CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
EMBER
Jameson has gone from accusing me of being a worthless human with the knowledge of the supernatural to being a powerful mage who has manipulated thousands of people, I step forward so Saint and Lilith ‘apt name for the sour bitch’ can use their shadows to show the Jury my memories of Jameson, thankfully Saint has been working with me for years to hide my sight and show it as an aura in my memories, I can tell straight away Lilith doesn’t like me, she slams her shadows into me but I know Saint will keep me safe so no mental walls are stopping her and she physically stumbles.
“Ms Ashes, can you show us your memories of Samuel Jameson, please?” the judge asks, so I start at the earliest one.
“Shut your mouth and stay hidden. No one wants a worthless brat like you; only your cunt is worth anything,” Jameson sneers at me as he pushes me into the broom closet. I watch through the slats, and I notice my dad walking in,
But I don’t recall that part of the memory, I was busy trying to work out what a cunt was and why it would be useful.
“Ms Ashes, how old are you in this memory?” Saint squeezes my hand
“I was three, your honour, I forgot about the man. I was too busy trying to understand Jameson's words, the man is my biological father, Alpha Makyal Ivanova”
We watch as Dad asks if there are ANY three-year-old females in the home, and every person denies my existence.
The memories continue, being taken from Ren with cloth pressing against my nose, being thrown to the Hounds, leaving me at the Den, the zigzag drives where he would eat and leave me hungry, I show the snip bits of the cage even though it’s just him being mentioned, I show my time at the pit and how I ended up with the Lennox pack, I finally end with him trying to convince my real family that they were mistaken, as the memories fade Saint kisses my forehead,
“Any questions?” the judge asks, a snarky voice perks up
“How come you didn’t speak up when your apparent father was asking for you, even stating your date of birth?” I look towards the crystal mage
“I was a three year old, told to shut my mouth trying to work out what a cunt was, I am not a shifter I was regularly told I’m a worthless human with only the knowledge of the supernatural, I can tell what people are from their auras and once Jameson found that out he had me tested, multiple times human, wolf and mage in various combinations came back, my subconscious recalls those facts but how many three year olds can concentrate on more than one thing, plus at that group home I was fed one slice of cold toast for breakfast with a glass of tap water, no lunch just some more water and evening meal was what was left after all the other shifters had eaten and a mug of warm weak tea no milk, I was hungry, wearing a dress that didn’t fit and no shoes I would guess but I don’t remember that I didn’t have underwear.
So you tell me, why didn’t I call out?” She just sniffs at me as a few of the other jurors make noises in agreement with my statement,
“Ms Ashes, why did you never ask teachers for help? Or police? Other social workers?” I look at the Man who asks, he’s a raccoon shifter. I look at Saint.
“Can you show them, please?” he nods and takes my hands again the images flow from me, me telling someone then I would be moved to a new location, or a suicide notice would appear in the papers, the PE teacher that reported I had suspicious bruises and I seemed underfed, was investigated and then ended up in prison for child abuse allegations which he pled innocent of, he was raped and killed within the first week,
“I understand now, Ms Ashes” Saint stops the real, and I notice a few of the jurors look a little green. With no more questions, I retake my seat
“Mr Jameson, please step forward. If you have never done this before, it is easier if you let them in than if you resist” Jameson is tense and he cries out in pain, his knee wobbles with the pressure
“Mr Jameson can you show us your memories of Ms Ember Ashes, starting when you collected her from the firehouse please” I watch Saint get more and more angry, Ignatious and Jimmy can see but I opted not to, not needing new memories to dream about, as they finish Saint gives me a nod and I feel the brush of his shadows on my cheek and tummy before he storms out,
“Any questions?” the judge asks, ignoring Saint's actions, ten hands raise.
“Why, when you received the call from your colleague, Giovanni Michaels, did you lie about Ms Ashes' date of birth and parentage?” is asked.
“She wasn’t a shifter, so it didn’t seem pertinent.”
“Why was she always hidden away at the first group home?” is another question I have always wondered.
“She appeared human so that others didn’t miss out on permanent homes, because others felt curious, it was easier and quicker”, he shrugs, looking bored.
“Why did you try to get her back once she found her family?” he blinks and takes a moment to reply.
“She was still a minor and ran from her mate. I was trying to return her.”
“Why did you remove her from kind homes and place her in unsafe ones? You claim she is human, why not put her with a human family?”
“She’s aware of the supernatural, if she let slip it could cause problems, hence why she was kept with our kind”, this is sneered at the lady who asked.
“Why move her so often and have so many tests done?”
“The families grew tired of her antics”, Jameson snaps,
“You are tasked with caring for our misplaced and forgotten young. Why place them in these horrid places instead of reporting those places?” Jameson just shrugged at this.
“How did you keep what was happening from your supervisor? surely he or she would notice one child moving so often,” I chuckle at that one.
“I can answer that one, my files were kept on paper, not in the universal system, and his direct supervisor is his step-dad, they just don’t advertise that information” There are a few gasps, and the Judge scribbles something down.
Jameson snarls at me, demanding how I know that information, and I just give him a smirk.
He never realised I had shifter senses, so I could listen to his hushed conversations when he called his mummy,
“Why do Ms Ashes' official records state she was adopted at a few months old, but not by whom?” The guy points to a printed form, which is then shown on the TV screen.
“A family did, but they died in a car accident, I must have forgotten to change the records”, another bored shrug.
“Why was Ms Ashes' file never made digital? Or given the DNA testing, ALL children in the system are required to do?” The guy who asks is smug,
“The DNA came back different each time, and where she was upsetting families so often, I used the spare time I should have been typing her file up, carting her around.”
The last to ask shakes her head at Jameson and turns to me,
“Ms Ashes, how did you survive?” I smile.
“I had some kind friends along the way, plus Nikoli Ivanova is my grandfather, and his stubborn Russian blood pumps through my veins” I hear the judge chuckle at my answer
“Mr Jameson, please take your seat. From your own memories and those from the accused, we can see Ms Ashes has not manipulated anyone, does the jury agree?” All twelve heads nod, and the Judges question
“Mr Jameson, you will return to your cell. I don’t believe ALL evidence was taken into account, so your original case will be reviewed,” the judge bangs the gavel
“Court dismissed” Saint appears at my side, cutting off Jameson’s view of me, and he takes me directly home; he has already filled in our family with everything that happened. I curl up in his arms and fall asleep.
When I wake, Dad is there.
“Baby girl, I need to say sorry yet again, for failing you” I go to speak, but he holds up his hand.
“No, let me finish, I am aware it’s not fully my fault, you mentioned Jameson's stepfather at the trial” I give him a nod.
“I never met him, heard his and another man's voice over phone calls, but that doesn’t help with identifying them. There is a note in one of the books I gave Dec when I first arrived” he gives me another nod.
“Well, let me fill in some of the blanks, but I’m going to keep it short-ish” Another nod from me, Ren puts an arm around me, and it's then I notice Dec, Saint, Bray and Grumps all sat here too.
“Your notes mentioned a guy with a southern accent,” a slight nod from me as Dec crouches by me,
“Is this the voice?” he presses play on his voicemail.
“Ivanova, I didn’t authorise you to move on Inferno or work with Demons”
Dec cuts the playback, and I nod. He moves to another message
“I’ve checked again and there are no records, whatever you smelt at the Pit was wrong”
I blink at them, and Saint fills in the gap.
“The first voice is a higher up, in our ranks, level with Mika, the second was his mate's other mate, and Jameson's stepdad, they both rejected their mate as she was human, but stayed friends” I give him a nod, but not sure how to react.
“When you and Saint left the pit, it was me who slammed your door open. He was telling me that there was only Saint in the room, and Saint always protected you.” I look at Saint, and he mouths Sorry to me.
“Not your fault, I wouldn’t have met Dan and Elise if you hadn’t taken me to that hospital. I now know why Dec complained that you were always so close to finding me; it also explains how Jameson knew you were close and to move me. Any idea of their goal?” I ask taking the tea mug from Brayden.
“Yes, you were to replace their mates place, your blood showed you were strong, they hoped to break your will by putting you where you were over the years, they knew a lot more than what Jameson was aware of, we found plans that they were planning to take TripleMoon and due to your link to Liam his assets too, they knew you were with Dan and Elise but because of who Dan was they left you alone, not wanting to risk his wrath.” my mouth drops open and Bray laughs.
“Yeah, they didn’t have it all planned out; that's why they gave you to Lennox to get their help.” We talk for a little longer, then I go in search of my children, needing to banish the bad with the amazing life I now have.