24
Judge
Idon’t look at her. I can’t. I don’t trust myself. Instead, I keep my gaze on the councilors, hating Hildebrand as he watches Santiago remove Mercedes from the courtroom.
I know what is coming. What form the punishment will take. And I cannot and will not allow Mercedes to bear it. Not after the trauma she has already experienced at her father’s hand and at Theron’s. And even without those events, there was never a question that I would do this. That I would take her place.
Once the door closes behind them, Hildebrand turns his gaze to me, and I wonder if he’s disappointed. Because the Vicarius clause will put her out of his reach.
And me squarely in it.
“I hope you know what you’re doing, Judge,” he says, adjusting his reading glasses and looking down at the folder before him.
I’m doing the only thing I can do.
I wonder how many members of The Society know of the Vicarius clause. Santiago does. I could feel him stiffen when I spoke the words to invoke it. Will he tell Mercedes its meaning? I doubt it. Because the matter at hand isn’t the courtesan’s death. That was self-defense. The surveillance leaves little to discuss on that. Our problem now is twofold. It’s a matter of Mercedes lying, and perhaps more importantly, the fact that The Society is exposed to and made vulnerable to an outsider by her actions.
IVI may exist in its own bubble, but we are still a part of the outside world. We have to be. And I can imagine how news of a secret society would make headlines, outing members as both truth and fiction are fed to hungry consumers ready to cast stones.
The councilors converse quietly, Hildebrand with his hand over the microphone so I can’t hear. Montrose, the eldest of the three and the one Hildebrand would have me replace, shakes his head. He is also the gentlest of the three. As far as they can be gentle. I think Hildebrand would have preferred Carlisle to sit in Montrose’s seat, but as the terms of the councilors are lifetime, he could not be removed.
“Alright.” Hildebrand removes his hand, drawing my attention as he clears his throat. “As a formality, I must ask you to state your understanding of the Vicarius clause, Mr. Montgomery.” I am Mr. Montgomery in here. Not Judge Montgomery. As Hildebrand said a few nights ago, we are all equals before The Tribunal.
“In invoking the Vicarius clause, one makes the pledge to stand in the place of the party charged with wrongdoing and accepts the consequences on their behalf.”
He nods.
“And you are willing to stand in the place of Mercedes De La Rosa and take her punishment?” Montrose asks.
I steel myself. “I am.”
“How can you, not knowing what The Tribunal will demand? Isn’t it foolhardy?” Hildebrand asks, and I know he is disappointed it’s not Mercedes standing where I am now. I don’t know if he has a fondness for punishing those of high rank or just women in general.
“That is not our concern, Councilor,” Montrose says to him. “Once Vicarius is invoked, it cannot be undone. It is our law.”
Yes, I know that too. But I wouldn’t undo it. I will not allow them to lay a hand on her even at the cost of my own flesh.
“Yes, you are right, Councilor,” Hildebrand acknowledges, then turns back to me. “We all know the facts, agreed, Mr. Montgomery?”
“Agreed.”
“The charges are serious, and in invoking Vicarius, you save this court the trouble of a hearing. You admit guilt and submit yourself to the penalty.”
“Correct.”
“Due to Mercedes’s actions, she has opened The Society up to the scrutiny of the outside world. This brother of the courtesan…” He looks down at the papers before him. “Vincent Douglas. He will not simply go away. He wished to witness Ms. De La Rosa’s sentence carried out, but we would not allow that. We punish our own, but we also protect our own. The Tribunal will absorb the cost of his silence.”
“Very generous,” I say.
“It is.” He closes the folder and sighs deeply. “As we discussed previously, each member of The Society is equal before The Tribunal. And as such, the sentence passed down to you would be the same as if it were any other member.”
I nod, wishing he’d get on with it. I have an idea what to expect. But I won’t know the extent of it until he spits it out and I think he enjoys this too much to rush.
“For her offenses in the law we are all guided by, which we must follow to the letter, Ms. De La Rosa is hereby sentenced to the maximum penalty.”
My heart slows to a heavy thud against my chest.
“Which in a case with such grave consequences to The Society as a whole is twenty-four lashes.”
I don’t move. Don’t breathe. Don’t blink. All while blood rushes my brain.
Twenty-four lashes. Christ. Mercedes would not be able to withstand that, and they would revive her every time she passed out before continuing. She would be made to feel every single one of those twenty-four strokes.
“Given the delicate state of this matter, it would behoove The Tribunal to keep this proceeding a secret and not upset the general population. No public announcement will be made. And the lashes will be dealt in private.”
Well, there is that. “I understand.”
“All that remains is a date to be set—”
“Now,” I say, speaking before I can think.
Hildebrand appears surprised. “That is out of the ordinary. I will choose a—”
“It is my right, Councilor.” I know IVI law to the letter as well as he does.
“Yes, Judge, it is. So be it.” He closes the folder, and the gavel comes down at the same time as he gestures to one of the guards standing by to escort me. I am then led through the door to a passage that will carry us to the cells and, at their center, the interior space where punishment in these delicate matters, as Hildebrand put it, are meted out.
I don’t think. I walk. And no one lays a hand on me as we enter the large space, one I’ve seen multiple times. One where I’ve borne witness.
There, I take off my jacket and vest. I tuck my cuff links into my pocket and remove my shirt. Mercedes would be made to strip naked. It’s how the women are handled. Not the men, though. I hear some of the things she’s said to me over the past few months, about how women are treated as second-class citizens within The Society. And she’s right. We are not all equal before The Tribunal. Not even close.
A guard steps forward to bind my wrists to the poles, but I shake my head. “Not necessary.”
“It is customary.”