INTEGRATION (Bonfire Academy Book Two) (Bonfire Chronicles) (34 page)

“Faustine Spencer did not
murder
Nari Russo. The evidence—I refer to the recording of the actual scene—clearly shows that Nari attacked my client. He did so with the full knowledge that she is a demon, as she was fully transformed at the time.

“Faustine is famed for being one of the most formidable demons ever seen in the history of this school. It is also common knowledge that this rare human-demon hybrid has not yet mastered control of her transformations. During the course of this trial, you have reviewed school records to that effect.” Octavia waved a folder in the air. “With that knowledge, Nari
still
decided to attack my client. He made an informed decision to start a fight he just couldn’t win.” She looked at the ceiling.

“All my client did was
defend herself
against a gratuitous attack. She did nothing to incite it. Being in a transformed state is not grounds for an attack, certainly not at Bonfire Academy. She arrived at the location fully transformed. A panther attacked her. A fight ensued. He was killed during that fight. There is no evidence of any premeditation.”

She looked over at Frau Schmelder. “Should Faustine have been at the location at all? No. And had the school and Cordelia Hammer”—she shot me a menacing growl—”done their parts as required,
none
of this would have happened.” She nodded at Nari’s parents.

“But, of course, it’s not my job to evaluate the Academy’s role in the death of Nari Russo. It is my job to discuss the evidence, and the evidence shows that there was no
murder
here. A boy was tragically killed during an attack he instigated. What happened after his death is irrelevant. I ask that the council lay this unfortunate accident to rest and find Faustine not guilty of fatal bodily harm.” She walked over to her table and squeezed Faustine’s shoulder before sitting back down next to her.

Faustine kept her eyes glued to her shoes.

“Sally?” Asmen invited.

“Arguing self-defense in this case is ridiculous. The recording from the hallway clearly shows Faustine just about to take a step toward Nari Russo
before
he transformed. If that’s not reason for Nari to have attacked, I don’t know what is.” Sally pursed her lips.

“Granted, Faustine is not solely to blame for the events leading up to Nari’s death. Sure, the system failed. However, Nari’s death resulted from Faustine killing him. Plain and simple. Find her guilty.” Sally sat down.

“Thank you, Sally and Octavia.” Asmen was on his feet again. He turned to his council members, nodding at each one separately. “We have gone through this case very carefully, examined every piece of evidence in front of us and made a determination. I am now ready to render the verdict. Faustine, Octavia, please stand.”

I could hardly breathe as they stood. Faustine’s legs were shaking as Octavia held her steady.

“Faustine Spencer, this Student Council finds you not guilty of fatal bodily harm against Nari Russo by reason of self-defense.” He banged his gavel.

A growl was heard coming from behind Sally. I looked over at Mrs. Russo, who was twitching uncontrollably. All eyes were on her as her spine twisted and bent, contorting awkwardly.

King Sebastian transformed and squeezed past me. He rushed toward Octavia and Faustine, except Faustine was no longer there. I guessed that Ryker must have decided to remove her, since she had no way to defend herself with the school’s ban on demon and shifter paranormal powers outside their sessions.

I glanced over at Mrs. Russo, who was in full panther mode, along with her husband. I felt Jagger’s hand on my shoulder.

“No, don’t!” I transformed. “Take Octavia to safety instead or wander one of the council members who can’t defend themselves. I’ll be fine.”

“No way. I’m taking you.”

“Jagger! Don’t argue.” I ran toward the panthers, who were dangerously close to Octavia. I charged the female as King Sebastian leaped on the male. I was in full-on killer mode as I bit into the female panther’s jugular, and then, just as her defenses were down, I possessed her.

Once I was on the inside, I grabbed control of her heart, slowing the beat and squeezing the life out of her. I didn’t really want to kill her, just disable her temporarily to give The Smelt a chance to deal with her and get her away from the Academy. I remained inside Mrs. Russo, making sure she stayed put on the floor, until I began to get drowsy. My eyelids felt as though bricks had been dropped on top of them.

Ugh. They must have sedated her. I tried to gather enough energy to float out, but my entire body felt like concrete. I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. I shut them and fell into a cloud of warm nothingness.

“C
ordelia! Are you in there?” Dr. Marks yelled, making my head ache even worse.

I felt so groggy and tired, too tired to be bothered with him. I decided to go back to sleep.

“Cordelia!”

Sheesh, that man was so annoying! I practically had to pull my lids open. I yawned, breathing in the air. Yikes, gross! The pungent aroma of cat filled the air. It was pitch black, and my eyes refused to adjust to the darkness.

Suddenly, a beam of light shone through a slit, and I covered my eyes.

“Cordelia! Are you inside Mrs. Russo? You need to come out before she wakes up.” Dr. Marks’s voice sounded a bit desperate. “I don’t think she’s in there.”

“She’s definitely in there,” Jagger said. “I can feel her.”

“Cordelia? Could you give us some kind of sign that you’re in there? Could you move Mrs. Russo’s finger? She’s out cold, so you don’t need to worry about her.”

Mrs. Russo? Oh…it was all coming back to me. I couldn’t believe I was still inside her. Yikes. That explained the stink and darkness. They must have drugged her. But why was I feeling the effects of that? I hadn’t tapped into her physiologically. I tried to figure out what was going on, but I was just too woozy.

“She may not have possessed Mrs. Russo like that,” King Sebastian said. Ah, the hot, hot king… I giggled silently.

“What do you mean?” Dr. Marks asked.

“She may not have fully possessed Mrs. Russo, but may merely be residing within her, unattached. If that’s the case, she won’t be able to give us a physical sign.”

“Well, how can we confirm it, then?” Dr. Marks asked.

“Cordelia,” Jagger said, “decrease my heartbeat.”

Really? Couldn’t they just let me sleep for a while? Okay, anything to stop the whining. If Jagger wanted me to decrease his heartbeat for him, I could do that. I concentrated on my own beat, planning to get that under control first, so I could hear his. My own beat was so erratic that it took me a while to figure out that it was actually mine. And it was beating in harmony with someone else’s. I listened carefully, picking up on a third beat, a much steadier and stronger one, definitely Jagger’s. It suddenly occurred to me that my hand was still around Mrs. Russo’s heart, holding it in a vice grip. Somehow, her beat was drawing from mine, sapping my energy. What would happen if I let go? Would she die?

Did I even have enough energy to let go? I decided to tap into Jagger’s for help. He had, after all, asked me to decrease his beat. I concentrated hard, allowing myself to get immersed in Jagger’s beat, and when I felt us beating in harmony, I let go of my grip around Mrs. Russo’s heart.

“She’s definitely in there,” Jagger said, his voice tinged with worry. “But I have no idea what she’s doing.”

I heard loud beeping and shouts of panic. I passed out again.

“Cordelia! Wake up! We need to talk to you before Mrs. Russo awakens.”

I shook myself out of my heavy head and possessed Mrs. Russo fully, taking control of her body so I could communicate with Jagger.

“Hey,” I said, suppressing a yawn. “What’s up? Can I come out?”

“I have a proposal,” King Sebastian said.

“Which totally sucks, and yes, please come out,” Jagger added.

“Wait, just for a moment, and hear me out,” King Sebastian said. “You’re in an extraordinary situation at the moment, inside the enemy, so to speak. And Mrs. Russo will have no idea when she wakes up that you’re there.”

“Well, she’s hardly the enemy,” I retorted. “I mean, she just reacted at the way the trial was going.”

“She may not have been the enemy, but she certainly will be now,” King Sebastian replied. “I inadvertently killed her husband during our scuffle.”

Sigh. Mrs. Russo had had two members of her family killed by King Sebastian’s family. Yes, I was pretty sure that she could be counted as an
enemy
. “Okay, so I should probably get out, right?”

“Or we could potentially use you to gather some information,” King Sebastian said.

“How?”

“Mrs. Russo is going to be after blood. The chances are good that she will contact others who are similar-minded.”

“Oh. Like the old lady?”

“I would imagine so. Bet she’ll be contacted by everyone who has an interest in harming me and my family. Of course, I have nothing to base it on other than pure instinct. That’s what I would do if I were in her position.”

“Me, too,” I agreed. “So, you want me to stay in here and find out?”

“No!” Jagger shouted. “This isn’t Cordelia’s problem. She isn’t a member of your family; Mrs. Russo won’t be after her.”

“Jagger, I’ll be fine. Plus, I really want to help, and since I’m here already, I may as well stay here a bit longer. Mrs. Russo will never know.”

“Honey, please,” Jagger pleaded.

“It won’t be for long, just until I figure out what she’s going to do. She might not do anything. For all we know, she’ll go into mourning and take to her bed for the next few years.”

“Cordelia, you’ll need to detach from her and merely be a passenger. Don’t interfere and make her suspicious.” King Sebastian had his instructor voice on.

“Okay. Can I have something to eat first?” I asked. “And tell me, how is Faustine?”

“She’s fine,” Jagger said. “Ryker wandered her to your room, where she slept for a while. She’s with Quinn now. He’s taking her skiing to relax her.”

“Good.” After chomping down on as much steak as Mrs. Russo’s stomach would allow, I detached from her and hid in the very deepest recesses of her mind. I could still hear everything, but I was in complete darkness. If I absolutely had to, I could peek through her eyes, but that could compromise me.

“She’s stirring,” Dr. Marks said. “It would be best if you both leave now.”

“Okay,” King Sebastian said. I heard him stand up.

“Be careful,” Jagger said, before I heard a door shut.

I was alone with Dr. Marks and Mrs. Russo. Mrs. Russo was writhing, thrashing her arms.

“Mrs. Russo, I’m Dr. Marks. Can you open your eyes?”

“Where am I?” a very weak voice whispered. “Water, please.”

“You are at Bonfire Academy’s infirmary.”

I heard liquid make its way down her throat and hit her stomach.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice still raspy. “My husband?”

“I’m afraid the news isn’t good.” Dr. Marks’s voice was almost indiscernible.

“Huh? What?”

“He didn’t make it.”

“He was murdered?” Her voice was shrill.

“He was killed during the fight at the Justice Hall.”

I felt her body shake just before heart-wrenching sobs escaped her and filled the room.

“Leave! Leave me alone!” she shouted.

I heard a door shut and assumed that Dr. Marks was leaving in a hurry.

Mrs. Russo threw back her head and howled. After a while, through the wailing, I heard the door open again. Whoever had come in didn’t speak, probably waiting for Mrs. Russo to calm down. But the crying went on for ages, seeming not to dampen even a little bit. I feared that Dr. Marks would have to sedate her again. Poor woman, she’d probably be lost in a deep depression.

Once she was finally worn out from weeping, she lay still, occasionally whimpering.

“Mrs. Russo, I’m so sorry for your loss.” The Smelt’s voice was as empathetic and kind as I’d ever heard it. “Is there anything I can do? Anyone I can contact?”

She was met with silence.

“Frau Schmelder, let’s allow Mrs. Russo to rest now. I’ll call you when she gets up,” Dr. Marks said. “I’ll walk out with you, to allow her to sleep.”

The door shut again, and I assumed that I’d been left alone with Mrs. Russo. She started to cry again, heaving as if she might upchuck. I remembered the amount of steak I had jammed into her tummy and almost felt sick myself. After a while, her breathing became more even, and she fell asleep. She slept for an hour or so, and then suddenly stretched and yawned loudly. After another bout of crying, with small, quiet sobs, she sat up. She scrambled about, doing stuff, and finally speaking.

“Hello, Cam?”

“Hello, Mrs. Russo. I trust everything is going well?”

She erupted into another flood of tears while she updated whoever Cam was. While she was talking, the door opened again. I wished Dr. Marks had waited until she finished her phone call, in case she said something important.

“Who are you?” Mrs. Russo inquired.

“My name is Mason. I was a friend of Nari’s.”

Ah, not Dr. Marks. Mason visiting could be more interesting than the phone call.