The Unknown Alchemist

Chapter 44 - The Trial

"Was he a friend of yours?" Khalil prodded.

Roedin shifted, his hands clenched at his sides.

Avery pinched her lips to control the waver of her chin. She shook her head.

"He tried to take me away. He said it was his task to find me and bring me back, though he never said to where."

"Why didn't you go with him?"

Avery met his gaze trying to understand the tactic, see his endgame.

"I would have. I thought he was there to rescue me. But there was a curse and I was a trapped. He--he was angry and told me to fix it. But I couldn't, I didn't know how."

She stopped, praying they wouldn't ask what happened next.

"You're telling me that a son of an alpha prime couldn't defeat a simple spell?" Caiaphas spat.

Avery winced and took several calming breaths before addressing the alpha prime of Rastus. "I'm not telling you that at all. Your son did eventually break the spell, but it took a long time."

"Preserves don't have magic. Where is this magical place you lived?" Caiaphas retorted.

Avery locked eyes with him briefly then looked up at the space above the crowd.

"I don't know," she growled through clenched teeth.

A murmur broke out in the hall and Khalil called them back to order.

Aubrey twisted in her chair to scowl at Caiaphas. "Why don't we ask Ferrik since he travelled there so often?"

Caiaphas didn't back down. "My son is not on the stand right now. We're talking to a mortal child who is too stupid to even know where she lived."

Grumbling filled the room and Khalil rose.

"Caiaphas, the purpose of this meeting is to uncover the facts, not throw around insults. If you cannot keep your tongue under control you can leave this trial, and this territory, while we determine if your son lives or dies."

Caiaphas cocked his head in silent acquiescence but smirked at the rest of the rest of them. As Khalil took his seat and the crowd quieted Hayden cleared his throat to speak. His face was anguished like he was pleading with Avery to forgive what he had to do.

"Avery, what did Ferrik do when he thought--when you wouldn't leave with him? How did he react?"

Avery saw in his eyes that hadn't wanted to ask the question, but in order for Ferrik to be put down they needed to hear how cruel he was, how twisted his soul had become, and see what he had done. Avery nodded to Hayden, trying to tell him that she understood why he asked what he already knew. The edges of the room began to blur and she closed her eyes until the dizziness passed.

"He beat me." She opened her eyes to see every face in the room locked on to her. "He punched my face until the blood soaked my shirt. When I lay on the ground he would kick my stomach and chest, breaking my ribs." Avery's voice caught in her throat, and she blinked back tears.

"It's not hard to break a human," Caiaphas scoffed. Ferrik snickered.

Adelyn leapt to her feet and threw her hands up, plucking Caiaphas from his chair without touching him. The walls and ground trembled with her power and electricity filled the air. The crowd shrieked and ducked in terror while Adelyn's voice shook the room.

"It's not hard for me to invade your pathetic territory and enslave its people, but that doesn't make it right," she roared before a blinding light filled the room.