the spawn has to die," said Symon. "We must save our city. I'm here to make sure you'll make the right decision."

"This is outrageous!" said Naisha, getting up and flipping her long hair over her shoulder. "You can't expect us to render a decision in your favor! Not with the whole city up against us! We do that – we might as well sign away our judicial powers to the Ministries right now! If we're still alive to do so!"

"I didn't ask you to decide the case," noted Symon, "Only to decide to kill the spawn and his defendants. With no verdict."

The faces of Joe and Naisha twisted with rage.

"Who do you think you are?" asked Joe. "Guards!"

Symon heard metallic steps behind his back.

"We need a bold move," Symon raised his hands, asking for permission to finish. "A decisive move. We need to restore the defenses. We need to kill the four traitors and the spawn to do that. We need to appease the Gods."

The room looked at him in silence. He went on:

"Think about it. The people are angry, sure. However, once the defenses go back up, the war ends, the material crisis ends, Sergey Sage shuts up, and everyone will be forced to admit that they were grossly misguided by the Ministries. Not only will we not lose our judicial power – but we'll also solidify it for centuries ahead."

"And if we're wrong," said Naisha, "The people will tear the whole Church and us to pieces."

Such a lack of faith at the highest levels!

"You don't think we're wrong, do you, Matriarch Naisha?" asked Symon.

"I'm not taking that risk, Symon," Naisha said through her teeth.

"Too bad it isn't up to you," said Symon. "Who's in favor of my plan?"

Everybody but Patriarch Joe and Matriarch Naisha raised their hands. All of them were his people — some things Rin could not stack in her favor.

"Gods help us, you're going to do this," said Joe. "What has become of us?"

"Maybe our critics are right," said Naisha. "Maybe we deserve to go down. When was the last time any of you opened the Bible of Balance? What you're doing is an abomination to Gods!"

"Abomination to Gods?" Symon flared with anger. "The spawn is an abomination to Gods! Treason is an abomination to Gods! What happened to this city is an abomination to Gods! What happened to my daughter is an abomination to Gods!!!"

He thought of Anna. He dove into the treasure chest of good memories he shared with her. This time, he remembered how she hugged him when she got admitted to the Boot Camps. She was mad at him for days about something, but when she got a letter, she kicked the door into his office, leaped over his desk, and knocked him on the floor with a hug. At first, Symon was frustrated, but then he got infected with her joy. Her joy was always so infectious.

Symon's rage subsided, yet his pain flared. He continued calmly:

"What we are doing," he pointed at other arbiters in the room with both hands, "Is the right thing."

He nodded to the guards behind his back.

"Take Matriarch Naisha and Patriarch Joe to their chambers and make sure they don't get in the way of divine justice."

***

The atmosphere in the courtroom was lax. The audience was chatting and laughing, pointing fingers at the prosecution bench. The fact that Bishop Berg, the plaintiff, darted out of the room amused them the most as they heckled and verbally harassed those who remained.