Chapter 26
Kit
Despite what I told Penny, I knew Levitt didn’t send Sentinels to fetch me for a social call. This was official business, and with the way the two men stepped up on either side of me to keep me on course, it wasn’t good.
I’d been back in Ashpoint long enough that I was starting to go numb to the attempts of a select few people to make my life miserable.
They were becoming commonplace the same way they had been when I was young, and as long as I could keep things from impacting Penny, too, it was hard to muster much more than a sort of bored irritation at this point.
I almost didn’t care what it was this time and was tempted to just let myself be surprised.
But curiosity won out once we turned the corner out of view of the house.
“So, what keeps the Right Hand from coming for me himself?”
Neither of my escorts turned to look at me, facing forward as stoic as ever. But the jaw of the man to my left ticked before he spoke.
“His Eminence has more important matters to attend than fetching a man accused of a crime.”
A humorless chuckle slipped out before I could stop it. “Isn’t this routine getting a bit tired? It’s getting excessive. What am I accused of now?”
The man on my right sighed. He looked as annoyed by this whole situation as I was. Maybe the tide really was turning the way Levitt thought.
“The Right Hand will advise you of the charges levied against you when you stand before the Tribunal,” the man on my right said. “Best save your questions for him.”
The fact that I wouldn’t be meeting privately with Levitt spoke to the gravity of the mystery accusations.
Facing the Tribunal—presided over by the Right Hand, Shroud Warden, and the full Death Watch—would mean this was on official records.
It went beyond Merrick yapping about petty slights.
But I wasn’t in shackles, which was a point in favor of not panicking.
When we arrived at the Ossuary, the Sentinels swiveled so one of them entered the building ahead of me and one behind.
The silence inside was broken by the sound of our boots on the stone floor, all the way down the hall and through the atrium and to the ritual room.
The Sentinel ahead of me paused at the door to straighten his robes before pushing through and stepping aside to admit me.
“Mister Koesters, as requested, Your Eminence,” he said, dipping his head to Levitt where he was seated up on the dais.
Merrick sat beside him with a smirk curling the corner of his lips, and standing before them at the foot of the stairs was Violette, flanked by Klaus and the remaining Sentinel.
Her nose and eyes were red like she’d been crying, and when she saw me, she flinched.
It was exaggerated enough that the Sentinel behind me scoffed loud enough for me to hear.
So that’s what this was about. No lies from Merrick this time, but from Vi. I wanted to scoff, too, to laugh in her face, because between the two of us, Levitt trusted me more than his own twin, and this was going to be good.
The two Sentinels escorted me to stand before the Tribunal, a hand on each arm, and Levitt rose from his seat.
“Mister Koesters,” he began wearily, “you’ve been accused of forcing yourself on Violette Yost the evening before you departed for your fifth Oath. Do you have anything to say in your own defense?”
I should have been angry about the lie Vi had clearly told about that night, but I couldn’t muster anywhere near the rage I’d felt when she’d cornered me in my home.
The whole situation was so absurd that I had to bite back a chuckle and remind myself of its severity.
Even if the two men who brought me in found this as ridiculous as I did, I knew at least Merrick and Klaus would side with Violette.
If the last Sentinel decided I was guilty, that would leave the Tribunal evenly split and my fate up in the air.
Levitt might be able to push for my release in that event, but there was no guarantee.
I cleared my throat as Levitt settled back into his seat. “I do have some things I’d like to say. Violette came to my home the night before I left, yes. But that may be the only truth she told you.”
I gestured toward her, and she took a halting step back as if she were afraid.
“She had that bruise on her face. Told me Merrick had hit her, and that she was afraid of him. That somehow, he ended up with my father’s journals—despite the fact that you gave them to your man at the library to review so they could be returned to me—and that he’d gone mad reading them.”
I met Merrick’s eyes, and it was all I could do to hold back a smirk when I caught the grimace that twisted his mouth. It only lasted for a moment before he restored order to his expression.
He’d clearly expected fear from me, or anger, but not resolve.
He was used to me cowing to him to avoid trouble.
That wouldn’t stand here, not while I knew I had people in this room who were on my side.
Not when it very well could be a matter of life or death.
I wasn’t about to be punished for a crime I would never commit, especially against a woman who claimed I was her oldest friend.
“She wanted to stay the night,” I continued, “because she was afraid to go home. Said Merrick was obsessed with carrying out my father’s plans, and that he didn’t care who got hurt in the process.”
When I shifted my gaze to Levitt, I almost felt bad for what came next.
He looked exhausted and unhappy, and even though he’d always been aware of his sister’s cruelty, I hated to confirm that it extended to him, too.
She was all the family he had. It was a shame that didn’t mean as much to her as it did to him.
“I figured it was an act,” I said, “but I was assured of that fact when I asked her why she didn’t bring this to you. She told me that you were afraid of Merrick, and you wouldn’t dare move against him.”
“I said no such thing!” Violette shrieked as she whipped around to face her brother.
Before she could protest further, Levitt raised his hand. “You’ve had your time to speak, Vi.” His eyes met mine again. “Go on.”
“She was making a scene, so I let her in against my better judgment. I went to make coffee, and she cornered me in my kitchen and tried to force herself on me. I pushed her away, she hit the table, and I escorted her out.”
When I finally dropped my eyes to Violette, all her pretense of fear was gone, replaced with the fury of having been caught out.
If I hadn’t made an enemy of her that night, I surely had now.
“She was inside my house for a grand total of maybe five minutes. Certainly not enough time for anything further to happen.”
“My wife is a woman of honor,” Merrick growled. “How dare you sully her good name and her virtue?”
I opened my mouth to tell him that Violette was doing a fine job of that herself through her affair with Klaus, but Levitt spoke first, his voice low and cold.
“That’s enough.” He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. “I’m tired of my time being wasted again and again with fabricated crimes. I have better things to do with my days than entertain your baseless accusations, Violette.”
Her jaw dropped, and she squared her shoulders. “You would side with Kit over your own blood?”
“My own blood is lying to me”—he fixed her with a sharp glare—“and I can’t fathom why. But that is not a conversation to be had here.”
Merrick sat forward in his chair and extended his arm in my direction. “How could you discount these accusations?”
Levitt rose to his feet and loomed over Merrick, who had the good sense to shrink back in his seat. “I know exactly how Kit feels about my sister,” Levitt said, “and he’s proven time and again that he’d rather drown than kiss her. There’s no chance he would have done anything untoward.”
He turned his attention to the men standing on either side of me. “Even still, please share what you discovered when you interviewed Kit’s neighbors so we can put this to rest.”
The man on my right stepped forward. “Their stories corroborate Mister Koesters’ accounting of the events of the evening.
They didn’t hear much of the conversation on the front steps, but they confirmed that Missus Yost was only inside for a few minutes before Kit ushered her out and she stormed off.
There simply wasn’t time enough for what Missus Yost claims happened to have happened. ”
Levitt nodded. “Thank you, Eugene.” He sank into his chair. “Who would find this man guilty?”
Klaus and Merrick raised their hands.
“And who would find this man innocent?” Levitt asked.
He and the other three Sentinels raised their hands.
With a nod, he turned to me. “The Tribunal has spoken. Kit, you’re free to go. I’m sorry to have dragged you in again unnecessarily.”
His attention shifted to Merrick as Eugene and the other Sentinel steered me back toward the door.
“As for you and Violette,” I heard him add, sounding every bit the man of authority he was, “I can’t very well put you in cells upstairs, but I can confine you both to your home for the next two weeks.
Should you continue your crusade against Kit or his recruit, you can be assured of more serious consequences in the future. Do I make myself clear?”
I swore I could hear Merrick’s teeth grinding from across the room. “Very clear, Your Eminence,” he grit out.
“Don’t make me regret my mercy, Merrick,” Levitt continued. “It’s worn quite thin with you.”
The last thing I heard as the door swung shut behind us was Merrick’s grumbled assent.
When we emerged from the hall into the atrium, it wasn’t as empty as it had been on our way in. In addition to the pair seated as usual behind the table that faced the main doors, I spotted Thoma leaning against the altar while Penny paced in front of him.
A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. Clearly, it had been too much for Thoma to keep my intended away from here.
The sound of our footsteps brought Penny to a halt. His worried expression shifted to one of confusion when the two Sentinels bid me goodnight then disappeared down the hall to the left.
I made my way toward him and Thoma, and they met me in the middle.
As soon as he was close enough, Penny reached for my hand, but he hesitated before making contact and started to drop his arm back to his side.
Accustomed to the hands-off rule outside of the house or the sheltered corner of the forge.
But I was done with that, even more now than I had been when we got back from the fourth Oath.
If Anders hadn’t told Merrick about Penny and me, it wouldn’t take long for Vi to make the connection if she hadn’t already.
I closed the distance between us and caught my fingers in his. Surprise smoothed the wrinkle between his brows, and his green eyes sparkled with joy before his concern caught up with him.
“What happened?” he asked. “What did they want? Why were you in there and not Levitt’s office?”
I chuckled and gave his hand a squeeze. “I’m fine, Pen. We’ll talk about it at home.” I glanced at Thoma over Penny’s shoulder. “Come on. We’ll grab some food at the tavern, then head back. I don’t want to have to tell this story more than once.”