(A courtroom that is oddly empty, save for a
tall brunette woman in a tailored suit and heels as plaintiff, a tall handsome
blond man in an Armani grey suit as defendant, an older woman judge, a mixed
jury, and a short man in black near the door. The plaintiff’s expression is
venomous, as is the countenance of the man in black. The blond defendant’s face
carries an easy smile, but his eyes glitter with anger. The judge’s face is
stern as she picks up her paper.)
Judge: Mr. Devlin Dalcon, you
have been summoned here to stand trial for your actions in the latest Promise
Me book, Taken for His Own. Now that
the District Attorney of Supernatural Affairs has presented all her evidence,
do you have anything to say for yourself?
Devlin: <stands, with hands
in pockets> Of course. This is all a farce. You have no case.
DA: Objection!
Judge: Sustained. Mr. Dalcon,
if you have any witnesses to call or any evidence to present, please do so now.
Devlin: There is no evidence;
how could there be? The only ones who really know what happened are Sar and
myself. <sneers> You were put up to this by Sar’s doctor, weren’t you?
His examination found nothing—
DA: Objection! Who reported the violation is not
relevant. We’ve already clearly established that Sar was very anemic after her
encounter with Devlin—
Devlin: Of course she was. I
drank some of her blood, as she asked me to. <looks over with a seductive
smile at DA> I always aim to please my lovers.
Judge: Enough, Mr. Dalcon. Now do you have anything
to say in your defense or not?
Devlin: <stands> Yes. <he walks out from
behind the desk and then leans back on it, facing the jury> You have charged
me with coercing Sar into a relationship—
DA: A sexual encounter.
Devlin: <glaring at DA> A
sexual relationship, admittedly, but one we both desired. And yes, I do have
evidence to that. <motions to the man in black> Lash, please take the
stand. <The man in black narrows his eyes, but does as requested, including
swearing to tell the truth>
Devlin: Tell them what you made
me agree to close to a hundred years ago, as a condition of our friendship and
working relationship.
Lash: I told you I wouldn’t
have any part of hurting women. And I told you if you ever did it again, I’d
quit our friendship and your employ.
DA: <incredulous>
You expect us to believe the word of a weresnake?
Lash: <hisses, his eyes
shifting briefly to snake then back to human> It’s the truth, lady. And as
far as I know, Devlin never broke his word on that. <smiles nastily> He
never has to. Your sex falls all over yourselves trying to get into his pants.
Judge: <bangs gavel>
Enough! Please step down, Mr. Lash. <looks to Devlin> The word of your
best friend and a known assassin is not sufficient evidence.
Devlin: Then how about from Sar
herself? Read page 189 of Taken for His
Own. It’s all there, that she’s not sorry we took our relationship to the
next level. Hell, read the series! It’s all there in the pages, how she wanted
me all along! That woman reeked of her desire every time I was around her!
DA: <jumps up> Objection!
A woman can desire a man and retain her right to refuse his advances. We are
not in the 1900’s, Mr. Dalcon.
Devlin: <smiles> Alas, as
you are definitely a shrew that needs taming—
Judge: <strident and angry>
Mr. Dalcon, one more comment like that and you’ll be held in contempt. Am I
making myself clear?
Devlin: Of course.
Judge: Your rebuttal that she
wanted you cannot be proven. The law says that a woman reserves the right to change
her mind.
Devlin: Very well. Then I offer
you the hard data that my brother Danial used to show Sar that her actions were
not coerced at all. Pages 219-220. Firstly, Sar has some special feature about
her that allowed her to bear a vampire’s child for my brother. Dr. Camlyn is
researching the data he collected now. We believe that the cause is something
rare in her blood: whatever causes it to be so unnaturally fresh and sweet
compared to usual human blood—
DA: Objection. We do not
need to hear about the virtues of the victim’s blood—
Devlin: <suddenly angry>
I tell you there is something different about her blood, and about her! My
point here is that making her a vampire would destroy that forever. There is no
way I would logically do that, not for any reason! Well, unless Sar were dying
and I had to turn her into a vampire to save her from certain death.
DA: Objection, counsel just
perjured himself.
Devlin: <very angry> I
care about her. I know how she feels about being mortal. No one responsible
makes vampires on a whim. <Brings a thick book up to the judge> This is
the vampire handbook. I was one of its coauthors close to 200 years ago. It is
forbidden worldwide to make someone vampire against their will. I’ve enforced
that rule since its enactment. I, along with my brother Danial, was forced to
become a vampire.
DA: <sifting through her
papers> Isn’t turning something you’ve done as punishment to vampire hunters
in the past? <gives Devlin a malicious look> And to their families?
Devlin: Yes, on occasion. But
you’re taking the rule out of context. That rule was meant to protect innocent
humans from being turned by irresponsible vampires. Hunters who attack vampires
are fair game for reprisal. I don’t need to be wounded first to strike a fatal
return blow, if I see someone is intent on killing me.
Judge: Understandable if not
exactly something I can empathize with, Mr. Dalcon. Do you have anything else
to offer?
Devlin: One final argument: that all of the Promise Me
books to date are from Sar’s point of view alone. We don’t know anything that
she does not, at this point in the series. Therefore,
if she chooses to exclude something, readers don’t know about it.
Judge: What exactly are you
saying?
Devlin: That Sar is bound by
mortal laws, and she wants readers to like her. She is also married to Theo.
Admitting that she wanted me and we made love immediately jeopardizes her
standing with readers. That is why she has no answer for all of the logical
arguments about why she didn’t find a way not to give into my desire. <tone
softens> The real reason is that she had desire of her own, and it was to be
with me.
Judge: This might be the most
logical thing you’ve said so far, Mr. Dalcon. However, like your previous
evidence, this also cannot be proved.
Devlin: The only truth here,
Your Honor, is that your court has no power over me. As a vampire, I am subject
to my brother’s rule, not yours. He is a Vampire Lord. If punishment is given,
it will come from his hand. And his assessment of the situation is that I am
blameless. <sits down> As I’ve said, this trial is a farce.
Judge: <grimaces> I
declare this a mistrial. <bangs gavel>
DA: <jumps to her feet>
Your Honor, you can’t believe that this vampire—
Judge: What I believe is that of all Sar’s romantic
interests, Danial both loves her best and understands her the most. He also
likely knows his brother better than we do. Mr. Dalcon is right, that his
brother has declined to punish him. That evidence is known as the truth to
anyone who follows the series, and it does cast light that there is much more
to this situation than we have been made aware of. <turns to Devlin> I
understand that Sar is experiencing the symptoms of turning at the close of Taken for His Own. Would you say that
this is the cause for her behavior?
<DA glares at judge,
gathers her papers, and leaves. Jury files out, some of them arguing Devlin’s
and Sar’s guilt and innocence>
Devlin: <worried>
Possibly. If that’s the case Sar has a real battle in front of her. Almost all
humans that begin to turn into vampires complete the transformation
eventually. I’ve been consulting with my
brother on how best to handle the situation. Danial and his sorcerer Terian
have come up with a daring solution, but it’s got to have Theo’s approval,
which Danial is still waiting for.
Judge: Then I suppose I should
offer your brother and Sar good luck. <sternly> And I don’t want to see
you back here again, Mr. Dalcon. Understand?
Devlin: <bows> It is much
appreciated. And yes, I’ll do my best not to return to see you too soon. <grins> Adieu. <turns
and strides toward Lash as set fades to black>
Read the 5th installment of the Promise Me Series, Her Secret:
Blurb: In a desperate
effort to halt her transformation to vampire, and
stop her longing for the sultry Devlin, Sarelle willingly takes
a drug to kill her desire, even as Danial prepares for the introduction of
their son Theoron at a Vampire Gathering on New Years Eve. Faced with Theo’s
betrayal at the eleventh hour, Sarelle must either trust in Danial to
save her, or join forces with Devlin, revealing her secret
desire for him.
Excerpt: The clock chimed eleven. Worried, I glanced
outside, wondering if Aran would call to cancel. He’d said he’d be going by on
an errand for Cia, but the sky was dull white now. The impending storm
forecasted for noon might begin at any moment.
There was
no sign of him.
We were
supposed to get a foot or more, something that irritated me. We’d gotten three
feet so far this season. With no warm days to melt any of it, the drifts were
huge, surrounding the plowed driveway like tall mountains.
I let out a
yawn, blinking my eyes. With the completion of the cookies, despite my
eagerness earlier, my utmost desire was a long nap under a warm blanket.
Grinning, I made a deal with myself that as soon as the snow flew, the couch
was where I was headed. Until then, I needed to keep on track. I hurriedly did
some light cleaning and laundry. I was just putting the vacuum cleaner away
when the clock chimed twelve.
I cast a look outside. Snowflakes had begun to fall. Soon,
they were falling fast and furiously, obscuring my view of the barn.
“C’mon,
Aran,” I said, scanning the drive. “You don’t get here shortly, I’m walking
down those cookies to the mailbox and you can eat them frozen.”
All of a
sudden, the snow-dampened roar of a motorcycle was heard in the silence. Aran
drove down the driveway, his lone headlight catching the snowflakes in its
circular light as they fell. He was dressed in his usual black leather.
“You’re
crazy,” I muttered, throwing cookies into a plastic bag quickly. “Maybe
werefoxes don’t get as cold as normal humans did, but you still have to be cold
in that.” I closed the bag, then headed for the front door. “At least it’s
something between you and the pavement.”
Aran pulled
up in front of the deck and parked the bike, but didn’t turn it off. He faced
the house for a moment. As I opened the door, he gestured around him, then
pointed to my house.
I opened
the door and yelled to him, “Sure, you can stay ‘til it stops. I’m glad of the
company. Go to the bottom garage, I’ll let you in!”
He nodded,
the visor of his helmet and his shoulders already covered in snow. He drove on
as I shut the front door and ran downstairs. Pressing the button, I raised the
overhead door and he drove in.
Shivering
in the cold blast from the door, I quickly shut it as he parked his Harley and
shut off the engine. He began brushing the snow off himself.
“Why’d you
bring the bike today of all days?” I said, giving him a sarcastic smile. “I
told you it was going to storm. Now you’re stuck here. Cia’s not going to be
happy.”
Aran got
off his bike and continued to brush him and it off, melting snow creating
puddles on the concrete floor.
“Why don’t
you give me your coat, and I’ll put it near the fire. If you want, we can watch
a movie or something. I was planning to head to the couch any—”
Aran
unbuckled his helmet and in one smooth motion pulled it off his head. Gold
curls and waves fell almost to his shoulders.
This was
not Aran.
This was
Devlin.
He stepped
off the bike, and came toward me. I was lost from the moment I looked into his
golden eyes.
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