Heartfire

John picked up a pile of affidavits from the bench. “I do have those depositions and I've read them all.”

“So you know the truth, and this whole hearing is a travesty.”

“If it is,” said John, “it follows the script you wrote.”

“I wrote no script for this,” said Quill. “I expected this court to function like a proper witch trial.”

“But Mr. Quill, this is not a witch trial. This is a hearing on a motion. You seem unable to grasp that. This proceeding has been entirely proper. And I am ready now with my ruling on the motion.”

“But you haven't questioned Alvin Smith!”

“All right,” said John. “Mr. Smith, how are you today?”

“Tired of being in chains, Your Honor,” said Alvin, “but otherwise in good condition.”

“You ever have any dealings with Satan?”

“I'm not sure who you're referring to,” said Alvin.

John was surprised. He was expecting a simple 'no.' “Satan,” he said. “The enemy of God.”

“Why, if Satan means an enemy of God, I've had dealings with a fair number in my time, including Mr. Quill here.”

“Your Honor!” cried Quill.

“Sit down, Mr. Quill,” said John. “Mr. Smith, you seem to be deliberately misunderstanding my question. Don't try my patience, please. Satan, as generally conceived, is a supernatural being. You've been accused of getting powers from him and obeying his commands. Did you get any hidden powers from Satan, or obey him?”

“No sir,” said Alvin.

“More to the point,” said John, “did you ever tell Purity Orphan that you had dealings with Satan, or could she ever have seen you in the presence of Satan?”

“If you mean the bright red fellow with the claws of a bear and cloven hooves and horns on his head,” said Alvin, “I've never seen him or heard from him. He's never even sent me a note. I have smelled him, but only when I was alone with Quill.”

John shook his head. “I don't think you're taking this proceeding seriously.”

“No sir,” said Alvin, “I admit that I am not.”

“And why is that? Don't you understand that your life may hinge upon the outcome of this hearing?”

“It doesn't,” said Alvin.

Cooper tried to shush him.

“And why do you believe that you're safe, regardless of the outcome of this hearing?”

Alvin rose to his feet and pulled the manacles off his wrists as easily as he might have pulled off mittens. He shook his feet and the ankle braces clanked on the floor. “Because I got the knack I was born with. As far as I know, it's God, not Satan, who creates us, and so whatever knack I have came from God. I try to use it kindly and decently. One thing I never do is try to use my knack to force someone else to do something against their will. But you and my lawyer here, you seem determined to force the people of New England to get rid of their witchery laws whether they want to or not. Mr. Quill is a lying snake, but you don't strike down all the laws just to catch a few liars.”

Verily Cooper rested his head on the desk. John, who was trembling at the sight of such obvious supernatural powers, could see that to Verily Cooper this was old news.

Alvin was still talking. “I was willing to stick it out and see how you two twisted up the laws without actually breaking too many of them, but my wife needs me right now, and I'm not wasting another minute here. When I got time I'll come back and you and I can talk this out, Your Honor, because I think you're an honorable man. But for the present, I've got somewhere else to be.”

Alvin started toward the door at the back of the court.

Quill jumped to his feet and tried to stop him. His hands slid off Alvin as if he'd been greased. “Stop him!” Quill cried. “Don't let him go!”

“Bailiff,” said John. “Mr. Smith seems to be escaping.”

Alvin turned around and faced the judge. “Your Honor, I thought this wasn't my trial. I thought this was a hearing on a motion. You don't need me here.”

Verily stood up. “Alvin, what about Purity?”

“She ain't going to hang,” said Alvin. “By the time you're through, she'll probably be Queen of England.”

“Wait just a minute, Alvin,” Verily said. He turned to face John Adams. “Your Honor, I ask the court to release my client on his own recognizance, with his promise to appear in court in the morning.”

John understood what he was asking, and decided to grant it. The escape would be turned into a legal release. “The defendant's presence not being necessary at this hearing, and with proof positive that the defendant's compliance with his imprisonment up to this point has been entirely voluntary, the court deems him worthy of our trust. Released on his own recognizance, to appear in court at ten in the morning tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Your Honor,” said Alvin.

“An outrage!” cried Quill.

“Sit down, Mr. Quill,” said John Adams. “I'm ready to rule on the motion.”

Quill slowly sat down as the door closed behind Alvin Smith.

“Your Honor,” said Verily Cooper. “I must apologize for my client's behavior.”

“Sit down, Mr. Cooper,” said John. “I have my rulings. Mr. Smith's point was well taken. It is not the place of the court to destroy the law in order to achieve justice. Therefore both motions are denied.”

Quill flung his arms out wide. “Praise God!”

“Not so fast, Mr. Quill,” said John. “This hearing is not over.”

“But you've ruled.”

“During the process of this hearing, I have heard substantial evidence of misconduct by those officers called interrogators or witchers. The appointment of these witchers is in the hands of the ecclesiastical authorities, who have delegated that responsibility to an examining board of experts on witchery, who are responsible for making sure that witchers are fully trained. However, the actual license to interrogate and serve as an officer of the court is issued by the governor upon a swearing-in by a judge. This license is required for an interrogator to have standing in a civil court and call a witch trial. The licenses of all witchers fall under the law that governs the licensing of all government officials not specified in any particular act. Under that law, your license can be suspended upon a finding by a judicial officer of the level of magistrate or higher that you have used your office against the interests of the people of the commonwealth. I so find. Mr. Quill, I hereby declare your license and the license of all other interrogators in the commonwealth of Massachusetts and in the judicial circuit of New England to be suspended.”

“But you can't– you–”

“Furthermore, I declare all interrogations made under these licenses to be suspended as well. I order that no judicial proceeding may continue until and unless hearings are held that substantiate the evidence under the normal rules of evidence in the civil courts, which are the courts that have jurisdiction over licensing. If you or any other witchcraft interrogator ca

The words flowed out of John like water from a spring. He felt as though he were singing. Alvin Smith's point had been well taken. But in the moment when he realized that, for honor's sake, he would have to deny Cooper's clever motions, a new path opened up in his mind and he saw how he could put a stop to witch trials, not by using judicial precedent to destroy the law, but by using another law to trump it.