Chapter 6: Malachi

  Prince Orin Lincoln of New Paris was everything dreamers would dream of an Earl being. He was tall, handsome, and muscled, and he was blessed with a booming voice that rung through the Lincoln manor like a heavy bell that had been struck with great force. With his arrival today for the crowning of an heir, many people couldn't help but discuss his presence and wonder what kind of Earl he would be.

  Unfortunately, he was not the heir, and he would never be the heir. Instead of the dreamers getting their wish to see Orin on the throne, the heir was none other than Prince Malachi Lincoln, fifteen years of age with a face of acne scars and arms that were as limpy as spaghetti.

  Malachi wore a bronze crown with a single emerald lodged in the middle of it and was made to don a regal cape on top of a tuxedo. While his brother was dressed as a Knight of Aeon, he wore chainmail armor and wielded a sword like the knights of yore. A ceremonial look sure, but Malachi could not help but be envious.

  "That crown fits you, Kai; when our father gets back from Bethel, he's sure to swell with pride when he sees you." Orin said, giving his brother a thumbs up and a smile.

  "It fit Lucia better." Malachi replied, taking off the crown and setting it down on a nearby table.

  Orin's lips curled, and he shook his head. "She would've wanted you to carry on her legacy; I cannot wear that crown for you, so you must carry its weight with pride."

  The elder brother picked up the crown and placed it back into Malachi's head, shifting it to make sure it was on tightly.

  "My liege. I will follow you." Orin bowed a regal bow at his brother.

  My liege. Malachi shivered at the phrase; he was no one's liege, he thought.

  "Follow me?"

  "Yes, rocks for brains; mom is waiting for us. I'm a knight; you're the heir. You go in front. I follow you." Orin said

  Malachi stood up straight with the finest posture he could muster and let out a sigh of exasperation. He did not yet want to leave. Here he was in a small room of the palace, a mere dressing room with only himself and his brother, but he knew once he stepped foot outside to the rest of the palace all eyes would be on him.

  With a bit of courage, he opened the door from the dressing room and made his march to the throne room proper. Along the way, servants, merchants, and bishops alike bowed their heads at him, soldiers saluted him, and knights much like his brother began to follow him.

  One of the few faces Malachi recognized was that of his own uncle, Erwin Lincoln, a man with shaggy black hair and beady black eyes who was as rotund as he was short. To Malachi, he looked just like his father, just with hair.

  His uncle rushed to embrace him, but with quick feet Malachi was able to sidestep and give his uncle a handshake.

  "Ah Malachi. No love for your old uncle, eh?" He said, eyeing his nephew's crown. "You know if I was ever an heir, I would've wore a crown just like that."

  Orin cleared his throat. "But you weren't, so you didn't. Uncle Erwin, our mom is waiting for us in the throne room."

  "Ha! You don't think I know that? I planned on making the march with you all. If that's alright with the crown prince here."

  Malachi nodded. "That's fine, uncle."

  Erwin joined the group of knights, and a path made of burgundy silk carpet was laid out for them all to walk on. The path was hand-stitched; only the finest work for the prince, who was to one day rule over the greatest city in the solar system. As Malachi walked, he saw the end of the path in sight: a black throne made of a painted charcoal frame, blackened steel to reinforce, and obsidian lining to shine like the sun itself. Sitting on the throne was his mother, Lady Amelia Lincoln. A woman whose long flowing white hair had been a signature for her even during her youth. She dressed in a dignified green dress, and even though she wore gold on all her fingers, her smile glowed brighter than any metal ever could.

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  "It'll be only an hour or two until my husband makes his appearance, she said, then the crowning of the heir and reveal of the prisoners can begin. In the meantime, I want you all to meet my youngest son, Malachi Lincoln."

  Lady Lincoln pointed to her son, and if he could've, he would've crawled into his cape and disappeared.

  "This throne is not mine to sit on, come Malachi. It is yours." His mother said before standing up and stepping to the side of the throne.

  Malachi ambulated uneasily towards the throne and took a seat without much flair or poise. His brother and the other knights who followed him kneeled before him and his throne. His uncle, on the other hand, drifted off to the side, keen to watch the ceremony from a distance.

  The knights as a group glowed a faint blue, the same color as the Aeonsblood that ran through each and every one of their veins. The eldest of the knights, an aging man by the name of Jacob, kneeled in front of them all and spoke for them.

  "We are the Aeonic Order. We shall take no thrones, we shall rule no lands, and we shall protect those who do and those who don't." He said.

  Malachi had heard these words too many times before and could hardly focus on the knights as he sweated underneath his tuxedo.

  "We swear to protect the new heir of New Paris and would like to establish our allegiance to you."

  Malachi sat there in silence for a brief while with Jacob shuffling awkwardly. Lady Lincoln frowned, nudged Malachi with her shoulder, and whispered in his ear.

  "Kai, say the line."

  "Oh, I accept your allegiance. House Lincoln and The Aeonic Order will continue our mission to see New Paris thrive."

  With that, all the knights went to stand up, and Jacob rose his sword to the sky. "May the Earl and his heir long live."

  They hoped every heir would live long, thought Malachi. When one didn't, they would just move on to the next, like morning had ever happened. Malachi knew something had happened, and being an heir didn't make him any less mortal than he was before.

  The knights scattered about, and more groups of people came to greet the young heir—people from all across Eden here to pay their respects and bend their knees at the seats of the charcoal throne. It was a routine that went as expected, as just about anything could've gone. Someone would come to the throne; they would wish Malachi luck, and Malachi would thank them one by one.

  Was this really what being an Earl meant, thought the head where the bronze crown of New Paris sat. When the last person came to the throne, Malachi was struggling to keep his eyes open and his senses alert, but luckily for him, this person came with something that awoke him immediately.

  "For my love, I grant you this gift before I make my leave." The voice of this person was unsettling; their words were like a gust of freezing cold wind, and their posture was even worse. They stood hunched over as if their back was carrying something that they could not bear to hold on their own terms.

  Malachi could not see the face of this figure, for they're covered in robes and bandages that obscured everything about them, only leaving gray skin that was barely visible under all of their garments.

  "Here." From under their garments was a dagger cracked, bright, and red, crafted from the finest of gems, garnets, and rubies on top of a steel handle. From within its cracks on the blade, it glowed black like demonsblood, which caused the rubies to burn with every passing second.

  Lady Lincoln stood in front of her son at the sight of the weapon, and guards began to walk towards the throne with firearms in hand.

  "My son will not touch any demon's weaponry. Remove yourself and take that with you." Lady Lincoln said.

  The figure held out their hand, held the dagger by its blade, and dropped the dagger to the floor. A thud was heard, and the figure began to make their leave, only speaking once before they were gone.

  "Test that blade, and you will receive the information you need. You best get used to the work of demons within your home, Amelia; your husband has invited one."

  The figure descended into what was their own shadow, creeping closer into the darkness of their own creation until there was nothing more. In fact, they disappeared so fast that not even a single guard had the opportunity to fire a shot before they were gone.

  With every eye in the throne room now set on her, Amelia Lincoln maintained her nerve even at the sight of the strange being's disappearance and leaned down to speak to her youngest son quietly.

  "Demonic magic and the hands of nobility do not mix; leave such dark arts for the common folk and let them reap the consequences they have sowed." She said it quickly before speaking to the crowd in the room with her.

  "My family will have to take our leave for the time being. Malachi, Orin, come with me. Ser Jacob, pick up that dagger and come with us. "

  Malachi took full advantage of this opportunity to get some eyes off of himself and followed without a bit of hesitation in his step. Orin and Jacob followed behind, armed with a sword and pistol in case they needed to protect the royal heir and his mother. Lady Lincoln guided the three of them inside the dressing room where Malachi and Orin were before and locked the door behind them.

  "We do not leave until your father gets here. I won't have demons crashing your crowning Kai, our family has gone through enough already; I cannot face much more. This is probably the work of that Melissa woman, mad as she is."

  Even as his mother spoke, Malachi found his attention drifting to the dagger itself that was now in Jacob's hands, held carefully by its handle. His eyes examined it and looked at it with a great deal of interest. "Doesn't demonblood burn the skin if touched?" Malachi asked.

  "Well, I'm holding it by its handle; there's no demonblood there." Jacob replied.

  "But the figure was holding it by its blade. That was no human." Malachi said.

  "You know, it said on her autopsy she had odd burn marks when she passed away." Orin added, now himself also looking very closely at the dagger.

  "You think this has something to do with Lucia?" Lady Lincoln said.

  "Yes. Maybe I'm not sure." Malachi said.

  "Be more sure of yourself. We may need to do what the demon asked and test this weapon. If your father really did invite a demon into this house, then I'm sure it would be for our sake and our benefit." The woman turned to look at Jacob.

  "Knight, after Al comes back and gets a look at it. I want you to take this to your headquarters and have your best people look it over as many times as you can. I want you to find out everything possible about this blade."

  "Yes, my lady," Jacob said.

  "We will find out who murdered her, and when we do, I do not care if a demon or aeon caused the crime; we will put them to justice regardless."

  Amelia went to unlock the door and gestured for everyone to come outside. "Family meeting over; no point in sitting in here forever. We have an heir to crown and prisoners to display."