“Another student,” Corcoran shrieked.“You idiots!Do you not see the danger of the knowledge I possess?Kill me!Now!”
“Well, this is enough evidence for me,” Judge Volkheim said.“I hereby state that William Corcoran, through his own confession and evidence he personally admitted to, is guilty of 3P Bylaw violation and is hereby excommunicated from the Paranormal Community of the United States at large.Any other objections?”
“What is the Judge’s sentencing decision?”Brynholf asked.
“Perhaps two centuries in Topside,” Judge Volkheim said.
“What is Topside?”I asked Abe.
Abe crossed himself and shook his head.
“Apikorsus Eliminatus Farakhaa!”Vic’s head screamed.
There was a glowing beacon coming from the possessed version of Vic’s pocket.Something the shape and size of a tarot card glowed red through the fabric.Everyone scrambled out of the way of him, and as he laughed, there was an explosion of fire like lava surging up from the ground.
A dark shadow rose from the pile of ash where the transubstantiation table was.The hooded figure—the real Vic—rose up as a shadow, its cloak falling, and the two insubstantial forces met in mid-air.Someone was screaming, screaming in a raw voice, and I realized it was Drusella.
A glowing crystal was held up in her manicured hands as she chanted.It looked weirdly familiar.I could see the two shadows separate, like curdled milk separating from coffee, and then the darker of the two was pulled, shrieking, into the crystal.
A bubble of flesh and shadow boiled from the pile of ash, and Vic’s skeleton sat up from the pile, a slow trickle of flesh pouring from nowhere, as if from the very pores in his bone itself.
“Owww,” Vic’s voice said.“Oh, healing from this is gonna suuuuuuuck.”
Chapter12
“This has been a crazy day,” Judge Volkheim said, eating a slice of pizza.“I’m about done with this whole city, and I’d be lying if I said I’ll ever come back.Whatever system you have here seems to be working, so I can’t fault it, but boy is it not pretty.”
“What about the other charges?”Brynholf asked.
“Consider the sentences from whatever paid off in time spent being proactive,” Judge Volkheim said.
“That’s hardly an adequate distribution of penal judgement,” Brynholf said.“Does the US Government’s official representative agree that the charges were fair?”
“Look, man, we got the guy responsible,” Agent Maxwell said.
“I hardly think we should flout protocol like this,” Brynholf said.
“Fine,” Judge Volkheim said.“You want protocol.You want rules and enforcements?How’s this.In lieu of a judgement against these folks.You are hereby stripped of your rank as Prosecutor.”
“You can’t demote me,” Brynholf said.
“No,” Judge Volkheim said.“But I can reassign you.You think these guys run too loose of a ship, that’s fine.Then how about this.We station you here for the next six months.It’s probation.You get to report back to the Regional Council, and act as Regional Détente.They get to retain their autonomy, with you as their watch dog.”
“That… is not ideal,” Brother Al said.
“That we’re in agreement on,” Brynholf said.
“Good.We made a compromise.Everyone’s unhappy,” Judge Volkheim said.“Anyone who can eat pizza gets pizza.Everyone else, clear out.”
It was good news.Great news, even.But we were all of us too tired to celebrate.We had spent some time cleaning up the Sanctum Sanctorum and were now reclined on pews.
“I could sleep for days,” Eddie said.
“I could drain a whole cow,” Vic said.
Nagisa burst into tears again.
“I was so nervous we wouldn’t pull it off,” he said.“Stacey.You were right.We did it.”
