Chapter 14: Maria

  Maria did not know quite what to make of the wealthy. When she entered the mind of Jonathan, she did not know what to expect. Honestly, she never knew what to expect when she entered someone's mind. A person's memories are an intimidating plane, and with only one year to develop her understanding, it was still a plane she did not understand very well.

  What she did understand was that some people were much more fortunate than she was. Even as she sat aside from Jonathan, a teenager who had suffered greatly these past few days. She couldn't help but notice the contrast between his memories and hers.

  Jonathan's home was specious with thick stone walls that were adorned with precious artwork, emerald statues, and jade set-pierces. He woke up to an alarm that played the newest music, and Maria from within his memories could smell freshly cooked breakfast.

  Envy flowed through the veins of Maria, and questions rested right at the tip of her tongue. She had never seen Emerald in person until she had the Earl's crown, and a home-cooked meal was a treat saved for when her grandmother did not have to go to work in the mornings.

  She exited the memory and took a deep breath. Truth be told, she had yet to make much progress on the interrogation. She had spent more time living through the life she never had than reaching the memories of the case proper. She knew she had plenty of time to work but could not yet find the spark to enter the relevant memories.

  'Am I really that scary?' The thought came to her again.

  It was hard knowing you're the villain to another person and knowing that if this boy in front of you is innocent, then you just wasted hours invading the privacy of a scared teenager. No, Maria had to justify it to her somehow. She needed to make a reason to delve so deep into Jonathan.

  "How close are you with the crown prince?" It was a pointless question, something to pass the time. Something to keep herself on track during the hours that passed.

  "We share a lunch table, and this isn't my first time in the palace." Answered Jonathan.

  'Well, that second part is relevant.' Thought Maria.

  "So I assume that party wasn't the first time you came across Lucia Lincoln." Asked Maria.

  "It wasn't. She knew me. Even when she broke my camera, she made sure I knew she recognized me." Said Jonathan.

  "I see."

  Maria had decided on a starting point, a plan to commence and to put into action. She wanted to go back to that very first meeting and see Jonathan and the then-living Princess interact.

  She danced through the memories with the poise and nimbleness of a ballerina. There were so many memories to choose from, like

  hundreds of TV screens in an empty black lobby. She really could've found out everything about Jonathan if she chose to, but knew it was better to see what would help solve this case lest she get distracted once again.

  She came to a memory, entered it the way a salmon jumps upstream into the sea, and found herself a 16-year-old boy who was both lighter in skin and a head or two taller than she was.

  Jonathan was in the palace, downstairs on the ground floor, where resided the renown garden that had been flowered and nurtured by Saint Johanna herself. He stood there with Malachi, and they both had picked out pears from the trees. Each pear was sweet, firm.

  and clearly a bit too perfect. These were unnatural fruits, grown with magic, not with the blood and sweat of man. Well, maybe the blood was involved in its growth.

  Malachi and Jonathan watched a group of bees fertilize the plant life with interest; these bees traveled in packs of hundreds and feasted upon the gigantic flowers and fruits as if it would be their very last supper. They then would send their pollen to hives, where they would make honey that Maria had never been quite rich enough to purchase.

  "I'm telling you, dude, if you snag a few pictures in The Garden, everyone at school will be so impressed. Said Malachi, taking a big bite out of his pear. "They'll be like, 'Whoa, that's awesome'."

  "I never got a 'whoa that's awesome' before." Mused Jonathan.

  The bees flew past the two teens as they spoke; these bees went to the very pear tree that the boys ate off of it and ate along with them in harmony. These bees' stingers were as sturdy as the fruits they ate, but they had enough control to keep any violence to themselves.

  "My sister says there's going to be a huge party; everyone who's anyone is going to be there. I wish I could go, but my dad says there'll probably be drinking and smoking, and that's no place for a kid to be." Malachi scoffed. "Like I don't know better. If someone offered me a drink, I would just say no anyway."

  Jonathan's ears were ringing, and Maria could feel it. When others saw nothing but a party, he saw opportunity. Jonathan did not know much, but he knew that if he went to that party and brought his film camera, he could be famous.

  "Do you think I should go to that party?" Asked Jonathan

  "Do you think your parents will let you go?" Asked Malachi.

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  Jonathan frowned and shook his head. "Maybe if I tell them it's for a school trip, they'll let me."

  Malachi tilted his head. "You think they'll go for that?"

  Jonathan shrugged his shoulders and tossed his pear on the ground; the bees swarmed it with an intense fervor. Eating it until it was nothing, and then continuing on with their day.

  "I hope so."

  Malachi nodded and tossed his pear on the ground as well. "Well, I hope so too. It would be cool if you went and took pictures." He said before casting his eyes over to the bees. "Hey bees, can I have a honeycomb?" He said.

  The swarm did as he ordered, rushed away, and returned to him with a honeycomb. Afterwards, they consumed Malachi's pear much like they did to Jonathan's. Jonathan looked at the honeycomb with sheer confusion.

  "Did those bees just give you a gift?" Asked Jonathan.

  "They always do that; you want a honeycomb?" Malachi said.

  Jonathan nodded his head, and Malachi called for the swarm. They did as they were commanded, retrieved a honeycomb for Jonathan, and flew away as they always did. Jonathan tasted the honeycomb; it was oddly bitter and unpleasant. It left a strange burning taste in his mouth, and he spit it out as soon as he tasted it.

  "Christ on a popsicle that tastes awful." Said Jonathan.

  "It's an acquired taste." Malachi said. "My sister showed me that trick."

  Speaking of Malachi's sister, she was not far away from the two teens. In fact, as the two of them spoke unbeknownst to them both, she was making her way down the stairs. Lucia had come downstairs quite literally shining; she wore gold, a pair of designer sunglasses that had diamonds in the frame, and a nice flowery dress.

  "Telling strangers about our secret pets, Kai?" Asked Lucia. "Who's this?"

  When Jonathan saw Lucia, he could feel his heart beat out of his chest. She was beautiful, although that was not news to her or anyone who knew her. She inherited her mother's looks, and she was no stranger to what she inherited.

  "H-hi." Jonathan said. "My name is Jonathan, but my friends call me John." He reached out his hand to shake Lucia's, and in return, she shook his hand with a smile.

  Malachi groaned, and Lucia laughed.

  "Nice to meet you, John; hm, you're not going to bow for your crown princess?" She asked.

  Jonathan went to bow, but Lucia was quick to stop him.

  "I'm messing with you. I hope you're enjoying the garden; this is one of the places in Eden where magic reigns supreme. It's been around as long as my family has been." Lucia said. "Saint Johanna had a gift."

  "Kai here says you're going to Eden soon. I'm actually planning to go there soon myself." Said Jonathan.

  "Are you now?" Said Lucia.

  "Yeah, maybe we could meet up sometime while we're there." Suggested Jonathan.

  Lucia tilted her head at him. "You're a little young; I think our respective scenes may be a little different, John. I don't think we exactly run in the same crowds, you know."

  Malachi smirked and turned to look at Jonathan. "Yeah, Jonathan's crowd is a bit more yearbook club than celebrity."

  Jonathan frowned. "Yearbook club is good practice for a photographer; celebrities need people to take pictures of them after all."

  Lucia made a gesture that resembled a finger clicking on a camera. "You're a photographer?"

  "Yes, I was hoping I would be able to get some good pictures if I went to the party for my portfolio." Said Jonathan.

  "I may have put the idea in his head. So when he gets rich and famous, make sure I get a little credit too." Malachi interjected.

  Lucia laughed hard. She laughed so hard that she had to wipe a tear from her eye.

  "Alrighty. If you want to be famous, I have something for you. Usually I charge, but take a picture of me for your portfolio."

  Jonathan's eyes have grown wide. "But, I don't have my camera with me."

  "You have a phone, don't you?" Lucia grabbed a Granny Smith apple from a nearby tree and took a seat underneath the tree. She whistled a song, and bees came to swarm around her, a whole hive floating above her head.

  Jonathan once again recognized opportunity. He wasted no time taking the picture of Lucia with his phone, and once the picture was taken, she ceased her whistling and winked at the boy. "Well, I'll be going upstairs. I hope your photography goes well, John."

  Lucia stood up from under the tree and waved away at Jonathan and her brother. "You two have fun; I'm going to continue packing."

  Once Lucia was out of earshot, Malachi shook his head at Jonathan, making an exaggerated 'tisk tisk tisk' as he did.

  "What?" said Jonathan.

  Malachi put on a goofy, nasally voice. "My name is Jonathan, but my friends call me John." He said it mockingly. "No one calls you that."

  Jonathan rubbed the back of his neck and smiled awkwardly. "John sounds more mature; maybe people should call me it."

  "I brought you to my home, and you repay me by hitting on my sister." Said Malachi, crossing his arms.

  "Oh, sorry, Kai." Said Jonathan.

  Malachi started to laugh.

  "I'm just messing with you; it's all good." Said Malachi. "Want to go to my room to play some games?"

  "Yeah. That sounds like fun." Replied Jonathan.

  With that, Maria left the memory; she left Jonathan's mind entirely and went back to reality. She was not in the palace's garden eating honeycombs and sweet fruit; she was instead here in a quiet, lonely room interrogating a child. She feared the longer she spent in his mind, the wearier she would become.

  "Do you still have the picture you took of Lucia?" Asked Maria.

  Jonathan shook his head.

  "I deleted everything after she accosted me at the party."

  "Did you ever post it to begin with?" Asked Maria.

  "Yeah, a lot of people posted things with her before she passed. Especially at the party, I'm surprised I'm even here right now. It felt like everyone had their phones out. Someone must've caught who did it on camera, right?" Said Jonathan.

  Maria shook her head. "Cameras were disabled at the party's venue itself, and a lot of footage was lost as a result. You may have a point though; there could be phone footage. Maybe." Maria tilted her head. A eureka moment had come to her, a new lead that showed more promise than whatever was in the mind of Jonathan.

  "Jonathan, is it okay if I go through your phone?" Said Maria.

  Jonathan raised an eyebrow. "Uh, sure, I suppose. Do you really need my permission?"

  "Well, no, but it is nice to ask." Said Maria.

  The blind detective then stood up and walked over to Anna, who had been standing guard patiently all this time. "Knight, can you get the suspect's phone from the evidence room?"

  Anna bowed. "Of course." The knight left the room with brisk steps, leaving Maria, Jonathan, and her demon alone.

  "That woman is evil." Said Maria's demon. Unbeknownst to Maria, the demon had gotten bolder the moment Anna had left the room and revealed itself in its true form to everyone in the room. Jonathan stared at the demon for a long while, possibly too stunned to speak until he did.

  "What makes her evil?" Jonathan asked.

  Maria's head snapped. "Did you..."

  "He did," said the demon.

  "You're not the demon from before." Said Jonathan.

  Maria palmed her face and took a deep breath. "Demon, reveal yourself. I do not need you interfering in this case."

  The demon laughed. "If anything, I am aiding. You hear the boy; I'm not the demon from before. That's a clue; that's a lead. A freebie if you will. He's correct. I am not the demon from before."

  'The demon from before?' Maria thought; she soon wondered if one of the demons at the crowning had visited the prisoners; she wondered what may have been discussed.

  "And why have you so graciously given me this clue?"

  The demon smiled. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

  A few knocks were heard on the door, and the demon had disappeared again. Invisible to all eyes. Anna soon opened the door and came into the room. She set Jonathan's phone on the table and returned to her post. "There you go, detective; I already unlocked it for you."

  "Thank you, knight." Said Maria, turning to face Anna. "While you were gone, there was a new development. I have reason to believe that there is demonic magic at work in this case."

  "Do you?" Asked Anna.

  "I do. That's why I am glad that I have the godslayer as my guard." She turned to face Jonathan. "Jonathan, I will search your memory from birth to present until I find that demon. We will be here for a while until I do."

  Once again Maria entered Jonathan's mind, and once again, unbeknownst to everyone in that room, a demon smiled.