Page 195 of The Demon's Spell

The judge nodded. “Sustained. Attorney Verla, please stick to the evidence.”

“Certainly,” Verla replied curtly. “Please bring up evidence file number two-two-five.”

Medical records appeared on the screen. With my friends’ consent, Verla had gotten her hands on dozens of medical bills that showed the crushing weight of the priestesses’ new policy. The jury members’ faces fell as they took in the numbers. There were thousands of dollars in medical bills here.

Verla held up an empty insulin bottle she’d gotten from Grant. “Members of the jury, this is a single vial of insulin, a life-saving drug that several students at Miriam College require for survival. This small vial costs close to two-hundred-and-fifty dollars apiece. This vial will not last a patient a week. Think of that. Over a thousand dollars per month, just to survive. This is something that used to be covered in our student-wide healthcare plan, funded by tuition. These students’ healthcare is no longer supported because four women voted to shift the funds elsewhere. One of these women, I might add, is not even a priestess. These women voted to end the health insurance of children. They voted to end their lives.”

“OBJECTION!” Margaret yelled. “What is the relevance? She’s on trial for murder!”

The judge didn’t wait for Olivia to speak for the priestesses. “Sustained. Attorney Verla, we are here to address Nadine Evers’s charges. The other priestesses are not on trial.”

“Yes, of course,” Verla said. “Please bring up evidence file number one-seven-one.”

An image of the Alchemy Wand appeared again.

“Priestess Nadine, have you seen this wand before?” Verla asked.

Nadine nodded. “Yes. It’s the Alchemy Wand.”

“Priestess Lilian testified that the Imperium Council confiscated the Alchemy Wand from you the night of the Burning,” Verla said. “Is that correct?”

Nadine shook her head. “No.”

“Is it true that you had the Wand in your possession?” Verla asked.

“Yes, but I gave it over willingly.”

“Why would you do that?” Verla questioned.

Nadine leaned toward the microphone and spoke clearly. “Because the priestesses asked me to find it.”

Verla spoke sympathetically. “How did you come into possession of the Alchemy Wand?”

“I tracked down clues that my grandfather had left behind,” Nadine said. “Being the granddaughter of Nicholas Tucker, the priestesses believed that I had knowledge to where he’d hid the Oaken Wands. I did not, but I agreed to work with the priestesses, because uniting the Oaken Wands could end the Waning. We learned that the Alchemy Wand was hidden inside a magic cauldron, which we found at Wicked Alchemy.”

Nadine’s voice cracked. “We returned from the alchemy shop to find that the priestesses were burning four women alive on school grounds. Riots broke out, and I was able to escape the school grounds with my friends. Once everything settled, I returned to the Imperium Council headquarters and gave them the Alchemy Wand, as promised.”

“She’s lying!” Margaret accused. “She made threats—”

The judge smacked her gavel. “Order in the court! Priestess Margaret, you are no longer on the witness stand. I’m going to have to ask you to remain silent, or I’ll have the bailiff escort you out.”

“I am a priestess of the Miriamic Coven!” Margaret argued, as if that meant she could do whatever she wanted.

“And you’re in my courtroom,” Judge Calloway shot back. “The defense may proceed.”

Verla stepped closer to the witness stand. “Priestess Nadine, are you aware that you are being charged with murdering two police officers that night, and that the spell used to kill them could only be performed using an object as powerful as the Alchemy Wand?”

“Yes, I’m aware,” Nadine said.

“Have you ever used the Alchemy Wand to perform magic?”

“No. It would be impossible, because I’m not an Alchemist,” Nadine said.

“Priestess Nadine, would you describe yourself as a criminal?”

Nadine shook her head. “I would not. If I have committed any crimes, they were sanctioned by the Imperium Council. The priestesses told me to do whatever it took to find the Oaken Wands so that we could stop the Waning. All I’ve ever done was my best to restore the coven’s magic.”

“Priestess, you are on trial today for murder. The coven needs the truth. Are you guilty of murder?”

---