Defiance: The Hybrid's Tale (MxM)

Chapter 10: A Day at the Elder Court. [Edited]

Cassandra Pope.

As I closed the seventh door on my bootlicking campaign to save my father's worthless hide, my conscience, at that stage, felt like a dog that has been kicked to within an inch of its death. All of those lies I had to regurgitate repeatedly made me feel as if I was plunging the dagger deeper into the victims of my father. While he continued with his reign of terror. To the magical community at large, he was one of those famous warlocks everyone aspired to be, but it was all a show. He wanted a legacy that would engrave his name into the hearts of the generations to come. A noble goal for sure, but he had lost himself in his demented rise to eternal glory. He'd already proven that he'd do everything in his power to accomplish it. However, luckily for the world at large, there were people who stood in his way, people like the Elder Council.

As I made my way along the grand hallway of the Council's headquarters, I had to fight the urge to glance at the irritating snake that slivered next to me - my brother. For most of the morning, he had accompanied me to the meetings I had with the various Council members. My father had sent him to make sure I did my job. Ethan probably enjoyed it as he saw me grovel.

"Why the long face, Sis?" Ethan mocked me as he strode next to me with a skip in his step.

He was happy about the fact that most of the members of the Council had swallowed my bullshit lies for honey.

I scoffed. "You may enjoy licking other people's asses for a living brother, but I don't. I'm glad that this farce will soon be over." Just then, the last of my meetings came into view: the door of Elder Elderick Vance.

Elderick Vance was one of three councilors that despised my father. He saw through my old man's façade for the cockroach he truly was, and this was my only shot at bringing the whole mess to an end. But one problem remained; my brother clung to my side all the time, making it impossible to get to the councilor's ears without tipping my father off to my true intentions. This was my last shot. I had to send a discreet message to the councilor asking him to meet me privately. I didn't even know if Elderick would even believe me. He was under the illusion that I was a part of my father's inner circle. Time to change that. I had four people depending on me.

I knocked three times on the wooden door.

"Come in!" A harsh voice echoed through the door. I nervously pushed open the door and walked into the Elder's office along with my brother close at my heels.

The office was long and narrow with bookshelves lining the inner right wall of the chamber. Four opened patio doors to my left allowed fresh mountain air and sunlight to flood into the room. I made my way over to an ornate wooden table at the end of the chamber where a middle-aged man sat signing a bunch of papers.

Without looking up, Elder Elderick spoke, "Don't waste your time." He then glanced up to look at my brother and then at me. His steel blue eyes cut into me with so much contempt in his eye, my blood froze in my veins. "I've already read through this," he held up a blue file before throwing it on the floor in front of my feet. "So many lies twisted into convenient truths to avert the scornful gaze of the Elder Council from your scaly backs."

The venomous words spewing from his mouth kicked my conscience further into the dirt. What have I become? How long could I continue with this before it consumed my soul completely? I did not want to end up like my brother. He was a remorseless scoundrel who would have killed a child in a heartbeat if it would earn the favor of my father.

I bent over and picked up the file, staring at the report riddled with many names of my former coven members. These were the names of those who chose to leave the coven when my father completely lost his mind. These people were once my friends and family, but in the end I condemned them. Because of me, the Shadowstalkers were hunting them for the crimes of 'treason' -- one of many convenient lies to cover my father's attacks on his fellow witches and warlocks.