The Stolen Child (47 page)

A murm
u
r reverberated through the room, a thousand whispered conversations springing up at once.

“On the actions of Professor Chandra and Captain Bira,”
the Lord Inquisitor continued, his voice rising above the din,
“we must first address the question of their crossing the Veil without papers of travel, and without apparent cause.  Whilst I have serious questions...”

The Lord Inquisitor fixed Rishi with a steely gaze.

“...As to precisely what sparked Professor Chandra's sudden interest in this matter, I have seen no evidence that he obtained access to information from the Chamber of Foresight, no matter what
Sir Ben Mahir
or House Bhandari may contend.  However the  fact remains that Professor Chandra and Captain Bira are responsible for crossing the Veil without the permission of the Warden
s
.  
On this matter,
Professor Chandra has informed this court that this decision was entirely his responsibility, and that he wilfully coerced Captain Bira into compliance.”

Rachael heard the sharp gasps from those seated around her.

“Oh Abasi...” Milima said, under her breath.  “How could you let him...”

“That idiot...” Micah growled.  Though Ilona said nothing, Rachael saw the way the woman's fingers curled, as if ready to make a fist.  She turned to look at where Rishi and Abasi sat.  The professor's eyes were cold, almost lifeless, but Abasi looked as if he wanted to throw up.

“Thus, this court has no recourse but to find Professor Chandra entirely culpable in this matter.  As to the charge of conspiracy, though
the prosecution
has dwelt for some time on the
history shared between these two men
, this court must acknowledge the following...  First, that the fostering of Rishi Chandra under House Bhandari is a matter of record.  Second, that  Rishi Chandra was formally disowned by House Bhandari, and all ties between House Chandra and House Bhandari were severed
some twelve years past
.  
Third, that the prosecution has failed to bring sufficient evidence to demonstrate any further collusion.
  Thus, we can find no cause sufficient to prove any charge of conspiracy.”

“Are you following any of this?”
Rachael said, turning to look
over at Arsha.  The girl
nodded, her eyes wide.  
She
seemed unable to actually form a reply.
 

“In the matter of the breach of the Veil enacted by Professor Chandra, this court declares that Professor Chandra shall immediately be stripped of priv
i
l
e
ge, his papers of travel removed, and his house be fined the sum of ten thousand
G
uilders.”

Again, the rising chorus of whispers from around the chamber.  For a moment it appeared the Lord Inquisitor had finished, until the man seemed to remember himself.

“One other matter has been brought before this court's attention.  In the matter of the care of the child Rachael Barnes, a refugee from the Hearth,
Sir Ben Mahir
has moved to take the child into custody as material to the matter of the awakened Seed.  Professor Chandra has claimed the child as his adopted daughter, and refused to present her to the
Inquisition
.  However in light of these penalties issued against Professor Chandra, this court must deem that he is longer a fit or suitable guardian.  
The adoption of Rachael Barnes by Rishi Chandra is hereby annulled.  
The child shall be granted to the care of the
Inquisition
until suitable arrangements can be made for her.”

The way the
old man
spoke the words, it seemed almost like a dismissal.  As if she had been hardly worth mentioning.  
No matter how she had tried to prepare herself for this, she could still feel her hands shaking
.  Then a voice rang out, loud and clear across the courtroom.

“
Lord Inquisitor,
I... I
need
to say something.”

Arsha stepped down from the seats as she spoke, crossing to the centre of the chamber with quick, nervous steps.  In the sudden silence all eyes were on her.  For a moment the
old man
didn't say a word.  He just regarded her curiously, as if he had never seen a teenage girl before
in his life
.

“Speak your piece, child,”
h
e said at last.

“
Lord Inquisitor, you can't take Rachael away.  Even if my dad can't adopt her, she's a member of this family now.
”

“
Child, no matter how you may feel about this, the law is the law.  If you have nothing germane to bring, you must clear the floor.”
 

The Lord Inquisitor spoke with the slow and patient tones of an old man addressing a little girl, too young to realise her own foolishness.

“Lord Inquisitor, this is a... A matter of law.  Rachael is my sister.  Bound by blood and fate.  
According to the precedents set by the Dunforth trials, Guild law recognises the practice of blood-binding as...
”  
The girl faltered, for a moment, pausing to catch her breath.  “As being of equal weight to the ties of family established by birth or marriage.”
 

For a moment, no one seemed to know quite how to react.  The general tenor of the courtroom seemed to be one of confusion.  People were glancing at each other, as if to see if anyone knew quite what the words were supposed to mean.  Rachael caught the professor's expression, frozen in disbelief.  The man's knuckle's were
pale
as he gripped the railing in front of him.  In Manindra's eyes she saw a
look of quiet curiosity
that left her even more unsettled.

Gathering himself, the Lord Inquisitor regarded Arsha very carefully, as if his eyes could pierce through any lie she might try to tell him.  Standing her ground, Arsha held up her palm,
showing off the thin scar.  Sensing her cue, Rachael
jumped down from her seat before anyone around her could react and stepped out onto the floor with her own hand raised high, the matching scar clearly shown
.

In the silence, a single word was spoken.

“Arsha...”

Rishi
's astonished gasp seemed barely a whisper, but it still echoed loud in the hushed room.

The Lord Inquisitor drew a long, calming breath.
 

“Very well.  
A fateworker shall be called upon to determine the veracity of your claim to be blood-bound.  If it is confirmed, I shall reconsider my previous judgement.  Does the
prosecution
ha
ve
any point to bring in this matter?”  

He turned to regard Sir Ben Mahir.  The younger man slowly unfolded himself, striding out onto the floor.

“Yes, Lord Inquisitor, we do.  The
prosecution
accepts that Rachael Barnes and Arsha Chandra are now bound by blood.  
We must, therefore, move that both children be immediately placed under our care.  If, as she claims, Arsha Chandra has indeed been blood bound to miss Barnes then we can only conclude that miss Chandra is, herself, irrevocably contaminated.
”

“
Contaminated?” the Lord Inquisitor said, raising an eyebrow.  “Sir Ben Mahir, I do hope you mean to explain yourself.”
 

“
Yes, Lord Inquisitor.  I have here the results of the medical
examination performed upon miss Barnes before her admission into the Citadel.  Under our discretion, pursuant to Guild laws and articles volume seven, section thirty-two, the results of this testing were made available to our own experts, who have provided their formal conclusions which I also have here, signed and witnessed.  I will, of course, make all of these documents available to the court upon request.  However, if you will permit me to summarise, what we learned from examining the child's blood was… Well… Baffling to say the least.  None-the-less, our best alchymists agree on one thing with absolute certainty; whatever this girl may be, she is not human.  Or at least, not entirely.  As such we must attest that she stands outside of the protection of Guild law.  Even the bonds of blood.
”

For a moment, Rachael felt as if she wasn't sure which way was down.  She caught the incredulous expression on Arsha's face, as the girl turned to look at her.

“
We have not yet fully determined the precise nature of the child's altered heritage, but it is quite likely that her inhuman ancestry is connected to the situation now unfolding beyond the Veil.  As such, the Inquisition demands that she be turned over to our custody for further study.
”

Even the professor looked on with horror, as Ben Mahir laid out his case.

“
Naturally
,”
Reuben
continued, “if Arsha Chandra has truly bound her blood and fate to
Miss
Barnes
'
, we must contend that she is likewise contaminated, and must
also
be rendered into the care of the Inquisition.”

“No!” Rishi cried out, leaning out halfway across the railing in front of him, eyes wide with horror
as the guards pulled him back.
 

With a deeply disgruntled look about him, the Lord Inquisitor regarded Ben Mahir for
a long moment
.

“Very well.  This court accepts
your recommendation
.  Rachael Barnes and Arsha Chandra shall be given to the care of the
Inquisition, pursuant to the ongoing investigation into the matters occurring beyond the Veil
.”

“No, you can't take her!  You can't take my daughter!”

Rishi's cry resounded through the room as he vaulted the railing.  He was moving across the floor before the guards could react.  He ran to his daughter, snatching up her hands in his.  Rachael could see the way he stared at the
pale
line across the girl's palm, as if not able to believe it.

“Oh Arsha, why did you do it?  Why?”

Arsha turned to look at her father, with eyes that seemed ready to fill with tears.

“I had to, Daddy.  
It was the only way.
”

“
No, Arsha, no, you foolish girl, you never should have...
”

The words tumbled out of his mouth, crashing into one another in his confusion, as two guardsmen
caught him by the shoulders and dragged him back, kicking and thrashing.
 

“Get that man out of here,”
t
he
Lord Inquisitor
snapped, his voice like a whip-crack.

The professor continued to shout as he was hauled out of the room,
a stream of violent curses against the Lord Inquisitor,
Reuben Ben Mahir, and most of all Manindra.  His eyes flickered between them, spittle forming around his mouth as he shouted himself hoarse, all the while twisting in the iron grip of the guardsmen.
 

A
s Rachael watched, his eyes met hers,
furious and wild
.  
F
or a moment he seemed to not even recognise her.  When he did, the expression th
at
passed across his face chilled her.  In those wild eyes, what she saw was an accusation.  Her own feeling of shame was immediate, and momentary.  She realised that he was wrong.  She had not stolen his daughter from him.  She had not put him in this place.  He was the one.  The one who had taken her away from everything she had known, who had committed the crimes that he was now facing
the penalty for
, who had
made his own daughter a part of it all
.  He was the one who had failed.  After all his promises, he had done nothing to protect her.  She was
going to be locked away from the world
, and the only one who had done a thing about it was Arsha.

As the guards hauled Rishi out of the chamber and the doors slammed closed behind them, she saw figures in grey coats moving towards where she was sat.  Others came to stand at Arsha's side, gesturing for her to follow them.
 

Ignoring their instructions, as the nearest of the men tried to make her step clear of the seats, she looked up at the glass dome above, some impulse making her long to see the sunlight.
  The figures in the stained glass window stared down at them all impassively.  In their glass eyes there was no pity, no comfort.  But as she watched, the window darkened.  For a moment she thought the shadow must have been cast by a cloud, but then she recognised the shape.

The shape of outstretched wings.

F
or a fraction of a second
the window seemed to bulge inwards, and then there was only an expanding cloud of coloured glass shapes raining down upon the marble floor as Justin burst into the hall.  With a great sweep of his wings he halted in the air, hanging for a moment before he dropped down to land on the magistrate's podium.  There was a crash of splintering wood as claws the size of cart-wheels tore into the platform.  Rachael saw the old man scrambling away, feet tangling in his long coat.  Majestically, Justin swept his wings outwards.  
T
he wind buffeted the whole chamber and Rachael stumbled back a step.  Then his lungs swelled and he let out a deafening cry that rattled the glass in the remaining windows.
 

Silence followed.  Towards the back of the room she saw a pair of
grey-
coated guards standing with their swords drawn, but clearly unwilling to approach.  She wondered how long they would have before more came, with guns.
 

Justin surveyed the silent chamber once more.  Then t
he vast black form of the bird dissolved down to
the shape of
the
young man in
a
flowing black coat
with
his messy hair swept back, standing in the centre of the chamber.  He grinned, amused, arrogant, entirely sure of himself, and in the face of those sparkling gold flecked eyes her
fears seemed to vanish
.  The courtroom continued to empty, people pushing past each other in their panic.  At the doors she could see more guards struggling to
get into the room, but they were fighting the press of bodies.  
When
the centre of the chamber cleared she remained alone, as Justin walked calmly towards her.