Heaven's Darkness (Book 2)

Chapter 17 - Terra

 "Jeriah Ultarius, to the stand!"

A black lump of a man trudged up to the single wooden podium before the judging panel of Helix members. He carefully lowered his scaly hood, his insecurity obvious at the gasps of the crowd seated behind him. Shadows curled off of his head faintly, disturbing everyone in the courtroom. It sent a shiver down my spine.

A massive boom echoed throughout the high-ceilinged room, ringing three times. "Order in the court!"

The crowd hushed themselves, terrified of the sound magic that just penetrated their eardrums. Frankly, I was just intimidated by all of the government officials being in one room. Much less, with me in it.

The entire Potestatem Helix was seated behind a curved, elevated bench, looking down with disdain at Jeriah. They were seated according to the power of their positions, the snake-like Virdier Diaboli centerstage, with the representative of Illustrionux - the capital - at his right hand. The man responsible for Jeriah's and my injuries, leaving us to intense medical care for hours on end, Arbitorus Ultarius, was fairly highly regarded, sitting only a single seat away from the Praeceptor, meaning his word held water in this room. That alone was a bad enough omen.

Oh, my dragons, I hated so many people in this room.

"Mr. Ultarius, yo-"

"Excuse me," Jeriah interrupted, his voice surprisingly calm, "but that is not my name, Virdier."

The most hated man by Heaven's Light flicked his piercing red eyes up from his papers and shot a death stare at my friend, seemingly closing the thirty foot gap between them.

The Illustrionux representative - an older man - rose to his feet. "You shall address your Praeceptor with respect in this court. You are on trial."

Virdier held up his hand and seated the dog. "No, it's alright. I don't expect anything less than childish games from Caelestis' guild."

I clenched my fists until they turned white as snow. I had to bite my lip to keep from jumping out of my front-row seat and socking him in the jaw.

"So, Mr. Ultari-"

"Duisternis, Virdier," Jeriah patiently corrected, unmoving behind his small podium.

Virdier, seemingly distracted by the disorganization of his paperwork, shuffled through the pile while practically reciting a memorized piece of scripture. "We do not recognize you as having the name Duisternis, for that is not your legal name. By birthright, your name is Jeriah Ultarius, and therefore must be recognized as such in a court of law." He snickered.

I noticed the shadowy tendrils grow blacker with intensity for a moment over Jeriah's head. He was holding back a lot of pent-up anger. Virdier was toying with him, milking the situation, and he knew it.

"Mr. Ultarius, according to Venenatian law, you are guaranteed a trial if accused of committing a crime of such magnitude, and it is brought before the Potestatem Helix. Therefore, this is merely formality."

I shot to my feet, feeling angrier than I have ever felt in my life. "How is that impartial?" I shouted, my voice echoing throughout the large chamber, my head throbbing from the headrush.

Virdier's mouth twitched upwards into a smirk, but refused to recognize my outburst, busying himself with his pointless stack of papers. I huffed in exasperation and plopped back down in my cushioned, venom-green chair, crossing my beaten and battered arms agitatedly over my chest. This was the most teeth-grinding situation I have ever been in. The man that personally attacked and threatened Heaven's Light is the judge in a trial against a Heaven's Light member. There was absolutely nothing fair about this system.