“Let us take the first vote…” Marcus began.
“Wait.” High Master Radebe broke in. For a moment Marcus appeared ready to combust with anger at the incessant interruptions.
“I’m sorry High Master – as I get older, my appreciation of time gets weaker. But I will keep this short. As James has just reminded us, we are about to vote on a person’s life and that is never something that should be done lightly. In a question of life and death – I believe we should always try to err on the side of caution. We must strive to remember the finality of death – once done it cannot be undone.”
“Thank you, High Master Radebe – for that particular piece of wisdom.” Marcus made no effort to hide his sarcasm. “Let us take the vote – is Allyra Warden innocent? Please show the white board for innocent and black for guilty.” He nodded at High Master Jameson and Jamie’s heart dropped as she held up a black square. Next, the High Master Radebe held up a white board, followed by another white from High Master Perez.
Jamie held his breath as the Earth High Master hesitated. If he voted guilty – Allyra’s fate would lie with Marcus and he was certain that no good could come of that. High Master Zhuang looked round at this fellow Council members as if he thought he could find the correct answer written on their faces. Eventually he held up his board – Jamie let out his breath – it was white.
“Thank you, three to one – innocent.” Marcus said unemotionally. “I guess that brings us to an additional question – please vote on whether a Gate should be opened for Miss Warden. White for yes, black for no.”
The exact same sequence of voting occurred, with only the Fire High Master voting no while all the others voted yes.
“Three to one – yes. Very well – by order of this Council, the Gate here within the Great Hall of the Elemental College will be opened under the next full moon. It will be the only occasion that we will open this Gate and it shall stay open for no more than fifteen minutes. We trust that Miss Warden will find her way back during this time or not at all. This brings us to the final question regarding the correct punishment to apply.
As High Master Jameson correctly pointed out, this cannot go unpunished. Even if we look past the opening of the Gate and the crossing of the Veil, we cannot ignore the fact that we have an untrained Gifted on our hands, one that potentially is an Elemental, making her even more dangerous. It is ultimately the responsibility of this Council to protect the community, both Gifted and not. Therefore, we must ensure that Allyra Warden has full control over her Gift. When faced with a question of an uncontrolled Gift, this Council has two standard choices: first – permanent solitary confinement and second – the Elemental Trials. Please vote white for the Elemental Trials or black for imprisonment.”
As the final vote started, Jamie suddenly found himself unsure of what he wanted the outcome to be. It wasn’t what he’d been expecting. He only knew the basics about the Elemental Trials: they were historically a test that all Elementals had to endure, one that tested their control over their Gift. But since the Betrayal, it was just a competition, one that endowed its winner with honor and status. But the one thing that hadn’t changed was the fact that the Trials were notoriously difficult and for someone untrained – as Allyra would be – potentially deadly.
It was also setting her up for failure. The Joining Ceremony had occurred on the Spring Equinox, the night Allyra had crossed the Veil. As per tradition, the Trials began the day after the next full moon following the Joining Ceremony. So by some twist of fate, Allyra might find her way back only to be trust into the Trials on the very next day.
On the other hand, solitary imprisonment in the dungeons was tantamount to death. He looked at Marcus and saw a small smile on his face – had all of this been a farce? Marcus looked like the cartoon cat that had just swallowed the bird – Jamie could almost see the feather hanging out his mouth.
Marcus had played the disinterested chairman, careful about time and irritated by interruptions. But had there been only one outcome possible? The one that had Allyra locked away in a cell?
Jamie couldn’t understand what Marcus’ motives were, but he’d carefully managed the entire proceedings to get them to this point. He’d allowed High Master Perez to bring up the scenario of Allyra being innocent, allowed Jamie’s own impassioned speech – all to ensure that Allyra would end up in a no win situation. But perhaps most interesting of all, the machinations meant Marcus somehow expected Allyra to find her way back – strange given all the dangers lurking in the Between.
The Fire High Master voted black – did she know another color?
The Air and Water High Masters continued the familiar sequence by voting white.
But the Earth High Master broke the trend by voting black.
And suddenly Marcus had the final vote.
All eyes turned to Marcus, watching him as he lifted a white board.
“If Miss Warden survives the Between and makes her way back – I’d like to see just what she is made of.” He said lightly. “I also want to remind the Council that they will be required to observe the Trials – Allyra will only be deemed to have sufficient control over her Gift if she finishes either first or second.”
Did he want something from Allyra? Something she would bring back from the Between?
Information?
Power?
Jamie shook his head – it was impossible to guess now. For whatever reason, Marcus wanted Allyra in
