“What I am is innocent of all charges. Armageddon is my sworn enemy.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I shake my head. “I need a minute here. How can you keep spewing out lies like that?”
“Because I’m not the liar. I’m not the murderer, either. This is all on you, demon. You used your lust charms to wheedle your way into Cryptan’s life. And when you knew the codex didn’t have enough evidence? You killed him in cold blood so you could steal away the proof of your failure. You’ll never prove my guilt by Friday, and both of you will spend your lives in jail.” Aldred turns to Lincoln. “Is it really worth it? A life in prison to cover up for a demon whore?”
Demon whore? “Watch your mouth, or I’ll send you to Hell early.”
“Not before I slice him in two.” Lincoln takes out his baculum. “Address Myla properly.”
“My mistake, Great Scala,” says Aldred. Still, he doesn’t seem too worried about Lincoln’s baculum or my threat to send him to fiery down under. That’s not a good sign. Aldred points to the empty spot where the Rixa Codex once stood. “First things first. You have no evidence.”
“We’ll gather fresh testimony,” says Lincoln. “There’s a lot of time between now and Friday.”
“No, there isn’t any time at all.” Aldred pulls out a scroll of parchment from the folds of his tunic. “I have a signed writ here from your father, the King. The House of Acca has just been awarded the Rights of Prisonry in Antrum.”
Rights of Prisonry. That means they now run every jail. “I thought Kamal ran the prisons.”
“Time was, they did.” Aldred lifts his chin. “Now, it’s Acca.” He taps a spot on the writ. “And as we all know, in cases of murder on thrax lands, all suspects must be held indefinitely in prison.” He glares at me. “I’ve a nice cell already picked out for you.”
The world seems to stop spinning for a moment. I knew Lincoln’s father was acting strangely, but to sign a writ like this with Acca? To get me carted off to prison before our day in court? I never would have expected this betrayal. Neither would Octavia, it would seem. She marches over to Aldred and takes the sheet from his hands.
“That can’t be right.” Octavia scans the document carefully. “This must be a forged signature. Connor would never do such a thing.” The words come out as more of a question than a statement, though.
My heart sinks. Lincoln has always called it. He said Connor would never allow Acca to end up in jail. I thought maybe Connor had gotten over his Acca love-fest. Looks like I was wrong though. And knowing Aldred’s love of blackmail? He must be holding something awful over Connor’s head.
Aldred pulls the parchment back from Octavia. “I want no trouble with you, my Queen. Myla is coming with me.”
I’ve never wanted to kill anyone more than I do Aldred right now. “And Lincoln?”
“Ah, yes. We’re detaining him for questioning as well.”
“Let me guess.” I smack my lips. “The detaining process includes slapping my fiancé in a prison cell.”
“It’s standard operating procedure for prisonry in Acca.”
I roll my eyes. “You just made that up.”
“Whine all you want,” says Aldred. “All that matters is one simple fact. Neither of you are going to court today, I’m afraid.”
Right.
I turn to Lincoln. “What are our options? Tell me we don’t have to do this.”
Lincoln’s mismatched eyes fill with despair. “I wish I could say that.”
“You see?” asks Aldred. “Our High Prince Lincoln is an honorable man. He will always respect our laws and traditions.” Aldred waves the parchment in his hand. “And he must follow the dictates of his King.”
Now, there are times when I wish that I were Queen of the Thrax. Now isn’t one of them. In fact, I’m pretty psyched that I’m only a supernatural being who isn’t in any way a permanent thrax official. Why? Because I get to say this.
“Lincoln might have to follow your stupid rules, but I don’t.”
Aldred frowns. “You think you can pull that same scheme that you did with Adair? Use your little tricks to threaten my people with Heaven or Hell in order to get your way?” He pulls out a small amulet from under his tunic. “Well, that won’t work again, girly. I’ve gotten protection from the likes of you. The only time you can touch my soul is when I’m dead.”
“I can help with that,” says Octavia.
“Don’t fill the air with your false threats,” retorts Aldred. “Everyone else may be afraid of the so-called great scala. I’m not. Both she and the prince coming with me, and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop it.” He glares in my direction. “Right?”
I open my mouth to tell him to stuff it, when an image appears in my mind. It’s the message from my father. Meet me in the clubhouse.
That’s exactly what I’ll do.
“I have no intention of using my powers on you or your people.” I shrug. “Not at this very moment, anyway.”