When All is Lost

Chapter 51

The only blemishes to the space were left by us.

A blood trail was smeared from the ground a few feet in front of me all the way to where Misty knelt by the judge's bench. She had a man and a woman on each side of her, holding her in that position with her hands cuffed behind her back.

Raising my head, I could see a tall, blond man hovering over me, but his focus was on what was happening to my left. I followed his gaze and found Hayden trying to shrug away from a man who was almost twice as wide as he was tall.

"Look at me," the deep voice ordered.

With great pain, I looked ahead again. From my angle, I couldn't see who had spoken. It was only when Misty slumped and one of her guards bent to catch her that I saw him.

The man sat on top of the judge's bench rather than behind it. His dark brown eyes searched Misty in a way that could only be construed as calculating. He had a single brow slightly raised, making his already wrinkled brow crinkle. Everything about him looked clean – from his neatly trimmed hair to his perfectly shaped goatee.

I lost sight of him when the guard straightened again, but it didn't last long. The man jumped down from the judge's bench with an unexpected amount of agility for his age. He moved to stand in front of Misty and that was when I registered his outfit.

Judge's robes.

The man was wearing a judge's robe. I felt dread creep up my spine. Looking around the room, no longer caring who saw I was awake, I was able to see that there were at least another seven people sitting behind the rails on the public benches.

And none of them seemed alarmed by the situation that was unfolding.

Some looked angry, but most looked intrigued and it gave me the distinct feeling that whatever was happening was exciting for them. It was like I'd fallen down a rabbit hole but rather than waking up in Wonderland, I found myself in a bizarre and derisive game of pretend.

"There we go. Now I can see your eyes." The man in the judge's robe bent down to Misty's level as his deep voice carried across the courtroom. "And aren't they so pretty. Now, let's try this again – where are your friends? Hmm? Did they go home?"

Misty shook her head and in the process, I could see how pale she'd become. I knew she'd been cut terribly back when we were fending off the snowmobiles and it looked as though they'd done nothing to staunch the bleeding. If anything, it looked as though she'd been given new injuries – including a broken nose.

The man in the judge's robes tilted his head at her. "Nothing? You don't have a home? But you weren't sleeping out in the snow, were you? So, where did they go?"

Misty shook her head again.

My heart beat in time with the pulses in my head. I knew in my gut that Misty would never say a word, not with Jamie on the line. I tried to sit up, hoping I could get a look at anything I could use to help get us out.

That was why I didn't even see the first movement. It happened so fast that from the corner of my eye, it looked like the man in the judge's robes had simply punched Misty in the stomach. It was only when he did it a second time that I saw the knife.

The sound Misty emitted raised every hair on my body. I was too stunned by the man's actions and, while my body felt it, my mind couldn't fathom what had just happened.

"Shush, shush, shush." The Judge passed the knife to one of the guards without even looking at them as he tried to quiet Misty's death rattles. Her body began to fall forward, but he swept her up before she could hit the ground, dragging her into a standing position.