“We can safely confirm Wilhelmina has been held above ground,” someone whispered on the stands.Did that mean she was alive? What happened to the young woman who was the writer?The judges leaned in towards each other, talking under their breath but just about anyone here could hear. I glanced across the way at a particular detective with dreads sitting with his colleagues as we locked eyes.
“We don’t believe they died the night of the church incident,” another whispered. I felt my chest tighten, and my jaw shift.
“Dr. Holmes,” the judge began. “I encourage you to answer the questions. Is Maggie Grey who is now considered a threat, would you consider her the last living relative of your lineage? Maggie Grey and…” looking down at the folder, “Bellamy Holmes… his whereabouts also unknown.”
“Right here,” I muttered.
“It is just me,” Marvin replied, voice raspy and low. “There is no one else to take the blame for my sister’s wrongdoing but me. The First Family in the Underground became a dying breed shortly after this was formed.”
“You, and your grandchildren apparently and their mother…”
“Just me.”
The court became silent before they spoke again.
“You’re on record killing and draining over–––”
“I know what I’ve done…I’ve lived a long time, longer than you can even count,” he said as his chin raised. “I know I’ve killed many.”
“Can you confirm Maggie Grey is in fact the reincarnation or the human form of Gaia…”
Everything became silent at the tricky question. Some believed it, others didn’t. I know what I’ve seen with my eyes and as someone who didn’t believe it. Once I saw what Maggie was capable of, I never questioned it again. She was something so far gone from the reality of what the First Family is…She almost made me want to believe the stories again.
Almost.
“Dr. Holmes, what is IPV-13? Immortal Pathogen Variant… what was that intended for?”
Marvin remained silent at first. The rest began taking notes in order to spew it back to the public with some twisted headline.
“My sister believed she came up with an injection…a disease if you will, to mimic what we are…”
“Do you know if it was a success or not?”
“I assumed it was, which is why I tried stopping her. I have not heard of any incidents so I can only further assume it did not work.”
The court began to stir as the judge leaned in to listen to his council before clearing his throat.
“You are also on record for the mass detainment and near extinction of the Taluwi tribe of sirens, do you deny your wrong doings? There was an investigation involving the kingdom but there have been no such claims outside of what you’ve allowed to happen with the tribe…Do you recall this investigation or your involvement with the private territory?” Marvin kept quiet, refusing to answer. That charge would be swept under the rug because no one truly cared. “Dr. Holmes, can you confirm or deny knowing your sister’s intentions on creating more vampiric mythics above ground to bring below…”
“I didn’t know at first.”
“Yet you knew of her aspirations of wanting a larger family.”
“So which is it? Do I know where this massive First Family is hiding, or did I know my sister’s aspirations on wanting to create more because our family was dying out here…She wanted power and control. She wanted to be a mother more than anything, something she was unable to fulfill in her life.”
“You were heard saying there is no such thing as Gaia. You and your family have led the Underground to believe you are all reincarnations and descendants of Gaia, the Moon. We were told this is the most powerful magic one could only hope to achieve, and your family was believed to possess such rare magic. Is that no longer true? Have you misled the mythics of the Underground?”
“Gaia isn’t real,” Marvin said. The place began to stir with unease as I could see the betrayal and regretful faces. People needed to believe in something that was a higher power, and he just shattered the very thought.
“You’re now on record stating that you lied this entire time about your family?”
“I lied. Yes. Gaia is not real. We are simply diseased humans that feed off of others. It was a way to weaken the defenses of the less fortunate prey in order for us to sustain a basic quality of life. The Underground took away the right to have children and progenies. The Underground took away the rights for vampires to feed and kill until we slowly began to die off. What more do you have to fear?”
“What are you?”
“A man who owns the largest institution in the Underground. My source of food is you. My source of income is them…and my way of life is this…”
I cracked a small smile. Smart ass. Even while he’s being questioned in his worst state, he was a smartass.
