Arine's Sanctuary (4 page)

Chapter Five

            
 
A
rine paced in her cell, her mind racing. She’d been thrown in here close to an hour ago while Logan was led to another cell. Her mind refused to think of what might be happening to him. Picking the lock would do her no good. She wasn’t sure where to go, or who might hide her.

              From the sounds that filtered down from the street above, there was chaos in Sanctuary. Snatches of conversation let her know Mistress Bryn had been arrested as well. Talia had organized this well, quickly arresting those she felt would stand against her. She couldn’t arrest the Council, though. The laws that governed them all would be followed.

              The sound of footsteps reached her ears, but she kept her back to the door. The door closed again with a hollow sound. Arine waited for the footsteps to recede before turning to see who now shared the cell with her.

              Mistress Bryn stood near the wall of bars, her hands trying to smooth the front of her dress. Her disheveled hair and the slight tremor in her hands spoke volumes to Arine’s trained eye. She wasn’t as confident as she wanted Arine to believe.

              Arine patiently waited for Mistress Bryn to finish calming herself.

              “I take it they have Logan?” Bryn’s voice was steady.

              “Yes.” Arine leaned against the wall, trying to keep her composure. “I haven’t seen him for over an hour.”

              “She won’t kill him, Arine. Not yet. I was able to gather some information before Cavon and I were taken. Talia plans on turning them over to Domine Elsa. She is more concerned with you and I than the men.” She drew a deep breath. “I’ve known for some time that Talia was ambitious. I underestimated how far she would reach. I thought she only wanted to supplant your rank in the Moreja. I didn’t know she wanted my office as well. For that, I apologize to you. I should have seen this coming.”

              “None needed. Talia’s an opportunist. She would’ve jumped at the first chance to get rid of me. If she could get rid of you as well, that would be a bonus. But I can’t help but think there’s a flaw in her plan.” Arine started pacing again, slower this time.

              “You have something in mind, then?” Bryn’s voice carried a bit of hope.

              “I do. She can’t kill any of us, not without the Council agreeing to it. And I
doubt she’ll dare to
present her charges to them without all four of us. Therefore, she can’t hand them over to Domine Elsa before the tribunal is convened. We need to present a reasonable argument that they will accept and show we broke no laws. Not Sanctuary laws, at least.” Arine smiled slightly at the last. She and Bryn both knew she’d broken plenty of the Domine laws each time she went to fetch someone.

              Bryn raised her head, leaning it against the gray stone behind her. “You’ll have to present it, you know. We can’t have Talia claiming prejudice against the Council. Any time a Council member comes before them in tribunal, another must speak for them.”

              “I know. Do you want to know how I will argue beforehand?”

              Shaking her head, Bryn glanced out the cell. “No. There are too many unfriendly ears in here. Do what you must to keep yourself and the boys free. They
cannot
be given over to Domine Elsa, Arine! If she gets her hands on two mages, war will reach even here.”

              The sound of a door opening nearby grabbed Arine’s attention. Two large women entered, dragging Logan’s
limp body between
them. She could easily make out several large bruises on his face and arms, the color fading from red to purplish black already. A small trickle of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. She grasped the bars of the cell as he was paraded past her. Her only consolation was the even movement of his chest. He was still alive. Arine watched intently as the guards deposited him in the cell to her left before walking away.

              A hand gently touched her shoulder. Jumping slightly, she turned to meet Bryn’s concerned look. Arine looked away, choosing to sit on the small cot in the cell.

              “At least you know he’s alive, Arine. Hurt, to be certain, but also alive and close enough to talk to you when he wakes up.” Bryn’s gentle voice reminded her all was not lost.

              “They must’ve decided to work on Cavon next. I’m sure he’ll be able to get through it. He proved rathe
r
resourceful on the way here.” Arine tried to change the focus of the conversation.

              “When he wasn’t driving you mad with his whining?” Bryn chuckled. “He told me about that, you know. He wasn’t certain he could trust you completely. You gave him the chance at freedom, but he didn’t know if you would accept him if you knew what he could do.”

              Arine raised her head to look at Bryn. “What is he, exactly?”

              Myriad emotions played across Bryn’s gentle features. Arine watched in fascination as the blonde woman’s face focused on some long-held memory. “He’s a healer, Arine. What he did for you in that cave was only the second time he’s harnessed his ability, but I’m very grateful he did so. It’s also why D
omine Elsa wants him so bad. With a healer like Cavon and a handler like Logan,
she could wreak havoc on this world. Her thirst for power rivals that of the men from the histories.”

              “He’s healed someone before, then?” Arine kept her voice neutral.

              Bryn nodded. “I lived in a small village in lands ruled by Domine Erenda, Domine Elsa’s mother. Cavon and my younger sister were playmates. One day, I was inside the house when I heard my sister screaming outside. I ran out and saw her sitting on the ground, her foot twisted at an angle that was painful to even look at. Cavon sat next to her, his hands over her ankle. Something that looked like lightning was running from his hands. Her foot straightened itself as if it had never been broken.” She paused, looking off to the center of the cell block. “Before I could get to her, Domine Erenda was there. Cavon’s mother and mine stood behind her. They had all seen what happened, and the Domine ordered my mother to take me and my sister from the village that night, on pain of death. We were never to speak of what we saw. We heard rumors months later that a betrothal was sealed between Elsa and Cavon.”

              Arine studied Bryn carefully. “Why not send me before now? Why wait until just before he was to marry her?”

              Bryn shrugged. “I wanted to make sure whoever I sent to fetch him would be able to bring him back in one piece.” She took a deep breath. “I know what Elsa is capable of, Arine. She can’t have the kind of power that Cavon and Logan are capable of.”

              Arine nodded. The information would prove helpful when she spoke to the Council. The exhaustion she’d been fighting off for hours now finally proved stronger than her will to remain awake. She curled up on the straw ticked mattress and hoped Logan would be awake the next time she opened her eyes.

Chapter Six

            
 
A
rine walked beside Bryn, the echo of their boots resounding off the stone floor. The torches carried by the guards surrounding them left a trail of thick black smoke on the cold stone walls. Logan hadn’t made those torches. His didn’t give off that much smoke. She drew a shuddering breath, trying to regain her focus. She would soon be fighting for their lives. She had to keep distractions to a minimum.

              A set of massive double doors came into
view at last. The dark wood was intricately carved and polished to a mirror-like finish. The wood reflected the torchlight. The polished brass hinges reflected the torchlight back towards them.

              The lead guard halted before them, placing the torches within the sconces set into the walls. Not a sound came through the thick wood, but Arine didn’t expect any either. She had sat in on a few tribunals, been called in as a witness once or twice.
The gallery rarely spoke out. The solemnity of the proceedings kept conversations to a whisper at most.

              She knew what was happening in there. The Council members would be filing in, finding their seats. The women and men who sat upon it would be directly in front of them when the doors opened, their blue and green robes immaculate. One seat of the nine would be empty -- Bryn’s seat. They both wore the clothing they had been arrested in, which suited Arine just fine. Her presentation would be better suited with Bryn out of the blue robe that marked her as the missing member.

              Arine was met by a blast of cool air as the doors swung open away from her. Light from the Council chamber gradually replaced the torchlight. She glanced to her right, meeting Bryn’s reassuring grin with a tight one of her own. Arine drew in a deep breath, steadying herself for the war she was about to wage.

              The dark, polished wood of the
gallery walls
shimmered in the bright morning light that filtered through the windows. The tiled floor gleamed brilliantly as she and the others were escorted to a row of four chairs. A small podium stood in front of the chairs. To her left, Talia sneered from an identical dais. James sat in a chair behind her, his face barely concealing his mirth. Arine let her eyes travel through the gallery of witnesses, seeing many of her fellow Moreja. She locked eyes for a moment with her friend Mestra, drawing strength from the support she read in those green eyes. Arine rested her gaze at last upon the Council members seated in front of her, keeping her eyes on them as she took a seat. She refused to look at Bryn, Logan or Cavon. They weren’t the ones she needed to convince of their innocence.

              A single deep note of a large bell rang throughout the room, signaling the start of the proceedings. A tall, slender woman spoke. “Let the tribunal before this Council begin. Lady Talia, being that you are the accuser, you will speak of the charges. Who will speak for the accused?”

              Arine rose smoothly. “I shall speak for those
accused.” With a nod from the moderator, she crossed the short distance to the podium
on silent feet.

              The moderator glanced to the Council, waiting for permission to continue. A woman Arine had met once or twice--Mistress Gwen, she thought her name was--made a small gesture with her hand.
Looking back to Arine and Talia, the moderator said, “Lady Talia, what are the charges you would accuse these individuals of?”

              “The men who sit with them I accuse of being mages. They have worked magic, which is forbidden by law. The women I accuse of willfully bringing them to Sanctuary and hiding the knowledge of their magic from all, thus placing all within our boundaries in danger. The blonde man is the betrothed of a Domine, and to interfere with the desires of a Domine is a death sentence.” Talia’s voice rang hollow in Arine’s ear.

              “And what would you have done with them should they be found guilty?” The deep voice of one of the male Council members reverberated across the chamber.

              Arine kept her eyes focused on the Council, refusing to look at Talia. What she would say was pivotal to how Arine would argue their side. “For the women, they should be stripped of all rank and privilege and made to labor in a way to benefit Sanctuary. The
boys
should be returned to Domine Elsa.
One is her betrothed, after all.
Let her determine their fate.”

              The moderator looked to Arine, her face impassive. “Lady Arine, how do you and your companions answer to these charges?”

              Arine took a deep breath. “I find it most interesting that Lady Talia comes to you asking for this Council to uphold Domine law and break it at the same time. Sanctuary came into existence by a group of individuals who suffered under Domine law. They created their own law, often contrary to Domine law, to ensure the safety and security of not just those who first came here but to protect all who would follow. That is one reason the Moreja exist; to give those who would escape the thumb of dictatorship a way here. To give all who would come the opportunity to learn a trade and not be subject to a life decided by others. With that in mind, I think Lady Talia does all in Sanctuary a grave disservice by
asking that we abide by
Domine law.”

              She shifted a bit on one leg, taking the time to meet all the council members’ eyes. “As to the charge of Logan and Cavon being mages, this is true. It was not known to either myself or Mistress Bryn that Logan possessed the ability until recently, when his quick actions saved the life of Julia in her candle shop. I did not know of Cavon’s aptitude when I was sent to fetch him. I learned of it on our way here, when he saved my life. I can only say that it scared him to work magic. Mistress Bryn knew of Cavon, yes. Her motivation for bringing him here was to deny Domine Elsa of the chance to abuse his abilities.

              “Sanctuary law states that all who seek us are welcome, provided they mean to do no harm. There is no provision for mages any more than there is for a woodworker or weaver. Shall we now turn away a talented individual in need of Sanctuary because we have enough scribes?

              “Domine law states that all who are proven to work magic must be put to death. No exceptions. Yet Lady Talia would ask that you hand two such mages over to a Domine alive and healthy. Even give her the right to marry one of them, against his wishes, over putting him to death as their own law demands. This makes me wonder at not just Domine Elsa’s motives, but Lady Talia’s as well. Could she be assisting the Domine, thus putting all here at risk?”

              Arine lowered her arms from the podium, signaling to the Council she was finished with her initial argument. She read the faces of the Council members closely, hoping to see if any might be now inclined to her side.

              Mistress Gwen’s voice carried across the chamber. “You make some interesting points, Lady Arine. Should we decide in the favor of your side, what would you consider fair penalty to Lady Talia?”

              She finally dared a glance over to Talia. Talia’s hands clenched the side of her podium so hard that her knuckles were white. It must have cost her every ounce of control she had not to interrupt Arine. “I seek no penalty. I would offer to the Council that I am willing to meet her in the Ring should the matter not be settled without a blood price.” Talia’s face went white at Arine’s words. Arine would beat her in a duel and they both knew it.

              The moderator spoke again. “Let those who come before this tribunal remain. The Council will consider this matter.” Opening a small door near the Council, she held it for the Council members as they filed out quietly.

              Arine sat back down, letting out an explosive breath. A pat on the shoulder from Bryn helped to calm her. What happened next was out of her hands.

              The bell rang again, far sooner than Arine had anticipated. She and the others rose to their feet as the Council filed back in.

              “After review, we find that Lady Arine has truly quoted Sanctuary law. As none of our laws were broken, the charges are found to be baseless.” Mistress Gwen paused, looking at both Arine and Talia. “The Council is willing to give you the opportunity to settle upon a blood price, as requested, and the Ring is being prepared now. All those in the matter other than the Lady Arine and Lady Talia are free to depart. Ladies, prepare
yourselves. Your weapons await you in the Ring within the quarter hour.” With that
, the Council once again rose and filed out of the room.

              Arine turned her attention to Mistress Bryn. “Take them someplace safe, if you would. Logan’s wounds will need to be tended to. I won’t be long.”

              Mistress Bryn stood, every inch the Council member once again. “Be careful, Arine. I know precautions are in place to keep her from being less than honorable, but she will still try.”

              Arine snorted. “She can try all she wants. Doesn’t mean it’ll work.” Throwing a quick reassuring glance past Mistress Bryn to Logan, she darted off towards the lawn where the Ring would be placed.

              The appointed time for the duel arrived. Talia didn’t.