Hexed

justice in this astral Supreme Court?
    Samual takes his place at the podium. He addresses himself to the hovering beings above us, but his eyes are on me.
    “If it please your honors,” he begins. “We are here to right a terrible wrong. Our universe has always been a place of sanctuary. A place where all otherworldly creatures can come to seek shelter from whatever demons or angels hunt them. The only such place in all the dimensions, established by the ancients and sanctified by succeeding generations because it is important to create balance. Good and evil alike know they can seek refuge here. It is not our duty to judge. It is our duty to protect.”
    He points a finger at me. “This woman—this vampire—violated that sacred duty. She allowed herself to be transported here with the aid of three ignorant witches, and with malice, struck down a woman recovering from life-threatening wounds. Wounds inflicted by the vampire herself. This violation was compounded when she killed the woman’s human bodyguard—an innocent not here of his own volition.
    “But we can make things right. Here. Now. Restore faith in this sacred place. The man, a mortal, seated beside the murderess is the brother of one of the offending witches. Find them guilty and both will be punished according to the law. A life for a life.”
    I feel Stephen’s startled reaction to Samual’s words. Up until this moment, if he had any doubt his fate was entwined with my own, he does no longer. I touch his arm in an effort to offer consolation.
    He’s looking at me, eyebrows raised. “You’re a vampire?”
    That’s what got his attention? I raise an eyebrow of my own.
    He shakes his head. “Interesting. Well, remember what I said before? Don’t be found guilty? Goes double now.”
    I nod and since Samual has taken his seat and is staring at me, I assume it’s my turn to offer opening arguments. With a final pat on Stephen’s arm, I take my place behind the podium.
    Okay, time to channel my inner Jack McCoy. I just don’t know where to begin. Should I fill in the backstory? Do they already know it? Will they care?
    Since who Belinda Burke was has everything to do with what happened, I take the plunge.
    “It’s true. I killed the black-magic witch Belinda Burke. We had a long history. I met her first when she was raising a demon to do her bidding on Earth. Her offerings to the demon were to have been a young girl and my friend Culebra. I stopped her. But not before the innocent was sacrificed. In retribution, she turned me over to a Mexican drug lord who tried to kill me. I escaped.”
    Samual rises to his feet. “Is this really necessary?” he asks the tribunal. “Does it matter what brought her here? Do we intend to temper our decision with emotion or look at the facts? And the only fact we need to consider is whether or not she killed someone under our protection. Since she admitted it, what else do we need to know?”
    “It’s important you understand,” I argue. “Your laws are based on justice tempered with mercy. Isn’t that what you said? How can you determine what is right if you do not have all the facts?”
    There is a rustling from above; faceless forms lean in toward one another as the tribunal confers. No sound reaches us except the continual rasping of the jaws. I tap my foot nervously awaiting their decision. If they refuse to allow me to continue, this will be the shortest trial in history. I look around for an escape route. A stupid thing to do since I have no fucking clue where we are.
    Finally, the Elder raises his hand as if signaling the end of the discussion, the others resume their positions, and the grating voice issues his edict. “Speak. Whether or not we will take what you say into consideration at the time of judgment is undecided. But you have the right to proceed.”
    A subtle but irritated sigh escapes Samual’s lips as he sits back down.
    I refocus. “I next met Belinda Burke when she set up a cosmetics firm offering an anti-aging cream that promised miraculous results. The miracle was attributed to a key ingredient—vampire blood. Harvested from young, newly turned vampires bled like slaughtered cattle. When she found out that I was on to her, she cast a spell that once more put my friend Culebra in mortal danger. To save him, I enlisted the help of her sister. We managed to reverse the spell and send the curse back into her. That the curse was powerful was proven by the extent of her