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"Yes, but...
"That will be all. Thank you," the inquisitor said, cutting off his testimony.
Charles looked as though he wanted to say something more, but his words died on his tongue. He looked ashen and disheartened. He stepped down and walked back to his seat with the Conclave.
None of the members of the Conclave would look at him, and several in the crowd began to boo and hiss.
"As final evidence against Madeleine Force, we present the Mark. I believe you will find it on the back of her neck," the inquisitor declared.
"That's absolutely ludicrous. I don't bear the Mark of Lucifer any more than the rest of you," Mimi said. She wanted to scream. This was a travesty. She was being set up!
"Lift your hair, please," the Chief Warden directed.
Mimi gathered her hair and lifted it. She had done this for Nan Cutler the night before, when she had come to per- form the test. Nothing had happened, and she was certain she had been cleared.
There was an agitated murmur from the Conclave.
"What?"
Your neck, Mimi, there's something on your neck.
Jack, you're scaring me.
She felt the back of her neck with the tips of her fin- gers. Raised flesh. A tattoo. More like a burn, like a cattle brand.
Judgment was swift and resolute. Mimi was the perpetrator. She was found guilty of conspiring with a Silver Blood. She would be taken to their ancient prison in Venice, where her blood would be burned, her memories destroyed, with no hope of reincarnation. Bail was set for one million dollars, which her father promptly paid, so that Mimi could be released to his custody.
Mimi looked at Jack. This can't be happening...I didn't do it. You know I didn't.
I know. I know. Jack put an arm around his sister, but his face was lined with anxiety. This was serious. Sentenced to burn! Mimi!
The Force twins waited for Charles to walk down the platform to their side. He still had the same shell-shocked look on his face.
"Father, what can we do now?" Mimi said. "Surely..."
Charles Force was aghast. "There is nothing..."
"Nothing?"
"There is only one way to refute the Mark of Lucifer. You must submit to an even more ancient custom. The blood trial. But only Gabrielle--Allegra Van Alen--is able to perform this."
"Gabrielle?" Mimi asked, with a sinking feeling.
"Yes."
A whole lot of good that was going to do her. Allegra was in a coma and would never wake up.
"So there is nothing I can do to prove my innocence?" Mimi asked.
"Nothing."
;
The Committee's investigation on the incident at the Repository called for a public hearing, wherein all the witnesses to the attack were called to testify before The Committee. The hearing took place inside one of the massive courtrooms underneath the Repository. The members of the Conclave sat in a row on a high platform, facing the crowd, Charles Force in the middle. Lawrence Van Alen was seated to the far right, and was already puffing on his customary cigar. The new Chief Warden, Edmund Oelrich, a famous art historian and gallery owner in his public life, ran the proceedings from his seat up on the platform. There was a small podium to the side where witnesses were called, and the inquisitor, The Committee's official prosecutor, stood across from it.
The seats in the courtroom were filled with almost all the Blue Blood families, and tension ran high as Schuyler, Jack, Bliss, and Oliver described their version of the events one by one. They were seated next to each other in the front row. Mimi was seated next to Jack, and was still waiting for her turn. She was nervous about the investigation, but figured there had to be some way to bluff her way through it. After all, it wasn't like she had wanted Bliss to be hurt or Priscilla DuPont dead not in the least! She couldn't have cared less about the old bag. It was just an unfortunate accident. They had to understand that, right? If there was no motive, they couldn't find her guilty, could they? She reached over to grab her brother's hand, and Jack gave it a warm squeeze.
The inquisitor called Kingsley Martin to the stand. "State your name for the records."
