Unbound (Forbidden Bond Book 1)(68)

     



 

"Alright everyone, let's get this over with one way or the other. Ms.  Scott, are you ready to proceed?" Lloyd spoke up over the crowd.

Danielle nodded nervously in response. It quickly became quiet in the chamber.

"I want you to write down a sentence and give the page to Gage. Then,  send the message to everyone the paper was given to, so we can evaluate  your ability to send a distress call to multiple people," he instructed.

Danielle immediately complied and handed the paper over to Gage. Then  she watched as Chase, Gage, Griffin, Mason, and Lloyd all wrote. All at  once, they held up their papers to show the rest of the council and the  crowd in attendance. They had all written the same thing: "I am  innocent." The crowd buzzed.

"Impressive," commented Ayden Stafford. He was a tall man with the same  jet-black hair as Donovan, pulled back in a ponytail at the back of his  neck. "I'm interested to see you use mind control on one of us. Can we  get a volunteer?"

"I don't see how that would serve to prove Ms. Scott's guilt or  innocence," a voice from behind Danielle spoke up. Donovan stepped up to  the table next to her. "No disrespect, Councilor Stafford, but I don't  believe show-and-tell is going to resolve this issue."

He looked at Danielle. "Did you use mind control on the day of your attack?"

"No, I did not. I used telepathy to call for help and telekinesis to  fight off the attack." Danielle liked the fact that he said "your  attack" instead of "the murder."

"I see," he replied, and walked toward the table to pick up a few  pictures. There was an audible hiss from Chase and Kayden as Donovan  looked over her nearly bare body.

"You are correct, Donovan. I don't think we need her to demonstrate her  abilities for our entertainment. This is a trial, not a circus." Griffin  glared at Ayden.

"Tell us about the attack, Danielle," Donovan asked. Danielle gave the room a blow-by-blow description of the fight.

"Are we to believe that at your young age, you have the power to lift  yourself, along with a large male warrior, across the room? That would  be impossible for a healthy youth, much less one who was in a weakened  state of injury," Adele scoffed in disbelief.

"May I demonstrate?" she asked with a cocky grin. "I will need a ‘large' volunteer."

"I will volunteer." Kayden stepped up to the table and placed his hand  on Danielle's. Then he smiled at Dani and teased, "Take it easy on me."  She gave him a weak smile in return. They walked hand in hand to the  floor between the council table and the rows of observers. He turned to  her, and she placed his hands on her shoulders. Looking deeply into his  eyes she levitated the two of them up off the floor, and the room  buzzed.

"Hold on," she whispered. Suddenly, they flew across the room together  and stopped in a sudden jolt just before they hit the wall. Kayden  gasped. She giggled and gently spun the two of them in circles a few  inches off the floor, as if they were dancing, all the way back to the  center of the floor.

"You are very strong indeed," Griffin beamed.

"You are not injured anymore, child. You are very impressive, but you are no longer injured," Adele pointed out.

Danielle walked up to Adele, her chains clanking, and pointed to the  pictures on the table. "These were taken yesterday morning. I still have  broken ribs and extensive bruising." She pulled up her sweatshirt to  just below her bra, showing Adele her black-and-blue torso. Then she  pulled down the turtleneck she wore under her shirt to expose the  handprint-shaped bruises around her neck. That got the council's  attention, and she regretted showing them her still-injured body. Shit!  Vampires healed more quickly than she did. They were going to ask  questions.

"Why aren't you healed, child?" Kane asked, stunned.

"I don't heal as quickly as others." She didn't know what else to say.

Donovan came to her rescue. "I have been reviewing the photos of you and  the ones of Lance's body. Why do you think it is that you are so  battered and the only real injury to Lance was the laceration to his  heart and lung? The doctor's report states a large piece of glass was  stuck in his back, causing him to bleed out."

Danielle walked back to her seat while she tried to think of a  reasonable answer. She was scared to death. Even if they acquitted her  of the murder, they could still kill her for being a half-human  abomination. At least that was what her mother feared. Then, the only  explanation she could think of popped into her head, and she hoped they  would buy it. The whole room waited for her answer, and her heart  pounded in her throat.         

     



 

"I have only been able to come up with one explanation. I don't heal as  quickly as others, and I am also lacking in speed and strength."  Danielle paused and looked around the room. She was publicly admitting  her weaknesses and the differences between her and the full-blooded  vampires she faced. This could have been a huge mistake, but it was the  only way to plead her case.

"On the other hand, I am far more psychically capable than others of our  kind. I believe that my telepathic and telekinetic strength caused a  deficit in my physical ability," she speculated.

"So during your altercation with Lance, the only weapon you had was telekinesis?" Donovan asked.

"Yes. There was no way I could fight him off physically for very long,  and there was no way to control his mind. All I could do was hit him  with things from around the room and try to toss him across the room and  evade his grip. I was just trying to hold him off until help came. That  is, until he said he'd had enough foreplay, and it was time to take  what he wanted before he gave me to his master. When he tried getting my  underwear off, I decided that I'd rather die than be raped or let  anyone use my power to hurt others. I was so afraid of dying. I put  everything I had in me into pushing him off of me. I put my hands around  his neck to choke him the way he was choking me, and we both hit the  opposite wall. He landed on top of me when we hit the floor, and I  passed out." Danielle hung her head in shame as the tears she fought won  their battle and overflowed her eyes.

"I didn't mean to kill him. I didn't think I was physically able to do  him any harm. I was hoping he would kill me rather than take me away,"  Danielle sniffed.

"Councilor Deidrick, what did you find when you and Councilor Vaughn reached the hotel room?" Donovan inquired.

"We kicked in the door to find the room destroyed. Lance was on the  floor on the far side of the room. I was rounding the bed to help him  when I noticed a small arm under him. His body was completely covering  Danielle, except for her arm. She was unconscious, and Lance was dead.  She was bloody and battered with her underwear down around her knees,"  Mason answered.

"Lance had no visible injuries with the exception of his back wound, and  he had no pulse," Griffin added. "Danielle was devastated when she  realized he was dead."

The chamber was completely silent, as everyone took in the information  and tried to make sense of it all. Danielle rose from her seat to stand  before the council table. "May I show you what happened? I can show  anyone who wants to volunteer." Both Lloyd and Kane stepped to the  center of the floor before her.

"It won't be like watching a movie. It's more like flashes in time. You  will feel what I felt emotionally, smell what I smelled, and hear what I  heard. Do you still want to do it?" she asked them.

"We can handle it, child. Show us your proof, but know that it may not  be used to prove your innocence. We have not decided if we can trust  your talents," Kane said condescendingly.

Danielle nodded and stepped forward. She grasped the wrists of both men  and concentrated on the evening of the attack. She showed them her and  Kayden entering the room alone and just a glimpse of them in bed, just  before he started choking her. Then she let the rest of it flow with as  much detail as she could muster. Every blow and every word came though  her, and she felt them flinching under her touch at the fear that was  heavy in her heart.

"Unbelievable," Lloyd exclaimed. When she looked up, they were both looking at her like an alien they'd like to dissect.

"The council will take a recess to deliberate this matter," Lloyd said  to the crowd without taking his eyes off Danielle. "Does anyone else  have any further questions?" he asked the rest of the council members.  Everyone declined. "Ms. Scott will be taken into custody until we have a  verdict."

Gage and Darren stepped up, and each took one of Danielle's arms and  started to propel her toward the door leading to the rear of the  chamber. She locked eyes with Chase. Love and concern he felt for her  shone in his eyes. She wanted to give him some kind of comfort, but she  just didn't have it in her. She knew it would be hard on him if she was  executed, but he would survive. He had family and a fiancée to get him  through it.