Chapter 12: Maria

  Morning had come, and Maria had awakened to the singing of blue birds and the trumpet playing of trained servants. A symphony was in the air for the blind woman, and she knew it was time to begin her work.

  A knight of Aeon, Anna, a woman from Erdene who was known as 'Godslayer', was sent to rouse her from her chambers. Anna was middle-aged with dark skin and a tall statue for a woman. This knight carried no blade, wielding only a pistol, and she wore large sunglasses that obscured much of her face.

  Everyone knew her story; a demon had come to be worshipped as a god, and Anna, not much older than Maria at the time, went and killed it in battle. It was wonder she was able to earn such a grandiose epithet.

  "I am your guard for today, Detective Smith. I have been made aware of what happened last time you were in the crypts and can promise you that your safety is guaranteed in my hands." Said Anna.

  Maria put her trust in Anna immediately; there was something about having an armed guard Maria liked. 'It's like having a guide and protection all in one,' Maria thought to herself.

  Maria bristled; this was much better than her usual protection. The sword of a knight was trustworthy and stable. Nothing like the wrath of the demon that followed her. Maria, even with no eyes, always kept track of the demon's soul and its words; otherwise, she feared the wrath would be turned onto her.

  "A knight of Aeon and a witch of Demon working together? It's like a fairytale." Said the demon, uttering the words with a cackle. "Maybe when you're no longer useful to them, you'll get to see how they treat most demons."

  Maria frowned but was quick to hide it. For a brief moment, she ignored the demon and told Anna to lead the way.

  The crypts were now guarded off; even the very stairwell leading down to the last floor was now blocked by yellow tape that read 'caution' and a small makeshift gate that looked to be made from a baby-proofing device.

  Anna grabbed Maria's hand, and with one big step, she stepped over the gate and guided Maria to do the same. Soon enough, the two of them, along with the demon, had gone down the stairs, walked across the floor, and climbed the ladder down to the crypts proper.

  Once they were down in the crypts, Anna raised her hand; her veins glowed blue, and blue light came out like a sprinkler.

  "A knight of Aeon needs no torch." She boasted, waving around her hands with the blue glow as if her own hands were now blowtorches.

  "Do you sense any other minds, Maria?" Asked Anna.

  Maria searched her mind, and to her surprise, there was another human lurking in the crypts during these morning hours.

  "One other. We should move carefully." Answered Maria.

  "It is likely the Earl's executioner. He told me he wanted to see the prisoners before we did." Said Anna.

  Maria smiled. "In that case, it is only us and the prisoners. The coast is clear. I appreciate your diligence." Said Maria.

  "It is my honor." Said Anna.

  The two of them followed the beaten path, the murals from before. The stench and visage of death and despair everywhere that they went, and to Maria's surprise, her demon did not find it fit to comment on any of it. The memories of her last visit to the crypts haunted Maria; she coulda till hear Malachi welp as he fell and Orin scream as he went to battle. She wished she could've fought along with him, but knew her battle was not with blades of steel but with blades of the mind.

  Anna and Maria came to the room where the prisoners were held. This time the prisoners were awake, and the masked man that Maria had seen at the crowning was there waiting for them.

  "Hail. I have made sure that the prisoners would be awake for your arrival." The masked man said with a grunt.

  "Thank you. May I call you sir?" Asked Maria.

  "An executioner needs no name. To you I am justice; to them I am death. I am the reaper of New Paris." Said the masked man, who stood completely still.

  "I believe this is my first time meeting an executioner. It is my honor." Said Maria with a bow of her head.

  "I assumed as much. Only a first-timer would've asked for my name. Anyway, I see you have a knight. My services are done. I will be going." Said the executioner.

  The executioner walked past the two women and, without another word, was gone. Maria could sense that the man had not left the crypts and instead had only gone to another room. 'Does he live here?' Maria thought to herself. 'No, he wasn't here last time; he couldn't have been. What an odd man.'

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Maria shook away the thought and focused herself, and while she did not know it, all three prisoners were looking directly at her with intense curiosity.

  "Are you the detective?" One of them asked; it was Jonathan. Maria could tell because his voice cracked in the way only a teenager's did when he spoke.

  "I am. My name is Maria Smith, and I am the detective that has been chosen to preside over this case. This will not be an ordinary interrogation. I have been permitted by the Earl of New Paris to enter each of your minds and go over your memories to figure out what happened to Crown Princess Lucia Lincoln." Said Maria with a strong confidence that impressed even herself.

  Michael was the next to speak; he tilted his head at Maria, and the faintest of smiles came to him. "Maria? You know I almost didn't recognize you without your eyes." He said. "What happened to you?"

  Maria could hear the wings of her demon swaying with excitement.

  "Yes, what did happen to you, Maria?" Asked the demon.

  Maria sweated at Michael's question. "I am not here to make smalltalk; I am here to begin the investigation of the murder of Lucia Lincoln. I have gone over the files and have gone over the information we have available and decided that it is time."

  Anna nodded. "Who do you want to take to the interrogation room?"

  "Jonathan McNair."

  The teenager shrieked and pleaded with Anna as she walked towards his cell.

  "No, no, no. I didn't kill her; I barely even knew her. I want to go home." Said Jonathan

  "If you are innocent, your memories will reveal as much." Said Maria.

  After Maria spoke, Anna then opened Jonathan's cell, offered the young prisoner his hand, and lifted him up to his feet.

  "We are not executioners. I do not know how you have been treated so far, but us knights are a merciful lot. You will be harmed or mistreated in our care." Said Anna, hands still glowing from the magic that ran strong through her.

  "I can trust you." Asked Jonathan.

  At this point, all three of the prisoners were watching Maria, carefully inspecting the wiry blind woman from her head to her toes.

  "That is a good question. Can we trust you, detective?" Asked a feminine voice, Maria knew it could only be Jasmine. "You say if we're innocent, our memories will reveal it, but if we're innocent, you just get to know all of our secrets, thoughts, and fears. All of it."

  She had a point, and Maria knew it. She knew how intimate and invasive her abilities were. She knew how people would conceal parts of themselves that she couldn't even imagine and that with her power no mask, no masquerade could hide. Maria knew that she wouldn't want her mind invaded.

  "You know as well as I do, the only reason why I'm here is because of the Earl's vendetta against me." Said Jasmine.

  The flapping of wings was heard next. "Ooo drama. You know I never understood why you humans watch so much TV when the situations you all get yourselves into are just as entertaining." Whispered Maria's demon.

  Maria shook her head. She knew she couldn't let her doubts show. "You were at the scene of the crime; you went with Lucia to The Garden; you were with her every step of the way, and when she died, you were nowhere to be found. You hardly have an alibi."

  Jasmine scoffed. "We got split up."

  "That's convenient." Said Maria.

  Jasmine stared at Maria. If she could've, she would've looked directly into Maria's soul. The anger in her eyes was obvious, and a scowl was present.

  Even with all that anger, Michael was the next to speak.

  "I feel like if you're going to go through my mind, I can at least find out what you have been too for the past few years. Last time we spoke, you were-"

  Maria coughed loudly. "I'm not here to talk about the past. What was before is what was before, and what is now is what is now. I tire of this. Anna, handcuff Jonathan. We have places to be."

  Anna did as she was ordered and handcuffed the young prisoner.

  "Come with us. We have a special room set up for the interrogations." Said Anna.

  The three of them walked through the crypts illuminated in blue light; the murals on the walls shined as they walked past, and on these paintings it looked as if the eyes of figures from long ago watched them intently.

  In due time, they reached the ladder, climbed their way to the very top, and made their trek to the interrogation room. The room was on the very top floor of the palace. The Earl had told Maria that since every room in the palace had windows, he wanted the prisoners somewhere they would be hesitant to jump through one. A steep fall.

  A steep fall it was indeed; the most notable feature of the interrogation room was a wide door with royal purple drapes that stretched out from Greco-Roman columns. The door was supposed to have a balcony built long ago, but it remained unfinished. Leaving only a 60-foot drop to the harsh pavement of New Paris below. Maria couldn't help but wonder if Anna was only there to make sure she didn't accidentally walk there and fall herself.

  The rest of the room was drab, with white walls, a faded purple ceiling, and some small jade plants that grew in sparse clusters on the ground. A single table was in the middle of the room with two chairs, and a third chair was sat on the corner furthest away from the balcony doors. Maria sat on one side of the table while Jonathan handcuffed sat on the other. Anna occupied the third chair and watched the interrogation from a distance, ordered only to intervene if necessary.

  "Jonathan. I want to hear your side of the story first before I enter your mind. I want to give you the benefit of the doubt, and I want to know how you believe things happened. You know, honesty is often rewarded." Said Maria.

  Jonathan's eyes were sunken, yet they emoted well enough. It was clear that the teen was not used to being this tired and this emancipated. He looked as if he were a ghost, struggling to hold on to physical form.

  "I am a photographer, and well, I don't really have a portfolio. I have a bunch of good pictures but not like, great pictures, you know." Said Jonathan, with a faint smile. "The prince, Malachi. We go to school together, and we speak together sometimes. I remember one day we spoke of The Garden, and he told me his sister had planned to go there. He told me of a great party; all these celebrities would be there, and I couldn't help but think that it would be a great opportunity to get some great pictures."

  "So you were there at the party with her?" Maria asked.

  Jonathan's handcuffs jingled as he shuffled his hands on the table. "Yes, I know why I'm here right now. People say they saw me arguing with her—well, more like she was yelling at me and she broke my camera."

  "Did she break your camera?" Maria said.

  "Yes! But that doesn't mean I wanted to kill her over it!" Shouted Jonathan, his face growing red.

  "Why did she break it?" Asked Maria.

  "Uh," said Jonathan.

  "Uh, what?" Said Maria.

  "She didn't like a picture that I took. When she found out I took it, she was really mad." Jonathan said.

  "Must've been a really bad picture." Said Maria, who of course wondered what picture could be so bad that it would lead people to accuse you of murder.

  "I didn't mean any harm, I swear. I'm a good kid. I don't even go to parties like that; I'm a total homebody." Said Jonathan.

  "I mean, I went to parties in high school. That didn't make me a bad kid." Said Maria. "What was the picture?"

  Jonathan shuffled awkwardly. "It was of her and Jasmine, and uh. Yeah."

  "Uh yeah?" Maria said.

  "It's a bit complicated." Said Jonathan.

  Maria gulped. 'Uh yeah' was not the best sign of a good interrogation. Especially when the subject in question was two women and a photographer who was a teenager boy.

  "Well." Said Maria. "I'm going to see it either way. So complicated or not, I'll know."

  "When you see my memories, you'll keep them to yourself, right?" Asked Jonathan.

  "Yes, if it is not relevant to the investigation, it won't leave this room." Said Maria.

  "And what if it is?" Said Jonathan.

  "I can't make any promises, Jonathan." Maria bit her lip. "I think it's time I entered your mind. I pray you are being honest. You do seem like a good kid."

  Maria searched in her head for Jonathan's mind, and in due time she could feel herself rushing through his memories and seeing the deepest recesses of his mind. She saw herself, a young woman with bandages covering her lack of eyes, and could feel the fear Jonathan felt as he looked at her. The anxiety, the feeling of torment that she gave him. It made a pit form in Maria's stomach, and she had to stop as soon as she began.

  'Am I really that scary?' Thought Maria to herself.