James arrived at the hotel at 9 a.m. By that time, I had already had most of the employees in my office to catch up on any problems that they might have. They were all happy with James and I was glad to hear that. He stepped into my office and sat down on the chair in front of my desk. I looked up and he was worried.His aura seemed stifled and concerned. He looked agitated and his eyes looked weary, like he hadn’t gotten any sleep. I knew he was worried about the situation with Adara and Malachi, I was too.“What’s on your mind?” I was reading through the budget forecast for the next six months.“Adara’s talking about divorce.” The pen slipped from my hand onto my desk.“What?” The phone on my desk rang and I picked it up. “What?” I asked irritably.“I’m sorry to disturb you, Sir, there are two police officers downstairs to see you,” Sylvie said.“Bring them up, please, Sylvie. Thank you.” I put the receiver down and looked at James.“Cops? What for?” James asked. Mention of Adara an
I had been in a similar room in Seward when I gave my statement after Sarah’s suicide but this time it was quite different. They took the handcuffs off and asked me if I wanted anything to drink. I declined the offer. I had no idea how long I’d be there but I knew they were going to question me extensively.I hoped I wouldn’t be there for long. James would be on his way to the Sterling Police Station and hopefully Malachi would be with him. I had no idea where he was or if he even listened to his messages. Would he even come back to help me after everything that he believed happened?“I’m going to put the camera on and record our interview. We will also now read you your Miranda rights. Do you understand?” Kyle asked me and I nodded.“You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law, you have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand that you have the right to hav
Malachi wallowed in his self-pity that whole day, drinking and drowning in his own misery. He kept replaying everything over in his head, every conversation he’d ever had with Jessica, every interaction between her and Kiran.He punished himself with memories of every touch and kiss between them. He replayed every conversation between Kiran and Jessica too. She’d warned him before the time. She’d told him she’d slept with Kiran, and he’d foolishly believed her story about him being like a brother to her.He was driving himself to the brink of madness but he couldn’t help it. He needed to know how and when it had happened. He needed to know how he’d missed it. Betrayal was the worst thing anyone could ever do to him.Betrayal was his downfall, as was his anger and temper. It was the balance Karani had spoken about, but there was no balance to this. How did he keep his anger and resentment at bay? He didn’t think he’d ever get over this.The next day Malachi was driving to the liquor st
Malachi took the file from Vaughn’s desk and followed Chief Johnson outside to the parking lot. Ten minutes later, Malachi walked inside the police station and was shown to the interrogation room where Kiran was being held.Malachi watched from the other side of the two-way mirror for a few minutes as they questioned Kiran relentlessly before opening the door and walking into the interrogation room. The relief in Kiran’s eyes almost had him break his resolve and he had a deep urge to hug his son and assure him that everything would be alright.“Who the hell are you?” One detective asked Malachi as he placed his briefcase on the table.“Good evening, detectives. My name is Malachi Sinclair, legal representation for and on behalf of Kiran Sinclair. My client has cooperated fully during your interview and I call it an interview since you’ve failed to present him with a warrant of arrest or a complaint form and even though you haven’t arrested him legally yet, you’ve already processed him
I arrived at court half an hour early with James. I didn’t see Malachi’s car and we bought coffee and stood outside.“What do you think will happen today?” James asked as he looked around.“I think Malachi will try to get the case thrown out,” I answered him. It was a clear day and not too cold, not that we felt cold like humans did. I saw Malachi’s car approach and he stopped at the curb.“Do you think this means he’s forgiven you?” James asked me and I shook my head.“No, he’s still mad as hell, but even now he won’t let me rot in jail,” I said to him as Malachi, Carl and Frank climbed out of the car and walked towards us.“Kiran, trouble likes to follow you,” Carl said as we shook hands and he smiled. There was an awkward silence between me and Malachi and they watched us.“What’s going on with you two?” Frank asked as he watched us.“Nothing,” Malachi said as he excused himself and walked into the building.There were still twenty minutes left before I had to appear in court and w
I was sick of the silence, sick of her anger and sick of the thought that she didn’t believe me. I wasn’t a cheater and I would never hurt my family like that, especially my father. The anger burned deep inside me that they could think that of me.“If all of this were true, ask yourself one thing. Why am I still here fighting for us? I won’t sign this, ever! Why wouldn’t I just admit it, ride off into the sunset with Jessica? The last time you left me, it almost killed both of us. Don’t make the same mistake twice,” I said to her and went to the study. My phone rang and I sighed. It was John Whitcombe.“Hi, John,” I answered the phone.“Pack your bags, we’ll be there in thirty minutes,” he said and put the phone down. My life was in ruins and now the Council was forcing me to go to Mauritius.I went upstairs and packed my suitcase. I had no idea how long we would be in Mauritius and I packed for two weeks. I got my passport and put it in my wallet. I went downstairs and Adara didn’t
Malachi tried to call Jessica again as he sped down the highway back towards Seward. Her phone kept going straight to voicemail. He didn’t leave a message because he needed to talk to Kiran first.Malachi parked his car in front of the open garage and noted that Kiran’s car was parked inside. It was close to midnight as he unlocked the side door and walked into the house. Adara was sitting in the kitchen, watching the baby monitor. She looked up as she heard Malachi’s footsteps and he saw the tears streaking her face.“Where’s Kiran? I really need to speak to both of you.” Malachi moved closer to her and read the note she had in front of her. “He went to Mauritius?”“He wrote that he left you a message. Why does it sound like he’s not coming back?” Adara asked him.“Listen, Adara, Kiran didn’t lie. They never had an affair,” Malachi said and pulled his phone from his pocket.Malachi proceeded to tell Adara about his reflection in the car window in one of the photos where Jessica and K
Malachi found his seat and put his phone off. He had to smile, even in the direst of circumstances Adara had still booked him in first class. After ten minutes, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We have a slight delay as a late passenger is now passing through the boarding gate. We will take off in fifteen minutes.”Malachi’s eyes snapped open as the ‘late passenger’ sat down next to him and he could hardly believe his own eyes. “Jess…what are you doing here?”Jessica picked up a magazine from the holder on the seat in front of her and started paging through it. “You’re going to go save Kiran, right?”“Yes, but–”“Obviously you’re going to need help. Does he even know about this execution thing? It doesn’t matter anyway. You guys are all such idiots, you think it’s so easy, just jump on a plane and be all macho, rush in there and save him. You’re an idiot.” She continued paging through the magazine and Malachi started to chuckle.“Was I
Karis and another Zeta arrived at the hotel to escort us to the tribunal. Karis led me and Malika to his car while John and Bryan went with the other Zeta. I smiled at Karis from the backseat and Malika had hugged him when she saw him.“Kiran, when the time comes, I will do what I can to help you and Malika get out,” Karis said to me.“Thank you, Karis, but my only concern is John and Malika. Bryan will protect John with his life, you should focus on keeping yourself safe and getting Malika out,” I said to him and he looked at me in the mirror. His frown deepened and I knew what he was thinking.“I thought you said you had witches with you.” I could see the nervous energy in Karis’ aura and it did little to calm my own nerves. I was wired and ready, albeit nervous.“Bryan and I are half-witches. We’ll be fine. Don’t try to be a hero,” I said to him and he looked at me with different eyes. It was a look I wasn’t comfortable with. Nobody in my pack looked at me with the same fear as Kar
“You have to tell John,” I said to Bryan.“Do you trust this guy? It could be a trick,” Bryan said as I looked down the street.“I trust him,” I answered Bryan and we continued our jog.We jogged back to the hotel, circling the block. John and Malika were coming out of the elevator and John smiled at us.“Are you joining us for breakfast?” John asked, and we followed them into the restaurant part of the hotel.We must have looked like an odd combination at that table. John was dressed in a suit, and Malika was in a summer dress. Bryan and I wore running clothes and were covered in sweat. We ate breakfast and talked about the weather and family and nothing in general. I knew Bryan would tell John once they were alone.I didn’t like Bryan’s idea of going along with everything right up to the moment where I had to step into that circle, wide open. I was prone to reacting in the moment and making emotional decisions but I didn’t like leaving myself open like that.“Why can’t we just infor
Bryan and I had sat up half the night discussing the potential outcome of the tribunal, what could happen and how we could counter any evidence that Vincent might have. We deduced that Vincent wouldn’t know that John was a truth seeker or that we were witches.It felt like we were just stumbling about. We didn’t know enough and the supposed evidence Vincent had was being kept from the tribunal documents. I knew he had to have something, otherwise the tribunal would never have been called.I wasn’t really worried about dying, and maybe I should’ve been. I knew Malachi would look after my family and that despite hating me, Adara would stay in Seward and raise our children. James would help with Kai’s training and the knowledge that life would go on, made me feel an odd contentment with everything.I was angry, sure, but I was also relieved in a way. If I died fighting for something I believed in, then it was a good way to die. It would be an honorable death and my only concern was that
Malachi found his seat and put his phone off. He had to smile, even in the direst of circumstances Adara had still booked him in first class. After ten minutes, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We have a slight delay as a late passenger is now passing through the boarding gate. We will take off in fifteen minutes.”Malachi’s eyes snapped open as the ‘late passenger’ sat down next to him and he could hardly believe his own eyes. “Jess…what are you doing here?”Jessica picked up a magazine from the holder on the seat in front of her and started paging through it. “You’re going to go save Kiran, right?”“Yes, but–”“Obviously you’re going to need help. Does he even know about this execution thing? It doesn’t matter anyway. You guys are all such idiots, you think it’s so easy, just jump on a plane and be all macho, rush in there and save him. You’re an idiot.” She continued paging through the magazine and Malachi started to chuckle.“Was I
Malachi tried to call Jessica again as he sped down the highway back towards Seward. Her phone kept going straight to voicemail. He didn’t leave a message because he needed to talk to Kiran first.Malachi parked his car in front of the open garage and noted that Kiran’s car was parked inside. It was close to midnight as he unlocked the side door and walked into the house. Adara was sitting in the kitchen, watching the baby monitor. She looked up as she heard Malachi’s footsteps and he saw the tears streaking her face.“Where’s Kiran? I really need to speak to both of you.” Malachi moved closer to her and read the note she had in front of her. “He went to Mauritius?”“He wrote that he left you a message. Why does it sound like he’s not coming back?” Adara asked him.“Listen, Adara, Kiran didn’t lie. They never had an affair,” Malachi said and pulled his phone from his pocket.Malachi proceeded to tell Adara about his reflection in the car window in one of the photos where Jessica and K
I was sick of the silence, sick of her anger and sick of the thought that she didn’t believe me. I wasn’t a cheater and I would never hurt my family like that, especially my father. The anger burned deep inside me that they could think that of me.“If all of this were true, ask yourself one thing. Why am I still here fighting for us? I won’t sign this, ever! Why wouldn’t I just admit it, ride off into the sunset with Jessica? The last time you left me, it almost killed both of us. Don’t make the same mistake twice,” I said to her and went to the study. My phone rang and I sighed. It was John Whitcombe.“Hi, John,” I answered the phone.“Pack your bags, we’ll be there in thirty minutes,” he said and put the phone down. My life was in ruins and now the Council was forcing me to go to Mauritius.I went upstairs and packed my suitcase. I had no idea how long we would be in Mauritius and I packed for two weeks. I got my passport and put it in my wallet. I went downstairs and Adara didn’t
I arrived at court half an hour early with James. I didn’t see Malachi’s car and we bought coffee and stood outside.“What do you think will happen today?” James asked as he looked around.“I think Malachi will try to get the case thrown out,” I answered him. It was a clear day and not too cold, not that we felt cold like humans did. I saw Malachi’s car approach and he stopped at the curb.“Do you think this means he’s forgiven you?” James asked me and I shook my head.“No, he’s still mad as hell, but even now he won’t let me rot in jail,” I said to him as Malachi, Carl and Frank climbed out of the car and walked towards us.“Kiran, trouble likes to follow you,” Carl said as we shook hands and he smiled. There was an awkward silence between me and Malachi and they watched us.“What’s going on with you two?” Frank asked as he watched us.“Nothing,” Malachi said as he excused himself and walked into the building.There were still twenty minutes left before I had to appear in court and w
Malachi took the file from Vaughn’s desk and followed Chief Johnson outside to the parking lot. Ten minutes later, Malachi walked inside the police station and was shown to the interrogation room where Kiran was being held.Malachi watched from the other side of the two-way mirror for a few minutes as they questioned Kiran relentlessly before opening the door and walking into the interrogation room. The relief in Kiran’s eyes almost had him break his resolve and he had a deep urge to hug his son and assure him that everything would be alright.“Who the hell are you?” One detective asked Malachi as he placed his briefcase on the table.“Good evening, detectives. My name is Malachi Sinclair, legal representation for and on behalf of Kiran Sinclair. My client has cooperated fully during your interview and I call it an interview since you’ve failed to present him with a warrant of arrest or a complaint form and even though you haven’t arrested him legally yet, you’ve already processed him
Malachi wallowed in his self-pity that whole day, drinking and drowning in his own misery. He kept replaying everything over in his head, every conversation he’d ever had with Jessica, every interaction between her and Kiran.He punished himself with memories of every touch and kiss between them. He replayed every conversation between Kiran and Jessica too. She’d warned him before the time. She’d told him she’d slept with Kiran, and he’d foolishly believed her story about him being like a brother to her.He was driving himself to the brink of madness but he couldn’t help it. He needed to know how and when it had happened. He needed to know how he’d missed it. Betrayal was the worst thing anyone could ever do to him.Betrayal was his downfall, as was his anger and temper. It was the balance Karani had spoken about, but there was no balance to this. How did he keep his anger and resentment at bay? He didn’t think he’d ever get over this.The next day Malachi was driving to the liquor st