Night Witch (Weatherstone College, #2)(84)

In the light, images appeared.

The image wasn’t solid, it flickered like an old, half-forgotten memory, but there was no mistaking what it showed. A massive field, blackened and burned, covered in what looked like multiple bodies. Two witches stood in the middle of the carnage, and they were soaked in blood, to the point that it dripped from them to pool on the ground.

“The last two recorded reapers,” Elder Monroe said, his magically enhanced voice lowering ominously. “After their creatures tore apart a village. You can see what remains.”

He sent more energy into the device, and the light expanded, bringing more of the scene into view. The students gasped as the monsters appeared, dozens of them, spanning out behind the two witches. I wasn’t sure if the others could see the tethers binding the monsters to the reapers, but I saw their glow immediately.

These two hadn’t lost control. Had they really massacred an entire village? Innocents and everything?

“Our ancestors called them demon-witches,” Monroe continued in his eerie whisper. “No matter how they start out, they always lose control and destroy those around them. They have the power to call on demons from the Purgatory plane. They are beyond our necromancers, and even worse, they also have the power of a spellcaster. Without any control.”

“How do you know that’s what happened there?” Haley shouted, sounding fiercer than I’d ever heard. “You have one flickering image from the olden days with no context. Anything could have occurred that day.”

Elder Monroe sneered at the audience, seemingly blinded by the light of his projection and unable to see Haley directly. “There’s a reason our ancestors chose to destroy their kind and outlaw this affinity. We must protect ourselves.” He swung around and pointed at me. “Paisley is a risk to everyone here.”

“And yet you have her contained by a dozen council members and a few spellcasters,” Logan drawled, seemingly more relaxed than his energy felt through our bond. “Her magic can’t be much of a risk, and you can’t just condemn and murder an innocent witch because of a past prejudice. We are better than that now. We know better.”

“Innocent,” Monroe snorted. “She called monsters to this school last year, and a student died. Where is the innocence in that?”

More gasps from the audience, and I let my head hang as guilt smashed into me. This was the judgment I’d expected every time I’d had to tell my story. My friends had remained loyal—most of them—but the other witches and warlocks in this room didn’t feel the same way.

They had no idea I wasn’t an evil person. As far as they were concerned, my magic had called a monster that killed a student, and it could happen again.

This was a trial of my peers, and I wasn’t sure I could win.

“She had no idea of her affinity,” my father said, speaking up for the first time. He stared into the eyes of the elder and then out into the hall. “There are many cases of spellcasters accidentally hurting or destroying innocents when their power bloomed. They were all given a second chance on the premise that there was no intent or malice in their actions, and that they were barely out of childhood, with much to learn. It is the responsibility of fully qualified witches and warlocks to guide our young and give them the tools necessary to keep themselves and others safe. In this, we failed Paisley. Our entire community failed her.”

I took a shaking step forward until my shoes almost hung off the edge of the stage. The council reacted, lurching toward me, but strangely, Jacob didn’t move. “I just wanted to say a few words,” I said, but my voice was too soft to be heard over the hall.

Logan shared his magic with me, and my next words were louder. “I’m so sorry about what happened last year.” A tear slipped free even as I fought to keep my voice steady. “I promise, I had no idea that I was the one calling the monsters. I’d never even heard of my affinity, and I’ve been locking my power down ever since I truly found out what magic I hold. But I’m not a bad person.”

“A lot of you would remember that Paisley threw herself at the monster in the hallway,” Logan added. “Her first instinct was to try to protect students, and she almost died in her attempt. Would an evil witch, as the council here would have you believe she is, risk her life for students she doesn’t even know? Her affinity is no eviler than any other, especially spellcasters. The power we handle is immense, and when one of us turns to the darker magic, it’s absolutely devastating to the magical community. My father is an example of that. But we don’t just destroy an entire affinity because of a few bad eggs.” Logan waved his hand toward the flickering projection Elder Monroe had left up for dramatic effect. “We don’t know what happened here, but even if two reapers used their powers to hurt others, that shouldn’t mean every other reaper is sentenced to death. We have a chance to change now. To stand for more and be better.”

The students were quiet, and I couldn’t see most of their expressions to know how they were reacting. “It’s the council’s decision,” an elder said. I couldn’t see her as she stood in the back of the crowd around me. “We need to test her affinity first and then rule on her fate.”

Elder Monroe couldn’t have looked happier if he tried. “You’ll all see,” he said as he turned his broad smile toward the crowd and the live broadcast stream. “You’ll learn to fear her as you should.”