Chapter 9: Malachi

  While others had been given the privilege to leave the throne room after the celebrations and dinners, Malachi was instead handed a broom and dustpan and told to get to work by his parents.

  'It will breed responsibility for what will one day be yours,' they told him before going off elsewhere into the palace, leaving their son to do his work in peace.

  Malachi did his work lazily into the depths of night, waiting until the room was completely empty to really begin working. With not a single servant or maid to bother him.

  He liked the peace and quiet, and he could really feel just how big the throne room was when he was alone. The young teen worked and cleaned cheerily with nothing more than earbuds in his ears and a broom in hand. This simple work was something he could find refuge in, something basic, unlike the work he had cut out for him as an Earl.

  Yet there were footsteps in the distance—one's loud enough to intrude on his music. The

  sound of hard old boots thumping against the palace floor, not long after a guard entered the room huffing and puffing as he spoke.

  "My liege, you have visitors." Said the guard, shouting across the room.

  Malachi removed one earbud and raised an eyebrow. "Huh? I thought everyone had left already."

  "It is father, crown prince. Earl Alfred Lincoln." Said the guard, and almost on cue entered Alfred, who bowed before his son.

  "Don't forget to clean the throne itself, Kai."

  Malachi frowned; he hated doing chores in front of his dad.

  Along with his father entered Maria, a woman with red braids and no eyes—a woman Malachi saw at his own crowning but had yet to speak to. Everyone wanted to meet with him during the coronation, and he had scant time to speak to those he wanted to speak to.

  "Hello, crown prince." Said Maria, who bowed before Malachi. "Your father has asked that I meet you at your request."

  When the prince had first seen Maria at the crowning, he was taken aback. He did not know what he expected, but it certainly was not this. She was described in papers as a blind seer, a

  wise woman, a lady of the occult. He expected to meet an old witch like one of an ancient fable. Not this young woman with neat braids and carefully placed makeup. Regardless, he was clearly excited to meet her and smiled ear to ear.

  "You're the woman from the article!" Cheered Malachi. "The demon is sorcerous! The one who aided the knights in their investigations. You're a badass."

  "Language Malachi. Is that any way for an Earl to speak?" Said Alfred.

  "Sorry, but wow." Said Malachi.

  "I'm in an article?" Asked Maria.

  "A bunch of them, actually; word spreads fast when you have powers like yours." Answered Malachi.

  Part of him wanted to tell the detective about all the different stories he had read and all the magic he had learned about from stories, but he held his tongue just enough to avoid annoying her.

  "Well, I appreciate your patronage, Prince Malachi. I have been accommodated very well." Said Maria.

  It felt awkward—the titles and the poise during what otherwise could've been a causal conversation. Malachi shifted awkwardly.

  "Well, if there's anything you need, feel free to ask." Said Malachi.

  "There is one thing: where do you keep the prisoners?" Asked Maria.

  When the question was posed, Alfred eyes grew wide, and he rushed to speak quickly before Malachi could.

  "A prisoner who is to be on death row is kept in the crypts; if they are guilty, it is their future, so for now we make it their present." Said Alfred. "It is not your future, hopefully. So you cannot go, just get detective."

  "I want to go to the crypts and go see the prisoners before I start the investigation proper, if I can. I think it would be very helpful, your majesty." Said Maria.

  Alfred shook his head and frowned. "I do not converse with criminals, and if I can help it, I do not look at them or share their space. That crypt is a wretched place. You can see the prisoners tomorrow during the investigation."

  Maria tapped her foot anxiously.

  "You do not have to go there with me, but I still want to go. I need it for my investigation." Said Maria.

  In a rush of inspiration, Malachi's face lit up, and he rose his hand. "I can go with her!" He said.

  "What? No. I'm not having my heir and the only mind reader in all of Eden go into the crypts. One too many has gotten lost traveling through there, and one too many has fallen sick from the ancient corpses that have been laid." Said Alfred.

  "It's the only room in the palace I haven't seen, dad; how will I be a good Earl if I haven't seen the whole palace?" Whined Malachi.

  "It's the only room you haven't seen because I value your health." Said Alfred. "Neither of you can go."

  Maria smiled and walked over to the side of Malachi. "You know, your other son, the knight offered me a tour of the palace."

  Alfred grimaced.

  "Jacob has told me of my son's palace tours; what does that have to do with anything?"

  "He's a knight; surely he knows his way around a blade or a gun. Armed with aeonic magic too, no doubt. I think Malachi and I could safely explore the crypts if he tagged along. I

  could see the prisoners, Malachi could learn more about the palace. It would be beneficial for all of us." Said Maria.

  A huff and a sigh came from the Earl, and he nodded his head. "Fine. Go get Orin from his chambers; if you're not out within an hour, I'm sending the entire noble guard in there to fetch you out."

  "Yes! We're going on an adventure to the crypts." Malachi said, with a clear glee to his voice.

  "I think you mean we're going on a very important business trip into the crypts." Said Maria, who smiled and bowed. "Lead the way, crown prince."

  "To my brother's room!" cheered Malachi.

  Malachi knew the palace as well as he knew both of his hands. It was true he had seen every room in the building except the crypt itself, and to Malachi, the crypt was one of the greatest mysteries of his life. What lurked there? Why did his father never dare go down there? It posed many questions, questions Malachi couldn't wait to find answers to.

  He went through the main hallway of the palace, running ongwlkint past the dressing room and the inspection room. Took a left turn and then a right before finding himself at an ornate stairwell that was covered in plant life. This one was covered by asters and spotted mushrooms.

  Up the stairs they went, and with another left turn they found themselves at a blue door that Malachi went and knocked on. Soon enough, a response was given to the knocks; one of Orin's eyes peeked through the door, and a yawn was heard.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  "What do you need, Kai?" Asked Orin.

  "Can you take me to the crypts?" Said Malachi.

  A guffaw erupted from Orin, and he shook his head. "Is that new title getting to your head already? It's almost midnight rocks for brains, plus you know dad doesn't want you going in there."

  "Is that anyway to treat your brother?" Said Maria, who smirked. "Plus, you still owe me a tour."

  There was a pause, and then the door opened a bit wider. A brief moment passed, and then the door opened in its entirety, revealing Orin in his pajamas clearly only half-awake.

  "Oh, I didn't see you there, Maria. I suppose I can give you a tour of the palace during these trying times of night. Give me a moment to get ready." Orin said.

  "The crown prince has to come with. He wants to see the crypts too." Said Maria.

  Orin frowned, and his lip curled. "Three's a crowd."

  "Well, dad says I can't go if you don't come with so..." Malachi grinned. "You have to come with, and as your liege, I command you to let me come with so ha."

  "Can't deny an order from your liege." Added Maria.

  Orin rubbed his eyes. "I'll grab my sword." He said, closing the door.

  "I'll grab mine!" Malachi said before running off to his own room, which was nearby just across from his brother's. There he retrieved the blackened steel sword of Johanna his father gave him before. Next he moved with haste, returning before his brother had even returned with his own blade.

  A minute or two passed, and the young knight, Orin, opened the door in a t-shirt, pajama pants, and a sword in hand. His veins glowed a bright blue from the Aeonsblood inside, and he flexed his right arm proudly.

  "I had to get the magic flowing first; you never know what you might encounter in the crypts." He said, still flexing his muscular arm.

  "Great, good to know. Can you take us to the crypts now?" Asked Malachi, who rolled his eyes at his brother's display.

  "Of course, of course. What kind of knight and big brother would I be if I didn't? Follow me, crown prince and detective." Said Orin.

  Orin led the way to the crypts, which were located on the lowest floor of the palace. They went down one flight of stairs and then another and two more after that until they found themselves there on the ground floor. It was an ancient floor, one that had felt the footsteps of the first king and few footsteps since then.

  The ground floor was drab and utterly basic; the walls lacked paint and were covered in holes, mold, and rot. The sight of it all was one thing, but what was worse was the smell; it was rancid—a threat to noses everywhere. From the stairwell, the path was clear; there was only one door on that ground floor, and it was directly ahead. A white door, devoid of plant life.

  "Lord, have mercy; what is that smell?" Said Maria, picking up the collar of her dress and pulling it over her nose.

  "Only prisoners and guards come down here; I don't think it's been maintained since Saint Johanna had it first built. Let alone cleaned." Said Orin.

  Malachi's face had turned green with nausea, and he looked back at the staircase intently. He looked ready to go back up those stairs and never return to this floor, but his brother was quick to stop him.

  "Aht aht aht rocks for brains; you had me take you down here, so you have to come along." Said Orin. with a squint of his eyes. "Don't get cold feet now. Come."

  Orin, leading the way, walked up to the white door and opened it, revealing a dark nothingness. He then looked down and sighed. "There's a ladder here to the crypt itself; Maria, do you think you'll need any help getting down?"

  Maria shook her head. "Once I'm on the ladder, I can get down."

  "Good, you can go first then. I'm sure you don't want Kai and I looking up while you're going down a ladder in a dress."

  "Oh, gentleman. I'm flattered." Maria said in a honeyed tone. "Send down the blind woman first so she can be all alone with the mold and dead bodies."

  Malachi couldn't help but laugh at the detective's statement.

  "Well, I could go first." Said Orin.

  "Too late, help me down." Replied Maria

  Orin offered Maria his hands and carefully set her on the steel ladder of the crypts. First she went down, and then Orin and Malachi.

  The crypts were dark at first, but then Orin waved around his blade until it glowed a bright blue and illuminated the world around them. It was a terrible sight from within those walls; there were no floors, no wealth; there was nothing except cadavers and dirt, with no sign of life aside from the distant crackling of fire in the distance.

  "Let's check out the fire first." Said Orin, guiding the trio once again.

  The three of them walked towards the distant fire and were greeted by a path of torches that both lit up the path and revealed ancient murals on their walls. The walls depicted acts of history, wars, marriages, elections, and the birth of Eden.

  Malachi looked at the murals curiously as they walked through the path. He saw the visage of an ancient battle where a man with a golden crown and a woman wearing a crown of silver battled a crowd of people. The mural was clearly designed by the work of skilled artists; it was gorgeous and didn't fit to be placed among the bodies of the dead.

  "That's the first king and Johanna, right?" Asked Malachi.

  "It is." Answered Orin.

  "It's beautiful. Better than any mural of them we have upstairs." Said Malachi.

  Orin took a glance at the mural and smiled. "I agree. It must be here for a reason; maybe this is the exact spot where it happened."

  "What happened?" Asked Maria.

  Malachi and Orin gave a telling look.

  "The blood the first king and Johanna spilled, the blood that feeds the soil." Said Malachi. "Maybe it's this soil in this crypt right here. Maybe that's where all the bodies are from."

  Malachi felt nauseous even talking about it; he knew how his family rose to power. Everyone did. It was anything but peaceful, and the living plant life around him was a constant reminder of the blood magic his ancestor used so that her family could reign to this day.

  "It must've been awful, having to bury this many people." Said Maria. "In this moment I am a bit grateful I do not have eyes; I do not want to see what is down here."

  Malachi looked back at the mural curiously, and then he cast a look at the bodies around him. In that moment in time, he wished that, like Maria, he did not have eyes. He wanted nothing more than to experience the comfort of his bed, but he knew if he dared try to go back upstairs, his brother would never let him live it down. So of course, he followed along.

  There were many twists and turns to the location of the prisoners, many different paths all lit by the fire of torches and adorned with paintings of ages past. Orin was careful to pick the right ones, and in due time the trio found themselves at the edge of the prisoner's part of the crypts.

  A group of rusted iron cells sat in a small room from within the walls of dirt and death, and only three cells had the honor of holding a prisoner. They held each of the prisoners whose names were called by the Earl earlier, Jasmine, Jonathan, and Michael, respectively. These cells were all right next to each other, with no space or separation. The prisoners were close enough where they could've grabbed each other and could've caused their other prisoners trouble if they intended.

  At this time of night, all three prisoners were all fast asleep on the cold, hard ground of their cells, unaware that they were being watched by a knight, a prince, and a detective.

  "They're asleep, Maria. Do you want me to wake them so you can speak to them?" Asked Orin.

  "No, but let's get closer to them." Answered Maria.

  As his brother spoke, Malachi came forward next. He could hardly stomach to look around at the three prisoners, and he couldn't help but frown when he looked at Jasmine.

  "You don't think she did it, do you?" Malachi asked.

  "Doubt it." Answered Orin. "I don't think anyone thinks she's done it. Probably why everyone's rallying around her aunt right now."

  "She was always so nice to me; I remember whenever she would come over she would ask me about what games I was playing. I know she didn't really care, but it was nice that she asked. I don't think she would hurt Lucia; I don't think Jonathan would either." Said Malachi.

  "You know him?" Asked Maria.

  "Yeah, he's in the grade ahead of me. He went to my school." Said Malachi.

  "You were close?" Said Maria.

  Malachi frowned; he wanted to burrow away when he heard the question. "A friend, an acquaintance. I thought he was cool."

  "I thought you said you thought he didn't do it? Wouldn't that make him still cool?" Said Maria.

  Not sure how to respond, Malachi simply shrugged. "I do not know; I don't want to talk about it, Maria."

  "That is okay. Malachi, Anyway. I did have us come down here for a reason. Can one of you describe Michael for me?" Said Maria.

  "Um, sure." Said Malachi, who walked closer to the cage that held Michael. He took a good look at the man and raised an eyebrow. There was nothing too remarkable about Michael, nothing notable enough to justify coming down here.

  "He's black, buzzcut, and has some tattoos down his arm."

  "Tattoos?"

  "Yeah, I see a butterfly on his shoulder, some phrases on his bicep." Malachi paused and shifted his attention over to Maria. "Pretty tidy done. I don't think he went to a good artist."

  Maria sighed.

  "I fear I know one of the prisoners too."

  "You do?" Asked Malachi.

  "Michael and I both hail from Bethel. He was a friend. I knew him for years." Said Maria as she pursed her lip. "I'll have to tell your father, Malachi. It's a conflict of interest."

  "Oh." Said Malachi, who didn't make much of an attempt to hide his disappointment. "Okay."

  Maria smiled. "Your sister's killer will still be found, and if your father allows me, I will help in anyway I can. Do not fear crown prince." She paused. "You know, I am curious; why did your father only name three of the prisoners?"

  Orin and Malachi exchanged confused looks.

  "There are only three prisoners." Said Orin.

  "There's another person here; I can sense their mind. If you do not see them, then they must be hiding or lost." Said Maria.

  Malachi's mind raced; his eyes drifted around looking for any sign of anyone else in the crypts. "Why would anyone be down here?"

  "Maybe someone got lost during the party."

  Said Orin with a shrug of his shoulders.

  "No, no. Dad had this entire floor locked off during the party. If someone's down here, then it had to be recent. We're being followed." Said Malachi.

  "We need to go, now." Said Maria. "With all this talking we're doing, they know we're here."

  "I'll lead the way." Said Orin.

  As the three of them walked from the room, a person arrived. From within the shadows of the cells appeared a figure whose visage had not yet been revealed to anyone else in the room; this figure was hard to spot. Even if you paid close attention, one second they were in one place and the next they were in another. Their feet were faster than humanly possible.

  This figure followed Orin, Malachi, and Maria quietly through the crypts, never getting close enough to alert the seer detective until the time was right. Before Maria had time to react to their encroaching presence, the figure had appeared once again with one hand on Malachi's throat and another on a dagger that dropped with black blood.

  The figure did not hesitate before they shoved the dagger in the stomach of Malachi, causing the teenager to welp in pain and fall to the floor.

  "Malachi!" Yelled Orin, who grabbed his sword and swung wildly at the attacker in the darkness of the crypts.

  The attacker was too fast to hit cleanly and seemed to disappear and reappear with great haste every time Orin tried to land a hit on them.

  Maria, with no weapon and no sight, darted off away from the scene of the battle with her head in her hands. Her heart beat fast, and her hands trembled with fear.

  Orin hands trembled too, but that did not seem to stop him from trying to chase the dagger-wielding teleporter through the crypt blade in hand.

  He swung many times, and with every attempt, the attacker dodged with ease.

  It wasn't until the would-be assassin appeared next to Malachi kneeled down, ready to stab him again, that Orin would get his chance to land a blow, and with this chance, Orin struck true, slashing the attacker across their chest.

  The attacker stumbled backwards, and before Orin knew it, it disappeared once again, for good this time.

  This disappearance did not quell Orin's rage, and he continued to swing his blade wildly. "I know you're still in here! Reveal yourself!" He yelled.

  "Orin," Maria said.

  "I'll battle you right now! You'll be the next body to rest in these crypts!"

  "Orin."

  "What?" He said, turning his neck to look at Maria.

  "They're gone. I don't know where they went, but the assassin is gone. They must've teleported away."

  "Teleporting assassins?" Orin screamed and took a knee next to his brother, who was beginning to bleed out of his stomach.

  "Malachi, can you hear me?" Said Orin.

  Malachi was too shocked to speak; he tried to move his mouth, but nothing dared to come out. He felt his entire body go numb, and the only warmth he felt was from the blood flowing out of him.

  "We need to get you back upstairs. We need to call Jacob back to the palace. He'll take care of you."

  Malachi's eyes closed, and his body went limp. He could remember being picked up, but as time went on, it became a blur.

  "You'll be okay, Kai." Orin said. "I know you'll be okay."