Free Challenges by Sharon Green Page A

to realize that my patrons didn’t like her. She would boast about having first standing in the residence, and never noticed that the other girls were laughing at her. That, Your Honor, was the way it was.”
    “That, Dama, is a crock,” the prosecuting judge countered, completely out of patience. “A High practitioner in Spirit magic would have to be dead not to notice unpopularity and laughter at her expense. You leave me no choice but to ask for an unbiased accounting.”
    He looked at the other two judges then, and the defense judge simply shrugged and nodded. It seemed to Jovvi that he couldn’t think of a reason to counter the request, and therefore was forced to agree to it. The presiding judge nodded when he saw that, and then raised his arm.
    “It’s the unanimous decision of this court that the defendant be required to give an unbiased accounting,” he announced to everyone in general. “The chief court clerk is authorized to make the necessary preparations.”
    People got up and began to move around and talk to each other then, leaving Allestine feeling confused and vaguely worried. Jovvi was also confused, so she took the opportunity to turn to the friendly bailiff.
    “Can you tell me what that’s all about?” she asked in a soft voice, looking up at him. “I’ve never heard that phrase before.”
    “It’s only used when the defendant denies all the charges lodged,” the bailiff replied just as softly after bending to her. “The court wants to know the truth, and the only one here who can give it to them without question is the defendant herself. She’ll be given the drink, and once it starts workin’ on her she’ll tell the court everythin’ it wants to know.”
    “What drink is that?” Jovvi asked with a frown. “Is it a truth drug of some kind?”
    “Better than those phony truth drugs,” the man replied with a smile. “It’s called Puredan, and when it’s inside somebody they have to do as they’re told. They keep a careful eye on the stuff, because once somebody under its influence is told somethin’, they’ll still obey the command once the Puredan wears off. And since it’s supposed to taste like funny water, people could have it fed to them without knowin’ about it. That’s why they’re so careful about who can use it.”
    Jovvi nodded her thanks, and turned back to what was going on in the courtroom again. Allestine was in the process of drinking a glass of clear liquid which one of the men in the room had brought to her, and the judges were watching carefully as she drank. Her mind said she didn’t know what it was that she drank, but had accepted it despite her annoyance over the delay in her release.
    And then Jovvi started, as an unexpectedly swift reaction began in Allestine. The woman hadn’t even finished the entire glass of liquid when her thought processes came to a sudden halt. All voluntary cogitation seemed to be gone, and she paused in the drinking until the court clerk quietly urged her to finish the liquid. She did so immediately, then stood in docile thoughtlessness, waiting patiently for the next thing she would be told.
    There was something of a stir over near where Ark and Bar sat, and Jovvi suddenly noticed how agitated their minds were. It had taken them a moment to realize what Allestine was being given, and by the time they tried to interfere it was too late to stop her from drinking. The guardsmen got the two bullies quieted down again, and by then Jovvi had noticed the two men seated a few rows behind the squad of guardsmen. They weren’t at all happy about what was going on, but the frustration level inside them said there was nothing they could do to stop it.
    “Why don’t we start with a simple but obvious point,” the prosecuting judge said suddenly, quieting all other conversation in the room. “In your initial statement, Dama, you said that your two male companions didn’t realize at first that they were resisting arrest. You