Initiation (23 page)

The cameras showed Faustine as she took off toward the food station and crashed into the shifter. The second camera had focused in on that shifter group moments before and recorded the group getting up, pointing at Faustine, and then sprinting over to block her way. Not the entire group, though. Two boys stayed behind, and I wondered why they hadn’t joined the others.

The camera angles changed. One focused on my back, and the other on Faustine. It was weird watching myself transform.

Then, I saw the bird! It went directly for Faustine. I waited with bated breath to see her transformation.

Both cameras seemed to suddenly get hit with something. I had no idea with what, but it totally blocked the view. I waited. Blackness. What the heck? I raised my eyebrows at the others.

Quinn shook his head and pointed to the window. It was time for us to go. What a total bust. I quickly checked the computer for the unedited digital files; they had to be somewhere. But all I could find was the edited version. I needed to get my hands on the originals.

We returned empty handed to Jagger’s study.

“Wow, it was amazing to see you transform!” Jewel exclaimed. “How does it feel when you do that?”

I shrugged, not feeling up for a perky chat.

“Aw. Are you upset, Cordelia? Why?”

“I was just hoping to see more. You know, like the human form of that eagle.”

“Oh, I think I know who that might be,” Jewel said.

“Really?” I felt like I was going to explode with excitement. “Who?”

I
was totally drowning in epic fail moments, last night having been the blockbuster. And the morning was bound to bring yet another. What was another session in student council court going to achieve? The glimmer of hope I felt when Jewel had casually mentioned that she recognized the eagle was promptly snatched away.

Jewel thought that one of the two shifter boys from the cafeteria who’d stayed behind at the table was the eagle. She said she could tell by the eyes. She was mistaken, of course. The eagle was a girl. Jewel had been pretty persistent, but I knew what I had seen. She was wrong.

“Why so down?” Octavia queried.

“It just seems like a giant waste of time,” I whined.

“Oh? I’m surprised to hear you say that. We have four of your attackers in custody.”

“We don’t have any proof. So how exactly are we supposed to win?” I did my best not to roll my eyes too blatantly.

“Oh, ye of little faith.” She laughed. “But on a serious note, I don’t know. Yet. Let’s just take it step by step. It’s what I always do. And I don’t lose. We’ll play it by the rules first, but if that doesn’t work…” She shrugged.

“What do you mean?” I arched an eyebrow, feeling just a tad hopeful again. If she had dirty tricks up her sleeve, I was all for it.

“Just what I said. Come on. It’s time to go inside.”

We walked to the same table where we’d sat at the last session, ignoring the tittering sounds from the other table. Tad, Andrew, Hank, and Jeremy seemed pretty confident that things would go their way. I caught Sally waving at Octavia.

Once again, I caught a whiff of the eagle, and I scanned the audience. Where the heck was that damned bird?

Ten brought down his gavel with a loud thump, silencing the room. “Good morning, everyone. Octavia, are you ready?”

“Good morning. Yes, I’m ready to begin. May I call my first witness?”

“Yes. Who are you calling?”

“I call Jagger Deveraux to the stand.”

The side door opened, and Jagger strode in and took his place behind the witness podium. He wore his standard issue school uniform. Somehow, he managed to make even that look cool. A momentary flashback of what was under his clothes gave me goosebumps.

After Jagger was sworn in by the student council clerk, Ten bellowed, “State your name.”

“Jagger Deveraux.”

“Octavia, your witness.”

“Jagger, what’s your relationship with Cordelia?”

What? Jeez!

“We are acquaintances.”

“Friends?”

Jagger smiled at me. “I’ve just recently met her. I hope we’ll be friends.”

“When did you first meet her?”

“Last Saturday.”

“The day she was attacked?”

“Yes, but I met her earlier that day.”

“Under what circumstances?”

“Frau Schmelder asked me to explain her mentor assignment to her.”

“Where did that meeting take place? The one between you and Cordelia?”

“In my office–the student council president’s office.”

“How long did it last?”

“Not long, maybe ten minutes or so.”

“And then she left?”

“Yes.”

“When did you see her after that?”

“I came across her briefly in the cafeteria, and then later on my way to the mentors’ lounge.”

“What state was she in when you saw her in the corridor?”

Sally got her feet, objecting. She said something about Jagger not being qualified to give a medical opinion. Sheesh, she’d been watching way too much
Law & Order
.

“Sustained,” Ten muttered, sounding annoyed.

Octavia sighed. “Jagger, describe what you saw when you walked down the corridor on the way to the mentors’ lounge that day.”

Jagger gritted his teeth, sending a shiver down my spine. I couldn’t stand that sound.

“I saw a body lying on the floor.” Jagger raked his fingers through his hair, clearly upset at having to recall the image. “In pieces. Like a bunch of hyenas had been at it. The body was barely recognizable, but I could see that it was Cordelia. I felt for her pulse. I failed to find one.”

“So what did you do?” Octavia’s voice was soft and gentle.

“I gathered all the body parts and rushed them to the healer, Dr. Marks, at the infirmary.”

“Did you see anyone else in the corridor, near the body?”

“No.”

“Did you pick up any smells?”

“No.”

Apparently faeries sucked at that.

“I don’t have any more questions. Thanks, Jagger.” Octavia sat back down next to me.

“Sally, cross?” Ten asked.

“Thanks, Ten.” Sally skipped up to Jagger. “Are you sure that the body was that of Cordelia?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure she was dead?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“She didn’t have a pulse.”

“That you were able to detect,” Sally completed. “Are you good at that sort of thing? Detecting pulses, I mean?”

“I’m trained in first aid. Being the captain of the ski team, I had to go through the training program.”

“Sure. But are you good at it?”

“I completed the first-aid program,” Jagger replied, looking annoyed.

“Does the first-aid course cover demons? Vampires?”

“Yes.”

“So if Cordelia was a vampire, how would you be able to tell if she was really dead, or just badly injured?”

“I couldn’t, but–”

“So you can’t really be a hundred percent sure that Cordelia was dead; you just think she might have been.”

Jagger’s eyes blazed. “She was
dead
.”

“Okay. Thank you, Jagger. I don’t have any further questions.”

“Octavia, do you have any other witnesses?”

“Yes, but first I would like to redirect Jagger. Jagger, please stay on the witness stand.”

Jagger looked surprised, but he stayed seated.

“Jagger, when Sally asked you about not being able to tell if a vampire was dead, you answered that you couldn’t. Let me ask you this: Is Cordelia a vampire?”

Jagger smirked. “No, Cordelia is not a vampire.”

“Then, per what you’ve learned in your first-aid training, since Cordelia isn’t a vampire, would not knowing if a vampire is dead or undead have any impact on your impression of the condition Cordelia was in when you found her?”

“Objection! Speculation,” Sally shouted.

“Overruled. Octavia laid the proper foundation for this question,” Ten said.

“You can answer the question, Jagger.” Octavia practically purred from her victory.

“I don’t know how to tell if a vampire is dead, that’s true. But, since Cordelia is not a vampire, that had no impact whatsoever on my understanding that Cordelia was, in fact, dead.”

“No further questions. Thanks, Jagger.” Octavia sat down.

“Recross, Sally?” Ten asked.

Sally sulked. “Not at this time.”

Ten stretched. “Let’s keep this moving. Next witness.”

“Yes. I’d like to call Faustine Spencer.”

Ten nodded. “Faustine is only twelve, so she will be questioned without the audience or defendants present. Their legal counsel may stay, but must remain silent. I will question her myself. There will be no cross.”

Sally jumped to her feet. “That’s ridiculous! I realize she’s only twelve, but so what? She’s a demon. There’s no need to treat her differently from any other student. If she was ready to be sent here, she should be held to the same rules as anyone else.”

Ten sighed. “Simmer down, Sally. The student council and Frau Schmelder’s decision is final in this matter. Sit down.”

“Just because she’s King Sebastian’s daughter…” Sally mumbled.