SilverMoonLight (SilverMoonSaga Book 1) (31 page)

Everyone
nodded in agreement and stood up.

Calum
went with us into the Great Hall, where we were planning to wait together with
Ares.

My
hands and feet had turned ice cold, even though there were fires burning all
around. A sign that my nerves were getting the better of me, perhaps. Calum
reached for my trembling hands and tried to warm them.

‘Everything’s
going to be fine.’

I
wasn’t sure if he was saying it to me or more to himself.

All
of a sudden, loud, deep chimes resounded through the walls. I jumped. A door at
the other end of the hall opened and I saw a passageway lit with lanterns,
leading down into the depths. Calum took my hand and we carefully climbed down
the ancient steps with the others.

The
corridor seemed endless. It was an eerie, still procession, winding its way
along like a glittering snake. Eventually, a huge room appeared before us, its
ceiling supported by three high columns. It reminded me of a Roman
amphitheatre. Benches stretched around the room in a half-moon formation, and
against the only straight wall there was a kind of stage. On it, in the middle,
was a stone table surrounded by stone chairs. There was a quote above it,
written on the wall in blood-red letters:

Be therefore wise as serpents, and
harmless as doves

It
occurred to me that I had heard that somewhere before. Red velvet cushions lay
on the benches, which looked like they had been carved straight from the rock
beneath the earth. Hundreds of candles and torches lit up the room.

Feeling
overwhelmed and apprehensive, I took my place next to Calum and the other
shellycoats, despite the protest from Elin and his supporters. Ares sat down on
the other side of me, while Dr. Erickson and Peter joined the other Initiates.

The
meeting began. As the vampires were chairing, five of their representatives
were seated on the stage in order to lead the proceedings.

»Each
people has ten votes, the same number regardless of how many representatives
they bring,« Ares whispered to me.

I
nodded and hoped that the other groups would feel more sympathetic towards us
than the shellycoats.

The
chairman, whose name was Myron—as Ares whispered to me—opened the meeting. The
first agenda item was a territory battle between the trolls and the fairies.
The second was about the fact that the elves had allegedly robbed the dwarves’
mines, and so on and so forth. Then the chairmen asked their questions, after
which the public suggested and voted upon a verdict. Red cards meant guilty,
green meant innocent.

»The
verdicts are instantly binding. But they always try to find a compromise that’s
bearable for both sides,« Calum explained to me.

The
bell rang again, announcing a new agenda item.

»We
come to the next matter, Elin’s accusations. He is accusing his adoptive
brother Calum of having entered into a forbidden relationship with a human
woman, and of having revealed our existence to several humans. Very serious
claims indeed. Elin, Calum, please step forward.«

Elin
strode over to the chairmen, his head held high in an arrogant manner. His
now-healed scar was glowing deep red. In a loud voice, he explained to the
assembly how he had spotted Calum and me. Then he accused Dr. Erickson of
having revealed the secret to other humans.

How
much he seems to hate us, I thought, as I listened to his depiction of events.
Calum stood next to Elin as he spoke, his facial expression betraying nothing.

»And
that’s why I demand that the Council punish Calum. He has contravened the most
important law of our people, and we can’t allow ourselves to appear weak. The
humans who know of our existence must be killed. That has been the tradition
for centuries, and they deserve no mercy.«

Everyone
listened in silence. Once Elin had finished, an agitated murmur went through
the rows. I sat there, frozen to the spot. Some shook their heads in disgust,
others looked at me with curiosity.

»Calum,
what do you have to say in your defense?« Myron asked, summoning him to speak.

He
bowed in front of the chairmen and began to speak: »Great Council, honored
participants, it is clear to me that I have contravened the rules of our world.«

Cries
sounded out from the audience, but Calum didn’t allow himself to be distracted.

»The
accusations which my brother Elin presents are well-founded. I
have
fallen in love with a human woman. But contrary to his account, I have not joined
in union with her.«

A
murmur went through the room.

»Neither
Emma nor I have contravened the law that forbids union with a human. However, I
do admit that I told her about our world and our secrets.«

»You
went swimming with her on a full-moon night and you mean to tell me she was
able to resist you?« Elin snarled at him. »You know as well as I do that that’s
impossible. Humans are weak.«

»Humans,
maybe. But I knew that night would change everything.«

I
felt myself blush at the memory. Not daring to look up, I stared at my feet
instead. Ares reached for my hand and held it tightly.

»So
why did you take her with you then?« asked Elin haughtily. He clearly wasn’t
prepared to give in without a fight.

Calum
looked at him, seemingly contemplating what to say in response. A mocking grin
broke out on Elin’s face.

»That
has nothing to do with this,« said Calum, loudly and clearly into the silence. »I
agree that I must be punished. But Emma is innocent, so I ask that she be
allowed to walk free.«

Elin
laughed derisively. »It’s not that simple, Calum. Have you taken leave of your
senses? She knows about us, so she has to die.«

A
murmur of agreement rose up. I stiffened and Calum went pale.

Myron
knocked on the desk with a small hammer and asked for quiet: »Elin, it’s not
your place to decide on the punishment for this crime,« he reprimanded him.

I
breathed a sigh of relief.

»But
that’s what the law says,« Elin retorted. »She can’t get away with it
unpunished. She’s a human.« He spoke this word with such hate that I only now
realized how much he really despised us.

I
jumped up and shouted out without thinking: »You’re wrong, Elin. My father is…a
shellycoat.«

Elin
jumped in shock, then chaos broke out. Calum came over and stood beside me
protectively. I bit my lip and stared at the floor. What had I done?

It
took Myron a long time to call things back to order.

»Emma,
do you know what you’re claiming? Do you know who your father is?« he asked,
looking at me with newly awakened interest.

The
silence that spread out through the room became unbearable.

»It’s
I.« Ares stood up next to me. Commotion broke out again.

»You
know what this means, Ares?«

He
nodded.

»I
didn’t know of her existence until a few weeks ago. But regardless of what the
Council decides, I hope that you will have mercy on her. I beg of you,« he said
in a firm voice.

Tears
filled my eyes.

»Elin
killed Emma’s mother, and in a sense he had a right to. She saw our clan many
years ago on a full-moon night,« Ares continued. »But it wasn’t really
necessary. Emma’s mother hadn’t approached our world since then and had never
told anyone about us. Not even Emma knew of our existence.«

»Elin,
is it true that you killed Emma’s mother?« asked Myron.

»It’s
forbidden to reveal yourself to a human. The woman deserved to die.«

I
was overcome with anger, balling my hands into fists and jumping up.

»But
you killed Maria too,« I cried out.

Everyone
stared at him. I slowly sank back down onto the bench.

»She
contaminated our holy source,« Elin spat back in response, confirming the
suspicion I hadn’t been able to prove until then.

»You
lured her into the water in order to kill her,« I responded.

Calum
gave me a stern look. But I had already said what I wanted to say.

Myron
beckoned me to come forward.

»Emma,
how long have you known that you’re a halfling?«

Dr.
Erickson spoke up. »She’s only known for a few weeks. I’m the only one who knew
the whole time, but I followed her mother’s request not to tell anyone. Just
like her mother, Emma has protected your secret since she found out. Her cousin
Peter is to be my successor, as I don’t have any children of my own. That’s why
he and his family were told about the secret.«

Dr.
Erickson kept his head lowered reverently in front of the chairmen. Peter went
to stand by his side.

Myron
looked at him. »Peter, are you ready to complete the test?«

Peter
nodded.

»Okay.
We’ll discuss the accusations now,« said Myron, after he had spoken softly with
the others. An eerie silence filled the room.

»The
secret of our existence has been protected in Peter and Emma’s family for
years. Initiates are permitted to share the secret with their families.
Admittedly, however, this should only happen after they have successfully
passed the test. As Elin didn’t know that Dr. Erickson was going to put Peter
forward as his successor, it was right of him to bring this charge to our
attention. But in my opinion, this is simply a matter of formal misconduct. I
now ask that the voting representatives make a decision. Are Calum and Dr.
Erickson guilty of having revealed our secrets?«

Everyone
looked around, but only Elin’s followers lifted the red cards to vote guilty. I
gave a sigh of relief.

»We
can regard that matter as closed, then. Now, when it comes to the relationship
between Calum and Emma, I think that in regard to the fact that Emma is a
halfling, the shellycoat elders must rule on this. It’s not the responsibility
of the Great Council to do so. Calum has contravened the laws of the
shellycoats, so he must look to his own clan for judgment.«

Looking
into Ares’ stony expression, I feared that this wasn’t a good development.
Elin’s lips stretched into a malicious grin.

»But
we must discuss Elin’s offense too. Should he be accused of unjustly killing a
human being? It’s unacceptable to kill people without reason and a prior ruled
judgment.«

Elin
twisted round to face Myron, his expression filled with disbelief. But the
judgment was unanimous. The red cards were in the majority, even though a green
one flashed here and there.

»Elin,
you will adjourn to your room until the Council makes a final judgment
tomorrow.«

Elin
nodded and left the room, his followers in tow.

»Now,
let’s mention one final point. Ares, you know that union with a human woman is
forbidden. The existence of halflings has been banned for centuries. And we
know that in earlier times, all halflings were killed.«

I
went cold. But Myron smiled at me. »Ares, even though you didn’t know anything
about Emma’s existence, you are still guilty of putting us all in danger.«

Ares
nodded and looked Myron directly in the eyes.

»I
can’t say that I regret what I did. Especially not now that I’ve met Emma. I’ll
accept the judgment, but I ask that you don’t punish Emma.«

»Unless
the Council decides otherwise, Ares, our laws are binding to everyone. I think
very fondly of you, but no exceptions can be made,« Myron replied in a stern
tone.

Ares
looked at him, clearly taken aback.

Myron
looked around: »I put Ares’ crime to the vote. I move that he be excluded from
Council meetings in future and that he lose his voting rights.«

The
cards flew up in the air. Without counting, I could see that the red cards were
in the majority. I didn’t know what this meant for Ares, but when he smiled at
me I saw that he was fine with his punishment. He took me in his arms. It
seemed to me that Myron had manipulated the situation to prevent a harsher
punishment. I resolved to ask Dr. Erickson about it later.

Myron
smiled and nodded to Ares.

»Like
every year, we need to vote about whether we can reveal our existence to the
human world. Does anyone have any arguments to cite in favor of doing so?«

Myron
looked around as everyone stayed silent. Then he looked at Calum and me.

»Even
though I can’t give my blessing to a relationship with a human right now, it
encourages me to see that it’s possible.« He paused. »Emma, you must understand
that our people have suffered a great deal at the hands of humans. Regardless
of what verdict the shellycoats come to, I wish you luck.«

Then
he turned back to the others and requested that they vote. As expected, no one
voted for the secret to be revealed.

»I
declare this meeting to be closed.«