Challenges (7 page)

Before that day Jovvi had never been in a courtroom, but she had no difficulty recognizing it when she and the others were dragged inside. They were made to sit down on a bench at the front of the wood-paneled room, and a man seated at a nearby table had risen to address the panel of judges. He recited the list of crimes they were accused of, and the first of Jovvi’s group, a boy she knew and disliked, was pulled off the bench to stand in front of the judges’ dais. One of the judges asked if there was anyone in the courtroom who was willing to be responsible for the boy, and when no one spoke up to volunteer, the boy was told he’d been found guilty and was then sent away to work off his sentence.

The fact that they weren’t told what the sentence was only made things worse for Jovvi and the others. She sat there in pure terror as one by one the other children were done the same as the first, and finally it was her turn. She waited numbly for her fate to be sealed—but suddenly a voice spoke out, saying
it
would be responsible for her. The voice belonged to the father of the family which had invited her to live with them, and Jovvi never understood why she hadn’t fainted with relief.

The man had been required to pay three silver dins in reparation for her crimes, just about every penny the family had. After feeling dizzying relief Jovvi had felt guilty, but Nolin, the man, had just told her she could pay him back when she grew up. He took her home, his wife Minara had helped her to bathe before giving her an old but clean dress to wear, and then they’d fed her. By then it had been impossible to keep her eyes open, and she’d ended up sleeping for a full day. And she’d never gone back to the streets again…

But now she was going back to a courtroom, and the thought of it threatened to make her throw up all over again.

CHAPTER SEVEN

It took some doing, but by the time the coach stopped in front of the large stone building, Jovvi was projecting outward calm. Inward was another matter entirely, but she refused to let herself think about that.

“This whole neighborhood looks like a ghost town,” Vallant commented as he helped her out of the coach. “I haven’t even seen anybody walkin’ in the street for two or three blocks.”

“This is supposed to be the second rest day,” Jovvi reminded him with a brief smile of thanks for his help. “It’s odd that they didn’t wait until tomorrow to hold this trial, and I’m tempted to think that there’s an ulterior motive involved. But the whole thing might just be standard practice, and I’m simply being overly suspicious.”

“In our position, overly suspicious is the safest thing to be,” Vallant murmured as they started up the wide stone steps. “Don’t forget that I’ll be actin’ superior and insufferable, and maybe you ought to be actin’ more than a little upset. If they’re doin’ this just to ruin your balance, it would be a shame to make them think they wasted the effort.”

Jovvi considered that an excellent idea, especially since it would be easy to arrange. Showing her true feelings rather than hiding them would do it, and that way even another Spirit magic practitioner would be convinced. Yes, that was definitely the way to play it, and the realization made her even more glad that Vallant was there. Normally she would probably have come up with the idea herself, but where courtrooms were concerned there was nothing normal about her reactions.

The heavy wooden front doors of the building were unlocked, and just inside was a guardsman standing a post. He directed them to the room where the trial was being held, on the second floor and in the daylight court, whatever that was. She and Vallant produced rather loud footsteps as they crossed the wide, empty floor to the proper stairway, and Jovvi was relieved to see that her companion was only faintly disturbed about being indoors. With all that emptiness around them, there wasn’t much feeling of confinement.

The second floor corridor had windows at either end, but there were still lamps lit around the first set of double doors on the right. Opening one of the doors showed them where everyone had gathered, more than a dozen people in addition to the defendants. But the three high chairs up on the dais were empty, which meant that court wasn’t yet in session. An older man dressed like a bailiff stood near the doors they entered by, and when he saw them he came over.

“Good mornin’,” he greeted them pleasantly, his accent sounding just like Vallant’s. “Can I help you folks with somethin’?”

“This lady is here to observe the trial,” Vallant answered with a smile. “She’s the one they tried kidnappin’, but the officials said they wouldn’t need her testimony. Is it all right if she and I just sit down back here somewhere?”

“You’re welcome to sit any place you like,” the bailiff replied with a smile of his own, one that seemed a bit warmer than the first one he’d produced. “If anyone has a right to observe the trial, I’d say this lady is it. And if one of you has any questions about what you see, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“That’s really lovely of you,” Jovvi told him with one of her own best smiles. “I just might have some questions, so we’ll sit down right here.”

The bailiff nodded to show that it was fine with him, so Jovvi urged Vallant to move to the bench first and let her sit on the end. Vallant hesitated very briefly, but the room was rather large and he wasn’t far from the door. It was possible to feel his clench-jawed efforts at self control, but they were successful enough to let him do as she wanted.

Once they were seated, Jovvi made herself look around a bit more deliberately. Ark and Bar were seated not far from Allestine at the front of the room, but her two bullies were wearing chains while she was not. Jovvi had expected to find Allestine frantic and terrified, but in point of fact the woman was calm and a bit impatient. It was as though she considered the proceeding a formality, and was just waiting to have it over and done with.

For a moment Jovvi wondered whether someone had lied to Allestine about what would happen, and then she realized that it didn’t matter. Someone could have lied, but it was just like the spoiled-brat Allestine to expect to get away with whatever she did. She’d gotten her own way for so many years that it was probably beyond her to picture any other outcome. Jovvi sighed and braced herself, anticipating what would happen if things went against the woman. Which they probably would…

Everyone sat or stood around for a number of minutes, some of those at the front of the courtroom speaking together in soft, secretive voices. They were the prosecuting officials, Jovvi suddenly understood, and their thought patterns suggested that they didn’t know why they were there on a rest day. So much for the practice being an ordinary one.

And there was someone probing gently at Jovvi with Spirit magic. She’d noticed as soon as the attempt began, but had made no effort to keep the practitioner away from her surface thoughts and emotions. As Vallant had said, if they were trying so hard to upset her, it would be foolish to make them think their efforts were wasted. Not to mention the fact that she
was
upset. If someone closer to her than Allestine were the accused, she would probably be as much of a nervous wreck as she now only pretended to be.

At the end of the double handful of minutes, a door opened on the left side of the room and three men appeared. They all wore the heavy purple robes of judges, and filed up onto the dais and took their places. Once they were seated, everyone in the courtroom stood up and bowed their respect. The judge in the center, the presiding judge, nodded acknowledgment to let everyone sit again. The judge on the right, who oversaw the procedures used by the prosecution, and the judge on the left, charged with looking out for the accused, made no effort to add their own nods.

“Now,” the presiding judge said once everyone was settled. “Will someone please tell me why we’re all here this morning?”

“The circumstances are rather special, Your Honor,” the chief prosecutor said after getting to his feet. The man had Spirit magic, and although he was no more than a Low to Middle talent, he must certainly be able to feel the judge’s vast annoyance.

“As I’m sure the court knows,” he continued, “we’re in the midst of preparing for the competitions which will choose our next Seated Blending. The matter before you this morning concerns the attempted kidnapping of one of the participants who qualified for the competitions. The special section of Advisory law therefore comes into play, which mandates the speediest trial possible.”

“I can’t see that waiting one more day would have caused the entire system to break down,” the judge grumbled, dissatisfaction clear on his broad, middle-aged face. “But since we’re already here, we might as well get on with it. Go ahead and start giving us the facts.”

“Really, Judge, this is all such foolishness,” Allestine interrupted as she rose gracefully to her feet. “The charges are absolutely untrue, and—”

“Dama, this isn’t the time,” the judge on the left interrupted in turn, his face expressionless. “You’ll be allowed your say, but not until the prosecutor has his. Sit down now, and wait until you’re asked to speak.”

Allestine was extremely annoyed, but she still nodded and smiled at the judge and resumed her seat. She seemed to think that she’d done something to help her cause, but Jovvi knew better. All three of the judges were Low talent Spirit magic users, and not one of them had missed Allestine’s very transparent emotions.

The prosecutor went on to describe the attempted kidnapping in surprising detail, ending with the fact that the victim hadn’t tried to press charges. That was why the empire, much less soft-hearted and forgiving than a young, inexperienced woman, was bringing the matter before the bar.

“Very simply put, Your Honor, this isn’t an attempt that can, or should be, overlooked,” the prosecutor wound up. “Qualified participants for the competitions are rare enough that they must be thoroughly protected, to be certain that no one tries the same again. We respectfully ask the court to make an example of this woman and her cohorts.”

“Why are the two men in chains?” the judge on the right asked after the prosecutor bowed. “Since there’s a squad of guardsmen around them, chains seem rather unnecessary.”

“A squad of guardsmen was also sent to arrest the three, Your Honor,” the prosecutor explained, faint embarrassment over the omission clear in the man’s thoughts. “The two men still tried to resist, apparently at the orders of the defendant. They’re in chains now to avoid a repetition of the incident.”

“Very commendable,” the judge on the right commented dryly, his tone telling the prosecutor that the point was an important one and shouldn’t have been overlooked. His thoughts seemed to indicate that the man was new, and therefore wasn’t yet used to all parts of the proper procedures.

“All right, Dama, now it’s your turn,” the judge on the left said to Allestine. “Were you telling us earlier that the charges are a bit harsh?”

“Not harsh, Judge, completely untrue,” Allestine said as she rose again, completely ignoring the hint given her by the judge. “That silly bit of fluff was lying when she told everyone what happened. The truth is that I’d come to say goodbye to her, and she begged me to take her back to Rincammon with me. She said she hated everything about this city and wanted to go home, back to my residence in our city. I tried to be as gentle as possible when I refused her, but she still flew into a rage. She made me stop the coach then and there to let her out, but not before she said I’d be sorry for refusing her. I had no idea what she meant until the guardsmen came to arrest us. Her story is a lie, Your Honor, from beginning to end.”

She used her smile on all three of the judges then, moving her body very slowly and gracefully. Jovvi recognized the subtle movement as one all courtesans are taught, to show prospective patrons that the courtesan is completely available. Allestine considered her speech and offer—a full success, but that was because she had Low level Fire magic. Spirit magic showed Jovvi how unhappy the three judges were with Allestine’s story, the judge on the left disgusted with the way she’d ignored his suggested defense.

“Dama, are you saying you weren’t overcome by emotional loss and therefore found yourself doing something foolish?” he tried again, this time spelling it out for her. “The young lady had lived in your residence long enough for you to become sisterly—or motherly—fond of her, so perhaps you weren’t able to face the idea of leaving her behind all alone. That would explain—”

“Nonsense, Your Honor,” Allestine interrupted with a small laugh, actually trying to make the words sound coy. “The girl was a terrible troublemaker in the residence, and she wasn’t even particularly popular with my patrons. With that in mind, you can see that the idea of my trying to kidnap her is pure nonsense. The truth is that I was very relieved to be rid of her.”

“So that’s the truth, is it?” the judge on the right said while the one on the left sighed with exasperated resignation. “Then why don’t you tell us, Dama, why you came all this way just to visit a girl you don’t like? You’ve conducted no business of any sort in this city, nor have you visited anyone else. Court investigators checked the point thoroughly, so there’s no mistake.”

“I’m afraid they weren’t quite as thorough as all that,” Allestine disagreed, apparently prepared for the question. “I came to Gan Garee to see if it was practical to open a residence here. I’ve been thinking about expanding for quite some time, and finally decided to look into the matter. Courtesy forced me into visiting that stupid girl while I was here, which I certainly now wish I hadn’t.”

“Looking into expanding your business would mean seeing what properties are available and assessing the competition you would face,” the judge on the right pursued, his expression hard and unyielding. “You may now tell this court how you found out what was available, and the method you used to gauge your future competition.”

“Why, Your Honor, the answer to those questions is very simple,” Allestine purred, privately feeling a ridiculing delight. “I
meant
to do those things, but I’m afraid I disliked this city the moment I laid eyes on it. As soon as I got here I decided against opening a residence after all, and so had no need to do any investigating.”