The Phoenix Chronicles: The Curse of Lustria

Chapter Twenty-Three: An Omen of Death

(NARRATED BY CAMERON SETLER)

Looking over the edge of Istanel's Robinson Tower, General Mason finally took her hand off her saber's hilt. "Looks like the enemy's a no-show," she said. "Guess we scared 'em off after all."

Although the enemy had been expected to arrive around six, it was nearing midnight and they were nowhere in sight.

Mason turned to Charlotte at her side. "Tell everyone to pull out. We'll have the unit rest here for the night, then head back to the Tribal Woods in the morning." She glanced briefly at Samson. "Is that all right with you, Head Lieutenant?"

Narivado blew a bubble, glaring at her with his arms crossed. He must've been beyond ticked, given all the time we had wasted. Nevertheless, Penny took his silence as a 'yes,' so we ended up staying in Istanel for the night.

As I slumbered in my hotel room, I had a dream about a time in my life that I had since tried to forget—yet it was not from my perspective. It opened in a windowless room, where fifteen people were gathered around a long table. At the head sat Colonel Charlotte Davis, who was dressed in a black judge's garb. A large, black binder filled with documents lay in front of her.

Folding her hands on the table, she gracefully announced, "The meeting regarding our strategy for The Province of Ether v. Cameron Setler shall now commence."

Samson Narivado, who lounged in his chair with his arms behind his head, flashed Davis a blinding grin. "Let's get right down to business, then, shall we, Lottie? I have a meeting with the Chief in about an hour."

The Head Lieutenant still had his sunglasses on and was chewing gum like always, but it was the first time I had ever seen him out of his Brotherhood uniform. In this instance, he wore an open trench coat with a white, buttoned-up dress shirt and solid-black tie underneath. In addition, he had a cool, gray fedora that matched the color of his dress pants, which were made visible as the detective leaned back in his chair. I also caught a glimpse of the police badge attached to his waist, which was even shinier than his sparkling, white grin. Knowing Samson, I assumed he polished it regularly.

Putting on a pair of reading glasses, Charlotte began flipping through the pages of the binder. "Don't worry, Detective, I'm getting to it. I just need to find the case file, and—Ah, here we are." Having found the section she was looking for, Colonel Davis folded her hand on the table and spoke once more: "As you all know, with the grand jury's decision to indict Mr. Setler, his case must go to trial. However, before we begin planning for that, I'd like to address any questions our defense attorney has, given that he only recently took this case."

"There's no need to address me in the third person," said Daniel Jameson, who was sitting directly across from Samson. "Just call me by my name."

He was dressed in a dark blue suit with a white dress shirt and red and white striped tie underneath. Aside from him, Charlotte, and Samson, there were six men dressed in Naridan Brotherhood uniforms and six women in Naridan Sisterhood uniforms.

"Very well," said Charlotte. "Do you have any questions, Mr. Jameson?"

"A few, yes."

"Go on then."

Daniel gestured at everyone around the table. "Why are you all here? You're not actually involved in this case, are you?"

"You think I would risk my nephew being found guilty for the murder two people?" Samson laughed, slowly shaking his head. "That's about as likely as toast landing jelly-side up!"

Mr. Jameson narrowed his eyes at Charlotte. "What's going on here, Davis?"

She fidgeted with discomfort. "Well, um... before I get to that, why don't we have everyone introduce themselves? I'm Judge Charlotte Davis. I'll be presiding over this trial."