They called for a recess and Amanda was surprised when Sirius walked quickly from the room, not even pausing to turn and share a glance with her. She followed him out but when she saw where he had gone she took a seat near a small square fountain. This one was filled with water lilies and other such plants. There even appeared to be a few fish swimming about. She watched them and waited for Sirius to return.

  When he came out of the bathroom and saw her sitting by the fountain, he came over to join her.

  Unabashedly she remarked, “Side effect of coffee is that it makes you poop.”

  He gave her a studious look. “Uh huh. I wasn't going to say anything you know?”

  She nodded and grinned. “I figured.”

  He gave a short laugh and then a sigh. “You could have warned me. Those last few minutes were getting tense. Thought I was gonna have to ask for an early recess.”

  She shrugged and grinned again. “To tell you the truth I kinda forgot. It’s more of a new coffee drinker thing. You get a tolerance to the effects after awhile.”

  “How do you think it’s going?” he asked.

  “The trial?”

  “Yeah. I know they call it a hearing but...”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. Some of them are very stoic, and serious. Beatrice and Sandy seem on your side at least, and I like Mickey.”

  He chuckled. “I thought you would. He’s one of the humans.”

  “One of?”

  “There were two, or at least, I thought there were. I don’t recognise Klaus though so the other one may have been replaced.”

  Amanda grinned. “He seems cool too.”

  Sirius laughed.

  “What?” she asked, still wearing her grin.

  He shook his head but his smile was still there. “Nothing.” But after a moment or two, his smile faded again.

  “You don’t think it’s going well?” Amanda inquired.

  “I don’t know.” He looked puzzled. He deliberated for a bit and then he said. “Beatrice won’t look me in the eyes.”

  “And that’s unusual?”

  Sirius nodded. For a moment he looked pensive and then he turned to her and asked, “Do you want to get something to eat? There’s a place that sells donuts nearby. They’re not the best ones in Cap but they’re decent enough. Still better than anywhere else.”

  “Sounds good. Actually, I might just use the bathroom as well. I don’t mind if you grab me something. You probably know what’s good. This place seems a nice spot to eat.”

  He gave a nod. “I’ll meet you back here.”

  Amanda didn’t actually need to use the bathroom but she’d just noticed Beatrice walk inside. She waited by the sinks and then pretended to be washing her hands when Beatrice came up beside her.

  Beatrice gave her a glance and a polite smile but otherwise appeared to wish not to chat.

  Amanda wasted no time in small talk. “How come you won’t look at Sirius?”

  Beatrice turned slowly to look at Amanda. Amanda registered something like surprise in her violet eyes.

  “You are bolder than I thought,” Beatrice commented.

  Amanda softened her tone. “You are avoiding looking at him though aren’t you?”

  Beatrice studied her.

  Amanda added. “He didn’t send me to ask that. He doesn’t know I’m in here… well, he does, but…”

  Beatrice smiled.

  Amanda waited.

  Beatrice glanced away, and then in a whisper so low, that Amanda almost couldn’t hear her, “Did he kill the man he’s accused of murdering?” She looked at Amanda briefly and then away again. “I know he’s capable of it, if he thought it was something that needed doing. I know things are different out on the seas, less civil.”

  Amanda hated the tone she used for the word ‘civil,’ as if she thought them all beneath her.

  “Not as uncivilised as you might think,” Amanda replied. The residents of Cap were excessively polite but there was a sense she was starting to get from them that they considered themselves better than everywhere else. It hadn’t been obvious at first. At Beatrice’s glance she added, “I don’t know what happened to Michael, but he was alive when we last saw him.”

  Beatrice studied her face.

  It was the truth, or at least as close to it as she dared to tell, but Amanda could see that the woman didn’t quite believe her.

  Regardless, Beatrice nodded politely, and then left.

  Sirius returned to the fountain with not one but several different items of food, some sweet, some savory, and at least three donuts. It was more than either of them could ever eat, even together.

  “I couldn’t decide,” Sirius told her, “So I got one of everything. Try this.” He handed her a donut that looked very similar to the one that had gotten waterlogged yesterday.

  Amanda took a bite.

  “Oh, that’s the best donut, I’ve ever had,” she exclaimed. “We need to like, stock up on a whole bunch of food and coffee and everything edible and take it with us when we leave. Maybe kidnap a chef or something.”

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  “Don’t let Bruce hear you saying that.” Sirius grinned. “Here,” he handed her a green-looking pastry. “Try this.”

  Sirius went about laying everything out like a little picnic on one of the fountain seats.

  “So what did Beatrice say?” Sirius asked after a few minutes of eating.

  Amanda glanced up at him in surprise. So he’d noticed that she’d gone to talk to Beatrice had he? She hadn’t meant to go behind his back, she’d just figured that maybe he was too polite to ask. Not to mention trusting. He trusted in process and people a little too much. She didn’t think he would want her speaking for him either. But the way he was looking at her now wasn’t angry or accusatory. He simply wanted to know what she’d found out. He trusted her and it was that trust that made her trust him back. She came clean.

  “She thinks you murdered Michael.”

  His brow furrowed. “I might as well have.”

  “But you didn’t though. It…” She trailed off at the look he gave her. She understood he didn’t want the truth known. Shiv had done it, and despite all Shiv’s manipulation of the crew, Sirius was still willing to take a hit for the man. “You aren’t responsible for everything your-” She cut herself off from saying ‘crew’. That was probably just as revealing and there were too many ears around. She tried again. “You aren’t responsible for anything other people do. Even if it were an order, which it wasn’t. He probably got killed by some random mugger in Scarlett.” She added the last bit in case anyone was listening.

  He was giving her a thoughtful look.

  “It happened after he left the ship,” she added.

  “Beatrice thinks I did it though.”

  “That’s what you’re worried about?”

  When he didn’t answer she added, “Well, then, I’m responsible for Pinto.” Not because she still felt that way, she knew it wasn’t her fault, but because any argument Sirius would make against it she could use back on him. Perhaps it was manipulative but if manipulation was what would make him feel better then she had no qualms about using it.

  He looked frustrated now. He understood what she had done and she could see him trying to logic his way out of it.

  Another voice interrupted them. “If you don’t mind me saying, that is a fine spread you’ve got there.”

  Amanda turned to see Eddie eyeing up their food. She tried not to laugh at his reaction. Vampires has fast metabolisms, or perhaps they just didn’t digest food the same way. Whatever the reason, fat vampires were rare, even when they ate a lot of regular food. Amanda wasn’t sure how much sustenance they got out of it or how exactly their digestive systems worked. She knew vampires didn’t need to eat anything but blood. For them, eating anything else was a choice, but it was one that many of them partook in. They could eat a carrot as readily as they could a beef heart. Garlic was the one exception. Although the severity of the reaction tended to vary among individuals, anaphylaxis was a common result of unintended garlic consumption.

  Eddie wouldn’t have been considered that large had he been a witch or any other creature, but for a vampire he was practically obese. She imagined that he must be eating nearly all the time to get that way, or perhaps he was just built a little different, in the same way that some vampires reaction to garlic was no more than itchy skin. Probably, she decided, given the way he was eyeing their picnic, it was a little bit of both.

  They had more than enough for the two of them so she offered, “Would you like some? We got more than we can handle I think.”

  Eddie was only too quick to take her up on the offer. “Oh, thank you ever so kindly.” He took several pastries, some fudge, and a chocolate eclair, and then between mouthfuls he said, “you know, Cap’s food is part of the reason I moved here.”

  “Where are you from?” Amanda asked, jumping at the chance to get to know another one of the councilors better.

  “Oh, here and there and all over. I’ve never stayed in one place very long, not even when I was a small child. Mother was a diplomat. Grandma was literal royalty. You could say it runs in the family.”

  “An your father?” Amanda asked, sensing that Eddie would relish an excuse to talk more about his family and his life.

  “Oh, he was, still is, an artist. Very sought after. He has painted hordes of the most amazing landscapes all around the world. Everywhere we went, he painted it. Mother’s still alive too, she’s just not a diplomat anymore. Same goes for grandma. There was a revolution. She survived but she’s no longer royalty. They’re a democracy now... mostly.”

  “Where was your favorite place you’ve been?”

  “Have you ever seen the city of Eden?”

  “Never heard of it,” she admitted honestly. Worldwide travel was rare unless one was exceptionally well off or did it for a living. Plane routes were few and far between and extremely vulnerable to dragon attacks. Teleportation was expensive. Sea and air ships were slow.

  “Well, it’s named for the biblical place. You know human religions?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. “Well, it’s basically a garden in a desert with the most magnificent of waterfalls. Just falling out of the sky. They all live under a dome you see. It’s cause in that part of the world there is no UV layer or at least it’s very thin...”

  “No UV layer? Isn’t that dangerous?”

  Usually yes, even for witches, but you see, they have a special filtering for the light. Vampires can walk in the full sun there without being burnt at all but the plants can still grow. Don’t ask me how it’s done, I’m not a technical minded person. It’s a bit scary at first but what’s life without a little danger eh?”

  Amanda smiled. She liked Eddie. A glance at Sirius suggested he was enjoying Eddie’s stories as well.

  “Never thought I’d settle down but Cap is the exception. They have a little bit of everything. Anything you can think of, it’s here. On one of the lower levels there’s a swimming pool filled entirely with plushies. And if you want a tattoo on your heart, literally, you can get that done here too. And there’s a little restaurant out near the top of the sea-facing cliffs that has the best oysters in whole world. Trust me, I would know.” He took one of the donuts and then leaned in close. In a very quiet whisper, he said, “I’m not technically supposed to be talking to you two, but oh well.” He waved a hand.

  Amanda took a chance. “Do you think it’s going well? In there?”

  But Eddie wagged a finger. “Oh no no no. It’s one thing to chat to you about far off places and the sites of Cap. It’s another entirely to talk about the hearing. That is forbidden. They might turn a blind eye at me making casual conversation but the other councilors will not look fondly upon us breaking the rules.”

  “The others... Whose the main one in charge?”

  Eddie looked surprised at her question. “None of us,” he answered as if that should be obvious. Anyway, we’ll be starting again soon. I need to grab another sandwich before they call us back in.” With that, he stood up just as the old councilor, Napkin, arrived.

  Eddie turned and when he saw his fellow councilor, both of them gave a slight bow of the heads before leaving together.

  “He had his eyes shut,” Amanda said to Sirius. The old vampire was very strange.

  “Mmm,” Sirius replied.

  “Is he blind?”

  “No.”

  She frowned and studied Sirius. He didn’t seem to be lying.

  At her look, Sirius smiled, and then he explained. “I think he likes to test his other senses sometimes. Nap is not one you want to mess with. He has very fast reflexes.”

  Amanda stared at Sirius. He still appeared to be completely serious. “He’s called Nap?” she asked doubtfully.

  “Yup.”

  Amanda glanced in their direction. The pair had paused not far away. She suddenly realised they were probably completely in hearing range for vampires. “Eddie’s nice.”

  Sirius smiled. He studied her for a bit and she felt like he could see straight through her. “That was clever,” he remarked.

  She wasn’t sure if he meant before when she’d tried to get information out of Eddie, or her comment just then.

  Sirius turned his head slightly in the direction of Nap and Eddie.

  Maybe it was both.

  “I do actually think he’s nice,” she insisted. It was the truth. She had liked his stories.

  Sirius smiled. “I’m sure, but either way, getting on his good side won’t matter. He always votes how Ren does. He’s too lazy to think for himself.”

  Amanda frowned. Nap and Eddie still weren’t far away. What was Sirius doing? “I’m pretty sure he can still hear you.” She lowered her voice slightly but she had no way of knowing how much Eddie and Nap could hear.

  “I know.”

  She gave him a confused look.

  “He knows what I think of him,” Sirius replied simply.

  “I thought you were supposed to be the diplomatic one on the ship.”

  “I am. You want to see how Shiv would handle this hearing?”

  She snorted. “No.”

  Sirius looked at the door to the main room. “Shall we head back in? Others are. I think they’ll call us soon.”

  “Alright.”

  They got to their feet.

  As they walked back in, Amanda said, “Ren, he’s the one whose been asking all the pointed questions isn’t he?”

  “Yup.”