“Is that really the man?” asked Brenden.
“That’s him, Brenden,” whispered Amanda in reply. “But don’t worry about him, he’s not going to hurt anyone now.”
“But, it’s just that he looks so small.”
Without any further elaboration, Amanda knew what Brenden meant. When she had driven Mary and Peter back to the school, a part of her too had found it a little difficult to accept that the pale little creature that sat quietly in her backseat had not only been Brenden’s attacker but the man who had killed Milch. However, she also was aware of what the hunger could do to any vampire as well as what strength even her own body could muster when the first waves of the need to consume swept over her.
“It’s not the man, Brenden, it’s the hunger, a thing I hope you’ll never have to experience for yourself. I’ve been lucky to avoid what it can do to a person, but we all know the stories. Just think, it’s a force that’s even led to the creation of prisons for our own kind, like the Tunnels.”
This explanation helped Brenden realise that in a way he had been right. The man had been possessed, by his own hunger. For the first time, he felt a pang of sorrow for Peter.
“Good morning,” announced the deputy. “Good morning to you all,” he repeated as the conversations in the hall slowly died away. “It has come to my attention that a number of you have gathered here today as you expect to see a trial, but that is not what is on the cards at all.”
The audience responded to this statement with a burst of muttering, loud enough to drown out the next qualifying statement of the deputy.
“Please,” the deputy called out over the voices in the hall. “Please,” he stated again as the din in the room quietened enough for him to be heard, “let me explain. There is no need for such a trial as the two defendants have already declared that they admit their guilt in the case. According to the old laws, as described by Deputy Blackstone some two hundred years ago, this means that the two only need to be sentenced. However, these laws also state that such sentencing should be given in public following an outline of the case so as to ensure that any sentence given is appropriate. I am sorry if there were any mixed messages about what was to happen today. Perhaps we will just have to forgive those who spread the word about there being a trial as it has been quite a while since anything like this has taken place at this school. A little excitement, misunderstanding and forgetfulness in such circumstances is only to be expected.
“So as to avoid any further misunderstanding, let me quickly lay out what’s going to happen. After a few further clarifications from myself, we are going to hear from the two guilty parties. They will set out their confessions in full. I do not need to remind you all that this will not be an opportunity for public discourse: the two parties are to be heard without interruption. I believe we will first hear from Mary O’Hare, who will outline her part in the case and any statement she may wish to make with regards to her sentencing. We will then hear from the other guilty party, Peter O’Hare, who will also give his confession and make his wishes known.
“Once the two have made their statements, there will be a brief opportunity for questions to clarify if everything that has been said is true. There will then be a break before sentencing is passed. During this pause, if anyone believes that there is any point of issue that could affect the guilty parties’ sentencing - such as a suggestion that what they have said is not correct or that other parties may also be involved in the case - I would ask you to come to see me in my office. All those who give statements will remain anonymous.
“Following this pause in proceedings, all those who care to return to this hall can hear the sentences being handed down. As deputy of the school, the duty of passing sentence on the two O’Hares falls to myself. So, now we’ve got all this out the way, I think we should make a start.”
The deputy stepped away from the lectern and calmly walked over to a rather nervous looking Mary. She whispered something to the man, something inaudible to all except for the deputy and Peter beside her. A grimace passed across the deputy’s face in response to what Mary said, but the man quickly regained control of himself and he adopted a neutral expression before signalling to Ms Halford who had returned to her position at the back of the hall.
“Yes, deputy,” said Ms Halford upon reaching the man, doing her best to ignore the many eyes that had followed her as she made her way to reach the deputy.
“Mrs O’Hare has informed me that she feels she will be unable to project her voice in the hall so that everyone can hear her. Do we have some way to resolve this?”
Though Ms Halford was more than a little disgruntled at being appointed to the role of the deputy’s assistant for the day - a task he had told her she would have to fulfil the previous evening – she did nothing to betray her feelings and calmly suggested that she had an idea of how to overcome the problem. The restless crowd, ignorant as to what was going on, was then left to return to its previous state of humming conversation as Ms Halford swiftly left the hall to put her plan into operation. Eventually, Ms Halford returned with a student, who was carrying
