Tara Duncan and the Forbidden Book by HRH Princess Sophie Audouin-Mamikonian

entire hall sighed with relief. The reason there are so few crimes on OtherWorld is largely due to the telepaths’ invaluable work. If they had lost their priceless faculties, it would open the way to chaos.
    â€œThat’s perfect,” said the empress. “Now, let’s try with the girl. Tellers!”
    Angelica obediently took her place in the circle, but the result was the same as with Cal. Her mind was impenetrable, and the telepaths had to admit they were powerless.
    â€œI don’t understand why the Truth Tellers can’t access these children’s thoughts,” said the emperor. “Unless someone has managed to create a protective spell to mask their guilt. Which would call for enormous power. And only the dragons—”
    â€œAs I said before— hic,” interrupted Master Chem, who wasn’t about to let himself be accused, “we accepted your summons because Caliban and Angelica are innocent— hic. We assumed the Tellers would confirm this for us hic. Now that this seems to be impossible, there seems to be only one thing left to do.”
    â€œI agree,” said the empress soberly. “We will have to summon the manes of Brandis T’al Miga Ab Chantu. That will require a great deal of preparation, and I suggest we get some rest beforehand. The hearing will resume tomorrow.”
    â€œWhat are ‘manes’?” whispered Tara to her friends.
    â€œThey’re the boy’s psychic remains,” said Sparrow. “His spirit, if you like. They can be summoned just once and only asked a single question.”
    â€œA ghost!” sighed Fabrice. “Here I think I know everything about this world and bam!, something like this hits me. So, Cal and Angelica are going to be judged by a ghost? What if he says they’re guilty?”
    â€œThey’ll be condemned to death,” said Sparrow gravely.
    â€œTo death?” asked Tara, appalled. “You’re joking, right?”
    â€œAfraid not. Whether children or adults, spellbinders on OtherWorld are responsible for their actions as soon as they come into their powers. The death penalty may have been abolished in Lancovit, but it’s still in force here in Omois.”
    â€œStay calm, Tara,” said Robin. “Getting worried won’t do you any good. It clouds your mind, and it’s very bad before a fight. Odds are, everything will go well and Cal will be acquitted.”
    Tara smiled feebly. The half-elf was thinking like a warrior. She straightened and took a deep breath. He’s right, she thought. We may as well wait and see what happens. If things turned out badly, then she would have a perfect right to panic.
    The little crowd streamed out of the Throne Room buzzing with questions and conjectures, with feet, tentacles, pseudopods, and hooves sliding and clicking on the purple marble floor. The crystalists whispered furiously into their crystal balls and cubes, spreading the news. All in all, the session had been fascinating.
    To Tara’s great surprise, Cal strolled over and joined them, while Blondin skipped merrily around. The imperial guards seemed completely unconcerned about what the two were doing.
    â€œI’ll be darned!” exclaimed Sparrow, who was equally surprised. “Aren’t you in prison?”
    â€œIn prison? Why? I haven’t done anything,” said Cal with a smile.
    â€œBut they arrested you!”
    â€œNo, they ‘kindly invited’ me to the palace to ‘help clear up a few points.’ Unless or until I’m convicted, I’m considered to be innocent.” Then he added, sounding oppressed, “But I swear, I’d rather be in jail. Because Angelica is also charged, they stuck us in the same room together, believe it or not.”
    â€œNo!” exclaimed Sparrow. “That’s not so great.”
    â€œIt’s a total drag, you mean. I spend as much time as I can wandering around this