Burned by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #1)(15)

A murmur spread through the crowd and fear crackled through me like a live current. So much for my shitty cover story.

“Besides,” the Director continued, “the amount of magic required to disintegrate a rhino shifter would have reduced an amulet of this size and strength to ash. As you can all see, it’s quite intact.”

“Alright, settle down, settle down,” the Captain ordered the room. He looked down at me wearily. “I’m afraid that unless you have anything more to say in your defense, I’m going to have to convict you of using illegal magic.”

“The penalty of which,” the Director reminded the room, as if he needed to, “is death.”

The Captain hesitated. “I think under the circumstances we should be able to reduce it to hard labor in the mines, don’t you think? It was self-defense, after all.”

The Director shook his head. “Whether or not it was self-defense is completely irrelevant,” he said dispassionately. “The death penalty is mandatory in such cases, especially since the accused is too old to be trained. She cannot be allowed to run amuck with her magic unchecked.”

Rage boiled up inside me so fast I swore steam came out of my ears. How dare this man stand there and dismiss my life so casually, as if I were a rabid dog that needed to be put down! I opened my mouth to rip him a new one, but I was cut off by a voice in the back.

“Captain Galling, I would like permission to speak.”

The sound of rustling fabric filled the air as everyone, including me, turned around to see Comenius standing in the gallery, his jaw set, determination gleaming in his cornflower blue eyes. The Director and Talcon began to protest at the same time, but Captain Galling held up his hand for silence.

“Speak,” he commanded.

Comenius took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. “It is my belief that Miss Baine has committed an act of magic worthy of a mage, due to the fact that she is half-mage herself. Because of this, I believe that she should be allowed to appeal to the Chief Mage himself, rather than simply tried and executed in a courtroom that is strictly meant for Enforcers.”

It was a testament to the strength of my willpower that my jaw didn’t crash straight to the floor. Appeal to the Chief Mage? Was Comenius mad? The Chief Mage wasn’t just the ruler of Solantha – he governed the entire state of Canalo and was one of the most powerful mages in the Federation of Northia. Even if he could help me, I doubted he would have time – he barely ever emerged from his palace, busy with whatever matters of state and magic he was usually concerned with.

Maybe that’s the point. If the Chief Mage is so busy, it’ll be a while before he’s able to see me. Weeks, maybe even months. During that time I’m sure to find a way to escape.

“That’s ridiculous,” Talcon sputtered, his face growing red as he jumped to his feet. His fists clenched at his sides as he faced the Captain. “Sunaya is no more a mage than I am!”

“On the contrary,” the Director said, sounding somewhat reluctant, “she would have to be at least half-mage to have pulled off the display of power the reports suggest, whereas you are a full human, Deputy Talcon.”

I would have laughed at the murderous look Talcon shot Chartis, if the situation hadn’t been so dire. In any case, the Director was completely unruffled by Talcon’s outburst. It dawned on me that he might not actually care about the proceedings either way; he was just here to make sure the Chief Mage’s laws were enforced.

“What are you suggesting, then, Director Chartis?” Captain Galling asked, his brow furrowing. “Should we execute Miss Baine, or allow her to appeal to the Chief Mage?”

The Director sighed, running a hand through his wavy dark hair as if the idea of being tasked with making an actual decision was just too bothersome. “You can certainly order her execution if you want,” he told the Captain. “But if the Chief Mage found out that he was circumvented by not allowing him to respond to an appeal, I imagine he would be most displeased.”

“Very well.” The Captain banged his gavel, and as he looked down at me I swore there was a twinkle in his eye. “We shall refer the matter to the Chief Mage for a final ruling. You are all dismissed.”



I wasn’t exactly dancing a happy jig when the guards escorted me back to my cell, but my heart did feel significantly lighter now that the Captain had granted me a reprieve. With the way bureaucratic red tape liked to pile up in this city, I was unlikely to get my audience with the Chief Mage for some time, maybe even a month if I was lucky. That was plenty of time for me to figure out how to escape, I thought as the cell door clanged shut behind me.

My best bet, of course, was to contact Rylan and have him get me out of here. He’d happily take me underground in an instant, and since he and the others had already proven successful at evading capture, I was relatively certain that I could, too.

The only drawback was that I would have to pledge myself to the Resistance, something I had been avoiding for as long as Rylan had been trying to recruit me because I was afraid of how they would view me if they found out I was half-mage. But since that cat was out of the bag, there was really nothing to lose now, was there?

Decided, I sat cross-legged atop my cot and waited for Comenius and Noria to come and visit me. We hadn’t had a chance to say more than two words to each other after my hearing, and I knew that they would be anxious to see me. It was only a matter of time before Noria wore the guards down with her insistence.