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Jasmine was nervous about doing this because the elder was a powerful person and she could imagine him just having her—and everyone else who was involved in trying to take him down—eliminated. She was glad they had three hunters on their side, Brett also taking part in this, though he hadn’t said he would before. She knew the vampire league wouldn’t like that hunters were getting involved in their affairs. But she was glad the hunters would help the other council members to see the truth. Maybe if they did prove their case, the council members would be more careful about making decisions concerning sending out assassins to take down rogues when there was no evidence supporting their contention that they were rogues.
Jasmine didn’t like that they had to check their swords at the door before they entered the court. Thankfully, the hunters weren’t required to.
What surprised her was when they got there, the council members and their lawyers weren’t the only ones there. At least twenty vampires were sitting in the gallery as spectators or something else? This did not look good. Vaulted ceilings were painted in beautiful artwork of angels and the sun, that made Jasmine feel like this was more of a cathedral than a place to decide the fate of vampires’ lives.
The elders were sitting on an elevated floor at a high table, looking very imperious—all twelve of them. Nine were men, three women, and one of the men was Elder Michaels—wearing a burgundy robe like the rest of the elders. Why was he sitting there with all the other elders and not in the stand for those accused of violating the vampires’ trust?
Elder Michaels’s granddaughter wasn’t even here. Jasmine didn’t have a good feeling about this, like instead of Edith being on trial, she and her companions were going to be questioned and found guilty.
Stasio squeezed Jasmine’s hand and then he told Levka and the others,“Twenty vampires are here in addition to the council members and their lawyers. Elder Michaels is sitting with the other elders as if he is not on trial. Edith isn’t even here. We’re hoping this is going to be fair and just, but if we have trouble with the vampires here and it looks like we’re the ones on trial instead—”
“We’re on our way,”Levka said.
The problem was that Jasmine really didn’t have many friends here. Partly because of her occupation as an assassin and partly because her brother was a hunter. Jasmine was so glad they could at least call on Levka and the others to help them if they needed them.
Then a gray-haired man wearing a gray suit walked up to Gareth and shook his hand. “I’m Frederick and I’m representing you in this case. I have all your text messages and emails between you and the young lady, Edith.”
Thankfully, Edith was brought in then and made to sit in the defendants’ box. She was a pretty brunette with bright green eyes and a haughty look. She was wearing a pale pink dress and high heels like she was going out for a sundae—pure, innocent, sweet. Stasio could see why Gareth had fallen for the woman. He loved brunettes. Jasmine glanced at Stasio as if she worried Edith would intrigue him also. He squeezed her hand. He was much more intrigued by the assassin dressed all in black leather standing beside him than the princess who was spoiled rotten.
The elder in charge motioned for them to take their seats and everyone did so.
Then Frederick presented Gareth’s case. “We have to change the way things are done if an elder can order a hit on a vampire based on what his granddaughter or anyone else says without any supporting evidence that the vampire has done anything wrong. Assassins need to know exactly why the vampire is on the termination list. None of this—here’s a name, get it done—should be allowed.”
Eleven of the elders turned to look at Elder Michaels.
The white-haired man just glowered at Gareth. Jasmine knew if the elder could, he would just leap off his chair and terminate Gareth right then and there.
The granddaughter squirmed in her seat a little. She didn’t appear to believe her grandfather could get them out of this situation. Jasmine didn’t know who the other vampires were who were sitting in on the hearing, but suddenly, Levka and the others entered the room.
The elders looked at them and one said, “Who are you?”
Levka waved his arm at Stasio, Jasmine, Brett, Gareth and his brothers, “Friends and family.”
“Take your seats with the others then. No more interruptions.”
Gareth’s lawyer continued, stating, “Gareth hasn’t done anything wrong that should have earned him the death sentence and if it hadn’t been for his hunter brothers and others stepping in to save his life, he would be dead now. That makes Elder Michaels and his granddaughter, Edith, co-conspirator vampire rogues. The fact that his granddaughter did nothing to prove Gareth had done anything wrong and the elder had arbitrarily put him on a death list is the ultimate betrayal of our kind.”
Transcripts showing all the text messages and emails between Gareth and his girlfriend were put on display for everyone to see.
In a hearing like this, the elder had every right to defend himself next. He wasn’t allowed to hide behind a lawyer. He had to explain his reasoning satisfactorily to everyone present or face the consequences. Though as far as Jasmine knew, none of the elders had ever had to explain their actions for anything they had done before.
Elder Michaels really didn’t have a lot of choices. He could either admit he was guilty of using his authority to have a vampire murdered for no good reason. Or he could blame his granddaughter and say she had convinced him that Gareth was a rogue, not realizing she had lied to him about all of it.
“Sometimes mistakes are made,” Elder Michaels said.
No! Jasmine spoke up then. “That is not good enough. I was contracted to kill Gareth. If I had done so, it would have been on my conscience that I had killed an innocent vampire once I learned the truth. And I would have learned of it soon enough. Not only had your granddaughter convinced you to target Gareth, she did the same thing with two other men she had dated previously and was unhappy with them. It says so in her email. Are they dead?”
“Jasmine is right. I have checked with the families of the two men and learned they had indeed dated Edith and she had done the same thing to their sons,” Frederick said. “Except they were not as fortunate and were terminated. How many others have been on your lists for no good reason? How many innocent vampires have died because of your decisions? Based on what? For the sake of your granddaughter’s revenge? Or even your own? Yeah, I know. If you could, you would put me on one of your lists for even suggesting you are wrong.”
“My granddaughter told me they were rogues. She convinced me of it,” Elder Michaels said.
Everyone looked at Edith to see what she had to say.
“Oh, no, you’re not going to pin this all on me. I told you that the guys had dumped me, and you said you would dig up something bad on them,” Edith said.
That announcement raised a bunch of brows. Now it was in the elder’s court again. “I would have to review my records to see exactly what they were guilty of, but I’m sure it was murder.”
“You were told we were having this hearing and you were to be ready for it. You knew what we would be questioning you about,” Frederick said.
