The sun rose all too early the next morning, its beams starting to creep in through the window and illuminating the dust particles in the air.
Eve's head hurt, the dull ache of a hangover, though she hadn’t drunk anything. She hadn't slept well after her encounter with Ari. The dream had felt so real, so intense. She was sure it wasn’t the product of her imagination. It couldn’t have been a dream.
Luke hadn't left her side after finding her on the roof. He was asleep beside her, sprawled out across the bed, one of his long arms draped across her middle. His breathing was steady, his face relaxed. He always looked younger when he was asleep.
He groaned and shifted beside her, rolling onto his side facing her. His arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her into him. He mumbled something incoherent and nuzzled his face into her hair. She relaxed into his familiar embrace. It felt good to be close to someone, to feel his warmth, to hear his heart beating steadily against her back. She wanted to forget about everything, even for just a moment.
Tonight, she knew she would have to go. Ari's words echoed in her mind.
When you wake up, come find me.
She knew that it would never end unless she found him. He would always find a way into her head, and she would always come back to him. She knew that the council would come to the same conclusion: if she didn't finish what she'd started, it would set a precedent. They wouldn’t go easy on her at the trial... The trial!
She glanced at the clock on her bedside table. "Oh, shit!" she hissed.
She elbowed Luke in the ribs.
"Get up. Get up! I'm going to be late."
Luke mumbled, shifting position and tightening his grip around her. "Five more minutes," he groaned.
Eve shoved him off the bed. He landed with a thud, and she heard him swearing.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, "But I have to go."
She rushed to the closet and pulled on a loose, neutral colored training outfit. She changed quickly, pulling her hair up into a loose bun and rubbing sleep out of her eyes. A dash of eyeliner on each eye was the best she could do to look presentable.
Luke was still on the floor when she turned around, still in his uniform from the day before, the fabric wrinkled. He gave her a pathetic look, half asleep.
"Don’t look at me like that. Your testimony isn't for another hour!" she chided as she passed him on her way to the door. He slowly made his way off the floor and slumped back into the bed, pulling the covers up. She hesitated for a moment.
"Thanks, for last night," she said, "I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't come."
His eyes opened to blink at her owlishly. "Anytime," he smiled.
With that, Eve rushed out of her room. She padded quickly down the hall, the floor cold on her bare feet. Her stomach grumbled but there was no time to eat. It was nearly 6am; the trial started in two minutes.
She made her way through the silent halls until she found her way downstairs to the council chambers, down the hall from the professors' quarters. The entrance was lit by flickering torches lining the walls. She knew they indicated that the board had already convened and she swore under her breath. The doors were closed.
She pushed open the heavy wooden door and stepped inside. A hush fell over the crowd inside, and she could feel their eyes on her. It was a large room, with a raised stage in the center and circular seating surrounding it, raised several feet in the air. A single empty chair had been set up on the stage. The board was already in their seats, the members seated according to their rank. Emeritus professors sat in the highest rung of the chamber, with tenured or honored professors in the row before them and the newest members in the innermost rung. The Speaker's seat was projected slightly forward from the rest of the seating, and there Ramsey now stood, chair scraping against wood.
She saw familiar faces dotted throughout the room. It was hard to resist the urge to crumple under the accusatory gazes directed down at her. Darrow sat in the middle row slightly to Ramsey's left, his jaw set. When he saw Eve, he gave her a small nod of acknowledgement.
"A minute later and we would have started without you," Ramsey said, her voice carrying clearly through the large room.
Eve walked down the central aisle between the pews towards the stage, keeping her chin high and her eyes straight ahead. She took a seat on the empty seat centered on the raised stage, facing Ramsey.
"I'm sorry, Madam Speaker," she said. She kept her voice even, not betraying her anxiety.
Ramsey's face was impassive. In her role as Speaker, she adopted a cool detachment. Eve wished she would give some indication of support or understanding, but there was nothing. Most of the faces looking down at her were either neutral or outright hostile.
There had only been four trials held in the last fifty years, and the most recent had been ten years ago. Most hunters wouldn't get a chance to see the proceedings of a trial in their lifetime. Being one of few was not a position Eve had hoped to occupy.
Ramsey began. "You've been called before this tribunal to contribute to our information gathering relating to the incident three weeks ago with the vampire Ari. We're going to ask you questions, and it is important that you answer them honestly and fully." Ramsey continued, "The board will determine if further punishment is required, but that is not the focus of today's session. The only thing that matters today is the truth. It's unlikely you did anything wrong." She emphasized her last words, finally giving Eve a small smile of encouragement.
Eve nodded, feeling her chest unclench slightly.
"Please state your name for the record."
"Evelyn Burnett," Eve answered.
"Please give us an account of what happened on the night of November 12th. Start from the beginning, and please speak loudly and clearly."
Eve cleared her throat. She steeled herself. "I and my hunting partner, Luke, were looking for a higher vampire named Ari. We had very limited information to go off of; we knew he frequented a nightclub called the Mad Hatter. We went there the night of the 12th with the intention of either finding him or interrogating anyone we thought could be linked to him."
"Continue."
“It was about midnight when we got there. We had scouted out the location earlier in the day and determined that we would have to go through the main entrance in civilian clothes, there was no other way in. Everything seemed normal. We got to the door and were let in. Inside was dark, and the music was loud. There were a lot of people there."
"Vampires?"
She tried to recall. "Most were human, or appeared so. It was crowded. Luke and I separated. I identified a vampire in the crowd - male, recently turned, not well-fed. I wanted to use him to find Ari."
"And how did you do that?"
Eve looked down, "I... got his attention. Lured him into one of the booths in the back." Her eyes flashed to Darrow's, who was staring at her intently. He had been the one to teach her to seduce a target, the last thing he taught her before she graduated.
