Chapter 2224

Grace laughed and spoke to the audience."Duke Garcia had me swear an oath to never speak of it. Problem is, the oath was made 'so long as Eric Garcia lived'. He's dead now. So yes, Eric Garcia committed the heinous crime of trying to charm me for the purpose of raping me. I had more reason to kill him than anyone else in this room. But Duke Garcia is only interested in Daniel, the man who looted his son's corpse.

"I ask you;just how do you kill a high-rankingspell caster? Many in this room know just how hard that can be. Could Daniel do it back then? Absolutely not. Could he now? Absolutely, yes."Grace looked right at the duke when she said that, and he glowered at her."So how does everyone think he did it? A knife in the back? A club to the head? Isn't anyone curious? How do you kill someone like Eric Garcia?"

Quinten snorted."He was killed by a falling tree. A blast of magic took out the base, and it toppled on him."

Grace whirled on Quinten."You think Daniel cast a spell? Targeting the tree? Where would he

gain those powers?"

Quinten snorted."A simple wand. Anyone can use those. Aim at the base of the tree and there you have it."

Grace smiled."Ah yes. An interesting hypothesis. Take out the tree and let gravity do the work. A simple solution for spell caster shields. I have to ask, though, do paladins always speak the truth? Please clarify Quinten, Paladin of the One God, you spoke truth about the manner of Eric's death?"

Quinten nodded his head."Of course. Our powers come from such virtues. I cannot lie."

"So you didn't lie when you said a tree wasblasted and fell on Eric, hmm? You say this truth with conviction, because you and your One God know it to be true?"

"Of course!Never question my One God andmy oaths!"

"Then how do you know he was killed by afalling tree in that manner? Specifically, the part about the tree having been struck by magic?"

Grace grinned at Quinten, who froze in his seat. His mouth opened and closed.

"It was in the reports."

"No. No report was ever made. I was the onewho reported Eric's death when I returned to Whitehaven. All I said was he was killed during a mission for the King outside Acron. That a tree fell on him. Nothing more. I swear this on my mother's name, Rhiannon de Moroingi."

Murmurs spread out across the audience.

"It was investigated." Quinten looked around theroom, looking for someone."The signs were there."

"No. The tree that killed Eric was chopped upand burned by Daniel Davies in his farmhouse. It was how he found him. He was out searching for fallen trees to replenish his wood stock. The only people who know the details of how Eric was killed are sitting right beside me.

"So, Quinten Cuirass, paladin of the One God,how did you know Eric was killed by a falling tree, struck by magic at the base? Speak the

truth. What is your involvement in Eric's death? I find it strange you have knowledge no one else has.”

Quinten looked for Sylvan and found his seat empty. He looked to the back of the room and saw the man leaving by the doors. He looked back at Grace.

The room filled with shouting voices. Quinten hammered the gavel repeatedly, but control was lost. Daniel could see the anger rise quickly within the paladin. He had been warned repeatedly about riling up a paladin. He felt he was about to find out why.

Quinten stood with light pouring from him so bright it hurt to look at. His sword was clear of his scabbard and raised above his head. Daniel had never seen anything so majestic. Righteousness flowed off him and turned everyone speechless. Many cowered. Here was the power of the One God for all to see.

Daniel could see Quinten was about to speak and hated that Quinten was staring right at him. A pressure descended on the room.

"The One God is not amused by your antics,Grace de Moroingi. You disgrace this room with your very presence as a Night Fae half-breed. And siding with witches! It is an abomination! Never suffer a witch to live!"roared Quinten.

Silence dropped hard and heavy at his words.

Then a giggle was heard, and all eyes turned to find the source. Glenda Gables, with her husband Roger Rockstone, walked down the aisle in the middle of the room toward Quinten.

"Hi Quinten," Glenda said, continuing to walkforward."You've really been a naughty boy, haven't you? Time to lose that glamour. It's really very good, but now I am certain of the source. So remove it, okay?"

Quinten stared in shock at Glenda and said nothing.

"All right. I'll do it." Glenda chanted and wavedher hands around. A bright light flew from her hands and exploded over Quinten. Her light consumed the god ly light emanating from Quinten and in a blink, both lights vanished.

Everyone stared at Quinten. His armour was heavily rusted and dented. The sword in his hand looked cheap and fragile. The audience gasped. Quinten's face looked pudgy, with zits and sores marking his flesh. Gone was the paladin of the One God. In his place stood an overweight, comely man.

"Behold,"declared Glenda."the paladin of Loki,the Trickster!"

Quinten then laughed. It started small but grew quickly until he sounded insane. He brandished his rusted sword and pointed it at Daniel.

"Enough!I sentence Daniel and his witches todeath!I will never suffer a witch to live!The One God demands it!"

Quinten leaped on top of his desk and shrieks of fear came from the audience. Daniel stood and faced Quinten. Daniel's mind couldn't understand what was happening. Quinten glared at him, his laughter bubbling up uncontrolled.

Quinten leaped off the desk, right at Daniel, and thrust his sword forward. So sudden was the

move that no one reacted. The audience screamed and Daniel gasped. He looked down and saw Quinten's sword driven into his chest. Quinten's blood-shot eyes bore into his. His eyes danced with triumph, mischief, and glee.

"Mommy?"whispered Daniel, before allstrength left him and he collapsed, Quinten pulling the sword out of him. A spray of blood fountained out of his chest. He heard and felt the distress of his ladies through their circle. All around him were screams and crying. He slumped to his side, no longer able to move. He felt so weak and so tired. He struggled to keep his eyes open.

He saw Grace pounce on Quinten. Her arms were blurs as she engaged Quinten. Quinten fought back, still cackling with amusement. Daniel looked over to where Glenda was and saw Roger intercept Duke Wilhelm, who had been moving over to Daniel. A long dagger was held to the throat of the duke.

Daniel looked back at Grace and admired her form. Her fighting was an art. She dodged and twisted, parrying Quinten's sword with her bare hands. She was beautiful to watch. Quinten was

leaping about, rust showering off his armour. He was completely outmatched but didn't seem to care. His laughter was haunting.

Grace did something then, She moved faster than his eyes could follow, and a metallic snap was loud in the room. Daniel watched as Grace shattered the sword with a palm. The shards spun away, and Quinten found himself holding just a hilt with a jagged piece of the sword still attached.

Quinten stared at his broken sword, and then all energy seemed to flow out of him. He collapsed to his knees and opened his hand to let the remains of his sword fall to the floor with a clatter. He stared at it, and Grace stopped and looked down at him.

Quinten looked up and Daniel saw his madness. He grinned up at Grace and then leapt away in a strange jilting way. He bounded up to the stage and ran through the side door, his laughter echoing strangely in the corridor until it faded.

Daniel felt the bonds in his circle hammer into him. He rolled on to his back as Amy landed beside him. Her hands reached out just as

Jennifer Jousts'hands landed on him. Together they drove healing magic into him. It burned through his body like flames and part of him relished the feeling. The flames coursed through him faster and faster. He heard Jennifer gasp and she let go.

Amber and Jasmine joined Amy and placed their hands on him. The flames burned hotter, and Daniel screamed with the pure pleasure it gave him. He struggled to keep himself aware and reached for his own magic and handed it to Amy.

Her heart took it and her power shifted and amplified it. Daniel felt the flames drive into his wound and for a time, the wound felt like it was being renewed. He could feel the sword penetrating his chest, puncturing a lung, and severing an artery. Amy's magic, combined with the power of the circle, hit the wound with force.

Daniel felt the need to explode with his inner flame. To release it. His whole soul demanded it. He drew his strength to do that when Glenda reached down and touched his forehead.

Daniel's vision faded and then went black.

Fourteen

THE NURSE IN the Academy infirmary checked on Daniel for the fourth time that hour. She couldn't help herself. He was gorgeous. And he needed all those sponge baths, didn't he? To keep that wonderful cock of his clean.

She smiled down at his exposed penis. She wanted to kiss it again. What little precum she had managed to extract had filled her mana pools. This wonderful hunk of man was special. His little harem of witches would return soon, she knew. She had to take every advantage she could while she could. She reached out and touched him, loving the soft feel of his cock. She felt his balls and marvelled at the size of them. She wanted him back in her throat. She grinned, or her pussy.

She heard a noise in the corridor outside and dropped the thin sheet. She grabbed the chart and made a mark on it while glancing toward the door. When she heard nothing, she thought to play with Daniel a little more when a sudden

need to leave compelled her and she left the ward.

No sooner had the nurse left, then Gwydion slipped through the doorway and closed it. She put her back to it and stared at Daniel lying in a coma on the bed. She could sense Glenda in him. She had knocked him out. Gwydion had heard what had happened at the mock trial at the Academy. The entire city was talking about it.