Chapter 26

26

" L ord Zoran, my client has committed no crimes against the Valdier, Sarafin, or Curizan. If anything, he has been an unwilling and resistant victim in the crimes against each of you," Jack Anderson said, rising from his seat.

Crystal watched with pride as her father adjusted his glasses and walked around the long table. Her father was in his element, and it showed. He was relaxed and spoke with a quiet confidence, but there was an edge to his voice that had the five men sitting at the table leaning forward.

"I beg to differ with your opinion, Jack. We were there when Raffvin tried to kill us," Zoran dryly replied.

"Raffvin Reykill, yes. Devon Reykill, no. Devon was imprisoned at the time—held captive by an abusive father he barely knew. I have reviewed all of the records from the attack and it clearly states that all those involved in the attack along with their…," he paused and glanced at his notes before continuing, "… their corrupted symbiots were eliminated. Is that correct?"

Zoran leaned back and folded his hands in front of him. Crystal clenched her own folded hands together. If looks could freeze or kill, the one Zoran Reykill was giving her dad at that moment would have dropped him like a fly. Instead, her father stood waiting as if for a cup of coffee. Zoran's expression became neutral and he gave a brief nod.

Her father cleared his throat. "For the record, are we to understand that your nod was in agreement that neither Raffvin Reykill, his followers, nor their corrupted symbiots survived?"

"Yes, that is correct," Zoran grudgingly agreed.

"Is it also correct that a specific red crystal given to one Ariel Hamm-Reykill was able to counteract the devastating effects to the symbiots corrupted by Raffvin Reykill?" Jack continued.

"Yes, that is correct," Zoran agreed.

"Mrs. Reykill, could you please present a sample of the red crystal used in the fight?" Jack requested. "Let it be known that this is exhibit A."

"He is good," Mandra muttered.

"Here you go," Ariel said, placing a large red crystal on the table in front of Jack.

"Thank you. Now, I would like to call a witness to the stand," Jack requested.

"A witness?" Zoran repeated with a frown.

Jack nodded and looked down at his notes again. "Yes, I would like to request a Ms. Morah Reykill-Grove."

The group of men sitting at the table grumbled with dismay. Crystal fought back a smile when Morah entered the room next to her mother. They were so alike that she had to do a double-take. They both wore beautiful, matching gold gowns and had their black hair piled into elegant chignons. The only difference was Morah was wearing a tiara that looked as if it was moving.

"This is no place for a child," Zoran snapped, rising to his feet.

Jack smiled reassuringly at Morah and nodded to the chair set up to the side of the long table. Morah glared at her older brothers, delicately lifted the hem of her long gown, and waltzed right by them. A stifled snort of laughter caught Crystal's attention and she turned to see Paul Grove leaning against a pillar next to his mate. They were both watching their young daughter with pride.

Jack smiled and stepped up to Morah. "Can you please state your full name?" he requested.

"We know who she is. Get to the point," Zoran ordered.

Jack cleared his throat. "Morah, can you tell me how you first met Devon?" he asked in a gentle tone.

Morah tossed her head and patted the tiara on her head before she nodded. "We was on a quest."

"What kind of quest?"

Morah leaned forward in her chair and spoke in a low, earnest tone. "We was searching for Thanksgiving."

"And why were you searching for Thanksgiving?"

"We wanted to helps her. Alice said that Thanksgiving was scares and lonely. She needed help. Only with the help of her friends, we are her friends but we didn't knows it then ‘cause we hadn't ever mets her before, but we wanted to be so we had to helps her. Alice said if we did, Thanksgiving would be able to finds the magic inside her to protects herself and finds the one she loves. Alice says that's whats Thanksgiving means. It is about giving thanks for the things that mean the most to us. My mommy and daddy says that's our family and friends, likes Hope and Alice and Adaline and Roam and… and Leo, even though he ate alls our food and put holes in the raft. We are supposed to… to care about peoples, even if we don't knows them yet, we can still shares our love with them. Only then can the magic grow strongs enough to protect you… even if you are differents."

Jack nodded. "You are a very wise little girl," he praised.

Morah sat straighter. "I know. I learns from my mommy and daddy. Plus, I helps and gives advice to the Goddesses."

"Advice to the Goddesses?" Jack repeated with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

Morah adjusted her tiara again. "I gives them advice—on love."

Snickers from the men at the long table drew a sharp look from not only Morah, but from all the other women in the room. The chuckles quickly turned to coughs and mumbles. Jack chuckled and nodded in approval.

"And what is the response of your Goddess to your advice?" Jack asked.

"Wells, Arilla is still working on it. She has been busy helping her sister and Aikaterina. They have very busy lives, and its hards for her to take times to follows her heart, but I told her how busy my mommy and daddy are and how they works together."

Jack cleared his throat and smiled at Morian and Paul. "You are a very observant young lady."

Morah nodded. "Thank you."

Crystal grinned at Morah's prim, confident response. She had no idea where her dad was going with this questioning, but it was obvious that he had a plan. He walked to the end of the table and turned to face Morah again.

"So, to clarify everything, you and the others left to go on a quest to search for Thanksgiving who you suspect is Crystal. What happened when you arrived at her home?" Jack continued.

"We was tired, but we wasn't hungry. Arilla made my knapsack magic. We could ask for whatever we wants."

"And where was Crystal?" he asked.

"She wasn't home… but she came home with Devon and Stripe," Morah replied, brightening up.

"Did you or any of the others feel afraid or threatened by Devon or Stripe?" Jack asked.

"No. Devon was scares of us, but we was good. We tried not to scares him too much," she replied.

Crystal reached forward and placed her hand on Devon's shoulder when he chuckled. He reached up and squeezed her hand. There was something calming in that brief touch.

"None of you were afraid of Stripe?" Jack asked.

Morah gave an unladylike snort. "Hope and Sacha loves Stripe. He lets them draws on him. He is good. I knows because I'm a Priestess in training. We knows these things, don't we, momma?" she said, turning in her seat to look at her parents.

"Yes, Morah. We know these things," Morian confirmed.

"Where are you going with this?" Zoran drawled.

"I would like to call my next witnesses," Jack said.

"What witnesses?" Zoran demanded.

"Stripe, along with Hope and Sacha," Jack replied.

Roars of outrage filled the room when the doors in the back opened and Devon's black and gold striped symbiot padded in with Hope and Sacha on either side. They were followed by two very grim twin dragons with a petite, dark-haired woman tucked between them, and Vox and Riley.

Jack motioned for them to walk to the front. Crystal was surprised when Vox and Riley took a seat next to her. Riley winked at her.

"This feels a little like the old days before those dreadful insects kidnapped me. I was a bail bondswoman and had to attend court sometimes. Of course, there were never any aliens, and there was only the judge and jury back then. This is way more exciting," Riley murmured.

"You were kidnapped by aliens?" Crystal whispered in horror.

"Oh, yes. I'll have to tell you how I saved this big guy," Riley responded, patting Vox on the thigh.

Crystal leaned back in her seat when Vox emitted a low, rumbling purr.

"Cat-shifters are—," Riley was saying before she clamped her bright pink lips together.

"Hope, Sacha, can you tell me about Stripe?" Jack was saying.

"He loves cuddles and scratches," Hope said.

"And you can draws all over him. Watch this!" Sacha exclaimed with excitement.

"He should be contained," Zoran growled, standing up and pressing his hands against the table.

Jack raised his hand, and Zoran clenched his lips together. Stripe had fallen over, and the two little girls were drawing hearts and stars all over him. When they reached his belly, his back leg began to jerk back and forth like he was running. What was amazing was the gold remained for a short period after they drew the pictures before fading.

Crystal watched as her father walked around the group which held everyone's attention. He casually picked up the red crystal that had been used to destroy the corrupted black symbiots. Her heart pounded with fear when he turned and walked back to Stripe.

Instinctively, her hand reached over to grasp Devon's shoulder. He gripped her hand in return. They both watched and waited as her dad held the red crystal over Stripe—and nothing happened.

"The basis for the case to destroy Stripe, and condemn Devon Reykill, is based on his biological father's crimes and the unusual coloring of his symbiot. If his symbiot had been corrupted the same as the others, then this red crystal would have drawn any negative energy out of the creature, thus destroying it. As you can see, this is not the case. There has been no evidence that Devon ever participated in his biological father's plot to overthrow or harm the Dragon Lords of Valdier, nor the Sarafin and the Curizan Royals. The facts are clear. My client is innocent. Therefore, he, his dragon, and his symbiot must be immediately released," Jack concluded.

"What about that? How do you explain him?" Zoran demanded, pointing at Stripe.

Vox cleared his throat and rose to his feet. "I think I might be able to explain," Vox replied.

He stepped to the front where his daughter looked up at him with a happy smile. Squatting down, he ran his hand along Stripe's muzzle with a touch of awe and pride. Stripe licked his hand.

"You know what's going on?" Zoran asked with a frown of confusion.

Vox chuckled, nodded, and stood. "Yes, I think so. Devon, what was your mother's name?"

This time Devon was the one to frown with confusion. "Rissa."

Vox nodded. "Rissa d'Rojah was my aunt. I suspect that Stripe is a combination of Devon's dragon and his cat. What color is your cat?"

"Midnight," Devon replied.

Vox nodded. "Valdier and Sarafin combined."

"I've never thought about it that way. My father… Raffvin never experimented on my symbiot. He… assumed that it… Stripe… was already converted because of his color. I kept my cat hidden for fear Raffvin would kill me if he knew I could shift into it. My… mother was a trigger point for him. It was better not to mention her or anything about my connection to her," Devon confessed.

Vox nodded. "His dragon and symbiot would probably have been the reason he could keep his cat hidden. Rissa was Raffvin's true mate, but he wasn't the only one—which is unusual. On rare occasion, this happens, though it is even more rare for it to occur between two species."

Devon looked down at his hands and nodded. "I was very young when she and Collen, my step-father, were murdered. Collen was from Valdier. I didn't know who had ordered it until Raffvin told me."

Crystal's heart broke at the pain in Devon's voice. He had been through so much. She looked at her father. He smiled at her and gave a brief, confident nod that everything would work out.

"Lord Zoran, a verdict, please," Jack requested.

Zoran slowly sat back in his seat. He looked first one way, then the other at his brothers who each gave a nod. With a low sigh, he waved his hand at Devon.

"You and your symbiot are free," he declared.

Crystal rose behind Devon and threw her arms around his shoulders. He laughed with relief. His laugh was cut short when she leaned into him and kissed him firmly on the lips before pulling back with eyes shining with joy.

"Congratulations!" she murmured.

"Thank you."

She looked over to her dad who was shaking hands with Vox and talking to Morah, Hope, and Sacha. Her lips softened into a smile of pride. She bit her lip when emotion threatened to overwhelm her.

"All it took was a little magic," she said, turning to stare into Devon's eyes.

"I like that… magic," he said, sliding his hand up and capturing her lips again in a deep, passionate, possessive kiss that left her breathless.