“The court of S’ha Ren-la Shen Tel Roh now convenes.” A pixie, no taller than an outstretched mortal hand spoke with a booming voice that dared the other attendees to interrupt or speak out of turn. As she bowed to the four corners, tiny bracelets jangled about the fairy’s arms and legs. The Fae Queen who she’d announced processed in, carried by her golden dragonfly wings. Now that she was no longer in audience with a student, the queen S’ha Ren-la wore her natural aspect. Long, thin features proclaimed her noble heritage among the fae. Her skin was pale white, with a soft radiance beneath. Her hair matched her wings, as golden as honey.
Two figures floated over her shoulders, one dark as shadow, flickering against the light of the room, animated by its own power. The other was white and moved like a projection over the fae queen’s shoulder, as if animated by an old fashioned zoetrope. The shadow and the figure of light flickered and merged with each other, echoing portions of the fae queen’s gestures, but not all of them.
Boris of the Twisted Branch, the mortal Joshua of the Cabal, and a small number of other advisers within the camp sat before the fae queen with their heads bowed. When she sat, they raised them and Boris spoke. “My queen, we have assembled as you instructed.”
“Good. Let us conclude the trial of Esme Duveryon as quickly as possible. Bring in the accused.”
The pixie fluttered to the door and opened it despite her tiny stature.
Esme, the accused, walked in with heavy chains about her wrists and ankles. Grigo the Steward followed her with his pointed ears folded over his head as if they had begun to wilt. The pixie followed the procession after closing the door and it was the pixie who pulled Esme’s arms down so that she was forced to kowtow before the fae queen.
“Esme Duveryon, you have brought violence to the students of this place. You have broken the sacred laws of the Refuge of Knowledge, the Academy Sanctorum. What say you?” S’ha Ren-la already knew of Esme’s guilt. But ancient tradition older than the queen herself, older even than her office, required that the accused be permitted to speak in her own defense.
“I regret nothing!” Esme raised her eyes to the throne, but could not lift her head beyond the fae queen’s knees. “You know that my kind require lust to survive, to maintain our immortal existence. And that little bitch human tried to kill me when all I did was bend her will a tiny bit!”
S’ha Ren-la understood the demands of nature as well as any Temptress. “This is your defense?”
“Yes! I brought only mental games, lustful diversions, and that bitch tried to end me!” Again, Esme could not lift her head above the throne S’ha Ren-la sat on.
“I would hear from the other administrators of the Sanctorum. Boris of the Twisted Branch, speak.” The fae queen flicked her hand at the Ogre-magi who bowed low at the waist and almost toppled over as he did so.
He cleared his throat and said, “My queen, the demoness Esme speaks the truth. Though I do not believe her intentions were innocent, she had no designs on Emilia’s life or mind.” Boris looked around the room, studiously avoiding the throne itself as he nodded and sat back down.
“Joshua of the Cabal, how speak you?”
Joshua stood and bowed with considerably more agility than Boris mustered. “My queen, Emilia Olren was the victim of a rogue human witch who tortured her in mind and body for her whole life. Recently, she fell under the power of a sorceress beholden to a dark alien being of unknown origin. Ms Duveryon’s “dalliance” must have felt very much like this sorceress’s control. The violent response Ms Olren took was well within her rights as the offended party, but I do not believe that her reaction indicts Ms Duveryon’s behavior anymore than her own words have.” As if he reviewed his monologue after the fact, Joshua nodded to the court and to himself and sat back down.
S’ha Ren-la steepled her fingers and stared at the demoness, who lowered her head. Grigo, the Temptress’s husband and Steward Infernal of the Sanctorum stood beside his wife with his face mottled green and yellow in barely restrained fury. Sighing before she spoke, the fae queen motioned to the Imp. “Steward Grigo, you wish to speak?”
“I do, my queen,” the words burned in Grigo’s throat, the fae queen could tell by the way he swallowed multiple times as he tried to spit them out, “the demoness Cary and the mortal Emilia are trouble. I believe Ms Olren bears some hidden grudge against my wife or against Temptresses in general.”
“Why do you believe such, Grigo?”
“Because the demon attacked my wife immediately upon meeting her! While she stood within my own offices!” Spittle flew from Grigo’s mouth as he ranted toward the throne. A testament to the force of his will, he could raise his gaze almost to the queen’s diamond bedecked navel.
“And you chose not to report this incident?”
The fae queen’s question sucked the bluster from Grigo’s voice and expression. “I… chose to handle the matter as part of my discretion for dealing with the Infernals among the Sanctorum.”
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S’ha Ren-la nodded, imagining that Grigo had more reasons for his silence than he admitted. “Thank you for your candor, Steward Grigo. Two more questions:” His ears twitched as if the queen had tried to strike him, but missed. “Did you stab Ms Olren in the back with a weapon during her altercation with your wife? And I understand you had Ms Cary removed from your organization to serve in the Scriptorium, is that true?”
Grigo’s yellow splotched skin returned, but now from nervous apprehension at the queen’s words. He paused only a few seconds to consider his answer. “Ah, yes. To both questions my queen. I stabbed Ms Olren because she was trying to kill my wife. And I had her pet demoness assigned to Alshin because I do not wish to deal with her or her lies any further.”
“Lies? What lies?”
Raising his head and lowering his eyes, Grigo said, “the Formless One makes many claims about her powers that I highly doubt. There are, as you know, ways to foil Truthtelling.”
S’ha Ren-la sighed and gathered her voice, “Elaborate, Steward, now.”
Grigo jumped at her command. “Cary claims she possesses a perfect memory and that her ability to shapeshift has been stripped or blocked. She also claims to be ancient, almost as old as yourself, Mother.” He trembled as the words all but tripped over each other to escape his throat.
S’ha Ren-la sighed with disgust at Grigo and his petty behavior. “You are dismissed, Steward Grigo. Do not involve yourself further with Ms Emilia Olren or Ms Cary without my leave. Do you understand?” Grigo’s nod came a beat slow for the queen’s taste. She struck the armrest of her throne with nails harder than adamant. “Let me rephrase. If you wish to remain within our Sanctorum and continue to receive its protections, you will swear a satisfactory oath on the powers right now. Or you will be properly dismissed.”
Grigo’s skin turned pale as he nodded. He mumbled the words of his oath. “By the Beginning and End, by the Boundary of all things. I swear that I will not involve myself or my powers in the affairs of Emilia Olren or her demoness, Cary to the extent permitted by my role.”
The queen raised her nails, prepared to render a harsh judgment upon her servant. But at the last moment reconsidered. She could only expect so much from her infernal servants. “Good. Leave us, Steward Grigo and remember the consequences of defying the spirit of your oath.”
Grigo scrambled away from S’ha Ren-la’s court as fast as his stubby legs could carry him. With his departure, the fae queen turned her displeasure upon Esme Duveryon. “Esme, we know why you remain among our ranks, not for love of your mate or for knowledge. We know you partake of the sanctuary of this place and the relative freedom it permits. We also know that you chafe under our Laws. Do you wish to leave?”
Esme shook her head, which had sagged back so she faced the ground long ago. “No, my queen.”
“Do you understand that we are within the rights of our Laws to banish you from here, to name you anathema and strip you of even your memory of this sanctum?”
At the question, Esme quivered. S’ha noticed a single tear fall to the stone floor at their feet. “Yes, my queen.”
“Then you should consider your actions and behavior in the future. If not for the indulgence of Boris and Joshua, you would suffer this very fate right now. Had you permanently harmed Ms Olren, we might end your existence ourselves. Swear that you will not harm Ms Olren or Ms Cary by word or deed, action or inaction, directly or through agents, or you will suffer permanent banishment. Do so right now.”
Boris gasped, but Joshua nodded. As smart and insightful as the Ogre-magi could be, he lacked the mortal’s understanding of the minds of others. For the queen to demand a specific oath as she did bordered on the forbidden. But at the same time, all demonkind must know the penalty for treading the border of S’ha Ren-la’s edicts, of the laws of the Sanctorum. When Esme had spoken the oath as the queen demanded, she dismissed the demoness without further word.
With the trial over, Boris stooped to collect his staff and effects, while Joshua patiently watched the throne. Only once the Ogre-magi stood did he realize that the queen had not yet ended the proceedings. With a burbling series of apologies, he resumed his seat, S’ha Ren-la waiting for him to do so.
“I would like to assign my personal agents to both Ms Olren and her demoness.” She pointed to Joshua, “you know the mortal best of all of us. Pick one of the fae and ensure she stays with Ms Olren as much as possible. Select someone who she might take into her confidence. As to Ms Cary, I will select my agent personally, but I wish the both of you to know that a faerie will be watching her. But do not alert her to this fact.” The queen knew that with Boris teaching the mortal, she would have warn him not to give away her agent’s identity. Otherwise he would eventually notice something amiss. Joshua was protective of the child, which would color his decisions when it came to her well-being. It was best he knew about the spies too.
“It will be done, my queen.” Joshua bowed to S’ha Ren-la from his seated position.
Boris cleared his throat. “If I may, my queen?”
“Speak.”
“The girl’s talent is a dangerous one. Anyone you assign to her must be aware of his fact. If they possess mental blocks with the slightest flaw, she could ram through them with nary a thought. It might require only a light touch.”
“Thank you, Boris. You remain ever the faithful servant. Joshua, take Boris’s advice into consideration when you choose a companion for Ms Olren. We are now adjourned.”
The royal court dissolved quickly, the fae queen preferred to minimize pomp when she could do so. As Boris and Joshua left the tent a short Imp, hairless and nude, observed their departure. He noted the queen’s departure last and hopped back to report to his master.
“Marneus, what have you learned?” Grigo adjusted his glasses on his nose as he interrogated the hairless Imp.
“Master, the queen dismissed Boris and Joshua well after you. She must have had additional instructions for them, sir.” Marneus dipped his nose to the carpet under his feet as he answered. Grigo took a swig from the caramel-colored liquor on his desk and sighed.
“I am no longer permitted to involve myself with the affairs of the mortal or her demoness. You will find Feresheth and report to him from now on. He knows my desires and has already made contact with the outsiders who will deal with the two of them on our behalf. Do not report back to me regarding this matter until it is permanently resolved.”
“Husband, you mustn’t go forward with this command!” Esme waited until Marneus left the room before she lodged her protest. Her words conveyed one message while her eye roll and monotone delivery conveyed the opposite.
Grigo patter her rump and chuckled. “You’ve executed the terms of your oath marvelously my sweet. Now let’s forget this fucking mortal for the night. My dick’s not gonna suck itself…”