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I can’t bear to look at him. I know I can’t. I’m too terrified of what I might see in his eyes.
“I think the film speaks for itself.” Hildebrand uses the remote to turn off the screen, his eyes falling upon me again. “Will you deny what’s obvious, Ms. De La Rosa? You were there. The proof is indisputable.”
“I was there.” I hang my head, trying to hold back my tears. “I won’t deny it.”
“It was self-defense,” Santi snarls from beside me. “Anyone can see that.”
Despite my assurance I wouldn’t, I swivel my gaze to him, and more tears fill my eyes as I realize he’s not just saying it. He really does believe that.
“It’s quite obvious it became a battle to the death,” Hildebrand concedes. “I will give you that. However, it doesn’t negate the fact that she instigated the events by going there on her own in the first place. She hired the courtesan, and then when things went awry, she tried to cover up the incident. She acted in a manner completely at odds with what IVI represents. We do not allow these things to become outside issues. It’s the one rule we must all abide by. Yet we now have an outsider insistent on retribution. Mercedes has drawn attention to us, and not in a good way. This must be dealt with, as much as it displeases me to say. There must be severe consequences—”
“Enough,” Judge snaps. “I would like to have a word with you in private. Now.”
Hildebrand narrows his gaze at Judge, and I cling to Santi as visions of public beatings taint my mind.
“We aren’t finished,” the councilor tells him.
“I’m invoking the Vicarius clause,” Judge replies, low and quiet.
Hildebrand’s eyes flare, and my brother tenses beside me, but I don’t understand what that means. Before I have a chance to guess, Hildebrand shifts his attention to my brother.
“Remove her from his courtroom and wait outside. It looks like we’ll be having that word in private after all.”
24
Judge
I don’t look at her. I can’t. I don’t trust myself. Instead, I keep my gaze on the councilors, hating Hildebrand as he watches Santiago remove Mercedes from the courtroom.
I know what is coming. What form the punishment will take. And I cannot and will not allow Mercedes to bear it. Not after the trauma she has already experienced at her father’s hand and at Theron’s. And even without those events, there was never a question that I would do this. That I would take her place.
Once the door closes behind them, Hildebrand turns his gaze to me, and I wonder if he’s disappointed. Because the Vicarius clause will put her out of his reach.
And me squarely in it.
“I hope you know what you’re doing, Judge,” he says, adjusting his reading glasses and looking down at the folder before him.
I’m doing the only thing I can do.
I wonder how many members of The Society know of the Vicarius clause. Santiago does. I could feel him stiffen when I spoke the words to invoke it. Will he tell Mercedes its meaning? I doubt it. Because the matter at hand isn’t the courtesan’s death. That was self-defense. The surveillance leaves little to discuss on that. Our problem now is twofold. It’s a matter of Mercedes lying, and perhaps more importantly, the fact that The Society is exposed to and made vulnerable to an outsider by her actions.
IVI may exist in its own bubble, but we are still a part of the outside world. We have to be. And I can imagine how news of a secret society would make headlines, outing members as both truth and fiction are fed to hungry consumers ready to cast stones.
The councilors converse quietly, Hildebrand with his hand over the microphone so I can’t hear. Montrose, the eldest of the three and the one Hildebrand would have me replace, shakes his head. He is also the gentlest of the three. As far as they can be gentle. I think Hildebrand would have preferred Carlisle to sit in Montrose’s seat, but as the terms of the councilors are lifetime, he could not be removed.
“Alright.” Hildebrand removes his hand, drawing my attention as he clears his throat. “As a formality, I must ask you to state your understanding of the Vicarius clause, Mr. Montgomery.” I am Mr. Montgomery in here. Not Judge Montgomery. As Hildebrand said a few nights ago, we are all equals before The Tribunal.
“In invoking the Vicarius clause, one makes the pledge to stand in the place of the party charged with wrongdoing and accepts the consequences on their behalf.”
He nods.
“And you are willing to stand in the place of Mercedes De La Rosa and take her punishment?” Montrose asks.
I steel myself. “I am.”
“How can you, not knowing what The Tribunal will demand? Isn’t it foolhardy?” Hildebrand asks, and I know he is disappointed it’s not Mercedes standing where I am now. I don’t know if he has a fondness for punishing those of high rank or just women in general.
“That is not our concern, Councilor,” Montrose says to him. “Once Vicarius is invoked, it cannot be undone. It is our law.”
