A Tale of Magic... by Brandon Dorman Read Free Book Online Page A

very long time. It would do you both some good if you learned to be civil.”
    In many ways, Brystal was thankful she didn’t have the opportunity to become a Justice; it spared her from the nightmare of working with Brooks at the courthouse. He was very popular among the other Deputy Justices, and Brystal worried how Brooks would use his connections to sabotage Barrie. Ever since his younger brother was born, Brooks had seen Barrie as a threat of some kind, as if only one Evergreen son was allowed to succeed.
    “I apologize, Mother,” Brooks said with a phony smile. “And you’re right—I should be helping Barrie get ready for his examination. Let me share some of the questions that nearly stumped me during my examination—questions I guarantee he won’t see coming. For example, what is the difference between the punishment for trespassing on private property and the punishment for trespassing on royal property?”
    Barrie beamed with confidence. Clearly, he was much more prepared for his examination than Brooks had been for his own.
    “The punishment for trespassing on private property is three years in prison and the punishment for trespassing on royal property is fifty,” Barrie said. “And the serving Justice decides whether hard labor should be added.”
    “I’m afraid that’s wrong ,” Brooks said. “It’s five years for private property and sixty years for royal property.”
    For a moment Brystal thought she had misheard Brooks. She knew for a fact that Barrie’s answer was correct—she could even visualize the exact page of the law book where she had read it. Barrie looked just as confused as his sister. He turned to Justice Evergreen, hoping his father would correct his brother’s claim, but the Justice never glanced up from his paperwork.
    “I’ll give you another one,” Brooks said. “In what year was the death penalty changed from drawing-and-quartering to beheading?”
    “Good heavens, Brooks! Some of us are eating!” Mrs. Evergreen scolded.
    “That was… that was…,” Barrie mumbled as he tried to recall. “That was the year 567!”
    “Wroooong again,” Brooks sang. “The first public beheading wasn’t until 568. Oh dear, you’re not very good at this game.”
    Barrie started second-guessing himself, and his confidence faded with his posture. Brystal cleared her throat to get Barrie’s attention, hoping to expose Brooks’s charade with a telling look, but Barrie didn’t hear her.
    “Let’s try something simple,” Brooks said. “Can you name the four pieces of evidence a prosecutor needs to charge a suspect with murder?”
    “That’s easy!” Barrie replied. “A body, a motive, a witness, and… and…”
    Brooks was enjoying watching his brother struggle. “You’re already way off, so let’s try another one,” he said. “How many Justices does it take to appeal the ruling of another Justice?”
    “What are you talking about?” Barrie asked. “Justices can’t appeal!”
    “Once again, wrong .” Brooks screeched like a crow. “I can’t believe how unprepared you are—especially given the amount of time you’ve been studying. If I were you, I would pray the examiner is out sick.”
    All the color drained from Barrie’s face, his eyes grew large, and he gripped his notecards so firmly they started to bend. He looked as hopeless and scared as he had when Brystal found him in the sitting room. Every brick of self-esteem she had laid was now being demolished for Brooks’s amusement. She couldn’t take another moment of his cruel game.
    “Don’t listen to him, Barrie!” she shouted, and the room went silent. “Brooks is asking you trick questions on purpose! First, the punishment for trespassing on private property is three years in prison and the punishment for trespassing on royal property is fifty—it’s only five and sixty years if the property is damaged! Second, the first public beheading was in 568, but the law changed in 567, like you said!