Page 39 of Legacy Ascended

The man from academy security puts his pen down.

"May I say the unpleasant part?"

"Go on," Falken says.

"Officer Kavek has a mother and two sisters. They've been told he was killed protecting a student. At some point they're going to ask whether anyone was charged."

I look at him.

"If this goes the way you're asking," he says, "the answer may be no."

Nobody says anything.

I think about Kavek. And Tomas.

"Put that in the record."

The Council woman looks at me. "What part?"

"That you told me."

She writes it down.

It takes another hour.

I don't get everything I want.

The Council agrees to take the records Frances sends without requiring me to identify the valley. Nobody there is cleared of anything. Nobody is charged today either.

Benny and Elise get their protection in writing.

The hired men, whoever paid them, and the pistol go into the investigation. There's a case number. I write it down.

Then the Council woman looks at Luke.

"Were weapons discharged by House personnel during the rescue of Miss Miller?"

Luke doesn't look at me.

"Draeven will answer for its own people. In writing, to this Council, by the end of the week." He closes his folder. "I won't answer for anybody else's."

She writes that down.

At the end they turn the statement around.

I read every page.

I sign the last one. Freya signs under me. The Council recorder signs under Freya.

In the corridor, Freya closes her notebook.

"I wrote down what he said about Kavek's family."

"Good."

She hugs me and walks to class.

Elise finds me in the corridor outside Faris's lecture hall with my bag over Declan's shoulder and my notes under my arm.