Ruby Shadows (Born to Darkness #3)(135)
I breathed a sigh of relief—Eryn was safe! Well, I hoped so anyway. The spell had been all about protecting the innocent so it must have sent her to someone who could help and protect her. But who?
“Seize her!” Belial shouted, breaking into my frantic thoughts. The two demon guards both grabbed me by the arm with their hot, hard hands.
“Hey, let me go!” I struggled but it didn’t do a damn bit of good. The demons had too strong a grip on me. And even if I could get loose, where would I go? I was stuck here in Hell, with no way out.
“You are to be tried and sentenced immediately.” Belial glared at me, the last vestiges of his kindly old grandpa persona disappearing completely. “And I assure you, Ms. LaRoux, you will be found guilty—I will see to that myself.”
I realized I had bigger things to worry about now than where Eryn had been sent by my spell. Right now I had to worry about keeping my own hide intact and judging from the way Belial and Druaga were glaring at me, it wasn’t going to be easy.
Chapter Thirty-four
Gwendolyn
“This Council of the Elder Demons will convene at once.” Belial rapped on the broad wooden table. “Order—order now,” he shouted, as though someone had disagreed with him.
Seated around the table—which looked like it could have come out of any boardroom in corporate America—were a dozen demons, each older and uglier than the last. Belial was standing at the head of the table and Druaga was sitting at his right hand, presumably acting as the accuser.
I was standing at the head of the table on the left side of Belial with my hands bound behind by back, waiting to hear my fate. A fate which wouldn’t be long in coming, I was sure. This didn’t seem like the kind of court where your case could drag out for months and months or you could make any kind of appeal. No, they were going to try me and find me guilty right now and then probably hand me over to Druaga.
I’d rather die than let that evil bastard touch me! I thought, trying to suppress a shiver. I’ll kill myself first. But how? I looked around for a weapon—any kind of weapon. If I could find something I would use it to defend myself first and if that didn’t work, I would turn it around and end my life before the evil demon could get me. But how could I do anything with my hands tied?
My morbid thoughts were interrupted as Belial started talking again.
“As you know, the accused, one Gwendolyn LaRoux, has been charged with the theft of a very valuable item from the accuser, Druaga, the manager and owner of the Hotel Infernal.”
“It wasn’t an item,” I said, speaking up on my own behalf since apparently you didn’t get a lawyer in court here in Hell. “It was a person—an angel. You can’t just steal a person! If anything, Druaga is in the wrong here! He’s an evil, vicious, lecherous bastard who—”
“Enough! Enough, Miss LaRoux!” Belial shouted, pounding on the table again. He narrowed his eyes at me. “Do you really think that your arguments carry weight here? Think about it, young lady—you are in Hell. Druaga was simply doing what comes naturally to demons—seeking to destroy innocence. If anything, this Council applauds his efforts—the capture of an angel is no small achievement.”
“Hear, hear!” several of the demons on the Council shouted, banging on the table.
“An achievement you snatched away from him by stealing the angel he had rightfully stolen from Heaven,” Belial continued.
“You’re all sick!” I shouted, balling my hands into fists behind my back. “And anyway, I didn’t steal her—she hitched a ride on my shoulder in her moth form. I didn’t even know she was an angel until a few hours ago.”
“At which point you proceeded to work a spell that would free her from Druaga and sent her to some other unspecified place which you refuse to reveal,” Belial thundered.
“I told you—I don’t know where she went!” I said. “The spell was for protecting the innocent. It probably just sent her as far away from this evil bastard as it could.” I nodded at the boar demon who was snarling at me.
“Don’t worry about that—we will find her.” Belial glared at me. “It may take time but she will be located. In the meantime, since you are wholly uncooperative and unrepentant of your crimes, I recommend to the Council that you be given to Druaga as compensation for his lost property. All in favor?”
“Aye!” shouted every single demon at the table.
“All opposed?” Belial asked. Not a single one of them spoke up—there was dead silence.
“The motion carries and the sentence is just,” Belial concluded. “The accused will be handed over to the accuser at once to be dealt with as he sees fit.”
“What? No!” I exclaimed. Deep down I had been expecting this—I knew it was the most probable outcome of the travesty of a trial I was being subjected to. But I’d thought deliberations would last a little longer. I didn’t even have anything to defend myself with—or kill myself if there was no other way. Because I didn’t want Druaga touching me—the thought of that huge, hairy thing dangling between his legs getting anywhere near me was repulsive. Better to die than wind up being used over and over for his sick pleasure.
Druaga rose from his seat and came over to me.