“The rest of the battle is referenced in my previous report,” Barrayar said. “We were able to hold out long enough for a Keeper relief force to arrive.”
“Did you have any further contact with Councillor Verus during the incident?”
“No.”
“Thank you, Mage Barrayar, that will be all.”
Next up on the witness stand was Solace. “He just left us there!” she declared. Solace is the aide to Sal Sarque, one of my more vitriolic enemies, just as Barrayar is the aide to Levistus. She’s not as smart or as dangerous as Barrayar, but she can still make trouble, and she was making trouble now. “He could have stayed and helped but he just left us to die.”
The coroner cleared his throat. “You claimed earlier that Councillor Verus was responsible for the attack.”
“Well, someone let Vihaela in, didn’t they? There were only four mages from outside in the facility when it happened, and he was the only one who wasn’t with us. We didn’t see him all the time that we were fighting our way through to the control room.”
“And you believe that Councillor Verus was the one responsible?”
“Morden paid him,” Solace said. “Gave him his chain of office. He said Verus could keep it.”
There was a stir, and a few people glanced at me. I didn’t show any reaction.
“So then he went running after Morden,” Solace continued. “Those jinn didn’t even scratch him. I don’t think they were even trying. Probably Verus was trying to catch up with Morden and Vihaela before they left.”
Oddly enough, Solace was quite right. The jinn hadn’t been trying to hurt me. It was just as well that she so obviously hated me. If she’d been a more credible witness, people might have paid attention.
“I see. Do you have any further evidence to present to the court?”
Solace thought for a moment. “No,” she admitted grudgingly. “But he was useless in the fight, too.”
“Thank you, Mage Solace. That will be all.”
Solace went to sit down, avoiding looking at me.
The bench clerk spoke up. “Councillor Verus.”
I rose to my feet and walked to the witness stand. The courtroom was quiet, and I could feel all eyes on me.
“I should clarify that this is an inquiry, not a trial, and you are not charged with any breach against the Concord or national law,” the coroner said. “However, in the event of any future trial, should one occur, any statement made at this court can be taken as evidence.”
I nodded.
“Do you have any further testimony to give?”
“Yes,” I said. “But first I would like to ask Mage Solace to clarify some points of information.”
“As this is not an actual trial, you do not have a right to cross-examine.”
“Mage Solace has directly accused me of capital crimes,” I said. Solace hadn’t been as careful as Barrayar, and I’d done my homework before coming here. “As such, I have the right to question her directly.”
The coroner hesitated. It was plain he didn’t want to grant the request, and just as plain that he couldn’t see a way out of it. “Very well.”
I turned to Solace. “Mage Solace. What kind of mage am I?”
“What?”
“What kind of mage am I?”
Solace looked confused. “You’re a diviner.”
“Can diviners use gate magic?”
“Why are you asking me?”
“Answer the question, please.”
“No,” Solace said in annoyance. “I don’t see how that matters.”
I nodded. “When I entered San Vittore, along with you and Barrayar, the three of us were checked for contraband. Is that correct?”
“Excuse me, Councillor Verus,” the coroner broke in. “Is this relevant?”
“I’ll demonstrate its relevance shortly. Solace?”
“Yes, that happened. So?”
“The list of contraband items included focuses, imbued items, and magic items of any other kind,” I said. “All three of us were examined with magesight to confirm that we were carrying none of those things. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“All right. Now, you claim that I was the one who let Vihaela into the facility.”
Solace shrugged.
“How?”
“What?”
“San Vittore is a bubble realm,” I said. “It’s accessible only by gate magic, and its gate wards are heavily reinforced. This was established at the previous inquiry. So how am I supposed to have let Vihaela in?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” I said. “You’ve just agreed that I can’t open a gate myself, and also agreed that I didn’t have any kind of item that would open one for me, but you’re still claiming that I must have let Vihaela into a place that’s only accessible via gates?”
“Well, that’s for a judge to decide, isn’t it?”
“Actually, no,” I said. “For a judge to be hearing the case at trial, there would have to be a trial, which, as the coroner has just pointed out, this is not. One of the things a criminal case requires is plausible means. Which means it has to be at least physically possible for the accused to have done what they’re accused of.”
“Well, who else could have done it?” Solace demanded. “You weren’t there!”
“I wasn’t with you, Barrayar, and Caldera, correct. Do you remember why?”
Solace paused. “I don’t know.”
“After we’d passed the security screening, I asked if I could accompany you and Barrayar while you questioned Morden,” I said. “Do you remember what your answer was?”
Solace shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t remember.”
“We could always ask Barrayar,” I said. “Or one of the other witnesses who were—”
“Okay, I think I said no.”
“Which means you were the reason I wasn’t with you when the attack happened.”
Solace looked angrily at me. “Next point,” I said. “Barrayar has stated that I rejoined you and Caldera shortly before Vihaela and Morden forced open Morden’s cell door. I came from the opposite direction that Morden and Vihaela did, correct?”
“So?”
“So let me see if I’m understanding you correctly,” I said. “You claim that I entered the facility with no magic items nor any ability to use gate magic. I then proceeded to override the gate wards on San Vittore and allow Vihaela into the facility, using some means that you’ve yet to explain. Having accomplished this—an opportunity that I only had because you refused to allow me to accompany you—I then split up with Vihaela in such a way that she ended up on the other side of the facility behind a locked cell door. Having done all this, I met back up with you. Does that sum it up?”
Solace glared at me.
“Your accusation is one of the stupidest and most incoherent things I’ve ever heard,” I said. “If I’d brought a case like that to my supervisor back when I was a Keeper, he’d have asked if I was drunk.”
“Excuse me, Verus,” the coroner said. “You’re becoming overly personal.”
I could see smirks on the faces of a few of the audience, but knew better than to push things too far. “Very well.” I turned back to the coroner. “As to the question of why I chose to pursue Vihaela and Morden, there are two reasons. The first is I’m a diviner, not a battle-mage. There’s very little I can do against an army of summoned jinn. I decided that trying to locate Vihaela and Morden would be a more productive use of my time than staying in a battle I couldn’t easily contribute to. Regarding locking the gate, well, Barrayar’s a force mage. He could cut through the bars. The jinn couldn’t.”
“You claimed there were two reasons . . . ?”
“The other reason is that ever since I’ve known them, Mages Barrayar and Solace have treated me in a hostile manner. Given the choice between having the two of them at my back in a fight, and running into a horde of monsters, I decided I’d rather take my chances with the monsters.”