The Warlock Senator (Book 2) Read online

Senator Desepp looked up and strained his eyes. “What is the objection?” he asked.

  “There is no basis for holding a pretrial,” Mickelson shouted. “We have only twenty-one of the thirty six senators. We also have not heard anything from Master Lepkin.”

  Senator Desepp held up his hand and shook his head. “We are not holding a pretrial, Senator Mickelson,” he said. “We are simply allowing Senator Bracken the opportunity to present his evidence now. This, in turn, will allow those of us present extra time to consider all of the evidence in the matter. I am sure you will agree that in matters where treason may be involved, it would be best to handle the situation delicately, and avoid rash, emotional sentences at the tribunal. We have enough of the senate body present to call a quorum. Please remain seated and silent. During the tribunal, you will be allowed to present any evidence or testimony you wish to share.”

  “This is an outrage!” Mickelson shouted. A couple senators rapped their knuckles on the bannisters in front of their seats in the balconies.

  “Senator Mickelson, I will ask you once more to hold your testimony until the actual tribunal. We are only presenting evidence at this time. As you are a junior senator, I will overlook this outburst, however I will not hesitate to have you escorted out from the hall.”

  Mickelson sat back in his chair and held his tongue.

  Bracken smiled.

  Senator Desepp turned his gaze to Senator Bracken’s balcony and he invited him down with a wave. “Senator Bracken, you may present your evidence at this time,” Desepp said.

  Senator Bracken quickly made the walk out from the back hallway behind his balcony to walk across the dais. The colorful light from the stained glass window behind him colored the pulpit until his shadow blocked the light’s path. How fitting, he thought, for his shadow to blot out the light from the ancient dragon.

  He produced the folded parchment from his robes and opened it over the pulpit. “My fellow senators, it is with a heavy heart that I present to you the official account of what happened over the last several days.” He cleared his throat and looked to a few of his allies in the senate. Each of them nodded to him when their eyes met. Then he continued. “You are all aware of Timon Cedreau’s murder. He was killed shortly after the local magistrate was found dead in a cabin. I will not bore you with the details of those events, though I ask you to keep them in mind as they do hold meaning for the events I am about to describe.

  “I traveled to Lokton manner to uncover the truth of these murders. I had a list of suspects, and a list of official complaints. However, nothing could have prepared me for what I found. Lord Lokton had incited war against House Cedreau, and used his own agents to murder Lord Cedreau during a parlay. These underhanded, dastardly deeds are not the end of Lokton’s treachery either. When I confronted him about these crimes, his soldiers were ready and willing to assault me and my retinue. Had I not had my own body guard with me, it is likely that I would be in a shallow grave next to Lord Cedreau.”

  “This is ridiculous!” Mickelson shouted. “This is not proof of anything! Senator Desepp, you said testimonies must be held back until the tribunal. Are we to take this man’s account as fact without allowing the accused to defend himself as the law requires?”

  A few senators shouted back and forth. Bracken stepped back from the pulpit and allowed Senator Desepp to retake the position of power. The old senator slammed a stone sphere onto a metal disc on the pulpit. The arguing ceased immediately.

  “Senator Mickelson, you were warned. Now, you may either remove yourself from the hall, or I will have you removed by force.”

  Senator Mickelson placed a hand on the bannister and vaulted over his balcony to land on the floor of the hall. “This is repulsive!” Mickelson roared. “I will leave, but I will not abide this travesty of injustice. I will petition the king to preside over the tribunal.”

  “Do as you will,” Senator Desepp said. “Just do it outside of this hall. You are hereby expelled for a period of one month.”

  “You can’t bar me from the tribunal!” Mickelson said.

  “I have the power to expel any junior member of the senate for disobeying procedural norms.”

  “Procedural norms,” Mickelson spat on the floor.

  “The expulsion will be enforced by the sentinels,” Desepp announced. He slammed the stone sphere three more times and in came a pair of sentinels. Mickelson shook himself free as they went to grab his arms.

  “I will not let this stand!” Mickelson swore as he stomped out of the hall.

  The sentinels slammed the bronzed doors shut after he left. The echoes rang through the hall. Senator Desepp stepped back from the pulpit and motioned for Bracken to resume.

  Senator Bracken walked back to the pulpit. “Mickelson is correct. My testimony in and of itself may not be enough proof to convince you of Trenton Lokton’s guilt. However, as I arrested him and brought him back to stand trial for his crimes, I also brought back the bodies of his agents. Mr. Stilwell, and Sir Duval were both found in the forest nearby the scene of Lord Cedreau’s murder. Also found on their persons was a large coin purse filled with gold, and arrows that matched the arrow which killed Timon Cedreau, and Lord Cedreau himself. The evidence is clear to me. Lord Lokton conspired against House Cedreau, and holds contempt for the order of the kingdom. Therefore, he stands accused of treason. His actions and the wilful disobedience and animosity with which his retinue responded to me and my investigation should serve as the final point of proof. While we may not know exactly what Lord Lokton hoped to gain by removing Lord Cedreau, we all have heard of the tumult in the kingdom. Even the nobles have been jockeying for position, eager to take the throne upon our dear king’s death. They circle like vultures in the sky, waiting for the old man to pass before they descend to feed upon the chaos. They presume to do away with the law and overstep their bounds.

  “Trenton Lokton is even viler than some of the other conspirators. At least they have the decency to wait for the king to pass! Lokton would rather remove rivals now in order to place himself closest to the throne. We cannot allow this would-be tyrant access to the throne, and we certainly must not allow him to escape justice just because he is a noble. We must send a strong, clear message to all traitors everywhere. Betray the king, and it will gain you only the edge of the executioner’s blade!”

  “Here, here!” Senator Stigs shouted as he rose to his feet and pounded on the bannister. Others joined him.

  “We must hold the kingdom together!” another shouted. “Sentence this traitor to death and we may stop others from attempting to take the throne by force!” Others shouted, echoing the sentiment and pounding on their bannisters.

  Senator Desepp walked back to the pulpit and dropped the stone sphere on the metal plate. The senators would not respond. He tried several more times, but still they shouted for Lokton’s head and pounded their bannisters.

  Bracken smiled. Victory would be sweet.

  Senator Desepp tapped the stone sphere on the metal disc again. “Quiet down!” he said. The senators slowly responded and came to order. “Obviously we cannot sentence a man before his trial.” Senator Desepp looked back to Bracken for a moment. Their eyes met briefly, and the hint of a smile flashed across Bracken’s face. Desepp turned back to the pulpit. “However, in light of the very strong evidence presented here today, perhaps we can move the tribunal up so this matter is settled as quickly as possible. The law allows for me to move the tribunal up a day earlier than the summons originally specified. However, it will require fourteen of you to vote to move it forward.”

  “I vote aye,” Senator Stigs shouted quickly. “The faster we deal with this the better!”

  Two others shouted “aye.”

  Another leaned forward. “I vote nay, and I dare say that Mickelson would agree with me.”

  “By a show of hands, who votes in favor?” Desepp asked. Seventeen hands went up.

  Bracken smiled. Now only one more loose end to tie off.

/>   *****

  Senator Bracken stepped forward and raised his finger in the air. Light extended out until a small, golden orb hovered in the air above a great, pillowy silken blanket that covered the sleeping man. The man’s eyes twitched slightly as the orb moved to hover directly over his snoring, bearded face.

  “Judge McTeabe,” Senator Bracken said calmly. “Time to wake up.” Bracken snapped his fingers and Judge McTeabe rose sharply in his bed to sit upright. The fat man rubbed his eyes with sausage-like fingers and yawned, groaning against the pain of waking before the sun had brought morning.

  “What,” he stared through bleary, blinking eyes. “What is the meaning of this?” He shook his head and removed his green, silken night cap from his head to reveal a balding head of gray hair.

  “Do you remember the conversation we had about a month ago?” Bracken asked.

  Judge McTeabe’s gaze settled upon Bracken and the fat man stiffened. He slightly puffed his chest. “I have nothing to say to you, how dare you intrude upon me at this hour like some spider along the ceiling.” Judge McTeabe flung his stubby legs over the side of the bed and rose to his feet, straightening his silken night shirt to cover his hairy, pale thighs.

  “The life of a judge appears to suit you well,” Bracken noted.

  Judge McTeabe sneered back at him. “And a senator leads a pious life?” Judge McTeabe fired back. “Have you really come to discuss my lifestyle?”

  Senator Bracken shook his head. “I told you that Baltezer the Brown was a simple priest, protecting his village as best he could. Yet, you went around me and had him executed.”

  Judge McTeabe folded his flabby arms over the top of his round belly. “Guards!” he called out. “There is an intruder!”

  Bracken cackled. “They can’t hear you,” he said with a shrug. “They have all fallen into a deep sleep.”

  McTeabe’s eyes widened and he glanced to his door.

  “There is nowhere to run.” Bracken said. “I told you not to interfere!”

  McTeabe shook his head. “I am a judge, I do not have to listen to your commands. Only King Mathias can command my obedience.”

  Bracken shook his head and moved closer to the bed. “You ought to have listened to me.”

  “What will you do now?” McTeabe taunted. “Would you hire assassins to stab me in the back? You wouldn’t dare kill me before your tribunal. You know the law. The king has the right to order a review of any senate tribunal, and I am the High Judge.”

  The senator smiled and nodded his head. “All I need to legally convict a nobleman of treason is two thirds of the senate body. I know that more than two thirds will find him guilty.”

  “But you forget, the king has the right to order a review of any tribunal. He will not stand while you take House Lokton to the ground.”

  Bracken sniggered. “Yes, well I don’t suppose I could convince you to align your opinion with mine?”

  “No,” Judge McTeabe said defiantly. “I will not be bullied by you or anyone else. If the king orders a review, I will do my best to ensure that all proper procedures have been followed. Just like I did with Baltezer the Brown.”

  Bracken waved his hand. A gust of wind threw McTeabe to the ground with a heavy thump. The judge’s belly rocked back and forth violently and a small amount of blood trickled from McTeabe’s nose. “Unlike you, I do not need to hire underlings to do my dirty work.” Bracken’s face melted away to reveal his true visage. “You have not the slightest inkling who you are dealing with.”

  McTeabe opened his mouth to speak but another wave of wind sent his bulbous body sliding and squeaking across the red hardwood floor until he slammed into the wall.

  The warlock produced a paper from thin air and sent it into McTeabe’s hand. “That is your confession,” he said.

  “Confession of what?” McTeabe huffed.

  “That letter, written by your own hand, says that you were paid by Master Lepkin to execute an order against Baltezer the Brown.”

  “I wrote no such letter, this is preposterous!”

  “You don’t think my magic can copy your handwriting?” the warlock taunted.

  McTeabe shook his head. “No one will believe this, why would Lepkin pay me for something like that?”

  “Because his lover, Lady Dimwater, is a shadowfiend. She was the one behind the human sacrifices. Baltezer the Brown discovered her secret and so she needed him gone. It’s all explained rather nicely in your letter there.”

  “That is absolutely ridiculous!” McTeabe shouted. He found the strength to stand and started to shake his fist at the warlock. “I will not stand for this madness!”

  A length of rope appeared in front of the judge and a noose wrapped itself around his neck. The cord tightened and hoisted the heavy man from the ground, hanging him from one of the great beams that crossed the ceiling of his bed chamber. McTeabe struggled to get his foot to his bed to get away from gravity’s deadly grip. His toes just managed to graze the silken blanket a few times before his strength started to flee from his body.

  “I should have mentioned that this is a suicide letter,” the warlock added. “That should add some credibility to the words you wrote, along with the bribe that your guards will find inside your foot chest.” The warlock senator started to turn but then held a finger in the air, as if he remembered something he had almost forgotten. “Oh, and I daresay that I spoke with your replacement, Judge Nellers, and he is more than happy to provide a review of the senate tribunal that will be almost identical to our finding. So, you see, even if the king does stick his nose in and order a review, I have won.”

  McTeabe’s dying eyes threw daggers at the warlock in the judge’s final moment before his inevitable end.

  The warlock smiled and congratulated himself. Now, even if Lepkin made it to Drakai Glazei alive, his credibility would be destroyed. Everything was falling into place perfectly.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Lady Cedreau flattened her skirt across her lap and took in a deep breath. Her chest heaved up slightly as her heart pounded within. She glanced out the carriage window, looking at Lokton Manor and squirming inside. She thought to turn the carriage back toward her home, but before she could utter the command the great entrance to the manor opened and a pair of men came out from the building. They were both wearing simple, yet highly polished platemail that reflected the sunlight back at her painfully. The slinking and clanking grew louder as the armored men approached the carriage.

  “Good morrow,” one of the men hailed.

  Lady Cedreau sighed, resigning herself to finish what she started. She heard her driver answer the two men and her own personal bodyguard leaned forward to open the carriage door and step out in front of her. He was a large man, just under seven feet tall, with broad shoulders that had to turn sideways to allow him passage through most doorways. He wore a suit of chainmail under a padded leather hauberk and a pair of scimitars hung at his sides.

  “My mistress wishes an audience with Lady Lokton,” he said.

  The two Lokton guards shared a glance before frowning back. “I don’t see why that is necessary,” one of the guards said. “We would prefer that our lady not be disturbed.”

  Lady Cedreau slid out from the carriage and stepped around her body guard. “Please,” she said simply. “My husband has passed from this world, along with one of my sons. I am here to preserve what is left of both houses. Please, I implore you to ask for her patience with me for only ten minutes. What I have to tell her is extremely important.”

  The guards eyed her suspiciously. “Wait here, milady, I will ask her, but I cannot guarantee a favorable response.”

  Lady Cedreau offered a slight nod of her head. “I appreciate it.”

  Off the two went, leaving her there to stew in her thoughts and fears.

  “I still don’t like this,” her bodyguard whispered to her.

  “It’s alright Derg,” she said. “I want this to end.”

  Derg shrugged his bou
lder-like shoulders and rested his hands upon his hips, keeping them close to his scimitars. “A truce should not be sought with Lord Cedreau’s blood still wet upon the field of battle,” he said to no one in particular.

  “Hold your tongue,” Lady Cedreau said sharply. “I am the master of the house now, and it is not your place to counsel me on strategy.”

  Derg blushed and nodded his head reluctantly.

  Lady Cedreau could understand his sentiment, but he did not know as much as she. As much as she would like to avenge her husband and son, her only hope of salvaging what was left of her family was to make amends with House Lokton.

  The doors opened. Lady Cedreau looked up, but she did not see the pair of guards. Instead, Lady Lokton emerged from the doorway in a green dress. A large, gold necklace hung just above her bosom and her hair was pent up on the back of her head.

  She stepped down from the doors and walked slowly, yet confidently toward Lady Cedreau.

  “I understand you wish to speak with me,” Lady Lokton said as she approached.

  Lady Cedreau noted the contempt in Lady Lokton’s voice. Still, she kept her senses and nodded her head politely. “I have, milady,” she started. “I thought that perhaps we may be able to end the feud between our families and bring peace, and comfort, to our houses once more.”

  Lady Lokton folded her arms across her chest and stared at the gargantuan guard beside Lady Cedreau for a moment. “It appears as though others here do not agree with your desires.”

  Lady Cedreau looked to Derg and motioned for him to return to the carriage. She could see the conflict on his face, but a quick flick of her wrist was all it took to dismiss the giant. “Forgive him. Derg is my personal guard, and he was very close to my late husband.”

  Lady Lokton shifted her weight to her left leg, sticking her hip out a bit. “I don’t see what you can offer that will bring peace to us. You have lost your husband, and I have lost mine.”

  Lady Cedreau knitted her brow. “I had no part in your husband’s arrest. Senator Bracken was here to investigate the magistrate’s murder.”