Page 111 of The Star's Sword

“We will decide what happens in the mid-realm!” Vasara said. “The vampires will never go hungry again!”

“Vasara! Miracle blood! Give us miracles, Vasara!”

“You viper,” I said. “All you want is power. You’ll do anything to get it.”

“Obviously,” she said, turning to face me, her sword and shield on the ground. “Anyway, time to destroy you. My first trial I invoke is the trial of popularity.”

I swallowed. “What?”

“You heard me, Cleo,” she said. “I’m calling for a vote.”

I turned to look at the crowd. “Shit.”

38

“This isn’t going to go how you want, Cleo,” she said, walking over to threaten me now. “I’m going to take your boyfriend, take Simon’s vampires. Then I’ll probably take your little coach and teach him a lesson. It was pretty hot how he chased me down, killing everyone in his way. I’d love to tie him up and have a little fun with him.”

I picked up my foot and shoved it in her middle, sending her flying back, barely able to maintain her balance by swinging her arms.

“Brute force,” she said, looking to the crowd. “Everything you’d expect from a false Morningstar.”

I turned to Simon, who was standing next to Mark and talking to several other elder vampires. I jogged over to the edge of the forcefield.

“Simon,” I said. “They pick two trials and I get one. What are we going to do?”

“I have a plan,” he said. “Just hang in there.”

“I need to beat her,” I said. “Samael is at stake.”

“Don’t worry, Cleo,” Simon said lightly. “No one is going to let her hurt him. Not that she could. She’s delusional if she thinks a ninth realm celestial will just submissively go along with her, no matter what she wins.”

“She wants Cayne, too,” I said, looking over to the other side of the court, where Cayne was standing on the outside of the forcefield next to Sam’s cylinder.

Simon’s eyes darkened to a shade of wine. “What for?”

I shrugged. “What she seems to want everyone for.” I looked at him. “Simon, that night, I’m sorry.”

His eyes met mine. “Truly, I’m fine.” He looked at Samael, then at Cayne. “Cleo, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about the trouble Vasara could cause. But I promise, she’s so small in the scheme of things. You are the Morningstar. You have the queen of demons, a king of vampires, the former king of hell and a ninth realm celestial behind you. Plus your sword.” He smiled, sending strength into my heart. “The real fight will be in the ninth realm, so just use this as practice.”

I looked back at the cheering vampires. “But Vasara. The vampires love her so much, they aren’t going to accept me even if I win.”

“Maybe,” Simon said cryptically. “But maybe it won’t matter.”

I looked over at Samael, who seemed to have made a flower appear in his cylinder, and was now picking the petals off, looking bored.

“She’s so godsdamned evil,” I said.

“And you actually get to fight her,” Simon said. “I promise, it will be okay.”

“Start the popularity trial!” an elder vampire yelled, as Mark gave me an apologetic look and then took a stack of papers over to the crowd, along with pencils.

“So they’re literally just going to vote,” I said.

“Yup,” Simon said.

“Why is that even a trial option?” I asked.

“Well, democracy, mainly. But to be honest, I find the crowd is almost never right. That’s kind of the point of a crowd. People give up their brains and judgement to be in one.”

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