Chapter Ten
The sun was setting by the time Kenner reached the Central Isle of Kinai. He hovered over the Long House until the Elders, the Darkwing Squadron lead by Mara and anyone else who wanted to see this altercation had gathered, and then he opened the paw of his left hind leg and an unconscious Skatian woman in tattered clothes dropped on the ground with a loud thud. Only then did he land, the crowd making way for his massive beastly form. He was too tired to shift in the air, and his exhaustion showed plainly on his face once he was a man again.
“Who is this?” one of the Elders demanded.
Kenner replied with more patience and respect than he had believed he had in him at that moment. “She is Esplyn of House Rida, the Skatian noble who once owned my Teresa. Arul can confirm her identity for you. She is to be kept in the cages of the Long House until she is fit enough to testify against the person who revealed to her the secret and the location of the Rookery.”
“You do not give orders here anymore!” Mara snapped at him, but Kenner only gave her an annoyed look and turned back to the Elder.
“Even if what she says is true, I am still owed a fair trial,” he said calmly, knowing, unlike Mara, that letting his emotions get the better of him was not the smart thing to do. “As was Teresa,” he added. “But all I found when I came back for her were a few fallen scales, so I’m assuming you’re keeping her prisoner.” There was no mistaking the open threat of those words and the Elder who was squaring off with him gulped.
“You assume correctly.” Elder Fanag appeared then. “But she has already been convicted, and is but awaiting execution.” The corner of the Elder’s lips turned upwards a little as if she had been praying something like this would happen, but she continued in her usual, detached tone. “However, if you can provide new proof attesting to her innocence, and the value of that proof can be verified, then your Teresa might yet come out of this ordeal with her life.”
She turned to the other members of the Council. “I suggest we all retire for the evening, to allow for Kenner and his witness to rest and replenish their strength,” she said. “We can hear the testimonials and conduct Kenner’s trial on the morrow.” As no one had anything against the idea, the crowd began to dissipate, but Elder Fanag had a few more words to say. “I shall host your lady witness, Kenner,” she informed him, her tone such that it made clear he would do better not to argue with her. “You may sleep in your home, but the Darkwing Squadron will serve as your security detail.” Kenner translated from between the lines: you are a flight risk, and we will not risk letting you out of our sight again.
Kenner simply nodded and walked towards his house, the Squadron trailing him in two straight lines. The one to the left was headed by Arul. The one to the right, by Mara, who, as usual, had something to say.
“What do you see in that fat bitch to risk everything you have for her?” she wanted to know. “You never fought like that for me.”
“She is the love of my life,” he replied honestly. “And you weren’t worth fighting for.”
That stunned Mara so profoundly that she stopped dead in her tracks, and the members of the Squadron who followed did the same, like the well-oiled machine they were.
Kenner, Arul and the rest didn’t wait for them.
Tomorrow morning, upon receiving the summons from the Council of Elders, Kenner made his way into the Long House, where every bit of space that could be occupied had been filled. There were too many spectators for Kenner’s comfort, but the more people could see firsthand what was about to happen here, the better it was for Teresa, so he gritted his teeth and endured for her sake.
When he saw her brought in, her skin pale and her hands tied behind her back, he tried to reach her and free her from her bonds, but Arul and another member of the Squadron stopped him. “She’s just a little sickly from dehydration,” his friend whispered in his ear. “I know it pains you to see her so, but you’ll do her no favors if you lose your temper now.” He was right, as usual, and Kenner paid heed to his second’s advice, well aware of the results that had come from failing to do so the last time.
As per custom, the accusers had the first say, with Mara spewing venom in every direction, and both Arul and her dumb little lover boy called in as her witnesses. The men simply repeated the same statements as before, with minimal displays of emotion, Mara’s lover out of embarrassment and Arul for the sake of objectivity.
When the defense’s turn came, Kenner stood up for both of them. He asked that Lady Esplyn be brought, since they had kept her away to make sure that nothing could influence her to change her testimony, and so she wouldn’t accidentally overhear anything pertaining to the true nature of the Rookery.
When she came in, all pride and elegance, flanked by two guards at each side, Kenner asked Arul and several other members of the Squadron who’d met the lady during their mission to Wallaria to confirm her identity. Then he finally called the lady herself, who, as it turned out, had quite a tale to tell.
“About... oh, two or three nights ago, this one...” she began, in her signature insincerely sweet voice, and pointed straight to Mara, making several people in the Long House audibly gasp, “...appeared on the roof of my mansion and demanded that I speak with her. She knew how devastated I was because the Emperor made me sell my Hele to... this...” She made a disgusted face as she looked at Kenner, who gave the insult exactly as much attention as it deserved – nothing. “She offered me a chance to both get her back and get a brand-new, Kinai slave free of charge. She told me to send the best oarsmen I could find in a few kayaks, and have them meet her on a designated day at the designated time at the base of your stupid volcano, and she would bring Hele and a Kinai boy tied and gagged. Just imagine my surprise when she not only backed out on her own agreement but brought another one of her friends with her, and then killed the men I had sent to meet her and sunk their kayaks!” From the sound of it, Lady Esplyn mourned the loss of her boats more than the men who operated them.
“Lies!” Mara screamed. “It’s lies, all lies! Kenner must’ve paid her to perjure herself!”
But Lady Esplyn only laughed to that accusation. “He couldn’t afford it,” she replied condescendingly. “And besides, my ship still lies in your waters, where this brute dragged it onto the Obsidian Ridge,” she added, pointing angrily at Kenner. “Just fly out there and question the crew. They know everything.”
Realizing at last that her scheme had just imploded before her very eyes, Mara tried to flee, but the Blackwings didn’t allow her to get very far.
Kenner, however, decided he had waited much too long as it was, and ran to Teresa’s side. The crowd around them alternated between congratulating them and jeering at Mara, as she was taken away to wait for her trial in the cages, while the Elders attempted to call for some order, and failed miserably.
Only Elder Fanag looked happy at this unholy mess, smiling at Kenner and Teresa, and patting him on the back. “Well done, boy,” she praised him. “I knew you could do it.”
Kenner wisely decided not to remind the Elder that she was contradicting some of her earlier statements and, instead, put his arm around Teresa’s shoulders and nodded. “Thank you... but, if you’ll excuse us now, we’d rather like to go home.”
The old lady shooed them away, laughing all the while, and Kenner was glad they could get the hell out of there.
There were things he had to say to his Teresa, things he had to do to show her just how much he had missed her, and he could only feel free to indulge those needs in the privacy of their own house.