‘Yes, this is true,’ the judge said, after a moment. ‘That does merit some thought.’
‘Maybe there was something in the book that taught him how to do it properly,’ Didric suggested, though his face had lost some of its colour.
‘I have here a copy of the same book, for evidence,’ Arcturus said, striding back to his desk and pulling out a thick sheaf of papers from a satchel he had brought with him. He slammed it on the table with a weighty thump, releasing a puff of dust. ‘I can assure the judge that there are no instructions on demonic control within its pages. Shall we take a recess for you to read through it, your honour?’
The judge looked at the tome in horror; it would take days for him to read it all. Fletcher couldn’t help but grin at Didric’s crestfallen expression. The arrogant boy had shot himself in the foot by preventing a real lawyer from speaking on his behalf. Only a summoner of Arcturus’s experience would have thought of that line of argument.
‘I’ll take you at your word, Captain,’ the judge said, clearing his throat. ‘I agree that it does cast some doubt over the prosecution’s version of events, but one might also argue that Fletcher is naturally gifted. I will, however, take it under due consideration. Please move on to your next point.’
‘Certainly, sir. I will now question each witness in turn. I also ask that they do not speak until I tell them to,’ Arcturus said, clasping his hands behind his back and stepping in front of the three witnesses.
‘Now, I want you to go into as much detail as possible. Let’s start with you, Private Calista. Tell me, what happened at the graveyard? What did Fletcher use to summon the demon?’
‘I … can’t really remember,’ Calista said, momentarily taken aback. ‘It was two years ago, you know.’
‘I do know. Just like you know exactly what he said and how he said it, on that night. But you don’t remember the tools he used? You witnessed a demon-summoning, but it didn’t seem a memorable event to you?’ Arcturus asked.
Calista looked over at Didric for help, but he stared ahead, his eyes fixed on Fletcher.
‘I think … he just read from the book.’
Fletcher kept his face as straight as possible, though inside he was rejoicing. Didric had obviously never told them how novices usually summoned their first demon.
‘Anything else?’ Arcturus asked.
‘I don’t remember …’ Calista said, her voice wavering.
Didric’s face was emotionless, but Fletcher could see the muscles of his jaw clench.
‘How strange. You described everything else in so much detail. Does that not seem unusual to you, your honour?’ Arcturus asked, his face a picture of innocence.
‘It does indeed,’ the judge said gravely, writing a note on the paper in front of him.
‘Perhaps Jakov can shed some light on the subject,’ Arcturus mused, touching a finger to his lip.
Jakov’s mouth hung open, his eyes darting around the room as if looking for clues.
‘For heaven’s sake,’ Didric blurted. ‘He used a scroll and a leather mat with a pentacle on it, like every other summoner before him. Why are we continuing with this farcical line of questioning?’
‘Lord Cavell!’ the judge snapped, banging his gavel against the table. ‘You will be quiet!’
‘My apologies, your honour,’ Didric said, holding his hands up in surrender. ‘I was just impatient to tell my side of the story.’
‘Not. Another. Word,’ the judge ordered, punctuating each syllable with a stab of his finger.
Fletcher felt a flash of hope, as he finally understood what Arcturus was trying to do. Didric had already fallen into his trap.
Arcturus continued to address Jakov. ‘Is that so? He read from a scroll and used a leather mat to summon the demon?’
‘It’s like Didric said,’ Jakov said slowly, looking desperately at Didric for confirmation. ‘I remember it now.’
‘Ah, good. I’m glad we have all that sorted,’ Arcturus said, nodding to himself. He began to walk back to his podium, then paused, as if he had just remembered something.
‘Lord Cavell. Where do you think he got these two items? I thought he was given only a book by the old soldier?’
Didric glared at Arcturus, and Fletcher could see the boy’s mind working as he considered what to say. Didric had not prepared for this.
‘I have no idea,’ Didric replied, looking at the ceiling as if deep in thought. ‘If I was to speculate, Fletcher was given those items as well. The soldier stole a summoner’s satchel, which would definitely have contained a summoning leather of some kind. The same with the scroll.’
‘Can you describe the scroll?’ Arcturus asked. ‘Perhaps tell us what colour ink was written on it. How large was the scroll? How white was the paper?’
‘You are not testing the validity of my story, Captain. You are simply testing my memory,’ Didric said, then sat back and smiled as if he had scored a point.